It’s almost impossible to win in the NFL without your franchise quarterback. It’s another season-altering injury in Cincinnati for Joe Burrow and the Bengals and that certainly changes the axis of power in the AFC North. Luke Jones and Nestor assess the emerging state of the league after Week 2 and the Ravens’ thumping of Browns in Baltimore and an ugly Steelers’ home loss to Seattle.
Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the NFL after Week 2, highlighting the Ravens’ 41-10 win over the Browns and the impact of Joe Burrow’s injury on the Bengals. They noted the fragility of NFL teams, with the Ravens’ 1-1 record and the Bengals’ 0-2 record after Burrow’s injury. They also touched on the Ravens’ upcoming game against the Lions, emphasizing the importance of player health, particularly Marlon Humphrey and Kyle Van Noy. The conversation included reflections on the NFL’s dominance, the impact of streaming services, and personal anecdotes about their football experiences.
Ravens’ Victory Over Browns and Maryland Crab Cake Tour
- Nestor Aparicio discusses the Ravens’ 41-10 win over the Cleveland Browns and mentions the Maryland crab cake tour on Tuesday.
- Nestor shares his wife’s reaction to the game and her interest in the Chiefs game.
- Nestor and Luke Jones talk about the importance of quarterbacks in the NFL, using Joe Burrow’s injury as an example.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the fragility of NFL teams and the impact of injuries on the season.
Impact of Joe Burrow’s Injury on Bengals’ Season
- Nestor and Luke discuss the potential impact of Joe Burrow’s injury on the Bengals’ season.
- Luke mentions the Bengals’ tough schedule and the importance of keeping the quarterback healthy.
- Nestor and Luke talk about the Ravens’ schedule and the challenges they might face.
- Luke highlights the importance of the Ravens’ defense and the health of key players like Marlon Humphrey and Kyle Van Noy.
Ravens’ Upcoming Game Against Lions
- Nestor and Luke discuss the Ravens’ upcoming game against the Lions and the challenges they might face.
- Luke mentions the Lions’ recent performance and the importance of the Ravens’ defense.
- Nestor and Luke talk about the importance of keeping the quarterback healthy and the potential impact of injuries on the team.
- Luke highlights the importance of the Ravens’ offense and the need to manage the game well.
NFL’s Weekend of Football and Personal Reflections
- Nestor and Luke reflect on the weekend of NFL football and their personal experiences watching the games.
- Nestor shares his thoughts on the NFL’s increased presence on TV and the impact on his viewing habits.
- Luke talks about his streaming setup and how he monitors multiple games at once.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of the NFL as a shared experience and its impact on fans.
NFL’s Dominance and Future Prospects
- Nestor and Luke discuss the NFL’s dominance in sports and its impact on other leagues.
- Luke mentions the importance of the NFL’s shared experience and its role in bringing people together.
- Nestor and Luke talk about the future prospects of various NFL teams and the importance of quarterbacks.
- Luke highlights the importance of the Ravens’ performance and their potential to win the Super Bowl.
Ravens’ Performance and Future Outlook
- Nestor and Luke discuss the Ravens’ performance and their future outlook.
- Luke mentions the importance of the Ravens’ defense and the need to manage the game well.
- Nestor and Luke talk about the Ravens’ potential to win the Super Bowl and the importance of keeping the team healthy.
- Luke highlights the importance of the Ravens’ offense and the need to perform well against the Lions.
NFL’s Impact on Fans and Personal Experiences
- Nestor and Luke discuss the NFL’s impact on fans and their personal experiences watching the games.
- Nestor shares his thoughts on the NFL’s increased presence on TV and its impact on his viewing habits.
- Luke talks about his streaming setup and how he monitors multiple games at once.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of the NFL as a shared experience and its role in bringing people together.
Ravens’ Fans and Personal Connections
- Nestor and Luke discuss the Ravens’ fans and their personal connections to the team.
- Nestor shares his thoughts on the Ravens’ fans and their dedication to the team.
- Luke talks about the importance of the Ravens’ performance and their potential to win the Super Bowl.
- Nestor and Luke highlight the importance of the Ravens’ defense and the need to manage the game well.
NFL’s Future and Personal Reflections
- Nestor and Luke discuss the NFL’s future and their personal reflections on the league.
- Luke mentions the importance of the NFL’s shared experience and its role in bringing people together.
- Nestor and Luke talk about the future prospects of various NFL teams and the importance of quarterbacks.
- Luke highlights the importance of the Ravens’ performance and their potential to win the Super Bowl.
NFL’s Impact on Personal Lives and Viewing Habits
- Nestor and Luke discuss the NFL’s impact on their personal lives and viewing habits.
- Nestor shares his thoughts on the NFL’s increased presence on TV and its impact on his viewing habits.
- Luke talks about his streaming setup and how he monitors multiple games at once.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of the NFL as a shared experience and its role in bringing people together.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
NFL Week 2, Ravens thumping Browns, Joe Burrow injury, Bengals season, Lamar Jackson, Cincinnati schedule, Detroit Lions, Baltimore Ravens, quarterback health, NFL Prime Time, fantasy football, Super Bowl contenders, NFL ratings, football fandom.
