HOT TAKES: The Ravens & The Agony of Defeat

The Ravens defense consists of five DBs who are first round draft picks. Their “Mike” linebacker was the 8th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and is a 3-time 1st Team All Pro. Across the front, Odafe Oweh is a first-round pick. David Ojabo and Mike Green are 2nd round picks, both of whom would have been first-rounders if not for an injury and off-the-field issues, respectively. Linebackers Trenton Simpson and Teddye Buchanan are both 3rd round picks and Kyle Van Noy was the 40th overall pick in 2014.

Besides KVN, that’s a lot of Ravens draft capital invested in defense. But that’s not where the investment ends. According to OverTheCap.com, these players are among the highest paid in the NFL:

Yet despite, the draft capital, real and cap dollars, the Ravens defense ranks 32nd in the league. DEAD LAST! I suppose the silver lining is that their defensive ranking can only get better. At least that’s what the maestro of this mess, the architect of this colossal failure, Zach Orr, is hoping.

Let’s be honest. Orr is in over his head. He has been given all the tools to succeed yet the only thing he produces is an underachieving train wreck of a defense. It’s akin to giving a chef the finest ingredients in the land yet he leans on Hamburger Helper for flavor. It’s like giving the keys to a Lamborghini to a 14-year-old. A team like the Ravens, with their level of talent, should have the equivalent of a Jim Schwartz or a Steve Spagnuolo or Vic Fangio. Instead, they have a defensive coordinator who sports training wheels.

Perhaps Orr will one day be a great defensive coordinator. But for now, he’s not what the Ravens need. Last season John Harbaugh brought in a familiar face (Dean Pees) to bail out the Ravens ship that was taking on serious water. Apparently, it helped. This offseason, Harbaugh added Chuck Pagano to the staff. Maybe Chuck should get more involved until Zach can take a seat at the table that doesn’t include a high-chair.

I feel exactly the same way while watching the Ravens regularly underachieve. pic.twitter.com/I7RhtcOg80

— Lombardi Party of One (@RSRLombardi) September 23, 2025

2024 Part II

Last season the Ravens started (0-2). They headed to Dallas for Game 3 where they took a commanding 28-6 lead into the 4th quarter. That’s when the Cowboys’ party began.

Dak Prescott rallied the Cowboys, scoring 19 unanswered points and nearly overcoming what was believed to be an insurmountable lead. If not for two failed 2-point conversion attempts, the outcome may have been different. The Ravens held on and escaped with a 28-25 win to advance to (1-2). The next stop in 2024, was a Sunday Night primetime game against the then undefeated Bills.

The Ravens blew out the Bills, and it changed the Ravens season. Eventually they finished with a regular season mark of (12-5), good enough to host a Wild Card game against the Steelers.

2025 is shaping up similarly, featuring a hemorrhaging defense that can’t stop anyone in the 4th quarter and a team heavily dependent upon the generational talents of Lamar Jackson. Maybe the Ravens get it done in Kansas City. Few had faith in the Ravens ability to advance to (2-2) in 2024 against the Bills except the oddsmakers. The Ravens were then listed as 2 ½ point favorites in the game. This week against the Chiefs, playing in a stadium where Lamar hasn’t yet won, the Ravens are again 2 ½ point favorites.

If history repeats itself, suddenly the outlook for the Ravens’ season feels much different. But if the Chiefs keep their home winning streak alive against Lamar & Co., “must wins” will soon follow. Perhaps pink slips too!

Speaking of the Chiefs

Check out former Ravens DT Marcus Spears defending the Ravens in the clip below. I’ve long maintained that if you really want a close peek at the Ravens, the national media isn’t the place to find it. Follow the local beat guys. Listen closely to Spears talk about the Ravens loss to Kansas City in the 2023 AFC Championship Game. And then watch the rest of the panel fail to correct him.

“The players have to come through. Not John Harbaugh coaching.”

