With two corners out and two linemen going down in the middle of the loss to the Browns in Cleveland, thereโs no question that the defense of Zach Orr is depleted. But the lack of a pass rush is glaring and Luke Jones and Nestor address the needs of a leaky defense after losing to Jameis Winston and lowly Browns.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Ravens defense, leaky defense, Jameis Winston, Browns offense, Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins, Travis Jones, Michael Pierce, Brent Urban, Marcus Williams, special teams, Justin Tucker, Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton, trade deadline
SPEAKERS
Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W n, s, t te, Baltimore, Baltimore, positive. We are positively into whatโs going to be an interesting week here. I used to take phone calls for a living around here. Weโre going to be doing the Maryland crab cakes. Weโre presented by our friends at the Maryland lottery, beginning two weeks from now. We got all sorts of places. Iโm wearing my Coco shirt. Weโre going to be there. Weโre going to be a cost. Weโre going to be a Pappas. Weโre going to be Iโm going to be at State Fair. Weโre going to be at Faith leagues. Weโre going to be at all of our place. Weโre going to be Cooperโs north as well. All of it brought to you by our friends at Jiffy Lube MultiCare. They power Luke up and get him out to Owings Mills, where, I have a feeling some things are going to be said this week in Owings Mills. Where do you want to begin? Other than you and I warned everybody on Thursday and Friday. Not that it was a trap game, like that word trap game that Iโve seen all over my my timeline, but injuries, new quarterback, road game, division game, memorable loss, if thereโs such a thing,
Luke Jones 00:57
yeah, I mean, infamous loss. Iโd say still, even with some of those circumstances, look, letโs be clear, and as you alluded to, we discussed some of these elements going into Sundayโs game. New quarterback, the Browns offense had been so bad under Deshaun Watson that there was really no place lower for them to go. It was only really a situation where there was one way to go up Jameis Winston, we know his history. He hadnโt started the game in two years. Heโs played very little over the last five years, but we know heโs someone whoโs capable of having a 30 plus touchdown season. Heโs also had a 30 interception season. Thatโs why heโs no longer a starting quarterback in the National Football League. But we talked about that. We talked about Ken Dorsey becoming the play caller with this being his system, and how it never really felt like Kevin Stefanski had a feel for this new system and calling plays. I mean, they made these changes to try to, if appease Deshaun Watson is the right word, but to try to get him going in a way that Cleveland hadnโt seen, but they saw it with Joe Flacco at the end of last year. So you have that. You have the fact that Marlon Humphrey didnโt play. You had the situation with Nate Wiggins over the weekend, dealing with an illness, dealing with the shoulder. He ended up not traveling with the team, and heโs rolled out on Saturday afternoon. Other guys banged up, as I mentioned to you, Travis Jones had not looked good in practice, even at the end of the week. I was surprised he was even active, let alone he was going to play. And he didnโt play a whole lot, and thatโs before they even lost Michael Pierce and Brent urban during the game. So with all those elements, by no means should anyone I certainly wasnโt expecting the Ravens defense to have an elite performance. However, you give up three second half touchdown passes to a quarterback who hasnโt started a game in over two years. You give up over 300 passing yards. You give up 29 points to an offense that or to a team had scored 20 points in a game all year, a team that had eclipsed 300 yards of offense only once all year, and you give up over 400 thatโs below the bar, to quote John Harbaugh, way back when, when the Ravens were probably in a similar