How will the coaching staff utilize the secondary’s versatility?
Zach Orr never flinched during his first season as a defensive coordinator and play caller, and the defense found answers after a rugged start. With that experience under his belt, and with so much talent at his disposal, Orr feels like a master chef with a full cupboard of ingredients.
Baltimore’s secondary packages will change as often as the coaches and players decide – from week to week, possession to possession, or play to play, depending upon matchups and situations. The addition of Senior Defensive Assistant/Secondary Coach Chuck Pagano brings another set of experienced eyes and suggestions to the staff.
The plan is to confuse quarterbacks by disguising coverages, forcing them into sacks, errant throws, turnovers, or other negative plays. Baltimore’s secondary has the versatility to morph into many coverages. Wiggins has returned stronger, with star potential entering his second season. The tough and tenacious Humphrey can make game-changing plays from the slot or outside as both a pass and run defender. The multi-talented Hamilton can play almost anywhere he wants, and Starks has been soaking up the different concepts like a sponge, which should give Hamilton more freedom to roam.
Orr will continue to experiment with different secondary combinations during camp, and the Ravens’ goal is to avoid the blown assignments that happened too often early last season.
“In a secondary, most of the time, you’re going to have at least five DBs on the field – sometimes six, maybe seven – so you want to get your best 11 [on the field], but especially with the top 5 DBs, you want to play with the best five,” Orr said. “You don’t want to limit yourself just because, ‘Well, he’s only a corner, so even though he might be better than a safety, we can’t play him because he’s only a corner.’ We force our guys to learn everything, and then we start throwing them out there to see if they can pick it up and execute at a high level.”