Luke Jones and Nestor discuss Ravens defensive effort against Bears and what will be needed in Miami
Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive performance against the Chicago Bears and the upcoming game against the Miami Dolphins. They highlighted the improvement in the defense, particularly the increased role of safeties like Kyle Hamilton and Elohiim Gilman. Despite concerns about the pass rush, the defense showed promise, especially in stopping the run. They also mentioned the potential impact of Lamar Jackson’s return and the need for further defensive reinforcements. The conversation concluded with plans for upcoming events and the importance of winning games to stay competitive.
- [ ] Evaluate options for adding an edge rusher or defensive tackle before the trade deadline.
- [ ] Determine if Lamar Jackson will be able to play against the Dolphins on Thursday night.
Ravens’ Defense and Upcoming Games
- Nestor Aparicio discusses the Ravens’ defensive effort against the Bears and the importance of the defense in upcoming games.
- Nestor mentions the quick turnaround to Thursday night’s game against the Dolphins and the uncertainty around Lamar Jackson’s availability.
- Luke Jones highlights the improvement in the defense, particularly against the Rams, and the importance of the defense in winning games without a reliable quarterback.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the potential for the defense to win 10 games this season despite the challenges faced earlier in the season.
Defensive Transformation and Player Roles
- Luke Jones explains the transformation of the defense, emphasizing the increased role of safeties like Kyle Hamilton and Elohiim Gilman.
- The conversation covers the shift from a base defense to a three-safety nickel defense and its impact on the team’s strategy.
- Luke mentions the trade for Elohiim Gilman and its effect on the defense, including the ability to play Kyle Hamilton in the nickel and box more frequently.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of having a strong defense to compensate for the lack of a consistent pass rush.
Player Performance and Injuries
- Luke Jones talks about the performance of Mike Green, who played a significant number of snaps on defense, and the challenges faced by a young edge rusher.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of having a reliable pass rusher and the potential impact of adding Carl Lawson to the practice squad.
- The conversation touches on the injuries to key players like Roquan Smith and Marlon Humphrey and their impact on the defense.
- Nestor and Luke speculate on the potential trades Eric DeCosta might make to strengthen the defense before the trade deadline.
Offensive and Defensive Strategy
- Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of a strong offensive line and the potential impact of Lamar Jackson’s return on the offense.
- The conversation covers the need for the defense to continue improving and the potential for the defense to be a strength even with pass rush concerns.
- Nestor and Luke highlight the importance of stopping the run and playing tighter defense on the back end to improve overall performance.
- The discussion includes the potential for the defense to make more splash plays and the importance of complementary football in winning games.
Upcoming Games and Player Availability
- Nestor and Luke discuss the upcoming game against the Dolphins and the importance of winning to stay competitive in the division.
- The conversation covers the potential for Lamar Jackson to return and the impact of his availability on the team’s performance.
- Nestor and Luke speculate on the potential trades Eric DeCosta might make to strengthen the defense before the trade deadline.
- The discussion includes the importance of winning games to stay in playoff contention and the potential for the defense to be a strength even with pass rush concerns.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Ravens defense, Bears game, Miami Dolphins, Lamar Jackson, Kyle Hamilton, Elohiim Gilman, Malachi Starks, Mike Green, pass rush, trade deadline, Eric Decosta, NFL playoffs, injury report, complimentary football.