spot, ravaged by some injuries and and just not playing very well defensively. So I know we havenโt I didnโt even make mention yet of the fact that Marcus Williams was benched. He was healthy. He had a D in the NBA world, he had a DNP, CD, did not play, coachโs decision, and heโs got the third highest cap number on the team. So at some point in time, we canโt keep just chalking this up to, well, you know, it was garbage time or Well, theyโve played a tough schedule of quarterbacks early in the season. Now, the defensive problems are getting to be too great to ignore. And as I wrote at Baltimore positive.com, and on a day when the Ravens offense came back to earth a little bit inevitably, it was going to at some point in time. And that doesnโt mean itโs not still a great group, but it wasnโt great on Sunday, on a day when they had special teams issues, specifically Justin Tucker again, when we thought that that problem was behind him, their defense stunk. It really stunk. And Iโll hear that, yeah, itโs a great run defense. But even in the second half, Cleveland kept chucking the ball. You know, they had Nick Chubb and and they even, you know, they didnโt run great, but they ran enough to think, oh, maybe theyโll lean into their running game with the Ravens banged up up front. They ran through
Nestor Aparicio 04:30
the ball. They ran better than anybody else did. I mean, they Tampa ran well last week. Gander at it, at least early in the game. It sort of put the things up. And then Winston, to me, was gun slinging, and itโs everything in a bag of donuts. He throws five passes. Four of them are amazing. The fifth one sales and itโs going to get picked, or he just throws it at the wrong guy, and then you have to catch the ball. Thatโs been a big issue defensively all along, that if they just caught a couple of the interceptions, they escape. This. Weโre giving them a happy grade this morning because they won their sick dude, six and two sounds a lot different than five and three. Wake me after the Pittsburgh game. Weโll talk more about what the record is and where they are and all of that. But there is a point where theyโve lost three games. All three of them have been because of the defense, really.
Luke Jones 05:17
Yeah, and they could have lost the Cincinnati game came down to their kicker missing a field goal, right? I mean, I mean, we could play this game all day, right? The ifs, ifs and buts and all of that, which, again, the offense having an off day. And weโll get into that in another segment. Weird short yardage play calls, you know, whether they go for it or not, but the play call to take Lamar Jackson out of the equation. Why? Why
Nestor Aparicio 05:41
are these plays even in the playbook? And I mean, Iโll start with that, and Iโll bitch about it later, but like, I donโt, I donโt get whatโs going on, and I really donโt get the defensive disarray with well, or peas, the players themselves and the general notion that theyโve real. Theyโre really struggling on the coaching side of things. I think after McDonald and after Anthony Weaver and the guys that they left, roquan Smith looks like a different ball player with that Patrick queen, right? I mean, like, even the guys we thought Matt abike, fine. I mean, gave a lot of money, a lot of money, like, he better look like a factor on every play, and they all canโt look that way. And Kyle Hamilton to be the goat and dropping the ball, I donโt mean goat, the other goat, not and not the every goat, the, you know, the drop the ball goat, Iโm Iโm perplexed. Iโm not blown up that they lost, because I think any given week in the league, so Iโm not going to crush them based on that. I am just a little concerned. Now thereโs, there are four games behind Kansas City in real terms, you know, where any notion that theyโre playing AFC Championship games here starts to go out the wayside. And now itโs like, Well, you better make sure your playoff team, you better make sure you hold your division in line here, and you better get guys back out on the field. You better get healthy.
