Keeping up with defense, I decided that I have to take a look at the Ravens scheme from last year. While Lamar Jackson and the offense got most of the credit, Defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale was outstanding last year. Listening to NFL broadcasts, have you ever heard an announcer compliment a defensive coordinator for his play-calling? That answer is no, but that should not undermine the importance of play calling on the defensive side of the ball.
The last few posts have been more words and less film, so I’m going to get back to more film in this post. Here is a great example of Martindale’s play calling in 2019 against the Rams in week 12.
Martindale knew that he’d be able to shut down the Rams run game on 1st and 2nd down. So, the Rams plan was to move the ball on 1st and 2nd down with play action passes, because they didn’t want to face the pressure looks Martindale has on 3rd down. Martindale makes a perfect call here on 2nd and 5. He brings a double corner blitz, something you never see in the NFL. His purpose behind this call is that the running back can only pick up 1 of these blitzers, to the side of the run fake. Therefore, the other corner would have a free rush on the QB.
A lot of times, when watching the Patriots defense, I will say that Belichick will tell his opponent what he thinks of their offense by the way he plays against them. Well, when the Ravens faced the Bills in Week 13, I found myself saying the same thing about Martindale and his defense. He constantly blitzed QB Josh Allen, who is known for his inaccuracy and erratic play. Martindale never backs down, and constantly kept the Bills and Allen guessing.
On the first drive of the game, with the Bills facing a 3rd and long, Martindale dials up a 3 deep 3 under pressure. While that is a pretty standard zone blitz, Martindale shows Allen middle field open by having his safeties hold their position until after the snap.
Later in the game, Martindale fools Allen again. Allen wants to go to the top of the screen, to the 2 stacked receivers. The Ravens look like they are playing Cover 1, with one of the safeties expected to drop down as a robber.
Instead, the Ravens play 3 over 2, and bracket Allen’s best receiver, John Brown. This forces Allen to hold the ball. Furthermore, the Ravens get their best pass rusher, Matt Judon, 1 on 1 vs a tight end. Judon easily bends the edge, gets flat and sacks Allen, forcing a fumble which the Ravens recovered. Allen is forced to hold the ball and doesn’t feel Judon’s rush. Just as Martindale drew it up.
As you can see from the tight angle, the Bills messed up their protection. They call a full slide to the right, which leaves the tight end to block Judon by himself. The Ravens are in a diamond front, which the o-line will usually make a 50 call and block 5 for 5. The back (#26) scanning from the Mike to any outside threat. Hard to tell if the protection call was Allen’s fault or the offensive line.
While Martindale sent a variety of pressures throughout the game, he decided to bring 3 all out Cover 0 blitzes in a row. The situation was this: Bills were down 24-17 on their final drive. Here is the cutup of the final 3 plays on defense. Martindale dials up an all out blitz on each play, leaving his secondary on an island with no help. Each pressure was slightly different, but the first 2 had safety Chuck Clark unblocked rushing Allen. This forced Allen to throw the ball away and prevented him from escaping.
Don Martindale did a tremendous job all year long. He didn’t have superior personnel in the front 7, but made the most of what he had. He did have a great secondary, led by top flight corner Marlon Humphrey. Even since Martindale took over as DC in 2018, the Ravens have invested heavily in corners, which has allowed him to feel comfortable sending all out pressure. Look for the Ravens to stock up on defensive talent in the 2020 draft, after signing stud d-lineman Calais Campbell in free agency.
Talkin Ball 