SPEAKERS
Nestor Aparicio, Luke Jones
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore, positive, positively getting the Maryland crap cake tour back out on the road. I actually went down to Cocos. Had a beer with rasig last week. We’re going to be there next Wednesday. Rasig cannot be with me, and involves his grandchildren. And who am I to argue with for SIG, so I need a new co host in lauraville next week. Greg Abel is going to be joining me there. Next week, I’m also going to have some other great guests. We will be at Cocos on Wednesday the fifth. Still had some of their cream of crab soup. It was victory soup on Sunday evening for me, with some fresh crackers as well. All of the brought to you by the Maryland Lotter. I have Raven scratch offs to give away on Tuesday this week, we’re going to be at State Fair having breakfast. I’m looking forward to that Alan McCallum is going to be out. I mean, when I invited Alan, I invited Luke out to state fair, I didn’t know we were actually going to have an Oriole manager, Craig alberna, as you can look him up, Luke and I have already done an hour on that thing. And you know, we wake up on Monday morning in with a quick turnaround to Thursday night for the dolphins. And we’ve talked so much about Snoop Huntley. We’ve talked so much Luke about about har ball and lying and Da Costa and Lamar, and Lord knows whether Lamar is playing on Thursday night. I guess it’s a home game Miami where he’s going to eventually wind up being the quarterback of the dolphins before his career is over. I would just say for me, the defense was as much of a story, or is becoming as much of a story, because, dude, you think they’re going to win next week and the week after that, and they’re going to beat the dolphins, and they’re going to beat up on Minnesota, and they don’t have a quarterback, and the Jets will be the jets and like, like, I’ll hear all of that, but that is all predicated on the defense being, I don’t say, the stronger side of the football. I’m not sure that’s possible when Lamar Jackson comes back, but representative, not 31st or 32nd the way it was really trending the first month and then losing roquan, losing Marlon, Humphrey Wiggins had the shoulder thing. So I would just say Wiggins made a big play. Mike greensack, the quarterback on a big play early on, first in the field goal. There were, there were things sprinkled in here that felt more like I I believe they can win 10 games this year. Yeah.
Luke Jones 02:24
I mean, there were plenty of promising signs. I mean, the one positive that you could take away from not the one, but one of the very few positives you could take away from that loss against the Rams, was that their defense played better, right? It was represent more representative. They tackled better they I think the term that really comes to mind for me as it pertains to this defense, it feels like they’ve raised the floor of the defense at this point in time, whereas the first five games of the season, other than that Browns game, I mean, the defense was bad. I mean really bad. Wasn’t stopping the run, wasn’t stopping the pass, wasn’t tackling Well, untimely panel. I mean, go down the list, right? Coaching, questionable coaching decisions, questionable calls and given situations, right? I mean, it was just bad, bad, bad. And obviously the big headline being the matabike injury, which is still going to be part, be part of what this team’s dealing with, and that’s why it’s going to be interesting to see what and if Eric Decosta does anything to further augment this defense. I mean, the early returns on the elohiy Gilman trade, you know, where they send o way and Gilman comes back, well, let me give you an idea of how much their defense is transformed. So they played 63 snaps on the defensive side of the ball. On Sunday, Nestor Kyle Hamilton played all 63 elohiy Gilman played 62 and Malachi Starks played 58 they had three safeties on the field almost every single play. And we saw that start. We saw that start to move in that direction, even with Gilman arriving on a short week before that rams game. And as we’ve said, it allows them to play Kyle Hamilton in the nickel and in the box far more frequently, and it has allowed them to take a little bit off the plate of Malachi Starks, in the sense that it wasn’t often. Again, Starks played all but five snaps, but when they were in more of a conventional base defense. It’s so funny, in this day and age we need we still call it base defense when you’re talking about the three, four, the four, three, they hardly are ever in base anymore. I mean, you’re just nickel has become the new base. I mean, it really has, and it’s been that way for a while, but when they were that’s
Nestor Aparicio 04:45
one of the reasons you trade away your pass rusher for safety, literally, right? I mean
Luke Jones 04:49
it well, but not not. I mean, they were in nickel before, but before it was a three corner nickel. Now they have pivoted to a three safety nickel, but
Nestor Aparicio 04:56
I’m saying that that’s the value to them. That’s how important they. Think it is.