Luke Jones 07:05
Yeah, I mean, none of these injuries are, I mean, weโll see about Michael Pierce, you know, he was ruled out pretty darn quickly with that calf injury. So thatโs, thatโs cause for concern. You know, Brent urban concussion, not making light of a concussion, but generally, we donโt expect that to be a season ending kind of situation. Marlon Humphrey was even on the field before the game. I mean, he was doubtful. He was never going to play, but he was working out late last week. I donโt think heโs going to be out very long. Same goes for Nate Wiggins, I assume. So itโs not as though theyโre dealing with these long term injuries, but, I mean, at some point in time, you got to start showing progress defensively. I mean, we made mention of it. I cited it in my article last week. I cited in my column at Baltimore positive.com I went back and watched the Manning cast, you know, during the Ravens bucks game, and in the fourth quarter, they had Ed Reed on. And you know, one thing about Ed Reed, heโs not going to mince words. Heโs not going to BS you. And he flat out, said, this team still learning how to finish and becoming a championship team. And I think I saw a few people react to that kind of thinking that was a little harsh, especially thinking how the Ravens were won the game that they did against the box. And I get it, it was a 10 point game, but we know it wasnโt that close, but he made that point, and that point, I donโt think Ed Reed said that without truly believing that, and itโs hard to argue with him, especially on the defensive side of the ball, we continue to see second half issues, specifically fourth quarter issues. And youโre right. I donโt think this is the end of the world. Letโs be clear. And Iโm Iโm still not concerned about their ability to make the playoffs. Letโs say, right? Iโm not concerned about that. I still think theyโre easily one of the best teams in the conference. But thatโs not what this teamโs goal is. We know that this teamโs goal is a Super Bowl or bust. Itโs nothing else at this point. Theyโve done, you know, theyโve had regular season success. Iโve called them regular season royalty the last couple years. Well, thatโs
Nestor Aparicio 08:59
not just for Lamar. I mean, you know, thatโs for Ronnie Stanley, thatโs for Marlon Humphrey, thatโs for roquan, that thatโs for all, not roquan as much. But there are a lot of guys around here that were around here when they lost to San Diego in Tennessee. They were part of the Lamar machine that have made a lot of money here and made a life here, and they havenโt. They havenโt done it. What everyone has done, right? Yeah,
Luke Jones 09:20
right, right. So you know, when he makes that comment, whether it sounds harsh at the time or not, itโs tough to argue specifically with what weโre seeing on the defensive side of the ball at this point. And you just made the point, just a matter. BK got a lot or nom de Mata, BK got a lot of money in the off season. And look, I donโt think heโs been bad this year, but has he been elite? I think thatโs debatable. You mentioned roquan Smith. I think roquan playing the run. It still looks like roquan, but he hasnโt looked a lead in pass cover. Itโs not even close. Heโs been heโs looked closer to liability than elite. Heโs looked picked on. Yeah, heโs
Nestor Aparicio 09:56
looked picked on. Heโs
09:57
that area
Nestor Aparicio 09:58
for he. Looks scheme for based on his aggression, right? You know what I mean? Like, heโs a very aggressive player. If he finds you, heโs going to blow you up. It looks like professional wrestling when he hits guys and stuff like that, but heโs been out of position when the ball is going across the middle of the field. Thereโs just been a problem. And I donโt know itโs just a problem, right? I mean, if Marcus Williams isnโt the solution, Eddie Jacksonโs not. The solution, Kyle Hamilton canโt be that solution. I donโt think heโs that player. I mean, I think you want him wreaking havoc with the quarterback, not wreaking havoc with the tight ends, but thatโs just, well, thatโs the way weโve seen him play. Well, Kyle Hamilton
Luke Jones 10:36
can be that guy, but then itโs you donโt have him rushing the passers of Blitzer. You donโt have him playing the nickel, right? I mean, and you donโt have Genevieve clowning rushing the passer anymore, either, and thatโs a big part of this. And Iโve talked about it, I havenโt talked about it a lot. Going into week eight, the Ravens were, I think, tied for fourth and sacks, right? So at face value, youโll take that, right? But at the same time, you also know that this team has faced more drop backs than anyone in the NFL because of the theyโve been playing with leads, and we know they canโt stop the pass and all that. So when you look at the opportunity set compared to the number of sacks, they have less impressive but then when you dig deeper, and you can use next gen stats, you can