Ravens' DC drops 'work in progress' truth bomb ahead of Week 11
The Baltimore Ravens are playing exactly the way they imagined before the start of the 2024 NFL season. Baltimore is 7-3 heading into Week 11 and is sitting atop the AFC North along with Pittsburgh. They are positioned well to make a deep postseason run again this season . However, there are still a few areas where the Ravens could still improve.
Surprisingly, the Ravens are not happy with how their defense is performing. First-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr dropped a blunt statement about his defense during an interview on Thursday.
"It's definitely been a work in progress — not just this past week — but I feel like this week has really amped up, because time is clicking with the truth be told," Orr said, via the team's website. "It's only seven weeks left in the season, and things are not where they need to be at for us, especially in the pass defense. So, we've been working hard – coaches and players – to try to get this thing figured out."
One defensive statistic that has some Ravens fans worried is the team's 294.9 passing yards allowed per game. If that trend holds , it would be the most by a team since the 2015 New York Giants, according to Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.
This is a concerning statistic, but let's take it with a grain of salt. One reason why Baltimore's passing yards are inflated could be that they are often leading their opponents. That makes running the ball pointless for their opponents and instead forces them to throw passes more often than they normally would.
Orr would still like to see Baltimore's defense start playing better, especially as we inch closer and closer to the playoffs.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson responds to Stephen A. Smith's anonymous sources
Lamar Jackson recently pushed back on Stephen A. Smith's reporting related to the Ravens QB.
Smith complained about members of Lamar Jackson's camp in a rant urging the Ravens to win the Super Bowl.
"Well, when you say a deep playoff run, can we, we need to be more specific. Damn it. The Super Bowl, you got to get Super Bowl. I mean, enough's enough with the damn MVPs and you know, his team texting me and stuff, 'You got this wrong. Dan Orlofsky is right. Stephen A. is Lamar all day, every day.' Get to the damn Super Bowl," Smith said on First Take on Thursday.
Smith continued by aiming his comments at unspecified members of Jackson's 'camp.'
"But they, his camp I'm talking about, don't need to be chirping about him being an MVP," Smith continued. "And I love him, and I love them all. But you don't need to be chirping about him being an MVP when you can't beat the damn Pittsburgh Steelers, considering what they've had at their disposal over the last few years."
Lamar Jackson issued a response on social media, writing "My Campppppp???" with a cap emoji and a picture of a person in a huge hat. This obviously suggests that Jackson believes that Smith is lying about his sources. Or in this case, cloaking a critique of Jackson and aiming it instead at some other undescribed person aligned closely with Jackson.
