Official 2023 Bury Joe Barry Thread

[bobblehead]

Frankly I hope they keep the guy, add some talent and get some big jumps from guys and Barry comes out and shows you all what the fuck is what. Fans need a little humility.

I love to take the contrarian view as much as anyone, but Barry has a career littered with failure. Some of your points are valid, and in a vacuum hold water, but we have seen the same issues for 3 years. Our poor DBs aren't the reason we have given up 4? 200 yard rushing games this season. Our bad DBs aren't the reason Barry has NEVER had a D outside the bottom 1/3.

I'll grant you Barry probably knows more about coaching a D than I ever did, but that doesn't make him qualified or good at his job.

[QBME]

Let's call a spade a spade.

Not extending JB is the same as firing him.

Excellent point.
Got me to wondering.

And so,
(I hope this works)

Burying Joe Barry
A One Act Play

The Actors:
Mark Murphy (MM)
Brian Gutenkiest (BG)
Matt LeFleur (MLF)
Joe Barry (JB)
The Secretary (TS) as voiced by Jennifer Anniston

Scene 1
MM’s office.
MM and BG are at the conference table. A knock on the door.
MM: What?
MLF: It’s me. The flower.
BG: (grunts)
MM: C’mon in, have a seat, set a spell.
MLF shuffles in, not making eye contact, settles into a chair at the conference table.
A brief uncomfortable silence.
BG: (grunts)
MM: What’s up?
MLF: We, uh, I have a problem.
BG: (grunts)
MM: Yup, we all know it…what are you going to do about it?
BG: (grunts)
MLF: He’s like my best bud in the whole world, and if I bring him in to fire him, I’ll start crying and then he’ll start crying and then I’ll collapse and then we’ll have another season of shitty defense.
BG: (grunts)
MM: What do you suggest?
MLF: You’re my boss, tell me I can’t rehire him. Give me cover.
MM: When you were hired our agreement was explicit. You have total control over your coaching hires and fires.
MLF: (Thinking to himself – fucking lawyer)
BG: (grunts)
MLF gets a redeeming sparkle in his eye.
MLF: HEY Marky Mark, you’ve already announced your retirement, so how’s about you taking one for the team? We’ll just say you stand behind me and my coaching decisions, and yet at the same time you prohibit Gooter from offering a contract to my best bud? It could work!!
MM: Hmmm, seems plausible…what do you think Gooter?
BG: (grunts)

Scene 2
8 days later. MLF Office. MLF behind his desk drumming his fingers on the desktop. A knock on the door.
MLF: Whoosit?
JB: It’s me bud
MLF: Yup. C’mon in
JB in full Packer garb, including neck whistle enters. Both embrace in a bro hug, settle into their respective seats.
JB: What’s up?
MLF: First, thanks for getting here on a moment’s notice, I truly appreciate it.
JB: No problem, was just reviewing tape on how to set the secondary on third and four.
MLF: Well actually we have a problem. I just now got out of a very contentious two-hour meeting with Murphy and Gutenkiest. I fought very hard but those know-nothings seem to think you may be standing in the way of progress.
JB: Assholes.
MLF: Agree. In any case I stood up. Bottom line – you’ll be our DC next year, albeit without a contract.
JB: What?
MLF: Yes, we can do it buddy!
JB: WTF? So, for no pay?
MLF: Afraid so. For love of the game!
JB: Pro Bono?
MLF: I dunno – Pro Bono, Sonny Bono, that fucker Murphy started to throw around Italian words.
JB: Would I still get medical coverage, including dental, vision and hearing?
MLF: (starting to sniffle) I don’t know, have to check with HR.

A sullen silence ensues. MLF’s desk phone buzzes. MLF punches a button for the intercom.

MLF: Yes?
TS: Coach LaFleur? Mr. Leonhard is here for his interview.
Sobbing
Crying
Sun breaks through the clouds in MLF’s office

The End

[ZachMN]

Gary is top 20 in pressures
Clark is top 40
Preston is top 60

That’s our big 3. That’s the strongest part of our defense. And the strongest part is average.


Next strongest group is ILB. Quay is tough as nails and dumb as rocks. Campbell is aging and average. That’s an average group. So far the strongest parts of our defense, if taken alone, would make us a bottom 16 type of defense without considering our weaknesses.

And here is where you start looking at the problem.
Valentine is our best secondary player. 7th round draft pick. Average.
Ballentine, UDFA is garbage
Ford is a st player. Garbage.
Nixon is a ST player. Garbage.
Owens is a grocery stocker. Garbage.

We have, quite literally, the worst secondary in the NFL.


So based on talent alone, we have a bottom 10 and probably bottom 5 defense.


You go to any job and some guys come in and catch on lightning quick and are the best in the group. Others never figure it out and are always weak links. 90% of execution is the talent of the team. Coaching is a tiny part of the equation. See hoodie with and without Brady and Capers witn Collins and prime Woodson vs without. The examples are endless proving talent is by far the most important part of any aspect of football.