use ESPN pass rush win rate. You can use pro football reference with their pressure rate, all of their pressure rates with those multiple resources there that are tracking this kind of stuff. And we know their subjectivity built into that, but itโs mediocre or worse, so theyโre not getting to the quarterback nearly enough. And specifically in third and long situations. I saw Jonas Schaefer, you know, I think it was true media that that was keeping track of that when theyโre in third and long, meaning third and seven or longer. I mean, quarterbacks are having like, four seconds to to throw. I mean, itโs way much, way too much time and tracked at a level that itโs really below the bar, not just for this year, but even go back to last five or 10 years. So theyโre not getting pressures. Forget sacks. Itโs a problem. Yeah. I mean, itโs a problem. It absolutely is. Even we spent a lot of time talking about Marcus Williams, and Iโm not trying to pick on the kid. Heโs dealt with a lot health wise, but they, they talked up David ajabo going into the season, he was a healthy scratch on Sunday when they already had the injuries that
Nestor Aparicio 12:29
they had. I mean, he canโt help you. They, they believe he canโt help you. That tells you that
Luke Jones 12:32
heโs not there right now. Now that doesnโt mean he canโt help you at some point, but right now, they donโt feel heโs good enough to really help you. So Marcus
Nestor Aparicio 12:40
Williams, same thing, right? Youโre paying him all this money. Yeah, and the coach says heโs not good enough to help us. On Sunday, weโre gonna sit him down against Brentโs, teach him a lesson, or just coach him up, or what, what he canโt help us, whatever it is
Luke Jones 12:52
that thatโs a weird situation, and Iโll tell you why. And I spelled this out a little bit at Baltimore positive.com but Zach Gore in what the Friday before the Tampa Bay game. So this was less than two weeks ago. Was asked about Marcus Williams. He acknowledged him wanting to play better, him needing to play better. But he also made comment that it was Marcus Williams arguably his best week of practice of the season. And look, Iโve been doing this long enough to know that comments like that typically are empty platitudes, but it was still said, you know, it wasnโt a situation where at times theyโre trying to send a message to a player, where sometimes theyโll allude to the fact that like Ben Cleveland, weโve heard this that he needs to play better in practice to get more opportunities, right? Weโve heard that with players also.
Nestor Aparicio 13:38
John horrible said, I like Ben, right? Many sharks, Iโm liking a guy thing. Itโs like heโs on the team, John. We know that. Why is he playing well?
Luke Jones 13:47
But this was very recently that Zach or had made mention that Marcus Williams was practicing so well the Tampa game. Do I think Marcus Williams was one of their best players on the field? No, do I think that was anywhere close to his worst performance of the year. No. I mean, I could probably, off the top of my head, say three or four other games this year that I thought he was markedly worse than he than he was in that Tampa game, the Raiders game, specifically, right, right, right. So, so you go back to thatโs that sequence. And then this is the game where he doesnโt play at all when theyโre missing two of their top three corners, when Eddie Jackson still isnโt getting the job done, and their other safeties other than Hamilton, look, Hamilton dropped the interception. Kyle Hamilton played really well overall. On Sunday, we saw him make plays, including the play late in the first half that set an offense that wasnโt going so hot at the time, put them up on a short field that they were able to score a touchdown and had the lead in and had the lead at halftime. So you know, Iโm not including Hamilton in this group, but you just said it when you mentioned Mata BK, when you mentioned roquan Smith and certainly Marcus Williams, I mean, it slaps you in the face. Now itโs so obvious thatโs a that that is elite money at each level. Uh, thatโs theyโre paying someone elite money at each level that theyโre not getting elite production from. I mean, roquan against the run, he still looks like roquan Smith, but $20 million linebackers, and this goes back to the conversation I had with you a couple years ago in terms of paying an off ball linebacker a $100 million contract you better be able to cover, because otherwise, then that becomes a value concern. Roquan Smith, right now, right now, Iโm not saying the bulk of two and a half years with the ravens, but what weโve seen over the first eight games of the season, itโs a value concern. I mean, it is so and then when you have a safety whoโs carrying the third highest cat number on your team, and heโs a health not, not even a healthy scratch. He was active and didnโt play, you know, didnโt play a defensive snap, didnโt play on special teams. I mean, thatโs, Iโm not saying
