6 takeaways from team’s 3 coordinators
Patience for Carlson, a better view for Barry
GREEN BAY − For the first time in more than three months, the three Green Bay Packers coordinators met with the media. Here are the six things that stood out from special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, defensive coordinator Joe Barry and offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich.
More patience for Anders Carlson
Echoing what general manager Brian Gutekunst said earlier in the day, Bisaccia offered support and continued patience for rookie kicker Anders Carlson. The embattled kicker is the brother of Daniel Carlson, whom Bisaccia helped improve when with the Las Vegas Raiders. That experience, along with other kickers Bisaccia has worked with, gives the coordinator and assistant head coach confidence he can help Anders Carlson.
“I’ve been through the ups and downs with,” said Bisaccia, listing kickers in his past he’s had to work with on improving. With Daniel Carlson specifically, he “stayed patient, corrected some things and now he’s gone on to consistently play well.”
Carlson’s issue has been accuracy. The leg strength is evident, but he can get into lulls where he misses right. But it’s not detrimental, Bisaccia said: “I think it’s again, part of the position, to some degree, to have a sense of patience if you feel like the mechanics are all there and the mental makeup is there to keep improving, and I think that’s where we are right now with Anders.
“Brian and I are on the same page. I think age and wisdom to some degree allows you to have patience, especially with this position, with the specialist position. He’s exhibited a lot of the things that we thought he was, the positive ways, and there’s always things to clean up.”
Keisean Nixon’s snaps will be monitored
Keisean Nixon is coming off an AllPro year as a kick returner, finishing the season with only eight games at the position but with the best production in the league. The defensive back is now also set to become the starting nickel corner. That will increase his defensive snaps (he played only 289 snaps on defense last season). That has to be taken into account when it comes to his usage on kickoff (and possibly punt) return as well. And not just for Nixon, but for other players.
“If they get into the 45-50 play range on defense or offense, we can manage that. A lot of time, starters end up playing two phases for us,” Bisaccia said. “I think we’re waiting to see what the role for some of these guys roles are gonna be on their offensive or defensive units, then we’ll figure out where and when we can play them in the kicking game to help us.”
The green dot is up for grabs
The defensive play caller on the field wears “the green dot,” meaning they have the headset in their helmet. During games, only one player on defense can wear the dot. Last season, inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell began the year with the responsibility. After he was hurt, it was passed to rookie Quay Walker.
During training camp, Barry has tested the dot on multiple players to find the best fit.
“I don’t know, we’re still working through that,” Barry said. “That’s kind of the nice thing in practice. You’re not regulated to just one green dot in practice. So we let all those guys do it based on the period. We kind of say ‘hey, you have it this period or you have it this day.’ We want to get all those guys experience.”
Tariq Carpenter will stay put at linebacker
When the Packers drafted Tariq Carpenter last year, it was as a safety. Over the offseason, he was moved to linebacker. It’s a move he’s admittedly waffled on, but one that Barry and his staff feel confident will be the right decision.
“He’s a young, talented kid,” Barry said. “He’s got traits: he’s big and he’s fast and he can run. Coming from where he came from in college, he was kind of that hybrid type player that’s popular in college now. I think he’s just working through the skill set. But I do think he’s a linebacker and he’s gonna continue to play linebacker and get reps.”
Joe Barry likes the view from the top
Throughout Barry’s long career, he has always been on the field during games. But during the Packers first preseason game last week, he got a new point of view, calling the game from the coaches booth. It was something Barry hadn’t considered until coach Matt LaFleur mentioned how much more he enjoyed that set-up as a play caller. He’ll do it again Saturday against the Patriots and thinks he’ll make the move permanent.
“It was great,” Barry said. “It’s much calmer up there, you can lay all your stuff out. It’s amazing how much more you can accomplish in between series.
“I think I’m on to something here. I kinda like it.”
Zach Tom’s position still up for debate
Second-year offensive lineman Zach Tom has played guard, tackle and center throughout training camp. And at every position, he has seemingly succeeded. It presents an interesting conundrum for Stenavich and the Packers, who have yet to place Tom in a specific role.
Asked if he had an idea of where Tom’s best position is, Stenavich paused, before answering, “yes and no.”
“Zach’s a pretty unique guy,” he said, “just like Elgton (Jenkins) was. You can move him around and he’ll be pretty solid in a lot of different spots. I should say no, because I still think he’s got the ability to play all across the line and be a pretty solid player.”