Packers head coach tired of 'insane' approach on defense
Another Green Bay Packers loss, another game in which the run defense was gashed. That's the common theme, these days, when the Packers lose games. And it was particularly bad against the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football. As a team, the Lions ran for 211 yards and three touchdowns on 43 attempts. They averaged […]
Another Green Bay Packers loss, another game in which the run defense was gashed.
That's the common theme, these days, when the Packers lose games. And it was particularly bad against the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football.
As a team, the Lions ran for 211 yards and three touchdowns on 43 attempts. They averaged 4.9 yards per carry – even Lions quarterback Jared Goff averaged 5.0 yards per carry on his two attempts. It was an objectively bad performance that, once again, has people questioning Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry's ability to run an effective defense.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has his own questions after Thursday night and he's clearly tired of the approach Barry is taking.
"We're gonna have to do something different," LaFleur told reporters. "Because it's insane to do the same things over and over again and expect different results. So that is a good offensive line, they got really good runners, I think Gibbs and Montgomery are two of the better backs. It's one of the best offensive lines in ball. But it's still inexcusable. You should be able to take one phase away from [them]. If you want to stop the run and commit to that, then make him throw it over your head."
The Packers allowed exactly 211 rushing yards in their 25-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2. Before Thursday night, they were tied with the Carolina Panthers for the sixth-most rushing yards allowed (410) and teams averaged 4.2 yards per carry, which was right around average, at best.
Sure, the offense certainly played its part in the disaster and LaFleur acknowledged that after the game. But at the same time, this has been a trend ever since Barry came in. The Packers have fielded one of the NFL's worst run defenses each year he's been in control. So, at this point, extraneous circumstances don't matter – it's time to fix this.
And if it doesn't get fixed and the Packers continue to lose games, then it's safe to say this will be Barry's last year in Green Bay.
Matt LaFleur gets real after Packers get run over by Lions
The Packers head coach was clearly frustrated after his team got blown out by the Lions.