Luke Jones 05:01
I mean, just to think, I mean, they just needed another one, right? I mean, they, they wasted the entire spring and summer thinking that Sanusi Kane was going to be a good enough option as their number three safety. And well, we saw how that played out. They they played it. They started an undrafted rookie over him, and Sanusi Kane was a healthy scratch on Sunday. Now he was a seventh round pick a year ago. I mean, what are the expectations for someone like that anyway? But point is, yeah, they brought in Gilman. They have transformed their base defense, so to speak, where it’s three safeties on the field, Hamilton playing closer to the line. Hamilton blitzing. You now are in a position when you go dime, even though they didn’t do that a whole lot, but they bring in a Woozi a and Marlon Humphrey moves to the inside, and then you can blitz him. So it it’s a better it’s better for them. It just is. And I think when you have some questions with your four man pass rush, when you have some questions with your inside linebacker position, especially the whoever’s manning it next to roquan Smith, you know, whether it’s Teddy Buchanan or Trenton Simpson, even though it was mostly Buchanan on Sunday, then you like having Kyle Hamilton in the box there. I mean, it just it unlocks a little more playmaking juice for you. So I fully expect to see that continue. I thought it was interesting to see just how much Mike Green played. He played 52 of 63 snaps the way the Ravens generally handle their edge rushers. This is going back to even the latter years of Terrell Suggs his career, that’s, that’s a high percentage. Now, that’s what you do
Nestor Aparicio 06:44
to a 22 year old, right? Not, not over stumerville, right? Literally.
Luke Jones 06:49
Let me provide the caveat there. Part of that is, they only had three outside linebackers active on Sunday. I mean, they also wasn’t just playing pass rush situations, right? Exactly, you know, he, you know, they not a whole lot, but they’re asking, he’s got to play the run. He’s got to drop into coverage every now and then, just to fresh
Nestor Aparicio 07:07
every play that went around the outside. He got pinched inside. And I’m like, and he feels undersized to me. And I’m like, and I’m feeling like, you know, getting after a slow right tackle somewhere along the line, he’ll get his nine to 11 sacks. But to your point, seeing him play more plays, is that better or worse? Probably worse for him to actually get after the quarterback, better from a value standpoint, if he can actually set an edge. Yeah, but, but it is. It looked rough when I saw it, when he wasn’t sacking the quarterback. That’s all I’m going to say.
Luke Jones 07:45
And that’s fine. Look. I mean, he’s going to have some growing pains, but this is where they are, right? I mean, they have,
Nestor Aparicio 07:50
they don’t want him on the field 53 plays a game,
Luke Jones 07:53
generally, not I mean, like, unless you have miles, Garrett, you don’t really want any edge guy on the field that many plays, right? I mean, and Now, granted, a lot of it’s based on percentage, right? You’re, if you happen to play a game where you’re playing 75 or 80 snaps on defense, and yeah, your top edge rusher is going to be on the field for 52 snaps. I mean, that’s just going to be how it works, but where they are right now, and this is where I will note, because I think, I think this conversation lends itself, especially with the quick turnaround with Miami, to kind of try to get the vision for where they’re going defensively. And we’ve seen it now with the three safeties. You know, Teddy Buchanan seems to be the guy over Trenton Simpson, even though, I think they’ll still find places for Trenton Simpson to work in. But I think what’s really interesting is going to be what happens with them at outside linebacker. I mean, Kyle van Noy played 40 snaps on Sunday. That feels like a good number for him. That you don’t want to get much higher than that if you’re trying to maximize him. David ajabo played 30 snaps on Sunday. Ideally, that’s way too high for I’m just call a spade a spade. That’s too high for a job. Oh, because he doesn’t do enough to warrant playing that much. But they did add Carl Lawson to their practice squad, long time NFL player at five sacks for the Cowboys last year. You’ll remember him playing for the Bengals from 2017 through 20. You know, I will say this, I don’t have lofty expectations for him, but can he help fill the void of What say adaf a o way was doing for them at a fraction of the cost? Sure? Why not? Right? I think Lawson’s going to play, and probably play a good bit for them once he’s up to speed. And I don’t know if that’s going to be for Miami Thursday night. That’s still a quick turnaround for someone who hasn’t been with an NFL team since the end of last year, but I’ll say this, seeing him on the practice field, even just last Friday, he’s in great shape. I mean, that guy’s cut. I mean he he looks the part of like a an edge rusher that should be able to do something. But that said enough. Aoway look the part, physically speaking. So