Fans have bamboozled themselves into thinking we have talent on defense because of 1st round picks. Cooper Kupp I’m the 5th round can be infinitely better than Corey Davis in the top 10.

The whole, we have a lot of first round picks on defense therefor we have a lot of talent and coaches are letting us down narrative is misguided and bordering on idiotic.



Let go of your stubborn belief that our first round talent is any good and you can start to see that Barry is coaching bottom 10, if not bottom 5 talent and he’s probably done about an average job.


And let’s say the players have soured on Barry because he’s not putting them over the top. Let’s say he’s “lost the lockerroom.” Frankly, 90% of that is them being trash football players and blaming someone else for their inadequacy.


Barry is not the problem. We need more talent in the front 4 (which can come from LVN and Brooks taking big jumps) and we need a complete secondary overhaul. Valentine improving and jaire healthy would be a start, but we need two safeties desperately and another corner minimum.

You guys are barking up the wrong tree. You look inbred mutts trying to catch a squirrel but spending most of your time chasing your tail. Barry being the scape goat ain’t it boys. It ain’t it.

See B Flow here in Minny. Coordinator and attitude are key ingredients IMHO. Also see Herb Brookls. Gotta get em in the mind to quote the Hanson bros.

[run pMc]

Lunatic Rat is a good qualifier for RG.

I think this is where he really lost me:

So based on talent alone, we have a bottom 10 and probably bottom 5 defense.

Remember when we all complained about Joe Barry turning 8 R1 draft picks on defense into a garbage unit? You aren't a R1 pick if you don't have talent.

This defense has schematic issues, play call issues, execution issues, communication issues, player development issues, you name it. Since the Pettine era I've felt like it's less than the sum of its parts and Barry didn't fix that. He might have made it worse.
I am starting to think there's a cultural problem on defense.

Except for the secondary, I don't think talent is an issue for this defense. Even there they have Jaire, Stokes and Savage, all R1 picks... and have missed a lot of games. Going all in tied their hands re: cap space so they couldn't bring in a decent safety to keep people lined up, and Barry either doesn't trust his secondary or likes to have them play 20 yards off. You decide.

Run defense is a problem, has been for a while. Lining up your EDGE rushers at the 9 and 2 DL more or less head up on the G is just begging to give up 7 yards a pop on the ground. Yeah it's faster to fly than run to the SB, but stopping the run puts teams behind schedule and forces them to throw...which makes them one-dimensional. That's what you want because you can pressure or disguise coverage and force turnovers... I think Barry knows that but doesn't care.

[bobblehead]

Carolina shut out today. I THINK I read that they haven't scored a TD in 6 of the last 7 weeks now. This seemed like the right thread for this.

[George Cumby]

Carolina shut out today. I THINK I read that they haven't scored a TD in 6 of the last 7 weeks now. This seemed like the right thread for this.

If this doesn't say it all, I don't know what does.

[Bretsky]

a win today solidifies the Barrinator

[red]

Carolina shut out today. I THINK I read that they haven't scored a TD in 6 of the last 7 weeks now. This seemed like the right thread for this.

thats just unfucking real

[run pMc]

I think I heard one of the podcasters say that this year the GB defense has allowed 5 QBs to have either career games, or best-of-season games. That's....too many. Many you allow one and you grant it as a mulligan, but FIVE? That combined with allowing so many 200+ yard rushing performances just tells me this is an underperforming defense. When you look at that over a season, you have to put a large part of the blame for that on coaching. It's not like the defense is lacking talent. They keep drafting defense in R1.

[Joemailman]

Is Joe Barry Lazarus?

[Bretsky]

Is Joe Barry Lazarus?

Like last year, the body of work is bad but BarryBall might have been saved again.

Don't be surprised if he's around another year, OR more.

[Joemailman]

Like last year, the body of work is bad but BarryBall might have been saved again.

Don't be surprised if he's around another year, OR more.

I don't think shutting down Nick Mullens and Justin Fields will be enough to save him. Now if he shuts down the Cowboys offense...

[texaspackerbacker]

A couple of good games by Barry's D, but putting it in perspective, it was the Bears, and it was the worst team in the league by record last week.

I'm thinking now, Barry is back next season whether we in here like it or not (for the record, I still don't).

[Sparkey]

JB mixed man in with his zone. I'll says this, when the Dline gets pressure, every DC looks better!

[run pMc]

Well, there's a history he has to outrun:

https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2024/1/4/24019340/joe-barry-packers-lions-washington-defensive-coordinator-career-days

Personally, I don't think the last few games should be enough. The defense played well, but beating bad QBs is not a high bar.
I expect CeeDee Lamb and the rest of the DAL receivers to have a good day against this defense, and we'll all be reminded the frustration this defense has provoked.