Joe Barry explains logic behind Preston Smith covering Davante Adams
Against the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers off-ball linebacker De’Vondre Campbell was forced to cover Bijan Robinson on the boundary on a third down. It’s not an ideal matchup, and Robinson took advantage of it. Sometimes, a linebacker will be with a running back in man coverage, and while it’s a mismatch, it’s much more […]
Against the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers off-ball linebacker De’Vondre Campbell was forced to cover Bijan Robinson on the boundary on a third down. It’s not an ideal matchup, and Robinson took advantage of it.
Sometimes, a linebacker will be with a running back in man coverage, and while it’s a mismatch, it’s much more related to the quality of the opponent than scheme. Against the Las Vegas Raiders, however, something much more extreme happened.
Edge defender Preston Smith dropped and had to cover the Raiders primary outside receiver, Davante Adams. On the same play, cornerback Rasul Douglas covered a fullback. It was a schematic disaster. And, according to Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry, the players didn’t have any alternative to get out of the look.
“I wish it was that easy”, Barry said on Monday, when questioned if they couldn’t have shifted coverages. “We called a coverage that required Preston to drop, and he happened to be a boundary dropper, and they happened to put Tae at slot into the boundary. Sometimes you'll have mechanisms, you have checks, or things built in where you can get out of that. Based on the personnel we were in, and the personnel they were in, we didn't have that mechanism.”
Edge defenders dropping into coverage are somewhat frequent in 3-4 defenses. But, ideally, the team would have a check to avoid a no-win situation. Barry admitted they could have that kind of structure on their system, but didn’t, and that’s something they will adjust moving forward.
“If you're Preston, you almost just have to survive the down and try to keep it as minimal as you can. But that's a poor matchup for him to be in, and that's totally on me,” Barry added. “For us to put him in that situation, we gotta have a mechanism to get out of it, we just have to have a built-in check, which we will and we can do. But based on the personnel that they were in, we never thought it would come. So it ended up being a bad play.”
It was a second and 10, and Davante Adams immediately created separation. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo found him, and the former Packers wide receiver was able to convert a first down.
Philosophically, the Packers defensive scheme is built to avoid big plays. That’s why they prioritize cover shells and two-high post-snap structures over run fits. However, results have been mediocre at best.
Since Joe Barry took over as the defensive coordinator in 2021, the Packers are 19th in dropback success rate. They are 10th in EPA per dropback. That combination means the Packers are relatively successful at avoiding explosive plays, but other teams are able to march the field with ease, even when passing the ball.
Over the first five weeks of the season, the Packers were 21st in defensive DVOA.
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