Packers must overhaul defensive scheme, embrace their personnel

Keep the ball in front of you and come up to make the play. That’s the Green Bay Packers’ primary defensive scheme under defensive coordinator Joe Barry.

Since arriving in Green Bay in this role, Barry has implemented a soft zone defense that forces the opposing offenses to stay patient and take the underneath routes time and time again. When the quarterback hits those short passes, the defenders are supposed to come up and make the play.

But what happens when you give up huge plays over the top in a defense primarily designed to prevent those exact plays? And what happens when you have a defense loaded with studs that is best fitted to run a different scheme?

If the Green Bay Packers want to unlock their playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, it’s time to overhaul their passive defensive scheme.

The answers to those questions is to be determined. After allegedly entering Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings with a game plan to stop Justin Jefferson, the star wide receiver burned them repeatedly and finished the game with nine receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns.

Jaire Alexander spoke out after the game saying he asked all week to shadow Jefferson, but the coaches went in a different direction. Matt LaFleur responded at Monday’s media session by saying Alexander’s strategy would require them to overhaul their entire defense.

So do it.

Instead of matching up with Jefferson, Alexander was wasting away guarding decoys on the outside. The Vikings’ modern offense took advantage of Alexander’s positioning and constantly lined him up on lesser receivers–there was even a time or two here he was matched up on a running back as a linebacker was tasked with defending the zone Jefferson made the catch in.

The Packers paid Alexander a King’s ransom this offseason, making him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. If they think that highly of him (and they should) then let him earn his money. Let him shadow one of the game’s best wide receivers and tailor your entire defensive game plan to make that happen.

The need to switch to a primarily man scheme also spreads to the rest of their defensive personnel. Green Bay invested heavily in three top-notch cornerbacks but refuse to let them play a scheme that best fits them. Instead of matching Alexander, Eric Stokes and Rasul Douglas up with the opposing team’s best receivers, the three rot away in a passive zone scheme.

Barry also needs to maximize his uber-athletic inside linebackers on the roster. De’Vondre Cambell and Quay Walker can fly around the field, covering sideline-to-sideline. Let them fill in the gaps while the rest of the front seven relentlessly attacks the quarterback. Unleash this defense and their bevy of playmakers.

Green Bay invested heavily into their defense this year so they could lead this team to a Super Bowl. Continuing to run a passive zone scheme is like the Packers’ installing a Badgers-esque offense in the prime of Aaron Rodgers’ career. It’s like owning a Bugatti, but driving it five miles per hour under the speed limit. Unleash the beasts!