—Marcus Spears on the Baltimore Ravens pic.twitter.com/RzspXwP3BB

— First Take (@FirstTake) September 24, 2025

The O-Line

The Ravens offensive line is a sieve, hardly breaking news. They gave up 30 pressures v. Lions on Monday Night. The guard play is abysmal and Roger Rosengarten, a player most thought would build on a successful rookie campaign, has taken such a drastic step back that it makes me long for the days of Morgan Moses or Michael Oher. But the Ravens’ coaching staff doesn’t see it that way. When asked to evaluate the offensive line play, John Harbaugh came up with this doozy.

“Well, [with] the offensive line, you look at the grades. I look at [offensive line] Coach [George] Warhop’s grades. They’re pretty good. If you look at the whole game, Coach had those guys playing pretty darn well. That one series was disappointing, but we just try to get better and improve, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Coach Warhop is obviously grading on a major curve. I wish that he was my Calculus professor during my days at Loyola University! Where’s the accountability?

Again, let’s be honest. Some of these linemen would be on some team’s practice squad if not for the talents of Lamar. There were times against the Lions when the Detroit pass rush resembled students running out of the school auditorium after class was dismissed just prior to summer break. Please tell me that Warhop’s message isn’t the one coaches deliver to the players during film study sessions.

Oh No Marlo!

There’s no denying that Marlon Humphrey is an unusual personality. There’s also no denying his candor.

The Detroit Lions BROKE Marlon Humphrey

“We’re just not very good.”pic.twitter.com/QZHpqMqElQ

— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) September 23, 2025

With so many returning players, so many returning coaches, why this state of confusion STILL exists within Zach Orr’s defense isn’t just shocking, it’s appalling. But let’s give credit where it’s due. Marlon, as evidenced in this video, demonstrates how quickly he can bounce back from a devastating loss.

I get that players need to brush off a loss & move on to the next opponent but this from Marlon Humphrey is a bit alarming. Maybe it’s me but this seems quite cavalier. Hopefully practices are far more dialed in on fixing issues, because the #Ravens defense has plenty! pic.twitter.com/vLa2I6qa6q

— Lombardi Party of One (@RSRLombardi) September 23, 2025

Maybe this is the way the new generation of athletes deals with the agony of defeat. Meanwhile, for members of RavensFlock, it feels like this:

“…from the thrill of victory, to the agony of defeat.”
From offense to defense. pic.twitter.com/NdUIVcOfyR

— Rusty Newman (@rnewman64) September 20, 2025

Off The Street

The Ravens added two DTs to their practice squad, Taven Bryan and Josh Tupou presumably to provide a lift for the loss on Nnamdi Madubuike and other nicked up interior linemen who were pushed around on Monday like a Matchbox 20 song.

Street free agents in late September probably aren’t going to cut it and it’s unlikely that either Bryan or Tupou make any measurable contributions in 2025. Tough to make chicken salad out of, well, you know.

WATCH: Ravens practice; new DL additions to practice squad with Madubuike, Jones and Washington not practicing today for DL. pic.twitter.com/xaXjDt51ne

— Morgan Adsit (@MorganAdsit) September 24, 2025

The cold hard truth is that the only real opportunity to get better across either line is through a trade or two. But to clear the way to make trades, the Ravens will have to do a few things.

First, they’ll need to create more cap space and that will require restructuring or extending player contracts. Secondly, and this one is painful for a franchise that covets draft capital, they’ll need to part ways with picks.

GM Eric DeCosta has pulled the trigger on trades in the past that made a significant difference in-season. Acquiring Marcus Peters in 2019 and Roquan Smith in 2022 helped to improve the team. Note that these moves each happened in a three-year span. Not that you need reminding, but this is 2025, three years later.

It’s time for EDC to cook!

The post HOT TAKES: The Ravens & The Agony of Defeat appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/09/25/tltakes/defense-is-unrecognizable/