SPEAKERS
Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W, N, S T am 1570 task of Baltimore and Baltimore positive coming at you at 500 we’re one and one, the Ravens win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, we’re going to be taking the Maryland crab cake tour on the road on Tuesday, going to be Catonsville. Going to be back at the Beaumont where I love the fried lobster tail, but I thought that was kind of bougie, and put it in the 20s of my tastiness store, brought to you by curio wellness. And my wife thought the lamb chops should have been in the top five. So I’m going to eat the lamb chops on Tuesday. I’m going to brag about the lamb chops. Probably going to get down the street. Get a bowl that chicken tortilla soup and guapo as well. And I will be giving away the remnants of the and these are still lucky tickets. Lucky seven it says lucky right on it. Lucky sevens, doubler and the pressure locks with the Whammy. Somebody put the whammy on. Joe burrow here this week. Luke joins me now. In the aftermath of we’ve talked a lot about Flacco. We talked a lot about the 75 colts and the 96 ravens and Ozzy and Ray and John Ogden and trophies and all of that stuff. My wife kind of ran out when the game got out of hand. Was like, 41 to 10. She’s like, I got some errands I gotta run. It’s four o’clock on a Sunday. She went out. She came back, sat down, like, second quarter of the chiefs game. She’s gonna watch it. So what happened? I’m like, well, Russell Wilson threw this bomb, and they still lost, and the kid from the Cowboys kicked the 64 yard field goal. And I’m like, whatever. I’m like, but you know, the only thing that really matters, Joe burrow got hurt. I mean, from the Ravens perspective, for me, it’s like the Bengals season’s over, if you’re a Bengals fan. I mean, in the same way that if Lamar Jackson hurt his Pinky Winky toe. I mean, turf toe. Took Deon Sanders and John Ogden out here. So that’s not that’s serious business for quarterback and pushing off. And you could even see kind of the push off and the plant and all that league, as we always say, the league’s crazy is baldy would say leaks crazy. League’s always crazy at this point, but the lions are coming in and they’re scoring points and the Ravens are so in the middle of all this is Brian Billick. Once said it’s all sitting there for you, and certainly sitting there a lot easier when the division look feels a little lighter today than it did yesterday.
Luke Jones 02:20
Yeah, and until there’s final word on the borough thing. But it doesn’t sound good, obviously. And it’s a reminder of, you know, for as much as we think of these teams as being powerhouses, and I mean, Kansas City has been a powerhouse, right and they’re own two right now, Philadelphia Super Bowl winner, and off to a two and oh start and puffing out their chest after a win at arrowhead and in Buffalo. I mean, of course, what they did against the Ravens last week with Cincinnati. It’s a reminder of all these teams are. It is so fragile in terms of you have that one guy that goes down with an injury that quarterback, and it completely changes the complexion of your season. Now you know whether Joe burrow is going to be out for the year, whether he’s going to be out three months, or whether you know that maybe they get better news than what the early
Nestor Aparicio 03:13
but you’re hoping they’re six and six at Thanksgiving, and burrow can come back and get you to 10 and seven and get you into coming to Baltimore to play in week one of the playoffs, or whatever. I don’t know, whatever you’re thinking,
Luke Jones 03:26
right? Yeah. I mean, that that’s about the best you can hope for, right? I mean, if the Ravens were in a position where they lose Lamar Jackson for six weeks or or whatever, you know, anything that’s not season ending, you’re you’re hoping that Cooper rush can play well enough and manage the game well enough, and you’re going to run the ball well enough, and your defense is going to play well enough that I don’t know. Can you go three and three over a six game stretch, right? Can you go two and four? That’s not going to completely, completely, you know, cut off your head in terms of, like, two
Nestor Aparicio 03:58
and four makes you feel before, right? I mean, literally for the because they’re two and, oh,
Luke Jones 04:02
right, right. So, so, you know, I mean, that’s but you kind of look at Cincinnati schedule, where they’re at Minnesota, at Denver, home against Detroit, at Green Bay, home against Pittsburgh. I mean, my goodness, that only takes you to mid October. Then it does. It lessens up, lightens up a little bit, makes you feel better about the Raven schedule. September, sure, sure. So, you know, I mean, it’s, it’s tough, but at the same time, I mean, it speaks to how fragile can be. And look, I had my significant doubts about the Bengals defense, right? I mean, I just saw that last year. I mean, their offense was sensational and didn’t even make the playoffs because their defense stunk. So you know whether it was going to be them, whether it was going to be Pittsburgh, in terms of who’s the biggest threat to the Ravens as it pertains to the division, certainly, it puts them in a different position now and but it’s just a reminder of. Well, how incredibly important it is to keep your quarterback healthy. I mean, you can overcome a lot. You can you can overcome, you know, a shoddy defense, or, you know, questionable skill players, whatever it might be, but you lose your quarterback, it’s over. I mean, it just is. And for Cincinnati, they’re kind of staring that in the face right now, and Browning’s one of the better backups in the league. I think, you know, I think he’s way more competitive than a lot of backup quarterbacks out there. But it’s not Joe burrow. So certainly changes the complexion there and everything you just pointed out. It’s, it’s like, wow. Now if only you hadn’t squandered a 15 point lead in the fourth quarter in week one. I mean, ravens be sitting pretty. I mean, you’d be talking about being two and oh, a tiebreaker over buffalo, Kansas City’s oh and two, the bangles are reeling. Pittsburgh just dropped a game at home to a team that you know, you thought they would beat, even though, you know, hats off to Seattle. But you kind of look at all that, you say, man, it could have been that much better, but at one and one, you’ll still take it. They’re in good position. They’ve got a heck of a challenge on their hands with with Detroit coming to town, have having just scored 50 plus. I mean, they certainly bounce back from their pu performance in week one against Green Bay, when they hang that many points, uh, albeit against the bears, you know, but 52 points is 52 points. And you know, we’re going to see if, if the lions can come in. And keep in mind, couple years ago, when, when they came to town, that that was a much hyped football game, and the Ravens beat