Kyle Hamilton’s Baltimore Ravens have one of the worst defenses in the NFL, and they’ve run out of excuses—including the fans. In a moment of poorly chosen words, the All-Pro safety suggested last week that Ravens fans were a little spoiled. Following another horrible performance by their defense, he publicly retracted his comments and tried to clarify what he meant.
“First, I just want to apologize to the fans”, Hamilton said, via the Ravens’ website. “I used a poor choice of words, just saying that Ravens fans were spoiled. I retract that. I meant in the sense that Ravens fans have been accustomed to great defense [and] great teams”.
The distinction is syntactical, one usage being a verb, the other an adjective. To describe somebody as spoiled is to impugn their character in a negative way. On the other hand, the act of spoiling another person describes an indulgence of favor from one party to another. Hamilton is attempting to say that the Ravens set fans’ expectations very high, spoiling them with excellent defense.
Of course, their performance this year is so beyond the pale that no justification or explanation is fitting. Even fans used to the worst defenses would take umbrage to the wretched display from Kyle Hamilton and the Ravens’ defense.
The Ravens rank last in the NFL in points allowed and 31st in yards allowed. They have just two takeaways and four sacks, two of which belong to Nnamdi Madubuike. He only played in the season opener and is now lost for the year due to a neck injury. There is basically nothing that they are doing well on defense—nothing. Against the Chiefs on Sunday, they allowed 37 points on 382 yards, mustering one sack and zero takeaways. Only one player currently on the active roster has a sack this season.
The only time the Ravens feigned defensive competence this season was when they played Joe Flacco and the Browns. And Flacco very much looks his age at this point, perhaps on the verge of being benched. Yet Hamilton’s men allowed Cleveland to score 17 points, their highest of the season thus far. And the only team that allowed the Browns to put up more yards is the Bengals, who have an equally atrocious defense.
Last year, the Ravens had the best run defense in the league. With a midseason turnaround, they finished as a top-10 unit, but can they manage that feat two years in a row? The pressure is on second-year DC Zach Orr, whom Hamilton was defending when he called fans spoiled.
The Ravens have had to play the Bills, Lions, and Chiefs in the first four weeks of the season. That is a brutal schedule, in all fairness, even if it doesn’t excuse their 1-3 start to the year. Up next are the Texans and Rams before they settle into their bye week. If they can crawl back to a .500 record, they may be able to allay some concerns. Given the recent rash of injuries, though, it’s hard to be optimistic. For many Ravens fans, they probably already see this season as spoiled—to invoke a third meaning of the word.