Nestor Aparicio 15:53
thatโs a dog house, right? Thatโs a dog house, is what that I mean, itโs not, well, sure, it
Luke Jones 15:57
is sure. I mean, and, you know, horrible after the game. You know, I can read you his quote it. It offered no clarity. And look, I donโt expect John to throw someone under the bus. And I can
Nestor Aparicio 16:09
tell it what it is we do on the radio. I mean, I call it a dog house when you need help on the back end, and youโve got an $18 million guy, and you wonโt put him in the game, and heโs got shoulder pads on and allegedly healthy. But I might be the loudest thing we say today, quite frankly. I mean, he was a huge offset season acquisition. He was big money, and thereโs a problem there of some kind. Thereโs a problem there. Aside from what weโve seen on the field, thereโs a problem there,
Luke Jones 16:32
yeah, and John Harbaughโs quote, he was asked about it. He was asked if he was healthy, like all of the those things. And, you know, they were coming off a short week, and they played a ton of snaps defensively in that Tampa Bay game. So you never really know. But John Harbaughโs comment when asked about Marcus Williams, he said it was a personnel decision. Weโre kind of working through some things there. I feel very confident Marcus is going to be out there playing great football the rest of the season. Iโll just talk about it being an internal type of situation. So when you hear that, when you understand that he was healthy, he wasnโt on the injury report all week, he practiced, I didnโt think he was, you know, I certainly didnโt look at the Tampa Bay game and say, Oh, Marcus Williams is really bad again. I wasnโt great, but he I didnโt see him like, have these major breakdowns individually, as maybe he did in some other games. It feels and smells like thereโs more to that in some way, doesnโt it doesnโt feel like
Nestor Aparicio 17:26
youโd be late for work one day or have some and they wouldnโt play him. You know what? I mean? Like they needed him. They needed something on the field. Maybe they didnโt need him on Sunday. If they donโt need him on Sunday, they donโt need him ever. They should get rid of me if theyโve
Luke Jones 17:38
needed him. Well, I mean, you canโt just automatically get rid of it. No, no, no. Iโm
Nestor Aparicio 17:44
just saying, like, no, no, I
Luke Jones 17:45
hear you. Well, you better be playing against Denver on Sunday, given the circumstances. Well, if heโs not, then heโs gonna be inactive. Because you canโt have your your backup quarterback not playing and being active. Thatโs Thatโs expected, but you canโt have players active on game day and not contributing in any way, right? I mean, you have your starters, you have your key reserves who play some special teams, and then you have your core special teams players. I mean, thatโs how this works, because you only get 48 players active on game day. So, you know, itโs, itโs, I donโt want to say itโs puzzling, from the standpoint of, we know he hasnโt been playing well, but itโs not as though they they went out and acquired an upgrade at the safety position, and maybe they will over the next week, right? I mean, we know the trade deadline is looming next week. In fact, Nestor, I was, you know, kind of joking with, you know, my best buddy, who is someone that whose opinion I value, and heโs very knowledgeable about the ravens and everything. I mean, he joked and said, Wow, they could go out and get a defensive player at any position, basically, at this point, and it would help them. And itโs tough to argue with that. I mean, you know, maybe not the
Nestor Aparicio 18:54
pass rush, pass rush will be the thing. But youโre always throwing darts at some 35 year old Yannick and gawk way, kind of, you know, I What zedar Smithโs going somewhere, probably, right? I mean, for all the Browns hubbub and their excitement stuff, theyโre still going to parcel things off in the next week, I would think, I mean, they donโt think theyโre a playoff team. I
Luke Jones 19:13
mean, theyโre still two and six, and theyโre not, theyโre not like the Bengals right now, where the recordโs not good. But you look at it and say, Okay, is there a pathway? I mean, what you think youโre going to win out? You think youโre going to win all but one game the rest of the way? I mean, thatโs what you have to do. So, so yeah, you would think that zanarius Smith specifically, are the Browns going to trade to AFC North team? I mean, theyโre the kind of team that would have that kind of thinking, which I think is dumb. You take the best deal, regardless of who youโre trading with but they need had edge help. They absolutely do. I mean, Kyle van Noy, go look at how many snaps he played on Sunday. I mean, played. Heโs 33 years old. Heโs playing really well. This isnโt about him specifically, but you know, Kyle van Noy, if he has to play 51 snaps, heโs playing 74 Of the snaps, as he did Sunday, thatโs too many for someone that youโre still talking about nine more regular season games, and even if you get the first round by three more games youโre thinking of in January and early February. I mean, again, thatโs the goal. You know, youโre