the tar out of them. So there is the NFC thing that I know Philadelphia poked a hole in last December when they came into Baltimore and beat the Ravens on their way to winning a Super Bowl, ultimately. But Detroit, they had their issues with the Ravens two years ago, and that was without Derrick Henry, you know, that was without DeAndre Hopkins being in the mix. So I do think you know, as much as Yeah, you’re going to look at that Lions offense and say, Okay, this ravens defense, you hope that the steps that they took against the browns? Yeah, I get it. It was the browns, but it was still a nice step forward to rebound from where they were in week one. But you know, what’s Marlon Humphrey’s health status going to be this week? What’s Kyle van Noy status going to be this week? You know, those are two big questions. What’s Jair Alexander status going to be this week? Are they going to see what they want to see in practice to get him back on the field? I mean, if Marlon Humphrey doesn’t play, he would Jair Alexander, I think, you know, there’s, he’s going to be out there in some shape or form, you know, in some capacity. So you know, you’re going to have to see how that plays out. But the ravens are the home team here. And I even saw it. I believe it was Brian branch, you know, the lions nickel, you know, their standout slot corner, defensive back, and I think he got a game ball. And I happen to just see the clip on social media. It might have been, might have been football Night in America. Can’t remember what it was, but he was handed a game ball, and you know what? The first thing he said was, guys, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We have Baltimore next week. So they know, they know what kind of challenges, especially the guys that were there where they got their ass beat the way they exactly, exactly. So hey, but Monday Night Football, week three, you know, you look at that kind of matchup. I mean, especially on the heels, that’s Sunday night game. I didn’t, I didn’t watch too much of it closely, because I was in the midst of writing, you know, my post game piece for Baltimore, positive.com but every time I looked up, I’m just like, man, what is this game like? What is this so I think the league is, you know, ESPN certainly hoping that ravens lions can approach what ravens bills was for NBC in week one. So, but hey, this is a great opportunity. Let’s see if the defense truly did learn some lessons from week one. Because, yeah, the Browns aren’t the bills, but the lions, you know, they pose a challenge. I mean, when you talk about the that running back duo, when you talk about what St Brown is as a wide receiver, you know, they’ve got a good tight tight end. I mean, Jared Goff had a big game. I get it. Jared Goff at home is historically not been what Jared Goff is on the road. But, you know, the Ravens have to be ready. There’s no doubt about that. Yeah, the lion should have their full attention after they scored 52 but as I said, the lions are the team going on the road and having to deal with Lamar Jackson, Derrick, Henry and and company, and that is no easy challenge. So definitely looking forward to this matchup, and pretty crazy when you talk about two teams squaring off that scored, what, oh, a combined 93 points on Sunday. That says it all, and that speaks to what ESPN is hoping this will get aim will ultimately be,
Nestor Aparicio 09:52
well, yeah, and sort of the cap off of a weekend of us sitting around all day, Sunday, watching football all night. Thursday, watching football command. Got that out early last week with the Lambo thing, and so we’re into the grind of doesn’t happen once a week. It doesn’t happen three times a week anymore. It happens twice on Monday. Sometimes it happens at 930 in the morning once they start going over to Europe here in a couple of weeks and doing all this, I can’t help but you know, the Ravens only play three hours a week, and now the Chad steel doesn’t let me in anymore. I, you know, the only football I get is here. I don’t sit and watch the NFL Network all week because I don’t, so I sort of crave it a little bit. And and the pregame shows are just terrible, like, I know this week, they’re doing like a throwback thing on CBS. They’re going back to Jimmy the Greek and the intangibles. Let me tell you, that’s actually pretty cool. I didn’t know they were doing that. They do a throwback thing on CDs, the way the Ravens did throwback weekend with the 96 I like
Luke Jones 10:50
those. I did like the end zone logos. I thought that was cool. I mean it
Nestor Aparicio 10:53
what about the website takeover? I didn’t go to ravens.com Yeah, it wasn’t the website. Their app. The app, okay,
Luke Jones 11:00
app. It made it look like Windows 95 like it was really cool. I thought that was neat, but I I had to, there was a little bit of nostalgia. I have to find this, because I my first ravens hat that that it was my, my best friend’s father actually bought it for me. Something had happened. There was some kind of fun right, Razor thing that we had done for a basketball or something like that first hat that said ravens on, yeah, and he had pledged money to me, and he had forgot to pay me. I had forgotten all about it. He’s like, Luke, I owe you, like, $30 I’m like, what? He ended up getting me a Ravens hat at my first game, which was ravens packers, that that preseason game, that when there was a monsoon in the first half, earbuds from klata pub that night, I had, I have to find that hat. It was a white hat with a black brim, and it had that logo. It was like the flying B or No, no, no, the end zone logo with, like, you know, look like the Batman logo, and it was, you know, is black and yellow with just a little bit of
Nestor Aparicio 12:09
purple. David Modell love that logo. David Modell love that Batman
Luke Jones 12:13
I came across that. I knew I had it, but I hadn’t seen that hat in years. I came across it like, six months ago. I have to try to find it, and I’ll show it to find it, and I’ll show
Nestor Aparicio 12:23