that doesn’t. Mean a whole lot, but he at least looks like he’s in good shape. Looks like he did the work to keep himself in shape. So again, where does this fall with the trade deadline? I mean, even if Eric Decosta and the Ravens announce a trade five minutes from now, as you and I are speaking in real time, you would assume that that individual is not going to be ready to play against the dolphins Thursday night. But we’re a week out, who are they going to add? I mean, at the very least, you would think they need another warm like, I say, a warm body. I mean, that’s being a little facetious. They need somebody, right? And it doesn’t mean it’s gonna be someone that’s going to be, you know, you’re giving up a second round pick for someone else’s stud. I mean, is anyone even going to be available in that kind of deal? I mean, you know, keep in mind this seven three wild cards, 14 teams total, make the playoffs in the NFL this year. Okay, I can name you the four or five teams that are lousy. What about the rest of the league? Like, who’s great, who’s good, who’s decent? Well,
Nestor Aparicio 11:01
on Friday morning, you better wake up and be three and five. And as we get up on this training deadline, you have the Minnesota Vikings who don’t have a quarterback, and you know, we’re looking at that, and they can’t have Joe right now. He’s not available, right? We’ll deal with him on Thanksgiving. But, I mean, these are, as we talked about earlier, and the praise that I give them for having good football players, having the ability to win 12 or 13 games, they don’t have the ability to win 13 anymore. They only have the ability to win 12. I keep going back to I beat har ball up last week about honesty, and he had my back by being completely dishonest, right down to the last words he had on the podium on Sunday about honest mistake, right? So, but I can tell you this, circling the wagons, coaching them up when it came time for me to make my pick on Sunday, I picked the ravens to win on Sunday. I’m going to pick him again to win on Thursday night against two although the awakening of the dolphin should end this being road game. Is Lamar going to play? Is Lamar going to play? He ain’t going to practice because they don’t have any practices, and all the rest of the guys are all beaten up, and they’re going to go down there and wing it and ding it and throw it around against the team that pretty much had their act together on Sunday, the dolphins, at least for a minute trying to save their coach’s job and just along the line, this is a much more interesting football game than I thought, and they’re all going to be interesting now, because you and I think the defense could be good enough to hold Its water a little bit, and maybe Decosta could rubber band. You know, the six round draft pick they’re going to lose for the shenanigans they pulled over the weekend, not withstanding. Maybe they’ll deal a fourth round draft pick for some zedaria Smith, Edge rusher that the Cardinals have that they don’t. I don’t know. I’m making that up, but nobody does pro personnel, but they got roquan Smith at the trading deadline, you’re telling me they can’t get somebody else’s pass rush edge guy that’s 32 years old that I’m not thinking of right now because they want Ben Cleveland. I don’t know. I’m making that up, yeah, but Right, right,
Luke Jones 13:13
there are always going to be names available. I guess the point that I was trying to make as I was kind of going through, and I was kind of, I said it facetiously, but there’s, there’s sincerity to it. Who is good in the NFL right now? I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 13:29
who’s great, let’s say I think there’s a lot of debate. Well, if there’s debate about that, then who’s really good? Well, then what? Then it gets into the tournament. And I have Lamar, and you have Josh Allen, and that’s what I’m saying. If you’re eight and seven or nine and 887, is 15 bad at blackjack. If you’re nine and eight at the end of the year, and you win the division, this division because of I saw the Bengals play, you know what I mean, saw the Steelers play, where we play all of them four times. You know I mean, as this thing shrinks, as they get to five and five and start seeing Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, and they can turn that into a nine and five against them by beating them up, then they can win 1011, 12 games. And I’ll hear that right, I mean, but until I see them do it in Miami and see Lamar upright and walking and not honest mistake, he’s running the scout team. We’re just going to bullshit you about and the whole world and move the line five points right, get the FBI involved, which is what they did over the weekend, which was to I love how you called it self imposed, because it was all avoidable, all of that that they’re going to deal with, but getting the defense better and getting the quarterback back and on, that doesn’t begin to talk about the left tackle. They got Ricard back. That’s great that they can round into being an above average team that we thought they were going to be great. Just, you know, to be great, just be above average. Bridge and get to the playoffs and win the division somehow with rubber bands and paper clips and glue and Elmers glue, whatever else you need to use. And then it’s just they’ll have as much talent as anybody on any flat floor in January if they can get to January at one and five. Oh my god, it’s a boulder at two and five looking better Friday morning, three and five. Hey George, get on the phone. Get me a pass rusher. We’ll figure it out, right? And to