Nestor Aparicio 20:15
not getting any buy. I mean, letโs, letโs, thatโs crazy. Iโm not
Luke Jones 20:19
saying they are, but Iโm saying even if they were, thatโs still three more games. So now youโre talking four more games, and I agree. Theyโre, theyโre four out well, they put
Nestor Aparicio 20:26
themselves now in a position where all the cushy, cushy we talked about last year, and letโs be honest, this franchise hasnโt done go with cushy, cushy back in 2006 didnโt do well with cushy, cushy, right? Take a time off couple years ago with Lamar, so I donโt know, but theyโre not going to get theyโre theyโre not. Theyโre not an elite team, theyโre a good team, theyโre not a very well balanced team, but theyโre not an elite team. Theyโre not going to be one seed. Theyโre not. I mean, look at them. I mean, weโre talking about them losing to Cleveland at this point. Weโre worried about playoff games. Youโre talking playoffs, you know, you better start getting some guys healthy, and you better figure out the defense. And I know thatโs what you wrote about at Baltimore. Positive,
Luke Jones 21:02
you positive. I mean, Iโm not these injuries arenโt a set of injuries that are season altering in the sense that you have multiple guys out for the year, right? Again, weโll see about Michael Pierce thatโs concerning when itโs a calf and he was rolled out as quickly as he was, but that still doesnโt mean itโs a season ending injury. But I mean, at some point Iโm just tired of of coming up with the explanation why their defense, their past defense stinks. I mean, it stinks. Theyโre 32nd and passing yards allowed. I mean their bottom, their bottom 10. Now, when youโre talking about points and, you know, third down and red zone, I mean, all these, itโs not a good defense. Itโs a good run defense. Good run defense doesnโt take you very far in 2024 just doesnโt it. Also
Nestor Aparicio 21:45
time of possession for Lamar too. I feel position and
Luke Jones 21:48
itโs all related, right? And again, I Iโm harping on the defense right now. Weโll get to the offense. There were things wrong with the offense on Sunday. There were things wrong with the special teams on Sunday, but the offense and Lamar Jackson, specifically, theyโve been outstanding. I donโt think Lamar was that bad on Sunday. I thought he was I thought he was actually good in the second half. I thought he threw some passes in the first half that he was fortunate that didnโt come away as interception. So it wasnโt the best version of Lamar that we saw, but his players dropped passes. You know, his receivers dropped passes on Sunday, but so. But my point with that was the offense has been humming at such a high level, and I agree with you, this is not an elite team at this point in time. Itโs still an elite offense. I mean, itโs an elite offense. It wasnโt elite on Sunday, but they still scored 24 points. They didnโt get held to 10, right? But the defense is just, I mean, weโre talking about this every week. When have we not talked about the defense the Buffalo game? We praised them in the Buffalo game. They were excellent in the Buffalo game, but Kansas City wasnโt good enough. Vegas, they had to collapse in the fourth quarter. Dallas, almost another collapse in the fourth quarter at Cincinnati, they were a sieve. I mean, Joe burrow threw the ball all over the field on them. Washington, they stopped the run. Brian Robinson was out that game. They actually, and I even said it to you at the time, statistically, it didnโt look great. I actually thought that was one of their better defensive performances. And Jaden Daniels shows what heโs capable of doing, even in a week, what he doesnโt practice right throw in the Hail Mary, which is unbelievable. I mean
Nestor Aparicio 23:21
by the way, I want to say this, you know, Iโve been on Facebook. What about 1617? Years weโve been on Facebook? I donโt know. Maybe during the Robert Griffin era there, you know, a couple of the burgundy, gold people came out of the woodwork. Did I wake up on Monday morning? My whole timeline is like I was at the game. I was at what game, Cleveland. No Northwest Stadium, where the hell theyโre calling it, there are more burdening gold. I got more people south of Columbia than I thought I had in my life, and they all appear when hail and Mary in gets chucked up in the air. It wasnโt a that was an amazing thing that happened to them. Itโs kind of an amazing thing thatโs happened to that franchise. I mean, youโre getting to be an old fart like me over 40 at this point, and you think of them as just being God awful most of your adulthood. You donโt have memories