Barry it is.....

[Refugee]

4 hours ago, MrBobGray said:

I've been trying to go through the coaches film of the season to get a sense of exactly what it is about the defense that's been better this year and what Barry is doing that has flipped the script.  I have accomplished like, half of three different games because my life has been basically a screeching alarm bell for most of the season, but I have to say I think if Barry is really doing anything it's getting his guys keyed up to play.  Nothing in their playcalls is particularly clever or designed; it's mostly just a lot of Cover-2/Cover-3 with the occasional pressure look.  He does a good job with personnel groupings and they show a lot of variability with the looks they show, but frankly I think a fair amount of the success this season is Gary and Preston showing out and Campbell being a big upgrade at ILB.  He's been impressive to me on film, he keys on his assignment so quickly and almost never misses the tackle, and that eliminates a lot of the easy yardage the Packers had struggled with in 2020.  Also I was wrong on Stokes, he's been superb for a rookie, the false steps and poor eye discipline are gone and he's so sticky without being grabby. 

To be clear this isn't really damning Barry, I think he's been a great DC pick for this group, it's more that I think he's just done a better job of letting his talent actually show out with simpler calls and more alignment variation.

I haven’t dissected any film and certainly not any all 22 which gives a better idea of the play call, but I think it’s been obvious since early on Campbell just gets to the ball.  We have missed a reactive and instinctive ILB for so long. 

Glad to hear your take on Stokes, let’s keep that arrow pointing up!  I was really worried about the secondary when JA went down. The fact that we’ve kept up solid coverage and good physical play is a credit to the players but Barry gets  kudos for not making excuses or overcompensating for the lost personnel. How much fun would it be if our top tier guys jump right into the saddle and bring the defense up a notch?