it to you on Zoom. We can do a we can do a show and tell of throwback stuff, because, you know, I’m collecting these crazy 1971 NFL belt buckles, and the whole reason is the Baltimore Colts belt buckle that I had as a boy that led me into this road of 50 Years of Lionel Mitchell and Bert Jones all these years later, but I sat and watched football day, Sunday, right like so I just want to, you know, come clean on this, because look, last week it was the same thing, and first weekend that the kickoff Thursday and Friday, especially the Brazil game, I kind of fell asleep. It was a Friday night. It’s on it’s on my computer. I can’t watch it on a television. I mean, that’s a weird thing. A Thursday night football too, with the Redskins watching on my computer. I don’t really watch it on my TV, so and you can’t stop it started the way you want, and Todd, just all of the amazonification of all of it. Week one, I was a little offended by all of it. Week two, I’m hugging Lydell Mitchell and Joe Herman’s looking at me like he’s my grandfather and wants to give me hog and a kiss. And I’m with Renata linhardt, and we’re raking down about Tony, and I’m just telling old stories that Ted marcher brought his granddaughter and but I love the league, and I’m so I’ve immersed my life in the league, whether it was being an eagle season ticket holder when buddy Ryan was there, or doing a television show with Buddy Ryan a decade later. Um, so when it comes on and I’m engaged in the history and the uniforms, and when the Packers are wearing those goofy white things where I’m like, What are you doing, and the throwback this, and the throw up that and all. We’ll get into all of that as color rush season begins here in the NFL, sometimes I have a hard time cutting through too much Rich Eisen, too much Deion Sanders at one point on the NFL, just too much of all of it. That. Much like my buddy, who loved the Redskins all of his life. He would say, You know what? Dude, I just I walk my dog, and I come in at 1258, and I put the game on, because that’s all I can take. I don’t want to read what Cassie thinks on the 1998 app. I don’t need to hear what anybody thinks about it other than what I think, because I’ve been watching it all this time, and I give the whole day. Sunday, I give the whole night. Monday, my wife looks forward to Thursday, and I keep telling her how bad the football is going to be. And then it’s on the computer, and I’m like, and I you know, and I fall asleep, and you hate Thursday night football, but the drama of. It, the sucking in part of it, the part that, like, I’m watching the Giants and the Cowboys, and I’m like, these teams suck. It’s kind of reminds me of my wife and I watching the pirates and the Orioles in the 11th inning last week. And I’m like, these teams suck, but like, it’s 425, and the Chiefs games getting going. It’s just getting going. And I don’t care, and I stay with it enough to learn enough about the teams in 15 minutes of overtime football to feel like I got something more useful than the first quarter of any Thursday night football game. Quite frankly, from giving it an hour of my time, and the Eagles are the best team, right? I mean, I, you know, I’m watching this the whole time. So far, the ravens are going to measure themselves so far against the Eagles like I saw the Vikings game on the schedule. I thought of some and then I watched the Vikings meltdown on Sunday night. So I start to get impressions, these snapshots of quarterbacks, these snapshots of teams, as to whether Russell Wilson can do still do it, or Joe Flacco can’t do it, or whether Aaron Rodgers can do it. And you know whether Where’s Patrick mahomes in all of this, and where’s his team and like, they’re owing to so I start to get all these snapshots, and I’ve watched so much football in my life, and I’ve dedicated my life to this professionally over the last 30 years. And now that I’m stuck watching it on TV, I take it for what it is, and I just try to, like, throw the darts and say, boy, who can really win? Because that’s all that really matters. All the rest is his eye wash, because I don’t gamble on it. You know what I mean? As I pointed out in the gambling segment, because it is Gambling Awareness month here, I did an unbelievable piece with a guy named Will him and find it at Baltimore positive. It’s phenomenal, because I learned a lot. It really made me think it was a great psychology piece for an hour about gambling, and I’m not into it, and that feels like I’m lost with 30 year old kids with beards at ballparks with tattoos who are all gambling on their they’re all into their face and into their Draft Kings and into their like and I’m like, I love the ravens, I love Baltimore. I like teams. I like football. I like X’s and O’s Jimmy’s and Joe’s, like you and me, so I love talking about it like that. But then there really does come down to who are the good teams, and we start to eliminate the Cincinnati’s, and you don’t like the Chargers so much, and the Vikings look green, and the Packers look kind of loaded a little bit, you know? But I the ravens are a loaded team, dude, yeah. Like, they, you know, like, this is a year we can win. So all I care about is, who else can win. I I, when I sit and watch the Arizona Cardinals and the Panthers play, I’m like, I’m just, I’m not down with that. What I the rams and the Titans got done. And I’m like, I didn’t think I saw a highlight. I don’t know what uniforms they wore. Like, literally, that’s how this now the Rams, I’ll be into them in a couple of weeks, but on a Sunday I have the bandwidth for red zone and for catching up. And I love Sunday Night Football, because I like Coach Dungy. I think it’s one of the better shows, quite frankly, you know, like of all of it things I can and can’t watch. And as I went down to make coffee Sunday night Luke and to stay up a little later with the game. I came up the steps, and I’m like, my god, I miss Chris Berman and Tom Jackson. I just miss really good, yeah, where can I go and get something that’s good? And I freaking hate Rich Eisen. I mean, I and I hate what ESPN has become, and I hate hearing Rex Ryan, say, and I like Rex. And, I mean, you know, I mean, there’s part of me loves Rex and whatever, but, like, I can’t do it. It just, I sit here all day and I just wait for something good. I just want tell me what’s good, Luke,
Luke Jones 18:32
you know, it’s funny you mentioned this, because you would just spark something in my mind. So I’m going to give you a couple things that, unfortunately, isn’t going to apply to you, most likely. But two things that have really changed for me, and I’m obviously talking about Sundays, when I’m at home, right? I’m at the stadium. I mean, you just mentioned the rams and the Titans. I didn’t even, honestly, I’d forgotten they even played each other on Sunday. Like I’m just not plugged into the rest of the league in that way. But couple things that I’ve really come to, like uh, one I with my current streaming basically, I have a cable package, but it’s I have YouTube TV right now. You know, I’m not trying to give them an advertisement too much here, but I do, and one thing they have is multi view, where you literally can get four different channels on the screen at the same time. I love that for pregame, as I’m, you know. And last Sunday, I was cleaning up my kitchen. I grilled some brats, you know, before the one o’clock game, because the Ravens weren’t playing until 830
Nestor Aparicio 19:32
I had some deepest quality. So I want to give a shout out to Darren the sausage. There you go. I love you. Your sausage is so freaking phenomenal. There you go. I ate two of them. I ate one and a half time, and I ate one. I stopped the Cowboys Giants game, and I made another one. There inside it was a two sausage Sunday.
