The Ravens’ long-suspect defense was getting exposed by bad NFL quarterbacks in the second half of games all season so the fact they got shredded by Joe Burrow Sunday wasn’t much of a surprise. However, the blasé response from a roster loaded with defenders in the top 10 in compensation at their position was alarming.

Longtime NFL coach Marvin Lewis explained to us the poor coverage technique and communication breakdowns that have crippled this Ravens secondary as it has most of them since 2019. Overwhelmed rookie head coach Jesse Minter was asked about the effort of his defense after yielding 35 unanswered points in the second half to the Bengals and remarked about their tackling issues. He’s openly pondering who, among his highly-compensated defensive roster and a secondary almost entire filled with first-round picks, will emerge as a real leader - 'Who's the guy that's going to grab everybody together, get them together on the sideline?’ he opined at his Monday press conference.

Yeah, this is critical mass, already, nearing the midpoint of the first season without a proven head coach in Baltimore for a loooong time.

The only person in power in Owings Mills who is being more runover and exposed than Minter is the perpetual underachiever who hired him – general manager Eric DeCosta. The guy who amassed even more money and power when longtime head coach John Harbaugh and his experienced staff were fired in January, despite needing to be fired at the same time.

The guy who likes to strut the sidelines like a coach with his sunglasses on at night looking for the cameras during prime time games – oh, he’s sweating now with his head in his hands in the locker room after games. The guy who always blames coaches for his roster failures is alone on the hotseat now; DeCosta knows his defensive backs are a joke and now he needs to do something about it. Already $370M committed in payroll, and with injured MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson able to dictate any more he wants with any team he prefers this offseason, DeCosta must try to salvage his defense, and Sunday brought it all to a head.

What’s The Plan?

Believe it or not, DeCosta needs a defensive back, desperately (preferably a slot corner), and he needs to ship one out.

It’s not just about on-field direction, it’s about sending a message now going on seven years of getting DeCosta-ed game after game: three losses with a double-digit lead in the second half this season – two in a row! - and 17 since 2019, when DeCosta took over for legend Ozzie Newsome (and like every other Newsome protegee, we see just how little of Newsome’s unique genius transfers to others).  Sure, it would be great if DeCosta backed up his silly narrative about wanting both Maxx Crosby and "closer" Trey Hendrickson back in March with a trade to the Raiders without backing out and exposing himself this time. But that was just a grift to try to sell tickets.

Despite years of shunning most every other personnel group on his roster to stock up on DBs, they have a crisis there. The Ravens are getting killed in the slot, their corners and safeties have poor ball skills and never impact the football. And more than anything else, they better change their choking culture with over-entitled and underachieving players on bloated contracts – ever-rewarded for being one of DeCosta’s favorites – and shake up the dynamics of a failing locker room.

They won’t get anything for Humphrey with that $15M salary ($19.3M in total take-home pay this season) at the deadline and it doesn’t matter. He’s worn people out on multiple coaching staffs and in that locker room for years, he’s had one truly good and healthy season in the past four, and if they haven’t moved him to the slot yet, maybe that’s telling us all something. Because the slot coverage has been as bad as any in the NFL.

TJ Tampa could get a run on the outside with Nate Wiggins (you better get a real GM in here before DeCosta does another asinine contract with one of his over-drafted first round picks who lacks anything close to a playmaking gene). Maybe that helps.

But if you keep sending the message to this overhyped and over-coddled secondary (man do DeCosta and complete baseball failure Mike Elias have a lot in common) that everyone keeps their job no matter what, and the performance on the field and in the locker room and on the sidelines doesn’t matter, then keep your mouth shut and eat it when you keep getting DeCosta-ed every week.

Because that’s what’s going to keep happening.

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