Baltimore Beatdown
These defenders have taken on and filled vital roles that have resulted in improved stability and productivity.
After losing a bevy of coaches and a handful of key starters on the defensive side of the ball during the offseason, the Baltimore Ravens weren’t expected to repeat as the top unit in the league for the second year in a row. However, no one saw their wildly inconsistent start to the 2024 season coming in which they ranked at or near the bottom in both pass and total defense through the first 10 games.
A much-needed ‘come-to-Jesus’ closed-door meeting between players and first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr took place on the heels of allowing a season-high 421 passing yards and five touchdowns in a dramatic season-sweeping win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Gameplans were simplified and roles for some players expanded slightly or significantly while others diminished exponentially or entirely in some cases. Since those changes were made, the Ravens have been one the stingiest and structurally sound defensive units in the league, allowing an average of just 236 total yards per game, 169 passing yards per game and 19.75 points per game.
While the Ravens have Pro Bowlers and All Pros at all three levels of the defense, there are also players in the front seven and backend who aren’t household names but have been just as vital to their impressive turnaround on that side of the ball. Below are five of the most deserving of recognition:
The fourth-year pro has seen the sharpest uptick in playing time of any Ravens defender as he has played 100% of the team’s defensive snaps in each of the last four games of the turnaround since replacing veteran Marcus Williams in the starting lineup. Washington joined forces with All Pro Kyle Hamilton to help bring stability to a secondary that went from allowing the most plays of 20-plus yards to a suffocating defensive backfield that doesn’t have the same reoccurring coverage busts and miscommunications that plagued them through the first 10 games while he was playing a part-time role. The 2021 undrafted free agent has recorded 29 total tackles including 17 solos and three for a loss, a pass deflection and his second career interception in the last four games as he continues to flash play-making ability with each starting experience gained.
I have a lot of respect for ‘AD’, the type of player he is and the type of person that he is,” inside linebacker Roquan Smith said Sunday postgame. “On a daily [basis], he busts his tail, never asks for any handouts, go gets everything out the mud, and when you’re an individual like that ... ‘This kid ... Oh, [he’s] too short, too small. Oh, maybe not this or maybe not that;’ he has the mentality [of] ‘F’ everything. ‘I’m going to prove it play in and play out.’ And when things like that happen to people who bust their tail day in and day out,...