Luke Jones 19:50
So, so I had ESPN, NFL Network, CBS, Fox. So this was started at noon, right? I mean, CBS, they’re. Pre game show starts at noon. I had those four on, and obviously you have the audio for one of them, but I can keep an eye on it. And when I see the ravens, bills logos on the screen, I flip to that one. Or if there happens to be something, you know, a player in the league that I like, you know a player in the league that I want to hear about, you know what, whatever it might be. And then I just turn to that. So it’s an easy way to monitor all four without, like, getting stuck on one, where you say, Oh, this is so bad. And then you’re like, so there’s that. And then the other thing you mentioned, Chris Berman, this, unfortunately, I don’t know. I feel this is such a waste from ESPN. However, NFL Prime Time is still a thing. Chris Berman now does it with booger McFarland. Tom Jackson retired a number of years ago, but booger, he’s not Tom Jackson, but he plays the part well enough to kind of play off of Berman, because, you know, Berman does his the nicknames and all that, but it’s an hour long NFL prime time that you get five minutes, four to five minutes of highlights of every game, or three to four minutes of highlights of every game that is available on ESPN, plus, you know, their streaming service, but
Nestor Aparicio 21:15
you can’t see me on the radio, but I’m holding my middle finger, yeah,
Luke Jones 21:19
but It’s really good. I mean, I and I just, I have a, I had a trial subscription to ESPN plus that I got with something I bought, you know, you know, I can’t even remember what it was, you know, something, something electronic related. I can’t remember what it was. But it’s great. It’s, it’s so much better than anything that ESPN shows in the evening to cap. You know the games that day, I don’t know. I guess they’re, I guess the idea is, I’m giving them a commercial right now of why you subscribe to an or ESPN plus for $12 a month, or whatever it is, but it’s great. I mean, it’s, it’s not Berman and Tom Jackson, but Berman’s still really good at it, like for considering he, you know, at least. And I’m not saying this to be disrespectful to him. ESPN has told you they think he’s fastest prime because of how little he’s utilized, but he’s still really good in that role, and it’s still fun to watch, and it’s a way to get highlights. And when you and I are finished this conversation, you know, we, we do our segments recapping the weekend and the Ravens and all that. One of the I’m going to rewatch the Ravens game, and I’m going to watch NFL prime time on ESPN plus So, but, you know, and
Nestor Aparicio 22:33
then he’s going to send me his password,
Luke Jones 22:38
but, but it’s, it’s fun, but, to your point, I mean, it is wild to kind of think. I mean, the NFL has been huge for a long time now. They’ve been number one by a lot for a long, long time. Now, you know way more than baseball, the NBA, certainly the NHL or any other niche.
Nestor Aparicio 22:58
It’s almost like America itself. The rich get richer. The Ultra Rich get ultra richer. And it’s the rocket ship there on the way college sports is trying to wreck itself, the way baseball is about to go on strike, the way hockey never really came the way the NBA has gone more global and does not. The NBA makes plenty of money, but, I mean, the NBA has their players don’t even want to play half the time, you know what I mean, so. But, but
Luke Jones 23:23
it’s beyond sports. It transcends television. When you think about what TV used to mean, when you think about the ratings that the final episode of Friends did, the final episode of mash did, right, who shot Jr on Dallas, right? You think about these, these were monumental television events of just shows, right? Because everyone had shared experience, and a lot of that for, you know, for going way back was it was a time when there were only four channels, right? I mean, so you had so much of that. But in today’s day and age where television is so splintered, you know, it’s so like, Okay, you might have two shows you like on Apple TV, but your five other friends don’t even subscribe to Apple TV.