Luke Jones 15:27
bring it back to what you just mentioned, because, you know, I’m trying to make a point about the trade deadline where there is the question of Who exactly is going to be available, right? But because, look, we’re talking about the Ravens right now with a much different tone after they win, and it also helped that Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Cleveland all lost, right? I mean, obviously that plays into think about that. They’re two and five, and our tone is upbeat, right? But, but my point with but the point I’m trying to make, though, as far as the trade deadline, and this is where, like, for example, the Raiders have been adamant they’re not trading Max Crosby. Raiders have the same record as the ravens, right? And look, do I think the ravens are better than the Raiders? Of course, I do. But in this day and age where you have seven teams make the conference or make the playoffs in each conference, and you have head coaches and general managers with their jobs on the line, and they’re looking over their shoulder whether they think their team has a real chance or not, it’s very difficult to just throw the towel in at Halloween and trade away your best player without thinking that that could have some serious ramifications for your job security and your future. So my point with that is, yes, will there be some names out there that the Ravens can potentially add, sure, but is it going to be a high impact guy? And by the way, not just edge. I would absolutely be looking at defensive tackles depending on, well, the Matta BK situation changes, he’s going to play again. How they would feel about Max Crosby say, right? Like, just in a general sense, as to say, well, we’ll give a two away, and we’ll give I don’t I’m making this up like that that they acquired roquan Smith because Eric Ames High while shooting low.
Nestor Aparicio 17:14
Like for me, I I write nothing off as far as how creative the Ravens would be willing to be in another year with Ronnie, Stanley, Marlon, Humphrey, roquan Smith, to say being the worst last team in the tournament is still an entree for them. To say, we’ll go to Buffalo, Kansas City, and win in January, and this can still be our year
Luke Jones 17:43
well. And here’s the reality. Look, even if they finish nine and eight, let’s say, Just humor me for this. And I’m not saying this to take a dig at Pittsburgh or Cincinnati. Let’s say nine and eight wins the division. Say Pittsburgh’s defense doesn’t get any better. The Bengals defense is lousy, Joe. You know, they don’t protect him well enough, and Joe kind of looks like he did in Cleveland. As the weeks go on, the Ravens could win it at nine and eight. Now, just looking at a team at nine and eight, you say, man, they’re only in the playoffs because of their division, right? But you do realize that nine and eight would still mean the Ravens going eight and 11 in their last or eight and three in their last 11 games. Is Kansas City and buffalo going going to go eight and three in their last 11? Are they going to go better than eight and three in their last 11? Maybe, but they might not, but they’ll, they’ll be ahead of the Ravens because they didn’t get off to the same lousy start
Nestor Aparicio 18:34
that the price to pace. You got to get on plane and go visit them. That’s no price to pay. But, yeah, but, but, yeah,
Luke Jones 18:40
it’s funny, because here we are, because I can recall two, three years ago saying to you, if the Ravens were and I’m getting way ahead of myself here, but why not, like we’re, you know, we’re sitting here, we’re gonna be talking about another game in 72 hours anyway, right? I mean, it doesn’t matter, or 48 or whatever it is, but, but you kind of look at it, I mean, the 2000 Ravens won multiple road playoff games to win a Super Bowl. The 2012 ravens backed into the playoffs with how bad they looked in the month of December, and then went on a run. Dude, if
Nestor Aparicio 19:15
they go eight and three and win the division, it just means they’re playing much better football and and we’re going to think about them and talk about them so much differently in the first week of January than we are the first week in November, because we’re going to feel differently because of the body of work. I feel differently just talking defense with you based on the fact that they show they’ve shown up the last two weeks and have shown some proclivity to be a little bit better. I pass rush, not withstanding, and they got the Calvary of getting the best football player on the planet back, maybe on Thursday night, right?
