Will The Packers Replace Joe Barry? Is Brian Gutekunst A Good GM?

Goodmorning! It is time to get into another Packers Q&A where I will be answering many different questions asked by my youtube subscribers.

This past week I’ve gotten back into consistently sending out this newsletter. I had taken a break for a few months as I was mainly focusing on making youtube videos. I suddenly had an urge last week to write something and the urge keeps returning so I keep writing. If you guys haven’t subscribed to this newsletter you can click the link here so you never miss it.

Now let’s get to some of your questions!

“Your Honest take. Joe Barry needs to be gone? If so. Thinking the Wisconsin coach?'" (chadbaxter5578)

Yes, I believe that the Packers should move on from Joe Barry. The defense has vastly underperformed expectations. At the end of the day it is up to the defensive coordinator to get the defense to play at the highest level. But it is not all his fault. Many of the defensive players have regressed this season. The defensive line has been pushed. The safety play has not been as good as years past. In the past month injuries have plagued this team.

Sometimes it is necessary for a fresh start. I think that’s what this defense needs.

Now the question of course is who should the Packers bring in if they decided to let Joe Barry go? Right now I do not know the answer. There are likely very many possibilities. Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator, Jim Leonhard, has been someone that has popped into the conversation among Packers fans with his decision to leave Wisconsin this week.

Leonhard was one of the coaches under consideration for the defensive coordinator job after the Packers let Mike Pettine go. It seemed for a time that he was the front runner until he decided to take himself out of it and return to Wisconsin. During his time as Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator over the years he’s consistently had one of the best defenses in college football.

Would that translate to the NFL? That is a risk you would have to take if you brought him in. Someone on reddit made a good point yesterday that Wisconsin never has the best recruiting classes and despite that Jim Leonhard has been able to get the most out of the players that he has. 

Leonhard is also 40 years old. Young for NFL coaches. Is it better to bring in an old veteran coach like a Vick Fangio? Possibly. But at the same time I think there is something about a young coach's energy that can ignite a team. I am going to do some more thinking about what I believe the Packers should do if they replace Joe Barry. 

“What is your opinion of the job performance of The Gute? Thank you in advance of your consideration of this matter and Go! Pack! Go!” (oogiev2)

I’m a big fan of Brian Gutekunst. Has every decision he made been perfect? Of course not. When you look at players in the draft there are going to be lots of guys that don’t live up to their expectations.

But let’s look at just a few of his solid draft picks: Jaire Alexander (2018 1st round), Rashan Gary (2019 1st round), Elgton Jenkins (2019 2nd round), Eric Stokes (2020 1st round), MVS (2018 5th round), Christian Watson (2022 2nd round), Zach Tom (2022 4th round), Romeo Doubs (2022 4th round). Of course he has missed on guys as well: Amari Rodgers (2020 3rd round), Jace Sternberger (2019 3rd round).

There are lots of other guys you could mention as well. What I think Brian Gutekunst does a great job of is finding cheap hidden value. Last year was a great example. Rasul Douglas signed off a practice squad and De’vondre Campbell signed for 2 million. Of course we gave those guys big contracts this off-season so they aren’t quite as cheap as right when they came to Green Bay but those are great finds. This year Rudy Ford has arguably been the Packers best safety in the snaps that he has played. Right now PFF has him graded as the 5th best safety in the NFL. (Adrian Amos 72nd and Darnell Savage 86th) He was signed in August for $1 million. Huge steal.

You can also look at Sammy Watkins being signed this off-season and that did not turn out as we’d hoped. He’s struggled with injuries this year and hasn’t been a big contributor. Luckily we only paid him about $1-2 million not counting incentives.

I think many people have looked at his move to draft Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 draft as a mistake, especially at the time. The thing is, if Jordan Love eventually starts for the Packers and becomes one of the best QB’s in the NFL Brian Gutekunst will be looked at as a genius. We will have to wait and see on that one.

So overall I think that Brian Gutekunst has done a very good job.

“Will Romeo play against the rams?” (twodoritos4146)

My guess is that he will. He returned to practice last week and there was a chance for him to play vs the Bears. He wasn’t able to go but I assume after this bye week he should be ready. We will see. We haven’t seen Romeo on the field since Christian Watson has gone on a tear the past month. Teams having to respect Watson’s speed could open up some more things for Romeo.

“Is there any doubt that this year was a hiccup and not a change in trajectory?” (jondeux3682)

Good question. Looking at the offense I think this past month has shown us what is possible. We’ve averaged 27 points per game. If we’d done that all year we’d be the 5th ranked offense in the NFL. This is greatly due to Christian Watson’s sudden breakout. If Rodgers returns next year I think we can be a top 10 offense. Offensive line has been more steady lately. Young receivers will continue to improve.

The defense on the other hand has me a little worried. Hopefully Kenny Clark will get back to being dominant. Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed haven’t played as well as we’d hoped. Let’s hope next season Devonte Wyatt can start to be a bigger contributor considering he was a first round pick. There are lots of things to clean up. For this team to be in the mix next year that defense has to bounce back in a big way.

“Who do you think will be the wr1, go to guy, next year? Christian or Romeo?” (user-gp5hb7zq8p)

I think Christian Watson will be the WR1 but Watson and Doubs compliment each other perfectly. Watson has shown us just how much his speed and size changes the game. As the years go by and he becomes a better route runner he could become one of the best in the game. Romeo Doubs is a do it all receiver. He doesn’t have the same speed as Watson but he is a great route runner. If you take a look at their yards per reception you can see a slight difference: Christian Watson 16 yds/rec. Romeo Doubs 10yds/rec. Romeo wins more in the intermediate/ short game. The sky's the limit for both of them. 

That’s all for today. If you’d like to receive my next Packer’s newsletter in your inbox you can sign up below. Thanks for reading. Go pack go.