Covering the pass has become a major problem for the Baltimore Ravens, and John Harbaugh isn’t exactly reluctant about naming who’s to blame. The head coach took a subtle shot at defensive coordinator Zach Orr for a notable breakdown in coverage during Week 17’s 41-24 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Harbaugh spoke with reporters on Monday, December 29 and focused his ire on the 39-yard touchdown catch made by Christian Watson in the opening quarter. According to Harbaugh, the Ravens “had one seam route. The first touchdown was a seam route against Cover 2 that we didn’t play that right or well. Honestly, too, it wasn’t a great call against that route.”
While he didn’t name Orr directly, Harbaugh taking his frustrations about a play call public does put an unforgiving spotlight on his defensive chief. It’s a surprise change in tack after Harbaugh was quick to defend Orr’s job security earlier this season.
The timing of this shift is also significant, following Harbaugh having to clear up who called the offense against the Packers, amid doubts about OC Todd Monken’s role in the run-first gameplan.
Getting back to basics fixed what was wrong with Baltimore’s offense, but the Ravens may need something more elaborate to solve their issues defending the pass. That something must arrive before Week 18’s winner-takes-all road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It’s how Orr and his staff can protect a young starter who’s supposed to be a playmaker instead looks like an increasing liability. His problems are why the Ravens will be thankful the best wide receiver on the Steelers is set to miss out through suspension.
Zach Orr Coverage Plan Isn’t Working
Orr likely won’t appreciate Harbaugh shining an unflattering light on his play-calling, but it will be hard to argue with his boss’s assessment of Watson’s score. The wideout simply ran vertically in a straight line from the slot, directly through the Ravens’ zone shell.
Keeping two safeties deep was supposed to take away the big play, but Orr’s players became beset by confusion. The deep safeties split their focus on outside receivers, while underneath All-Pro defenders, safety Kyle Hamilton and middle linebacker Roquan Smith, couldn’t decide who was supposed to bail and carry Watson deep.
It was an ugly showcase of the kind of miscommunication and alignment errors that have plagued the Ravens all season. Harbaugh acknowledged as much when he cited poor “technique in the back end, really at the corner position. It wasn’t really across the board. It wasn’t any kind of miscommunications or anything like that. We played things right. We just didn’t play the pass game well from a coverage standpoint in the back end. It was really the outside lane throws made. They were just too easy.”
The reference to how much corners struggled was notable. Especially after the way one second-year pro was routinely burned at Lambeau Field.
Ravens CB Mired in a Slump
This was supposed to be a breakout season for starting corner Nate Wiggins, but the 30th player selected in the 2024 NFL draft is floundering. Consistency remains the problem because Wiggins has looked capable of travelling with an opponent’s best receiver, but he was anything but a shutdown cover man against the Packers.
Wiggins’ numbers made for bleak reading with ESPN’s Benjamin Solak citing Next Gen Stats to show the defensive back faced “7 targets, 6 receptions, 146 yards.”
Awareness of the ball continues to be a problem for Wiggins, who has track speed, but often fails to adjust during a route. It means the Ravens aren’t as safe as they think when they have Wiggins play off-coverage and give receivers a cushion.
Seeing Wiggins not be able to keep plays in front of him should prompt a change from Orr. Perhaps one based on more press-style coverage at the line with safety help over the top.
Such a look might at least deter quarterbacks from testing Wiggins quite so often. He’s been targeted 100 times through 16 games, per Pro Football Reference, so there’s no mystery about where teams are going when they air it out against the Ravens.
Orr and veteran secondary overseer Chuck Pagano need something more challenging for 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers against the Steelers. The 10-time Pro Bowler has never lacked the bravery to attack coverage deep, and that won’t change even with top target DK Metcalf suspended and fellow receiver Calvin Austin III nursing a hamstring injury.
With everything to play for, Rodgers is sure to chance his arm against the Ravens’ biggest weakness, so Orr has a lot to do to avoid another public diss from his head coach.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post John Harbaugh Takes Subtle Shot at Ravens DC Over Coverage Issues appeared first on Heavy Sports.