Luke Jones 19:47
No doubt. And like to drill down on the defense a little bit, because I haven’t meant I’ve mentioned this in passing, but not enough. I liked what they did against the run the bears had been running the heck out of the football the last couple weeks. And also. I’ll say the bears have a pretty decent offensive line, like, it’s not elite, but I think it’s pretty good. And look, did they get consistent pressure with a four man pass rush? No, I don’t know if they’re going to do that against anyone the rest of the year, realistically speaking, unless they somehow get max Crosby or someone like that, right, which I’m not expecting someone like that to ultimately be who Eric DaCosta lands. I think the best you can hope for is someone that’s solid, you know, someone that that can help move the needle a little bit, but isn’t going to be an all pro so but, but the point is, they looked markedly better against Chicago after they had looked better against the Rams. You know that the pass rush is going to continue to be a major question mark for me, and that’s not going to change. And by the way, I’ll go back because I looked at this over the bye week, the 2010 ravens set the franchise record low for sacks. That team was a Pittsburgh, you know, blowing a lead in Pittsburgh away from being in the AFC Championship. So it’s not as though that’s something that the Ravens haven’t dealt with in the past. And had, you know, they had years where they were really good with their pass rushes, iffy, right? I mean, that’s just, that’s just the truth. I think
Nestor Aparicio 21:19
there’s a point during that era where they felt like the pass rush wasn’t as important because getting after Brady and Manning was impossible. Yeah, they got rid of the ball too quick. Well, I’m just saying, to win those games, it involved a different kind of schematic. Sure, she really did.
Luke Jones 21:34
I mean, with Brady, we always talked about it was inside pressure. I mean, Kurt Warner changed the game in that way. I mean, yeah. And look, that’s still part of this. You still have lots of quarterbacks who get the ball out quickly. Why was Snoop Huntley so good on Sunday? A lot of they play a lot of quick game. I want to see the Ravens incorporate more that, even when Lamar comes back, but because of the state of this offensive line. But to bring it back to the defense, yeah, they’re going to have to continue to figure out how you’re going to manufacture and scheme pressure, and sometimes it’s going to work. And then you’re going to have other times where they throw a screen and DeAndre swift goes 40 yards, then right, because they they screen right to where the the Blitzer was coming from, right? I mean, that’s going to happen. But overall, the Ravens don’t need to have the 2000 defense for this team to win the number of games they need to win moving forward and to get in the playoffs. But yes, obviously they have to be so much better than they were. Frankly, they still need to be better than they’ve been the last couple of weeks. I mean, it’s not like it was. Like it was a perfect performance by any means, but it starts with stopping the run. It starts with now leaning into and embracing this. These three safety looks, because you can get that much more creative with how you use and deploy Kyle Hamilton, and we’re going to continue to see like, look, part of this is also going to be like. And to bring it back to what you talk what we talked about a few minutes ago, Mike Green continuing to develop. They need Malachi Starks to be better. They need Nate Wiggins, who is very much rapidly emerging as their top corner. You know, I’m, I’m pretty much ready to say he is now, because, I mean, Marlon Humphrey, you know, just hasn’t been the same guy this year, whether it’s by injury age or just not playing as well. But they need more plays like what Nate Wiggins did. I mean, think about that sequence. You and I, we haven’t talked about that
Nestor Aparicio 23:33
a whole lot, but it felt to me like the bears are going to win the game at that felt. I mean,
Luke Jones 23:38
when the bears scored and then the ravens are punning in the early in the fourth quarter. You know, they’re, they’ve got fourth and five.
Nestor Aparicio 23:45
And there’s also the whole thing of this defense, you know, like the pedigree with double double digit. You know, I brought it up, and I’m like, You better hope that that stops today, right? Literally.
