Green Bay Packers: Defense Playing with “More Energy” Under Joe Barry

When looking back on Mike Pettine’s tenure as defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers, I imagine that many are going to remember the 3-man rushes, the soft coverages, and the miscues more than anything. But this is a defense under his guidance that made a lot of big plays as well, especially over the last two seasons that ended in a pair of NFC Championship appearances.

However, the issue — at least from our vantage point — appeared to be consistency — or lack thereof — and simply not living up to their potential. By DVOA, which is an all-encompassing look at defensive performance, Green Bay ranked 17th last season. By points per game allowed, they ranked 13th.

Both are fine, pretty much right in the middle, but not nearly good enough when you have a defense made up of Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark, Jaire Alexander, Darnell Savage, Adrian Amos, and others. And in the end, that was likely the biggest issue.

New defensive coordinator Joe Barry will be bringing over a similar defensive system that was utilized by the Los Angeles Rams last season under then defensive coordinator Brandon Staley. For some context, the Rams’ defense finished fourth in DVOA and first in points per game allowed in 2020.

It’s way too early to sit here and try to gauge whether or not Green Bay will be more successful under Barry, but what we have learned so far is that the energy level in practices is quite different from what it has been in past years. And after listening to Barry in his introductory press conference, that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

After each Green Bay Packers’ practice, Larry McCarren, along with Wes Hodiewicz and Mike Spofford, provide us with their big takeaways from what they saw. For McCarren, what has really stood out to him over the course of several practices is the newfound energy on the defensive side of the ball:

"“The biggest thing that I’ve noticed in OTAs, mini-camp, what have you, is that Joe Barry is more vocal,” said McCarren via Packers.com. “Consequently, his staff is more vocal, and consequently, the defense has played with more energy.”"

And it’s not only McCarren that feels this way; Kenny Clark, Kamal Martin, and Rashan Gary have all said the same few words, stating that they too “love his energy.”

"“Great guy. Love his energy and love the scheme and a lot of the stuff that we’re doing,” said Clark via the Wisconsin State Journal. “It’s early right now, but a lot of the stuff that we’re doing is simple, lining up and we’re able to play fast and all that kind of stuff. … Excited to play for him.”"

Za’Darius Smith would also echo similar sentiments in a recent interview, saying that “he’s (Barry) a great coach to be around” and that “they’ll put me in the best situations to win.” With players like Clark, Gary, and Za’Darius feeling the “energy” and excitement that Barry brings, I imagine that many others on this Green Bay Packers’ defense feel similarly.

As I said initially, we don’t exactly know what this defense will look like this season under Barry or if they’ll improve–only time will tell, and I certainly do like their chances. But what we do know at this time is that this side of the ball is loaded with talent and that playing with extra energy in practice is always a good thing–especially when it is a coach who is helping to provide that.

"“It’s really early, (but) I think he’s got a clear vision of what he wants to get done from a defensive standpoint and he’s (Barry) done a great job of including all our assistant coaches and taking their input in terms of what each individual player does really well,” said Matt LaFleur via the Wisconsin State Journal. “It’s going to continue to progress throughout the course of the season.”"