After reeling off five straight wins to improve to 5-2, you would think there would be little to complain about regarding the Baltimore Ravens. For a franchise with a rich history of dominant defenses, though, the current state of the Ravens’ defense has been disappointing, to say the least, so far this season.
Baltimore’s defense was a juggernaut last season, finishing the year with the fewest points allowed while leading the league in sacks and turnovers. This inevitably led to several coaches being poached by other teams. Rising star defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald was hired as the new head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. In contrast, defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson and defensive line coach Anthony Weaver were hired as defensive coordinators for the Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins, respectively.
The good news was that most of the defense players returned for the 2024 season, with notable departures being outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, inside linebacker Patrick Queen, and safety Geno Stone. After quickly rising through the ranks of the coaching staff following his playing career with Baltimore, inside linebackers coach Zach Orr was promoted to fill the role of Macdonald as defensive coordinator.
To say the Ravens’ defense has regressed from a season ago would be an understatement. They rank last in passing yards allowed. This has led to multiple blown leads this season, resulting in seemingly blowout games that come down to the final minutes.
If there is one person whose feedback should carry extra weight in Baltimore, it is Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed. While appearing as a guest on the Manningcast during the Ravens’ victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Reed spoke the harsh truth about Baltimore’s current defense.
“They don’t understand the other side of finishing and being a championship team right now,” Reed said.
Ed Reed called a spade a spade last night on the #Ravens defense:
“They don’t understand the other side of finishing and being a championship team right now.” #RavensFlock
via @OmahaProd, @espn pic.twitter.com/mM6r4mMmNw
— Bobby Trosset (@bobbybaltim0re) October 22, 2024
Ravens veteran outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy responded to Reed’s comments on the McCoy and Van Noy podcast.
“He’s right,” Van Noy said. “If we’re trying to win a championship we gotta cut that out. That’s the difference between a good team and a great team, and we’re not there yet and that’s the beauty of it. We’re gonna continue to work, we’re gonna continue to get better.”
Kyle Van Noy responds to Ed Reed’s comments from his Manningcast appearance:
“He’s right. If we’re trying to win a championship, we gotta cut that out at the end of the game. … We are better than that & we’ll figure it out.”
Respect.
via @YahooSports https://t.co/ykybnaUlCt pic.twitter.com/7uXNNcZTHo
— Bobby Trosset (@bobbybaltim0re) October 23, 2024
Baltimore will face an easier stretch of offenses after going against some of the league’s top quarterbacks through the first seven games of the season. The team will start with the 1-6 Cleveland Browns and backup quarterback Jameis Winston this Sunday on the road.
