ExtremeRavens Posted September 22 Posted September 22 It was 5 a.m. in July and Ravens safety Malaki Starks was still asleep when his phone buzzed with an incoming text. It was from senior secondary coach Chuck Pagano. Pagano, 64, was already awake and watching practice film from the day before when he spotted a mistake the rookie first-round draft pick kept making against a particular offensive set. So he explained in the message what Starks was likely thinking and noted that the backside X-receiver was going to be wider than Starks expected at a particular point in the play. “I didn’t know why I kept [making the same mistake],” Starks told The Baltimore Sun. “He was able to give me the whole picture and break it down so I could understand it.” No matter the hour or player, Pagano texts and FaceTime calls have been a regular occurrence for the defensive backfield, starting in the offseason and continuing through to the regular season. To a man, praise for Baltimore’s one-time defensive coordinator and the former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts has flowed. Players value his wealth of knowledge. They appreciate his energy, communication and personality. They trust what he teaches. “He’s been a beacon of light in the room,” fourth-year and two-time Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton told The Sun. The Ravens also hope it leads to a marked change. Last season under first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr, they were one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL, particularly over the first 10 weeks of the season before scheme and personnel changes helped turn them into one of the best down the stretch. Still, despite one of the most talented secondaries in the league Baltimore finished the year ranked last in explosive passing plays allowed (16.1%), per Pro Football Focus, and was in need of a fix. Coach John Harbaugh fired longtime assistant and passing game coordinator Chris Hewitt, did not bring back senior adviser Dean Pees and lured Pagano from “The Pat McAfee Show” and out of a four-year retirement to help restore past greatness. A longtime NFL assistant who was on Harbaugh’s first staff in Baltimore and later coached the Colts from 2012 to 2017, Pagano jumped at the chance to get back in the game at a place that he was already intimately familiar with. There was a particular connectivity to the secondary, too. In his one season as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator 2011, Baltimore ranked third in yards allowed per game (288.9), points per game (16.6) and, notably, passing yards per game (224.9). “When you’re part of a team for your whole career and you don’t have that and you get to have that back…,” Pagano told The Sun. “With this group, I feel like I’m 45 again.” And why wouldn’t he? In addition to Hamilton and Starks, Baltimore’s secondary is dripping with talent. Marlon Humphrey was an All-Pro at slot cornerback in 2024. Ascendant second-year cornerback Nate Wiggins flashed elite coverage skills in 2024 with 13 pass breakups, the third-best completion rate (47.8%) among corners with at least 50 targets, per Next Gen Stats, and posted the best expected points added mark (minus-24.8) among all cornerbacks. The Ravens also added gifted (but oft-injured) cornerbacks Jaire Alexander, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, and Chidobe Awuzie in free agency. Over the summer, he called the secondary, with its five former first-round picks, the best he’s ever seen in his 40 years of coaching. “You’ve got so many chess pieces, so many options, different ways to play different teams,” Pagano said. “It looks like a lot. It’s simple for us, but it’s complex to offenses because of how they can move around. “That’s the genius of Zach and this group.” And, what Baltimore believes will be the genius of Pagano’s influence on the defensive backfield. “Super detail oriented,” Hamilton said, noting improved formation recognition and pre-snap preparations. For others, there has been an emphasis on better technique. Wiggins, for example, said that Pagano noticed that he was leaving his eyes on opposing quarterbacks too long and sometimes losing sight of the receiver. Ravens safeties Malaki Starks, left, Kyle Hamilton, center, and senior defensive assistant and secondary coach Chuck Pagano, right, are shown during practice at the Under Armour Performance Center. Ravens defensive backs say Pagano's extensive NFL experience has helped them improve since he was hired during the offseason. (Kim Hairston/Staff) Second-year safety Sanoussi Kane added that Pagano has helped speed up getting from one read to the next as well as understanding his responsibilities as a post safety after he’d played more in the box at Purdue. Fellow sophomore and cornerback T.J. Tampa said Pagano has taught him how to better recognize receiver splits to better anticipate routes and play design and added that the coach who brings plenty of energy to practices and meetings isn’t afraid to call out players. “We’ll be going through film and he’ll say, ‘What are you doing? Where did you learn this? I didn’t teach you this,” Tampa told The Sun. “He brings a lot of things that we haven’t heard.” It’s necessary, and the effectiveness is still to be determined, at least so far within the small sample size of two games. In the season-opener against the Bills, Josh Allen completed 33 of 46 passes for 394 yards and two touchdowns. The majority of that came in the second half and down the stretch as the Ravens’ pass defense collapsed. Baltimore blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead and Buffalo won, 41-40. The Ravens bounced back in a 41-17 Week 2 win at home over the Cleveland Browns, who were held to 207 yards passing and 4.1 yards per attempt. Still, through two games Baltimore ranked 14th in defensive defense-adjusted value over average (minus-3.3%) and 12th in defensive passing DVOA (minus-0.3%). The sternest test thus far and perhaps all season will also come Monday night against the Lions, who come into the Week 3 showdown at M&T Bank Stadium third in points per game (32.5) and fifth in yards per game (378.5). Detroit’s Jared Goff-led attack, with two-time All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, Pro Bowl tight end Sam LaPorta and two-time Pro Bowl running back Jahmyr Gibbs, also has the second-highest touchdown efficiency rate (38.1%) this season — trailing only Baltimore (39.1%). In last week’s 52-point outburst against the Chicago Bears, Goff threw for five scores, St. Brown and fellow receiver Jameson Williams combined for 223 receiving yards and the offense racked up 511 yards. Yet, there remains a belief among the defense and in particular the secondary, aided players say by what Pagano has brought to his role, a defense-only bonding over dinner that followed the Week 1 loss to the Bills, the at times over-communication within the group and the talent all over the field. “The Week 1 loss, it brought guys closer,” Alexander, who played through injury and was scorched by the Bills late in the game, told The Sun. “I think guys are trusting each other more. Guys are playing freely. “Sometimes we get frustrated with each other, but that’s part of growing and improving. We have a lot of experience back there. But Chuck, man, he is wise.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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