New Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald is putting his stamp on the defense.
There is certainly a change in philosophy from Don Martindale, who parted ways with the Ravens after the season and is now the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants.
Macdonald is a bit more philosophical than Martindale and likes to teach the overall concepts rather than focusing on a specific position at least during offseason workouts.
The players understand the strategy and are making the proper adjustments.
“Mike is actually doing a unique job I’ve kind of never experienced; he’s really having everybody understand the whole philosophy of mainly just the group of coverage, as opposed to, ‘You’ve got this call. How do you play this call?’ He’s kind of saying, ‘Grouping these calls altogether, what is the whole idea of this call?’” cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “So, I think he’s done a really good job of kind of really helping us all be smarter, to where I know what the D-line is doing; I also know what the linebacker is doing; I also know that the safety is doing, because it’s, ‘The reason why I call this defense is because of this.’
“And so, it’s been really unique, and I really like how he did the early-on part of the offseason program, with kind of just explaining different things to us and kind of making us smarter football players. And then, as OTAs have started, he’s kind of started putting the calls to paper and then grouping it all together. So, it’s been really good – the way he’s kind of taught us.”
The Ravens finished 25th in the NFL for overall defense last season. They were dead last against the pass, but first against the run.
Yes, the Flock was hobbled, but Cinci beat up on the Ravens in '21, there's no denying it. @footballman58 says EDC is building a roster that can redeem Baltimore against Burrow & Co. in '22 & beyond. https://t.co/KGlLS19hu6
— Russell St. Report (@RussellStReport) June 12, 2022
Macdonald wants to be more versatile on the defense, especially in the secondary. Baltimore acquired safety Marcus Williams and cornerback Kyle Fuller as free agents this offseason. The Ravens also drafted safety Kyle Hamilton in the first round of this year’s draft.
Macdonald will likely move those players around to create matchup problems.
For example, Hamilton or fellow safety Chuck Clark can move up and play the MIKE position to help the front seven.
“The more we keep offenses guessing and the more that we’re putting our best guys out there that can go play fast, just the better off, and this is the time of year to try those things out,” Macdonald said. “As we get closer to kickoff, then we’ll start narrowing it down, so we can go play.”
The secondary is not the only group adjusting to Macdonald’s philosophy. The entire defense is making the adjustments and buying into the strategy.
The Ravens are determined to bounce back from last year’s disappointing performance.
Inside linebacker Patrick Queen said: “It’s everybody knowing what everybody has to do, so that’s just like … Say if you’re in the game and somebody doesn’t know what they have to do, and they’re sitting there communicating with you and you’re talking, you might say something that they need to know, or they might say something wrong and you’ll be like, ‘No, you’ve got this.’ So, now that everybody knows what everybody is doing, it just benefits the whole defense now.”