Nestor Aparicio 24:08
Well, the Venn diagram of America, NFL sits in. That’s the
Luke Jones 24:12
only thing. Like, there’s literally nothing else. I don’t want to say literally nothing else. There are very, very, very few
Nestor Aparicio 24:19
others. I had a flat earther come up to me on Friday. So you know what I mean, I don’t know just you know what people believe or what they know, but Sunday, at one o’clock, they know that
Luke Jones 24:27
it’s the that’s the one shared experience that we all seem to have, or most of us seem to have, at this point in time, whereas, like you don’t have shows that transcend like that anymore. I mean, so it’s wild in that way. And as I you know, as I’ve said to you, when we talk about fandom in general terms, you have your various degrees of fandom. You have someone who follows the soap opera every day they’re watching NFL live. Every day they’re reading about their favorite team. Every day they’re on social gambling. Every day they’re gambling, they are. I mean, more than gambling, but much more prevalent than just gambling itself, fantasy football. I mean, everyone and their mom plays fantasy football. I mean, so So you have all that, but to your point, you can also just kind of drop in for three hours on Sunday or for six hours on Sunday. And you know, I mean, I’ve
Nestor Aparicio 25:21
had the machine for 30 years with drama and Blackboard, and who said this? And this guy said that Derek Henry is no big deal, like I Okay, I just can’t sit here and do phone calls on that 20 hours a week anymore, around three hours of drama. But that being said, when the games come on, great. My level of interest, expertise, history, passion, the fact that Jim Schwartz and Joe Flacco were here. I said to my wife, at nine o’clock Sunday morning, I probably should have gone to the game today. She’s like, you could still go if you want, ticket prices will come down. Ticket prices didn’t, didn’t come down for the game, incidentally. But also, I’m like, You know what my time’s done. You know, I only go in rooms where I’m welcome. So, you know, I’m good here watching it on TV. You have one presentation of it. I have a different presentation of it. At this point, I certainly had a different presentation. Just going back through where Ted marcher brought his granddaughter, came up to me Saturday and shook me. And the next thing I know, the next day, John Ogden and Ray Lewis and Ozzy are there, and I’m like, oh, Ted, yeah, and Vinnie and, you know, just an Eric Turner, right? And the players that were a part of that, I told Ted’s granddaughter, I said, it feels like 30 minutes ago to me, and I have the belt buckle, that colts belt buckle, that’s 55 years old now, and it’s been in my life 52 years, and it’s Baltimore, cold spell. Buckle, I got to wear it and show it to Lydell Mitchell, you know, on Saturday. And we’ve all lived long enough, and we’ve lost people. And you know, Joe Erman made some reference, and he and I were texting back and forth as well to cognitive loss, physical loss. I mean Joe being biblical as he is, and a man of the cloth and a minister who’s moved back to Buffalo, he was there with his beautiful daughter as well. And I said, you know that that it, it doesn’t go without saying that the game’s tough. And I told my wife we were doing our makeup on Saturday morning before we went over to Union brewing. I’m like, it’s a room full of 80 year old men, you know, I’m going to have proper respect for what I’m going to find when I get there, as to what Burt’s going to look like and how he’s going to feel and how he’s going to move, and George Coons and, you know, just Marshall Johnson, just all of these guys that were larger than life to me, 50 years later, I still despite Chad Steele, despite Justin Tucker and everything else that’s going on, and books I’ve written and parties I’ve thrown, and bus rides I’ve had, and Up All Night sideways doing radio at four o’clock in The morning, waiting for the Providence airport to open up after the Ravens got their ass kicked sideways in the middle of the night in Foxboro, like all of the sitting in an empty Stadium in Houston, my my love of Houston, 50 feet from the Astrodome, sitting in an empty stadium with a mask on 50 feet from John McClane, watching with 38 other people watching football. I mean, I’ve had a lot of experiences, but once we get into the season and the Ravens play on time, one o’clock on a Sunday last week, Sunday night football, we’re all making barbecue brats. I mean, even you had half the day off last Sunday. You know, we worked all night. But the one o’clock Sunday thing, and that routine of putting the game on and even talking to Lydell last week about the two o’clock weird starts, Memorial Stadium, and all of it being in the dark and freezing, and my mom making me a thermos of hot chocolate to take with me. So I stayed warm at the games. My dad took other things to stay warm at the games, and thought of that for a while. Yeah. Yeah. Take a flask of this. Take a shot of this man, you know football, right? I mean, there’s only, there’s only one thing like it. There’s nothing else like it. I love hockey, yeah, I mean, I’ve hoisted the cop all of that baseball. You and I love baseball, whatever we love. Love Rock and Roll. Me chasing rock and roll all week. Love rock and roll, and it gives me a vibe that sports doesn’t give me anymore, for a lot of reasons, in a lot of ways. But yeah, football comes on. The NFL comes on. I still feel like, you know what I feel like, and I’m I get cocky about this with you and me, we’re better at this than anybody. I listened to the radio station last week, and I listened and said, what I listen to me, what I listen to you, what I listen to us, based on credibility, X’s and O’s, what we know about the game. Yeah. Now, if you want me to grade what Lamar wore onto the airplane, you know, right? Or what what Cassie thinks, or what some like I just I don’t care. I care that I am presenting this with authenticity, with the fact that I still love the game, I know the game, I feel the game. Understand. In the game. I understand the people playing the game. I text with Jim Schwartz and Joe Flacco. Jimmy and I were texting half the night Saturday, because the Colts showed up. And you know the reason Jim Schwartz was on the field Sunday, because he loved, he loved the Colts too. Yeah, he loved the 75 Colts. It was the basis of our relationship. And the fact, you know who he worked for, Ted March abroad. So like you think he wanted to hear about Ted’s granddaughter. Of course he did. Night Before he’s preparing with Joe Flacco to come to his hometown and have his defense, best defensive player he’s ever coached, miles Garrett. So like the pieces and Jim. Jim Schwartz sat in that office and taught me football 30 years ago, sat there every Friday with a box lunch and shouted at me and laughed at me and Marvin talking about football and about Steven Moore and Eric Turner, um, Ted’s granddaughter was phenomenal. You know what she said to me, Luke, she said, I used to listen to you leaving the games, driving back to Virginia after every game in 96 and 97 I’m like, Oh, my God, we lost a lot of games. Gonna say that’s a lot of losses. She’s like, and like, she talked football with me. I’m like, we scored a lot of points. She’s like, unfortunately, we gave up
Luke Jones 31:10
a lot too, Lewis, not much else.
