Undrafted in 2014, Orr hoping for starting spot
He’s favored in contest for weak-side linebacker job; team hustling in the heat
Shortly after Zachary Orr arrived in Baltimore, Ravens linebackers coach Don Martindale had a message for the undrafted rookie free agent from North Texas.
“One of the first things when I first met Coach Wink [Martindale’s nickname], he said, ‘Know the history here. We have a history in this room at linebacker of undrafted guys,’ ” Orr recalled after practice Saturday.
Martindale followed that up with a challenge.
“He pretty much asked me, ‘What [are] you going to do about it?,’ ” Orr said. “He’s challenged me every day since I’ve been here. ‘Are you going to be the next one?’ ”
Entering his third year with the Ravens, Orr, 24, might be the next in a line of undrafted free-agent linebackers to start — and possibly star — in Baltimore.
It began with Bart Scott, who went from being undrafted out of Southern Illinois in 2002 to playing special teams his first three years, taking over for an injured Ray Lewis in 2005 and making the Pro Bowl in 2006.
The tradition continued with Jameel McClain and Dannell Ellerbe, who became key players in the team’s improbable Super Bowl run in 2012. With C.J. Mosley moving to middle linebacker this season, Orr is in the running to start next to him at the weak-side linebacker spot.
“That’s the best thing about coaching, to see an individual do what he’s done,” Martindale said Saturday. “We always talk about being a warrior. The warriors are ones — I’m going to go ‘Game of Thrones’ on you — that actually get out of the pit, and that’s the process he’s going through right now.”
Martindale said Orr, who had four tackles (including one for loss) and a quarterback hurry in Thursday night’s 22-19 preseason victory over the reigning NFC champion Carolina Panthers at M&T Bank Stadium, leads the competition with second-round draft pick Kamalei Correa for that spot.
“There’s a saying in our room, ‘If someone says they’re hungry, he’s starving,’ ” Martindale said. “The mental part of it is one of his strongest assets. Seeing the game is in slow motion to him. He’s instinctive. He knows a lot of plays even before the offense know what they’re going to run.”
Said Orr: “I approach it like I approach every day — I just try to come out and get better. We’ve got a great group of guys. That’s our goal, to become the best football player we can become. We always push each other — me, Kamalei, [Albert McClellan], C.J., Arthur Brown.”
Martindale and coach John Harbaugh said Orr has taken major strides from last year, when he went from playing just on special teams the first three games to getting time at linebacker later on.
“It helped a lot,” Orr said of his time on defense. “It showed that they had confidence in me, it showed Coach Wink believed in me. Just being out there helped me adjust to the game speed.”
Said Harbaugh: “He gets better every practice. The wisdom is in the results.”
What also pushes Orr is the fact that he, like the former starters who came in as undrafted free agents, remembers where he started.
“It definitely gave me an edge. When I got here, I couldn’t have come into a better situation, with so many undrafted guys on the team and hearing from those guys,” Orr said. “One thing Albert told me was, ‘You’ll always be undrafted.’ No matter what you do, that will always follow you.” Calling it early: Harbaugh ended the normally 21⁄2-hour practice Saturday about 15 minutes early because of extreme heat — the heat index was measured at a sizzling 102 degrees — and the fact that 23 players did not participate because of injury or being given the day off.
“It was hot,” Harbaugh said. “I really commend the guys for doing it. The numbers were low overall for the practice and the guys did a phenomenal job. It was a fast practice, it was sharp, it’s one of the things you have to look for in training camp. You have to test, and the guys did a really good job.”
Said McClellan: “Today was a good one. Today was a tough one. This practice here showed that a lot of people cared — who’s willing to work and who’s not willing to work.”
Orr said that in his three years in Baltimore, “that was probably the toughest practice we’ve had [in terms of the weather]. We knew it was going to be a tough practice. Coach talked to us about it [Friday] and we were really proud with the way the team went after it.”
A huge roar went up when free-agent rookie kicker Wil Lutz made two straight field goals at the end of practice, from 42 and 50 yards.
Harbaugh told the players they could have off from meetings Saturday if Lutz, who played at Georgia State, made the first try. When he did, Harbaugh said, the players “doubled down” to get out of Monday’s pre-practice walk-through if Lutz nailed the second from a longer distance.
“Wil Lutz is definitely the most popular guy. … I’ve got to admit, there wasn’t a lot of rush pressure for some reason,” Harbaugh joked. Pees on the field: Defensive coordinator Dean Pees was on the field for Thursday’s game against the Panthers rather than in the press box, where coordinators normally sit.
Harbaugh said Saturday that he hasn’t figured out where Pees will be for the rest of the preseason games.
“Dean’s kind of feeling that out, seeing what he wants to do,” Harbaugh said. “With Leslie [Frazier, the former NFL head coach and coordinator now working with the secondary], that gives us some flexibility. [Martindale] does a great job relaying the plays. He was a former defensive coordinator also. We’re just trying to find the best way to do it.” End zone: Tight end Dennis Pitta, who has been out since injuring a finger in a skirmish with Correa at the team’s public workout at M&T Bank Stadium on Aug. 1, watched practice Saturday in his uniform. The injury, which was called a sprain, still requires Pitta to have a soft brace to protect the fingers. The Ravens are off today and will return to the practice field Monday.