By far the biggest surprise of the season for the Baltimore Ravens has been the massive regression from the defense. The Ravens’ defense — filled with most of the same players — has gone from a historic unit in 2023 to one of the league’s worst this season, seemingly unable to stop opposing offenses. While Baltimore lost key contributors such as inside linebacker Patrick Queen, outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, and safety Geno Stone, the exodus of coaches appears to have hit the unit the hardest.
32-year-old former Ravens linebacker Zach Orr was promoted from inside linebackers coach to the esteemed role of defensive coordinator for Baltimore after the departure of defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald (Seattle Seahawks head coach), defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson (Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator), and defensive line coach Anthony Weaver (Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator). Through the first eight games of the season, Orr has been unable to sustain the success Macdonald had in his two years as defensive coordinator.
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky shared his thoughts on Baltimore’s defense following the team’s loss to the Cleveland Browns.
“I think you gotta pin part of that loss late on their defensive coordinator Zach Orr,” Orlovsky said. “I think their defense got predictable … I just think as an offensive perspective, you run an all-out pressure six times in a row, at some point, you become very predictable and I bank on you doing that, and I think that puts your defense at a disadvantage.”
Hard to trust the Ravens defense calling 6 straight all out blitzes
They became predictable #NFLLive pic.twitter.com/XODwNLwj1c
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) October 28, 2024
The Ravens’ road to righting the ship defensively starts this week against the Denver Broncos and rookie first-round quarterback Bo Nix.