Nestor Aparicio 31:12
When your grandfather’s the head coach of the team and you’re 12 years old in 1996 it’s just like, Man, I had, I had a great weekend thinking about my life in football, the 27 Super Bowls I’ve gone to these men I’ve touched who touched other men. And, you know, running on the same fields with OJ Simpson, or running on the same fields with Johnny Unitas, or just wherever all of Joe Namath. Did I tell you I went to, um, the Bowery antique last week, when they were closing down, I think I talked to you about this last week. Yeah, I found a whole bunch of old stuff. I spent $1 The only thing I bought my wife thought this was kind of funny. I bought a Joe Namath Sports Illustrated cover from 1970 with the llama skin rug. So the things that you know, the the the it goes with you all of your life. And I think the bottom line for me is, I think the Eagles are the best team right now, and I think the ravens are trying to prove that. I think the lions coming in and beating the Chiefs won’t feel like as big a deal losing to them will though two weeks from now. So for the ravens and where we are in this thing here, how it all comes together. I just, I love football season, and I can’t wait for Sunday or Monday. In this case,
Luke Jones 32:28
they’re they’re right in the thick of it. And I think from a talent level standpoint, they’re right up there, if not the most talented, regardless of what happened in week one. But hey, you’ve got to get the bills the same credit. I think the Packers have looked through two weeks based on just their two performances. I’ve been really impressed with them. But who knows, right? I mean, the lions bounced back big time after a really bad week one. And, you know, rams are two, and, oh, Seahawks, nice. Went over the Steelers, right? But the Steelers, you know, week one, they showed you something with their offense. I mean, it’s a week to week League, right? And even now Kansas City, oh, and two people are going to write them off and look, I look at them and say, Man, do they have enough playmakers for mahomes at this point. I mean, Kelsey, I mean, dropped the pass at the goal line. You know, that would have been a touchdown, and that ends up going the other way then.
Nestor Aparicio 33:24
But they’re always Joe Namath. When you put yourself without, you know, with her, you’re Joe Namath, you know. I mean, you’re to your point way larger than football. When he drops the ball, watching, everybody’s watching.
Luke Jones 33:38
She is, but he’s also in his mid 30s, and it might just be that he’s done, you know. So, so you look at that, but at the same time, they’re rowing two. The Ravens were oh and two at this time a year ago, and there was nothing about the way that season went the rest of the year, other than the fact that they were playing in Buffalo in the divisional round to say that they couldn’t, couldn’t win. Well, the Ravens better make sure one and three when you leave there two weeks from now, that’s right, right? Exactly. You’re at least three in one Sure, sure, so, but it’s two weeks in, you know? You know, the only thing that you have to watch out for, other than week one overreaction is week two over reaction, right? So I think the ravens are right up there with everyone else, the Eagles, I agree with you. The Eagle, hey, they’re the defending champs until someone beats them, and they they deserve that credit, especially going to arrowhead and beating a chiefs team that I want to say desperate, but certainly was feeling urgency, being oh and one, and now they’re Owen two. But you know, we’re going to see how this plays out. And like we said, as we said, I mean, as we’re writing off Joe burrow, and as you and I are speaking, you know, the reports have now indicated he is going to have surgery, and he’s gonna be out a minimum of three months, you would assume the Bengals are done. Like doesn’t mean I think they’re necessarily going to go two and 15, but they’re not relevant.
Nestor Aparicio 34:57
This is where my next point we could conclude on this. But. It, can your team win the Super Bowl? Not not gambling on in Vegas, or 20 to one, or three to one, or whatever. But like, are you waking up today if you’re a 40 Niners fan and thinking you can win the Super if you’re a Steelers fan, even though they’re, you know, like they have Aaron Rodgers, right? And not to mention the places where you just know that you’re not good enough. I mean, the Cowboys aren’t good enough. The Giants aren’t good enough. Commanders might be, I don’t know. You know, there’s a couple that are hopeful because they have a quarterback that might ascend. Maybe the Houston Texans will. I don’t know that there’s a couple of those out there. But how many years have we over the 30 years here? Week Two said we have a chance and we’re in it, or we have a top five kind of team. You know, this is a year where beating Cleveland 41 to 17 Monday morning. We’re not going to be talking about Joe flack or miles Garrett or this or that. We’re going to be talking about why we didn’t beat him 48 to 10. Yeah, we’re gonna be talking about, you know, if Marlon Humphrey just would have caught that ball, that’d be one less thing that would, you know, the things that go wrong, and you can’t get style points, but we are sort of great grading on some curves here to say, is it good enough or is it not good enough? And certainly the ravens, two weeks into this, have righted whatever the John Harbaugh means of blowing games and all of that. And now it’s more about, all right, keeping people healthy and learning the lesson that they can’t win without your quarterback. And the Bengals are just like out of the conversation for me right now, it’s like they don’t exist. They might as well
Luke Jones 36:32
be the browns. To me, yeah. I mean, look, don’t win a few games with Jake Browning, but they might steal one of two from the Ravens. They might, I mean, but they’re not going to win enough to win, right? I mean, we know the ravens, they’ve already done it once this year, so I’m not talking out of the Ravens will rave in a couple of games. I mean, it’s just who they are, right? But yeah, you kind of go through the league. And maybe the better question, not so not who can win the Super Bowl? How about who can get to the Super Bowl? You know, eight teams out there that you would talk say, talk about in those terms, 10 teams, maybe, right? I mean, maybe, maybe, you know, I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 37:09
I look at, it’s real early on in Denver, places where, you know what they have. I mean, yeah, I think we saw the Vikings, you know, and the but
Luke Jones 37:19
I think they’re not, they’re not serious. But you go through the you go through the teams that have a quarterback, like Tampa Bay, I don’t think they can win the Super Bowl, but could they get out of the NFC I mean, Baker Mayfield has been really good the last couple of years. Who knows? You know, they’re not my favorite, but maybe Jane Daniels almost did it last year. I think that, you know, the chargers, I What, what does Monday Night Football look like for them, but man, Herbert, he was fantastic against the chiefs. I don’t know if you and I even spend any time talking about that. He was, he was excellent in that game. That was, that was, that was the Justin Herbert that’s been hyped over the last few years that generally hasn’t shown up in those moments. Well, the big story there’s they lost their left tackle. So, yeah, oh, sure, preseason. I mean, you see that, but we’ve talked about the Packers. We’ve talked about the commanders. Ravens, yes, of course, Bengals, not anymore. Giants, no, of course, not. Cowboys, no. I mean, I I’m not even trying to pick on Dak Prescott, but you can’t trade Micah Parsons a week before the season, and me take you seriously as a contender. So no, even if they won in overtime, their kickers great. We saw that guy is going to have a chance to break Justin Tucker’s record for longest field goal, because he’s kicking half his games inside there.