of John Riggins and and Joe Gibbs and all that, but the fact that they get up off the carpet a little bit. I just want to say this out loud, because you might not mention it again, three, four more segments, you and I be tearing up the offense, talking about the Broncos and all that. Theyโve never been a factor here. Theyโve been a punch line, right? And this is where Katie Griggs, if youโre listening, on the eve of the, you know, perhaps a Dodger suite before, who knows, with Showa at this point. But the the notion that the Orioles have been this dormant franchise for 20 years, and the Nationals had just gone and sold advertising and won championships, and had Bryce Harper and had strat had players, you know, and and won and won a lot they want. They they were in the playoffs enough for that period of time. I do shudder for what would happen here if the Ravens were to go into a couple of those seven and 10s and six and elevens, and they have a generational thing. There. Iโm not saying we donโt or can Lamar signed, God bless all of us. But I have never, in this century, since Iโve had this radio station, since Daniel Snyder zoned the team, had to think, what if they get up and walk or run as a franchise, financially, as a franchise in this area? What if they get a stadium built? What if? What if? What if? Footballโs different with salary caps and all of that and revenue, you can still compete that. Thank God for that, and thatโs why Bucha bought into it. But they are the sleeping giant down there, and itโs that kind of play and this kind of player that does make me for the first time in my adulthood, they play in Maryland too, you know, like there isnโt. I havenโt thought about going to a Redskins game in 20 years. I know where they play, I know what time they play. I laugh at it. It might as well be on Mars. But other people are waking up to it a little bit. Thatโs all Iโm going to say. That was an awakening for that franchise in this region that showed up on my timeline. Iโm like, I didnโt realize I had so many of those. Well,
Luke Jones 26:05
I mean, I donโt, I donโt have any concern about it in the context of it impacting the ravens, because of what you just said, and knowing what the evidence that the NFL is revenue set up and structure and model and all that is. But I mean, itโs they think they have their Lamar Jackson now, I mean, itโs that simple, right? I mean, Jaden Daniels looking like he looks as a rookie, and understanding how Lamar improved as he got more experience, how Patrick mahomes got better and better as he got more experience. Same with Josh Allen. I mean, heโs going to be in that tier the way itโs looking. I mean, heโs
Nestor Aparicio 26:37
not there running a bumper car offense either after seeing them two weeks ago, he heโs, I
Luke Jones 26:42
mean, he scrambled through this. And letโs keep in mind he almost missed this game because of Bruce ribs or whatever the issue is. So like that can still happen. And you made mention of it, and I think itโs fair to point it out. We tend to forget these things over time. I mean, that town was nuts over RG three, and in a very quick period of time, too. And he got hurt at the end of his rookie year. Of course, against the Ravens is when the beginning of the end, when he loaded nada, you know, hit him and all that. But, but, yeah, so, but to go back, you know, and I donโt want to dwell on that too much, but just to go back to where the the ravens are. And again, my point in bringing up, we brought up Jaden Daniels, was this defense. I mean, they buffalo is the one complete performance they have all year defensively when, when you really kind of look at it, thatโs not to say theyโve been playing bad in every other game, but thereโs been something that youโd point to and say they werenโt good in the fourth quarter, they werenโt good in the second half or or they didnโt tackle Well, or they had coverage breakdowns. And, I mean, itโs everything, I want to be clear. Itโs not just the coaching itโs not just Zach or itโs not just the coaching staff, but they absolutely have some of the blame here, and they might have a big part of the blame when you consider how often theyโre having issues getting lined up or getting guys in the right place, or having missed coverage assignments, and, yeah,
Nestor Aparicio 28:02
running vertically along the line of scrimmage when the ballโs getting snapped. I never seen that, not the NFL. Iโve been watching this. Iโve been watching this a long time. I saw that that play, and Iโm like, I mean, Iโve seen quick snaps and Tom Brady and Peyton Manning were, you know, adept at doing all that and making you not substitute or catch you in a substitution to get a penalty or whatever, but snapping before youโre set because you donโt know where to line up, and you got defensive linemen running like in motion, looks like a running back across the back. Iโm like, This isnโt good. Yeah.
