The Baltimore Ravens lost defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to the Seattle Seahawks in the days after the team’s brutal AFC Championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. After a quick search, Baltimore landed on inside linebackers coach Zach Orr to be the new leader of their defense in what will hopefully be a quick transition between the two.
When asked about the players on his defensive unit, Orr talked about how there are a lot of smart and high-I.Q. players in his group. He talked about how the versatility of his players will be key, especially when it comes to helping everyone out by playing as many positions at a high level as possible.
“We’ve got a lot of smart guys. We’ve got a lot of high-I.Q. football players, so the more you can do, the better, [and] we talk about that for every position. If you’re a linebacker, you need to know both spots; if you’re a DB [defensive back], you need to know every spot in the secondary; if you’re up front, you need to know every spot up front. So, the more you can do, the better you can do. And it’s a credit to those guys; the higher I.Q. they have, the more they can handle. [If] you can move guys in different spots based off of who you’re going against, it just helps everybody out. So, we’re getting good work at that right now in training camp – of trying guys in different spots and seeing how it all fits together.”
Orr has plenty of star talents at his disposal, which should help his transition into becoming a first-time play-caller at any level of football. He has a tough early season schedule to navigate through, but he’ll be aided by his playing experience as well as the players and coaches around him.
