The Baltimore Ravens went through an injury-riddled season in 2021, finishing with a record of 8-9 and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2017. They got hit extremely hard with the injury bug in their secondary, with multiple star contributors missing massive amounts of time due to different kinds of ailments.
Then-Baltimore defensive coordinator Don Martindale had to find a lot of different way to adjust his scheme with so many players going in and out of the lineup due to injuries. Now the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, Martindale was asked about what he learned in 2021 by trying to overcome what seemed like finding a new cornerback every week. He smiled as he said that he learned to not go to “DoorDash” to find a backup cornerback
“Don’t go to DoorDash to find a backup corner.”
Former #Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale was asked if he learned any lessons from the 2021 season in Baltimore:
"Don't go to DoorDash to find a backup corner."
Classic Wink. pic.twitter.com/D5JWTcLOzN
— Bobby Trosset (@bobbytrosset) May 26, 2022
Martindale then gave a more in-depth answer, discussing the perspective that he has on the situation.
“I think that just everything’s in perspective. You have to have a flexible enough scheme that you can make some different changes. If you have a guy that hasn’t had much playing time or has been a backup or whatever, that you can make some different calls to help that player out…But I mean, football, this is a tough profession. You know, it’s just like I talk about corners all the time, offensive coordinators talk about wide receivers. Everybody is drafting wide receivers in the top part of the Draft. It’s great challenge.”
The former Baltimore defensive coordinator is known for his witty and funny answers during press conferences, and that aspect of him hasn’t changed after arriving in New York. It’s true that having to deal with the amount of injuries that the Ravens went through in 2021 is an extreme challenge, one that hopefully everyone in the organization at the time has taken valuable lessons from.