Luke Jones 28:33
So, so yes, itโs coaching, and yes, the players on the field have to take accountability. Itโs a lot going on right now with that group, and I canโt keep just chalking it up to Garbage Time in the games prior to this one. Of course, I canโt just keep chalking it up to well, you know, they they face Jaden Daniels and they face Joe burrow and they face Patrick mahomes and they faced Dak Prescott. I mean, at some point in time, like Matt abika said it, you know, I included the quote in my column. I mean, theyโre the Ravens. No, this offense is so great. They donโt need it to be the 2000 defense. They donโt even need to be the 2023 defense. It doesnโt have to be that. But it canโt be this. It canโt be giving up 300 plus yards and three second half touchdowns to Jameis Winston and a passing game that just traded their best wide receiver two weeks ago. So itโs below the bar, like I said, and theyโve got to get this thing fixed, because they have Lamar Jackson and they have this great offense that didnโt play great Sunday, but is a great offense. The numbers donโt lie, but you got to have more balance than this. You know, it canโt be your offense does everything, and your defense is pitiful. I mean, that was pitiful on Sunday from this defense, and theyโd be the first to tell you that. So and I get it. Kyle Hamilton catches that interception that was pill. Always soft, and is a ball that any defensive back should catch in their sleep. You know, there was no degree of difficulty on that play for a defensive back, he dropped it. He knows that
Nestor Aparicio 30:11
dropping a ball in the sun. I mean, you know, weโll get to the
Luke Jones 30:14
offense. Yeah, again, the offense did things that the special teams. I mean, Justin Tucker, even the field goal he made, looked like Iโm wondering Was he hurt? I mean, that looked really bad. So, so there are other things, but weโre talking about the defense every single week, right? Arenโt you tired
Nestor Aparicio 30:29
of talking about the same itโs the lead story when they lose. And you know, Lamar is the lead story when they win. Luke Jones is here. Heโs Baltimore, Luke, weโre going to continue on. We just did a defensive iteration of what weโre doing, but weโre gonna talk about Jim Schwartz on the other side our Bucha zone. And you know, we predicted all week that it was gonna be a struggle. I wrote on Sunday morning, you know, I said, Donโt bet on this game, I said, and if you do, donโt bet on the Ravens. So I did everything I could do last week. Luke can be found at Baltimore. Lukeโs all brought to you by friends at Jiffy Lube MultiCare, as well as the Maryland lottery. Put us out on the road for our crab cake tour. The oyster tour is in progress. My man, Ray Bachman, was day six. Shout out to him. Iโve been in communication with Ray. Ray canโt speak right now, but heโs typing. Heโs online. Throw him a note, and if you want to contribute. My friends, Acosta, I had dinner Acosta the other night. And theyโre like, Hey, we did a little something for Ray. And Iโm like, good. Weโre going to do a little something for Ray around here too as we get him back up. So the oyster Tour is brought to you by our friends at the Oyster recovery partnership. Of course, lots of education out there. One 800 clean water, and our friends at Liberty, pure solutions. I talked to Doug workman last week. Weโre going to talk some water with him around here, as well as our friends at curio wellness and far and daughter did a great piece with Wendy bronfen About turpa, liens, terpenes, cart, car, fill, I stole how to say that word, limonene. All the the terpene profiles, all of that is up at Baltimore positive. Itโs a big week around here, Denver, in town, World Series going on, Shohei and and the Dodgers and the Yankees and Juan Soto and baseball every night as the Broncos come to town without John Elway. Iโm Nestor. Heโs Luke. We are wnst am 1570 Towson, Baltimore, we never stop talking defense and offense and the Ravens and what the hell happened? Yeah.