Fri Nov 08 03:30:00 UTC 2024: ## Ravens Cornerback Defends Defensive Coordinator Amidst Struggles

**OWINGS MILLS, Md.** – Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey has come to the defense of his team’s criticized defensive coordinator, Zach Orr, stating that the recent struggles on defense are not due to coaching.

“For me as a player, knowing what’s going on, I hate seeing coaches get under scrutiny when it’s the players’ fault,” Humphrey said after Monday’s practice. “If I felt that there was, ‘This [isn’t] being coached this way right. This [isn’t] being this, [or] this isn’t being this,’ it’s a little different. But it really sucks when the product we’re putting out there isn’t what we’re being coached [and] isn’t what we’re practicing. That’s kind of what hurts me.”

The Ravens’ defense has experienced a significant drop in performance from last season, when they were the NFL’s best, to now, where they are one of the league’s worst. While Baltimore’s defense ranked first in points allowed, sacks, and takeaways in 2021, they currently rank 21st in yards allowed, 23rd in points allowed, and dead last in pass defense in 2022.

Humphrey attributes the team’s struggles to a lack of consistency on the field, stating that “We can’t practice it all week this way — coach this way — and then get in the game, and it’s not exactly how you just practiced it.”

Despite their recent struggles, the defense showed signs of improvement in Sunday’s win over the Denver Broncos. However, they face a tougher test this Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, who managed to throw for 392 yards and five touchdowns against the Ravens in their last meeting.

“We felt like we should have lost; I think that’s what we kind of talked about today,” Humphrey said. “We won the game, but we did not play well, especially the secondary alone. It’s always a tough challenge, but I think we have the guys for the job, and we’re going to keep working at it — keep working at it all the way up until game time — and then let it loose Thursday night.”

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