Luke Jones 23:55
But think about that sequence where you, you know, the bears score. It’s a one score game. You’re punting back to them. You’re punting from Chicago’s 44 I mean, what it was, the 39 and then they take the delay a game. There’s a lot of debate right there. Should you try a field goal? Should you try to go for it? But I think based on where they were, knowing they had a backup quarterback, knowing they weren’t running the ball extremely well. They were running it well enough, but not at an elite level, and knowing where Chicago was and how your defense was playing, they decided to punt, which works if and only if your punter and your special teams unit executes there. Jordan stout with a great punt. Tylen Wallace fields it cleanly. They pin them back at their four and then three plays later, Caleb Williams throws an interception to Nate Wiggins that for all intents and purposes, that ice the game right there. It wasn’t quite over yet, and Chicago did. Was able to make it a one score game again, but at that point, the Ravens overwhelming. Lee had the, you know, the win probability was in their favor if they didn’t completely screw it up. So just look at that sequence there. But that involved complimentary football, right? They needed a great punt. They needed something the gunner to go down there and down that punt, and then your defense made a play, right? I mean, it has to be complimentary. I mean, the thing about the look, we always try to, like, kind of try to diagnose what plagues a football team. And this isn’t like college where, you know, you’ve got your elite power five or power four schools, and you have, you know, your teams that are playing, you know, bottom of the mountain, West or the Mac or wherever, right? I mean, the difference in talent isn’t that vast. It isn’t that drastic. But what you do see for the teams that are bad is, I mean, they just, they don’t play in any kind of complimentary fashion whatsoever. I mean, the Ravens think how disjointed they looked these last few weeks, when they got off to a one in five start. I mean, it was just like, well, and
Nestor Aparicio 26:07
also, like, the bears got off the bus on Sunday and put an eight minute draw. You know what I mean? Like, I mean, did everything that, if you’re a visiting team, you want to do, except put the ball in the end zone and Mike Green stepped I mean, so like those first two drives, those huge rays were huge because that thing would have the stadium would have felt different if it was 14, though.
Luke Jones 26:27
Well, I tell you that it was wild to think. In the first quarter, the bears had the ball for 12 minutes, 41 seconds, the Ravens 219, second quarter was completely flipped. The Ravens had it for basically that much, and the bears had it that little. And then in the third quarter, the Ravens one time of possession. That was why it was so important for them. Look, the offense wasn’t this amazing juggernaut that we’ve seen it be at its best. And then why would anyone think it would be without Lamar Jackson? But they ran the ball well enough. They made enough plays in the passing game. Tyler Huntley and company took care of the football. They had some penalties, but not like that. They were like killing them on every single drive, as it was feeling like, although they did have a couple drives or penalties, did hurt them, no question, but it was just a much more complimentary effort across the board. It wasn’t perfect, but it felt far more complete, as complete as it could feel without the best quarterback in the NFL or one of the two or three best quarterbacks in the NFL on the field. So from that standpoint, yeah, you take some positives from that. You need to build on it. This can’t just be that, you know, even if Lamar plays Thursday night, that everyone else just kind of exhales and say, All right, number Eight’s back, we’re fine. No, because they were one in three with Lamar Jackson, right? I mean, they were one in three with Lamar. I mean, they were on their way to losing that Kansas City game, even if Lamar doesn’t exit that game, I had no confidence in the world they were going to win that football game. So they were one and three, so they know they need to play for a far more complete game. And to your point, that dolphins team, which has been overall, absolutely dreadful this year, but they’re coming off of their best performance of the season. And man, if that didn’t get the Ravens attention on a short week, knowing you’re going on the road on a Thursday night, then shame on the ravens, and they haven’t learned their lesson, so they’ve got to be ready to play. But yeah, when it comes back to with Lamar coming back whenever, whether it’s Thursday or whatever it is, right? I mean, like, I’m done, like, expecting anything, but I, you know, he’s not going to be out for the year, right? I don’t think, right? I don’t think we’re, you know, talking about 21 and 22 you know, way it was that year in December. But whenever he comes back, and considering they’re as healthy as they are on offense, I think their offense is going to get back to playing at a very high level, whether that’s first in the league, or as good as last year. I you know, offensive line has its issues, but I