Zach Orr handled adversity as a player, and he can handle it as a defensive coordinator. Even if he takes a slightly different approach as a coach.
"As a coordinator, I really can't physically go out there and hit somebody," Orr said, drawing laughter at his weekly press conference. "As a player, you can take the frustrations out physically. I would say that's the biggest difference.
"I've always been competitive. Since [I was] a kid, my dad and mom told me I have to not take losing so hard. But that's what makes me who I am."
Baltimore didn't lose in Week 5, but Orr took winning hard. The Ravens gave up five touchdown passes to Joe Burrow during a 41-38 overtime win against the Cincinnati Bengals. Their defense is ranked 31st against the pass, and they've given up more than 100 yards to three different receivers.
That's not acceptable to the coaches or players and Orr believes in being proactive.
A familiar face was added to the defensive meeting rooms this week when former defensive coordinator Dean Pees joined the staff as a senior advisor. Why not bring in another football mind who knows how Orr thinks and shares his love for defensive football? Orr believes Pees' presence will be another asset to help the defense speed up the process of finding more consistency.
"You can tell with Dean in our conversations, he still has that fire in him," Orr said. "You can tell he still wanted to be around ball, had a passion for it. He's a great football mind, a person who knows the culture, knows the organization, and is still willing to teach and learn."
Pees has been on the field during practices this week, but Orr said Pees' game day role had not been decided, including whether he would be in the coach's box.
"We're still trying to figure that out and I think we'll know more by the end of the week," Orr said. "But I definitely see him having a role of some type."
The Ravens have given up far too many big plays and face a major test in Week 6 when they host the Washington Commanders led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Washington (4-1) has averaged 38.0 points in its last three games, and wide receiver Terry McLaurin is one of the league's top deep threats.
Through the first five games, Baltimore has faced some of the top quarterbacks (Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow) and wide receivers (Rashee Rice, Davante Adams, CeeDee Lamb, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins) in football. While that explains some of the Ravens' pass defense troubles, Orr said that gives him no relief.
"It feels like, every week, we get up here, and we're playing one of the top offenses, one of the top quarterbacks, and that's no different this week," he said.
Being part of a team with Super Bowl expectations adds pressure to Orr's job in his first year as a coordinator, but he embraces it. Orr's genuine personality is one of his many strengths, and players appreciate that he remains levelheaded through the ups and downs of a game or season.
"That's one thing about Zach – he's consistent," outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy said. "He knows who he is as a person and a coach, and he's getting better and better each week. I respect that as a player, seeing a coach that doesn't switch up when things are going bad, and he's the same when things are going great. It's awesome to see. We just want to play hard for him and get on the right track. We'll get there."
Orr brings the same dedication to coaching that he brought to his playing career, which ended prematurely due to a rare congenital neck condition. He began his career as an undrafted rookie but ended as an All-Pro linebacker. Orr has climbed out of tougher situations, and the talent on Baltimore's defense gives him plenty of tools to work with.
The Ravens stopped Cincinnati on its final three possessions on Sunday, which gives Baltimore something to build on heading into Week 6. Marlon Humphrey had a huge interception to set up Justin Tucker's 56-yard game-tying kick. Nnamdi Madubuike followed with a timely sack to force overtime, and the defense stopped the Bengals on three straight running plays on their only possession of overtime.
Watching the tape gives Orr more belief that the Ravens' defense isn't far away from finding its rhythm, and he is impressed with the players' resiliency.
"There was a stretch through most of that fourth quarter when things weren't looking good at all," Orr said. "Guys weren't pointing any fingers, they weren't blaming anybody, they weren't pouting. Guys came up with big stops to help us win the game.
"There's a lot of stuff we've got to correct and get better at, but that's the thing I'm encouraged about, the group of men we've got in that room. Nobody's wavering."
That includes Orr. He doesn't flinch when adversity comes. He fights back. He won't be sleeping much this week, but Orr will be working, confident that the results the Ravens are looking for defensively will come.
"If I'm not up to my standard, or we're not up to our standard, it's going to be tough times, tough days," Orr said. "As a player and as I coordinator, I handle adversity I think the right way. I'm going to keep showing up and putting in the work. But the frustrations are the same.
"We're a confident group still. We know that we are one of the top defenses in the league. It's just time to put it together, for four quarters, every week on a consistent basis. If you cut on the film, I highly doubt that you won't see we have good players, good schemes, good coaching. We've just got to be consistent. That's what we're chasing."
