The Baltimore Ravens’ offense has been nearly unstoppable this season, but their struggles on the other side of the ball have been just as noteworthy, if not moreso.
What was arguably the best defense in football last season has seen a major decline this season. Through Week 9, the Ravens rank dead last in passing defense (280.9 yards allowed per game), 21st in total defense (356.5 yards allowed per game) and 23rd in scoring defense (24.3 points allowed per game).
With most of the personnel remaining the same, many have directed their criticism at first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr, who took over for Mike Macdonald after the latter became head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Unsurprisingly, many of Orr’s players have come to his defense, with star cornerback Marlon Humphrey being the latest to do so.
“For me as a player, knowing what’s going on, I hate seeing coaches get under scrutiny when it’s the players’ fault,” Humphrey said Monday. “If I felt that there was, ‘This [isn’t] being coached this way right. This [isn’t] being this, [or] this isn’t being this,’ it’s a little different, but it really sucks when the product we’re putting out there isn’t what we’re being coached [and] isn’t what we’re practicing. That’s kind of what hurts me.
“Some of the plays I’ve given up, is that the coaches’ fault, or did we practice it this week, and then I got in the game, and I didn’t play it exactly how it was supposed to be, and it resulted in a big play? I hate how coaches get … I hate how that goes, but that is the NFL. The person over [seeing] it kind of gets whatever, but it is kind of what it is. I hate that just because when it’s your fault sometimes [on] why somebody is getting scrutinized. It’s never a good thing.”
Orr, one of the youngest coordinators in the league at 32 years old, has definitely had his ups and downs in his first year running the show. He obviously can’t go out there and make plays himself, but there are things he can improve on in terms of schematics and discipline.
To help Orr out, the Ravens brought back longtime defensive coordinator Dean Pees as an advisor earlier this season. Humphrey, who had Pees as his defensive coordinator in his rookie season, likes what the veteran coach has brought to the table.
“[Pees] has just brought an extra set of eyes, an extra set of ears,” Humphrey said. “He’s pulled guys to the side. It’s a real, surreal moment for me. I remember when I was a rookie, Pees pulled me up to the office. He was like, ‘Look at everybody else on the defense and then look at you.’ It wasn’t too good, so it’s been a surreal moment for me, just [seeing] how far I’ve come [and] how I’ve kind of been doing this job for a long time, but I think Pees coming in has been a really good help for us.
“The knowledge he has there, and then being that Zach [Orr] was already communicating with him throughout the season, it’s been really good [to] just give it a fresh set of eyes on some of the things he’s said.”
Ultimately, both the coaches and players bear some blame, and it’s up to both to right the ship.