The Green Bay Packers have plenty of injury issues of their own to work through in the build-up to Week 2. Fortunately, they at least had the foresight to push one headache out the door long before the start of the regular season.
Jaire Alexander became too much of a hassle to keep on the roster with the downturn in production that came leading up to his release earlier this summer. While the Baltimore Ravens were universally praised for signing Alexander once he hit free agency, the early returns haven't been fruitful for the AFC Super Bowl contender.
It goes without saying that Pro Football Focus grades aren't the only thing that matters when evaluating a player's performance; however, Alexander's Week 1 coverage grade of 28.9 certainly didn't do him any favors when it comes to winning over fans of his new team.
With Alexander having missed a significant stretch of training camp and the preseason, expectations were rightfully tempered for his regular-season debut. It seems safe to assume that no one involved thought things would go as poorly as they did. Now, the ex-Packers' new coaches are making excuses for him.
Ravens DC Zach Orr Making Excuses to Take Heat Off CB Jaire Alexander
Baltimore defensive coordinator Zach Orr expressed confidence in Alexander while meeting with the media on Thursday. According to Sarah Ellison of Ravens Vault, Orr isn't worried at all about the veteran's struggles in Week 1 or the fact that he missed time due to swelling in his knee that needed to be drained.
"I'm not worried about (Alexander). He does have to get right," Orr said. "He had so much time off and then came back last week at practice. It's difficult to take that much time off and come back and play.
"So we got full confidence in him. He's been flying around. He's just going to continue to get better. I'm still excited and fired up about him."
Coaches are supposed to take the heat off their players, but Orr's words can't hide what fans saw in Week 1.
Orr better hope that confidence turns into actual production as the Cleveland Browns are already disrespecting Baltimore's pass-disruptors ahead of this Sunday's game. With matchups against the Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, and Houston Texans on deck after this weekend, the Ravens don't have the luxury of waiting around on Alexander to find his stride as part of the Ravens' secondary.
If not, Ravens fans will hear the laughs from the Packers faithful all the way from Lambeau Field.