think it’s still going to be a very good offense. The defense, can they get to being consistently average to slightly above average? Can they get a little bit better than that? Can they be pretty good by the end of the year even with their pass rush concerns? Can they, well, they still have a lot of good players, you know? I mean, matta BK is not coming back, but they had everyone else back, other than, I guess, Broderick Washington and Tavis Robinson on Sunday. So they should be bet better. They should be still a pretty good defense, like the talent should be there to do that, but you got to figure this out, like, and it begins with stopping the run, which they’ve done much better, and playing tighter defense on the back end, which they’ve done, you know, with these three safety looks, and getting a few more splash plays, which they’ve been able to get. They got a big turnover on on Sunday with Wiggins. The question is going to be the pass rush, right? And that, that one, I don’t have the clear cut answer for you that’s still. Very much a concern for me, especially if we’re going to allow ourselves to think about playing mahomes or Alan or any of those guys come January. But you know that some of the teams coming up, I think they can win these games without their pass rush being great or even all that good, but it’s something they have to work on, and that’s where, yeah, you hope Eric da Costa can pull off something here, D tackle edge guy that can at least help you, you know, at least be someone that you can add to the mix to be part of the answer moving forward. And we’re going to find out, because, hey, we’re a week away. I mean, it’s a trade deadline is coming up here fast, and we’re going to see if the ravens are able to pull off a trade or not. But even before we talk about that, obviously got to win Thursday, if you don’t take care of your business Thursday, and they’re two and six, you know, we’re kind of right back to where we were talking about, where they’d be if they lost on Sunday. So just just win. Got to keep winning. There’s no, no non negotiable these next couple weeks, they got to win last
Nestor Aparicio 31:02
thing for you, and this will be its own piece when you know when we’re not talking about last week’s game and next week’s game and Thursday night’s game and all of that, how do we know if Lamar is playing on a week when they’re not even practicing, right? Like, like, I just want to throw that at you, because that is your homework here, if you’re on the wnst tech service, brought to you by coal roofing and Gordon energy, as I was on Sunday night when the Orioles named Craig Albert as manager, as we were Saturday afternoon when the Ravens ruled Lamar out, and everybody said, what? He was a full participant yesterday. Oh, that’s right, the organization lies about that stuff. I mean, I I have no idea what to believe or who to believe in that he couldn’t play on Sunday. He’s walking around having a good time and like that. He’s going to play on Thursday after not really practicing. They don’t practice, right this week, right? They don’t I mean, Monday is a walkthrough. Tuesday, it varies. Sometimes it’ll be a very light practice. Most of the time it’s a walk through in nature. Because, I mean, these guys are, they were just in a car crash on Sunday, right? I mean, that’s what you’re talking about here. So I would say the injury report, but you saw how that went.
Luke Jones 32:19
Check back with me Thursday night, right? I mean, if he’s out there playing, and then he’s playing, right? I mean, they’re not going to put Snoop Huntley in a number eight jersey. So, you know, I mean that all that, that would be interesting. So, you know, we’re going to see i i think, I think this is the week, but I thought that up during the bye week, right? I thought Chicago was the target then. So what do I know? Right? I mean, until Lamar fully says, like, Hey, I’m good to go. I’m great, until the training staff says, Yeah, you’re great, let’s go, there’s going to be at least a little bit of doubt. And, yeah, it’s a short week, so it does complicate things. And to your point, no, I don’t expect there to be clarity here over these next couple days. And we’re, we’re just gonna, you’re gonna wait and see, just like everyone else, I suppose.
Nestor Aparicio 33:09
I guess I mean Thursday football, it’s here World Series all night, every night, and of course, a new Oreo manager. We’re doing the Maryland crab cake tour state fair on Tuesday morning, Alan will be with us talking some baseball. I’m looking forward to that. Also, next Wednesday, we’re at Coco’s pub in lauraville, no CIG next Wednesday, so I’m gonna have to work twice as hard and have twice as much fun. And then next Friday, we’re going to be pizza John’s in Essex, and that means cheese steaks and french fries and gravy for me. And we’ll have a new world series champion by the end of the week as well, the Ravens will have a football game in and we got a Sunday. We can sit around and watch football all weekend long, but it’s a lot crowded into a little period of time here before we get to Halloween this weekend. I am Nestor. He is Luke. We are W, N, S T. Am 1570 Towson, Baltimore, and we never stop talking Baltimore positive.
