He’s a star name on a defense last in the NFL standings, but Baltimore Ravens All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton has a strong message for any fans wanting to blame coordinator Zach Orr.
Hamilton believes those venting their frustrations over the Ravens’ 1-2 start are “a little spoiled.” The highest-paid player at his position in NFL history told reporters on Thursday, September 25, including ESPN’s Jamison Hensley, “Whatever criticism he’s getting, I don’t know, I feel like sometimes Ravens fans can be a little spoiled, just like the amount of success that this franchise has had. We lose five games and the world is about to end. I think on Zach, it’s unfair to put all the blame on him when there’s 11 guys out there on the field that are playing their hearts off, and he’s put us in the right positions. It’s just as matter of us doing the right stuff, and that’s where I feel like the critiques of Zach or whatever coaches are unfair, ’cause he can’t go out there and play for us.”
Although he’s being a good soldier, Hamilton may have missed the point of some of the criticism levelled at Orr. The harsh reality is the 33-year-old who’s calling plays for just the second year is presiding over a unit playing well below its talent levels.
It’s also a strange argument to condemn fans for having become accustomed to a standard of excellent defenses.
2025 Defense Not Living Up to Ravens Standards
Dominance on that side of the ball has long been a franchise staple, so it’s big news when a Ravens defense flounders. Especially when those struggles go as far as Orr’s unit ranking 31st in points and last in yards, per Pro Football Reference.
The defense was pushed all over the field by the Detroit Lions in Week 3, when the visitors to M&T Bank Stadium did whatever they wanted on the ground and through the air. Injuries have contributed, especially to a soft run defense missing Pro Bowl interior disruptor Nnamdi Madubuike, whose neck problem is still keeping him out and could even land him on injured reserve.
Madubuike’s absence was felt against the Lions, when “the Ravens allowed 207 yards rushing between the tackles, the most they’ve allowed in a game since ESPN began tracking the stat in 2006,” according to Hensley.
The Ravens allowed 207 yards rushing between the tackles, the most they’ve allowed in a game since ESPN began tracking the stat in 2006.
Things have been just as vulnerable in the pass defense, where the Ravens are missing top pressure specialist Kyle Van Noy. His hamstring injury has exposed the lack of game-changing edge defenders on the roster.
That problem is leaving a below-par secondary exposed, where senior players like All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey aren’t performing to their usual levels. The 29-year-old hasn’t been shy about calling out a crumbling defense this season.
Key personnel being injured or simply underachieving only explains the Ravens current defensive ineptitude to a point. The spotlight has to remain on Orr, given all the help the Ravens have put around him within the last year.
Zach Orr Struggling to Establish Defensive Identity
Orr took a big leap from inside linebackers coach to coordinator in 2024. He had little experience, as well as a tough act to follow after predecessor Mike Macdonald designed and called a league-leading defense in 2023.
The burden has often proved tough to carry, so the Ravens have given Orr plenty of help. Like when they brought back 75-year-old Dean Pees, who won a Super Bowl with the franchise as D-coordinator in 2012, to be a “senior advisor.”
Pees was credited by many around the league, including a longtime Ravens rival, for turning around a struggling pass defense last season. More disguise and variety in coverage helped, but the Ravens still doubled down on experienced voices when they added another former coordinator, 64-year-old Chuck Pagano, to coach the secondary.
There’s a lot of wisdom in the defensive coaches’ room, but an overall identity is still lacking. What’s Orr’s defense all about? Sophisticated pressure packages? Elaborately disguised coverage? Or rushing with four and dropping seven?
Having no answers for these questions is an indictment of Orr when he’s had the headset this long.
Kyle Hamilton Sends Strong Message to Ravens Fans About DC Zach Orr