Former Ravens defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale downplayed the revenge factor when his current team, the New York Giants, host the Ravens at MetLife Stadium this coming Sunday, Oct. 16.
Speaking to New York media at his weekly news conference, Martindale said, “I have a lot of friends on that other sideline,” but then cited a quote he attributed to late Ravens defensive line coach Clarence Brooks: “This game always has been and always will be about the players.”
Martindale spent 10 seasons with the Ravens, including four as the defensive coordinator, and his 2018 Ravens defense ranked No. 1 overall. From 2018-20, the Ravens ranked no lower than No. 3 in scoring defense before slipping to No. 19 last season.
Martindale appeared to be the fall guy on the Ravens’ coaching staff after the injury-ravaged team finished dead last in pass defense last season. Shortly after the Ravens season ended with an 8-9 record — just the second losing season in head coach John Harbaugh’s 14-year tenure — Harbaugh announced in a statement that he and Martindale had “agreed to move forward in separate directions.”
Earlier this week, Harbaugh said he had “nothing but respect and love” for Martindale.
“We’ve been friends since we were kids in coaching,” Harbaugh said. “I’m proud of him for what he did here, obviously. He’s doing a great job up there. They’re playing great defense.”
Martindale told the New York media this week that Harbaugh and he are “family. … It was nothing negative. It was just time. When I say it was just time, it was just time for both of us.”
A few weeks after that parting, new Giants head coach Brian Daboll hired Martindale to run his defense, a move that Martindale says “re-energized me to go someplace new and try to build it again.”
Through five games, the Giants (4-1) rank No. 12 in overall defense and No. 8 against the pass. They rank ninth in scoring defense, allowing 18.6 points a game, and are coming off a come-from-behind 27-22 win against the Green Bay Packers in London last weekend.
Known in Baltimore for his propensity to send extra pass rushers, Martindale has continued that in New York. According to Pro Football Reference, the Giants this year have blitzed on 43 percent of their defensive snaps, the highest blitz rate in the league.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has excelled against the blitz this year, and Martindale and Jackson know each other well after squaring off on the Owings Mills practice fields for four straight seasons.
“Coach ‘Wink’ is known for exotic blitzes and just doing this thing,” Jackson said at his weekly news conference. “Shoutout to Coach ‘Wink.’ “
Martindale countered by saying, “Shoutout to Lamar. He gave me a shoutout, so I had to give a shoutout back to him. My relationship with Lamar, I love the guy. … He’s unbelievable and he’s playing at an MVP caliber right now like he was back in ’19.”
Martindale insisted this game is about the players, and Martindale’s group in New York includes a few former Ravens: Jihad Ward, Justin Ellis and Tony Jefferson. Current Ravens defensive lineman Calais Campbell knows this one will mean a little extra for Martindale.
“‘Wink’ is a great coach, a great guy. Love him,” Campbell said. “He’s definitely going to have the troops riled up.”
“When you go somewhere else, and you come back or get to face your old team, it definitely just gives you a little bit more of an edge,” Campbell added. “So I know this was circled on the calendar, and it’s going to be a big game.”
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