Nestor Aparicio 38:32
Well, the league hopes he never does that, because I have to say Justin and Tucker in the same sentence, because full broadcast for two weeks and that words Justin and Tucker have never been mentioned. Or do
Luke Jones 38:41
they, or do they want that to happen? Because then you can erase them permanently, from, from, from the conversation. But ravens, yes, lions, baseball’s waiting to erase Barry, yeah, Lion, Lions can get there. 40 Niners at this point. Gosh, they’re just so injured all the time. I mean, so I’m going to say I’m trending towards No. There bills, yes, of course. You know, rams, how’s Matt Stafford’s back? That’s my big question. You know, how’s that going to look for 17 games? But you know, eagles, I’m not counting out. The Chiefs, the Vikings at this point, that’s looked really, really bad offensively for a game and a half. Now it wasn’t until the second half and, you know, but O’Connell’s the the quarterback whisperer. So does he have JJ McCarthy halfway through the year looking like a franchise quarterback? Maybe he will. Falcons, yeah, I, I kind of like panics, you know, not ready to put them in that category yet, but, but. So what I just said yes, or
Nestor Aparicio 39:45
maybe might be, as opposed to a probably not. I mean, but, but it’s
Luke Jones 39:49
still so early, right? So I just went through all the teams in the league that were worth mentioning at
Nestor Aparicio 39:54
least. And then there’s Miami, the Jets, the Brett like, the nothings. Yeah, right? Years.
Luke Jones 40:00
How about the fact I, how about the fact the Colts are two and, oh, for the first time? Did they? Did I hear right since 2009 that is wild to me, I’m pretty sure I, unless I I heard that on serious NFL, one
Nestor Aparicio 40:16
of the weird things is, when they had Manning, and he was kind of like on the way out, they always had, like, crazy tough game, you know what I mean, like in their own division, nothing much, but they would always open the season against something, you know, like, that’s true. They would always have a Pittsburgh or Raven six, you know, years to go, two and ones. Not like, it’s kind of like the Ravens being one and one. What were the Ravens two? Oh, like, you know, like it’s, it’s hard when I
Luke Jones 40:42
understand, but that’s 16 years. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying, like, I expect you to be two and, oh, every year, but considering the history there, because you’re talking about the last couple years of the Manning era, and you’re talking about luck for and I get it, luck that was a fleeting time, and he retired so early, but 16 years. It’s been since they were two and oh, and I just looked it up, I heard, right? I wasn’t imagining that two and Oh, for the first time since 2009 I mean, that’s something you’d expect to hear out of the browns, right? Not, not the Colts, who, don’t get me wrong, the Colts have not been very good since
Nestor Aparicio 41:15
for 17 years, and they smell good now, and it feels that way, but it really does speak to, you know, back to the beginning, where Ogden and Ray come out with the trophies, and we’ve had a lot, even when they’re one and one, they can still win the Super Bowl, which is like, you know, and I tell you what Cincinnati is, two and, oh, and they can’t. How about that? Okay, so enough said. I’ll drop the mic on that. Luke Jones can be fan of Baltimore, Luke, you can find me at the Beaumont on Tuesday. I’ll be out with Maryland lottery scratch off tickets, and I’ll have some Raven scratch off tickets too for the rest of the fall, all year long as we get ready for the extra day, day and a half, getting ready for the Lions a nice Sunday, Luke. If you need some sausage, I got Darren the sausage King. Gave me some deepest quality sausages. I’m happy to send you four, eight links up. I even get you some potato rolls if you want, because they’ll be delicious. Get my wife to make you some delicious peppers and onions. Saute that up. We’ll get that all ready for everybody on Sunday. So you have a you have, it’s not a bye week, but it’s like, I hang out watch football all day Sunday this week, if you choose to do that, Luke and I are going to be doing some Oriole residue and some Bradish residue on some getting swept residue over Toronto over the weekend and getting ready for whatever postseason baseball there’s going to be for our eyes around here, all eyes on the Detroit Lions this week, as we have some crab cakes. I wrap up my tastiness brought to you by our friends at curio wellness. We’re getting down to 4321, the worst part about number one is you might not be able to get number one until next year. It’s a long story. I’m Nestor. We are W, N, S T, am 1570, tasks in Baltimore, and we never stop talking Baltimore. Positive. You.
