Following the Green Bay Packers’ loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football, defensive coordinator Joe Barry addressed the questions surrounding outside linebacker Preston Smith’s coverage on receiver Davante Adams during a critical down.
When asked if there was another defensive play the Packers could have called in response to the situation, Barry explained, “Based on the personnel we were in [base 3-4] and the personnel they were in [21 personnel], we didn’t have that mechanism.” He admitted that they never anticipated this scenario and took full responsibility for the call, absolving Smith of blame. Barry stated, “That’s totally on me. For us to be able to put [Smith] in that situation, we gotta have a mechanism to get out of it.”
— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) October 10, 2023
Barry also addressed the possibility of switching assignments, such as having Smith exchange positions with cornerback Jaire Alexander. However, Barry highlighted the complexity of such a change, emphasizing that Smith shouldn’t be put in the role of a cornerback playing deep third coverage.
Barry mentioned two potential mechanisms that could have improved the situation. The first involved Smith playing hard inside leverage, forcing Adams to take an outside release. The second option was to check out of the blitz look that sent inside linebacker Eric Wilson as a pass-rusher. However, Barry noted that they didn’t believe they needed to check the play based on the Raiders’ personnel.
As the NFL is known for replicating successful strategies, the Packers need to be prepared for similar situations. They cannot assume they will always face an under-center formation when the offense deploys heavy personnel. The hope is that Green Bay has implemented checks on defense to handle such scenarios as they face the Denver Broncos next.