Luke Jones and Nestor discuss Ravens many injuries and pathway to victory against Texans with Cooper Rush

With Lamar Jackson sidelined this week in Owings Mills, it’s time to face the reality of what the Baltimore Ravens offensive potential and pathway to a win over the Houston Texans will be without No. 8 and a huge chunk of the defense. Hard times for #RavensFlock, as Luke Jones and Nestor preview a pair of 1-3 teams fighting for any ugly win available.

Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the Baltimore Ravens’ injury woes and their upcoming game against the Houston Texans. Lamar Jackson’s hamstring injury remains uncertain, with a minor hamstring typically taking a few weeks to heal. The Ravens are 1-3, and key players like Ronnie Stanley and Roquan Smith are also injured. Cooper Rush, the backup quarterback, has a 9-5 record in 14 starts. The defense is struggling, with significant injuries to key players. The team needs to focus on running the ball, minimizing mistakes, and improving defensive performance to win.

• [ ] Monitor Lamar Jackson’s injury status and availability for the upcoming games.
• [ ] Evaluate the performance of the offensive line and make necessary adjustments to support the backup quarterback.
• [ ] Devise a game plan that emphasizes the running game and a collaborative offensive effort without Lamar Jackson.
• [ ] Ensure the defensive coaching staff prepares the available players to execute a simplified game plan and improve tackling.

Luke Jones and Nestor Discuss Ravens’ Injuries and Pathway to Victory

• Nestor Aparicio introduces the show, mentioning his recent activities and the upcoming football game against the Texans.
• Nestor and Luke Jones discuss the uncertainty surrounding Lamar Jackson’s availability due to a hamstring injury.
• Luke Jones explains the potential impact of a minor hamstring injury and the risks of it becoming a longer-term issue.
• The conversation shifts to the importance of Cooper Rush as the backup quarterback and the challenges the offensive line might face without Ronnie Stanley.

Challenges Faced by the Ravens’ Offense

• Luke Jones highlights the need for a collective effort from the offense, especially if Lamar Jackson is unavailable.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the potential impact of missing two games on Lamar Jackson’s recovery.
• The conversation touches on the importance of winning the upcoming games to maintain a positive record.
• Luke Jones mentions the need for a more balanced offensive approach, including running the ball and utilizing play-action.

Defensive Injuries and Their Impact

• Luke Jones discusses the significant injuries on the defensive side, including Matt Abigail, Broderick Washington, and Marlon Humphrey.
• The conversation covers the potential return of key defensive players like Kyle Van Nostrand and Travis Jones.
• Nestor and Luke express concern about the depth and effectiveness of the defensive line.
• The discussion includes the importance of stopping the run and containing the opposing quarterback.

Strategies for Winning Without Lamar Jackson

• Luke Jones outlines potential strategies for winning without Lamar Jackson, including a heavy reliance on the running game.
• The conversation includes the possibility of using Tyler Huntley as a backup quarterback.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of clean operation and minimizing mistakes on offense.
• The discussion touches on the need for better play-calling and execution on defense.

The Importance of Health and Injury Management

• Luke Jones emphasizes the importance of avoiding new injuries and managing existing ones.
• The conversation includes the potential impact of Kyle Hamilton’s groin injury on the defense.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the challenges of playing with a depleted roster and the need for a strong effort from the remaining players.
• The discussion highlights the importance of staying healthy and avoiding further setbacks.

The Role of Cooper Rush and the Backup Quarterback

• Luke Jones provides an overview of Cooper Rush’s performance and the expectations for him as the backup quarterback.
• The conversation includes a comparison of Cooper Rush’s contract with other backup quarterbacks in the league.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the challenges of relying on a backup quarterback and the importance of having a capable backup.
• The discussion touches on the potential impact of Cooper Rush’s performance on the team’s overall success.

The Impact of Injuries on Team Morale

• Luke Jones discusses the impact of injuries on team morale and the need for leadership and motivation.
• The conversation includes the importance of maintaining confidence and resilience despite the challenges.
• Nestor and Luke highlight the need for a collective effort and improved performance from all players.
• The discussion touches on the importance of staying positive and focused on the team’s goals.

The Importance of Winning the Upcoming Games

• Luke Jones emphasizes the importance of winning the upcoming games to maintain a positive record and momentum.
• The conversation includes the potential impact of losing two games on the team’s overall season outlook.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the challenges of facing the Rams next week and the need for a strong performance against the Texans.
• The discussion highlights the importance of winning at least one of the upcoming games to stay competitive.

The Role of the Defense in Achieving Victory

• Luke Jones discusses the critical role of the defense in achieving victory, especially without Lamar Jackson.
• The conversation includes the importance of stopping the run and containing the opposing quarterback.
• Nestor and Luke highlight the need for better tackling and overall defensive performance.
• The discussion touches on the potential impact of defensive injuries on the team’s success.

The Importance of Health and Injury Management

• Luke Jones emphasizes the importance of avoiding new injuries and managing existing ones.
• The conversation includes the potential impact of Kyle Hamilton’s groin injury on the defense.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the challenges of playing with a depleted roster and the need for a strong effort from the remaining players.
• The discussion highlights the importance of staying healthy and avoiding further setbacks.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Ravens injuries, Lamar Jackson, Cooper Rush, Texans game, offensive line, defensive issues, Ronnie Stanley, backup quarterback, hamstring injury, defensive depth, run game, playoff chances, injury report, team morale, game plan.

SPEAKERS

Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T am 1570 tacit Baltimore. We are Baltimore, positive, positively, Getting Ready for Some Football. This weekend. Been watching a lot of baseball, wall to wall. And, you know, I guess Toronto, Seattle, sitting around, waiting around. I was not waiting around. On Wednesday, I was down at fades, at Lexington market. I have delicious crab cake in my belly. It’s all brought to you by the Maryland lottery. I gave away a bunch of Raven scratch offs. We had a couple of winners yesterday that Alexa to market. On Monday, we will be at Costas in simonium. I don’t know if it’s going to be victorious or not, but this is certainly a challenge week. Luke Jones for the Baltimore Ravens and I told the Texans guys all the beat people we’ve had on. I said, get a scorecard, because we have to figure out who’s going to be playing. And I think part of the game, from the reporter standpoint, or from our wnst tech service, brought to you by cold roofing and Gordian energy, is who’s in, who’s out, and at what level are they in. And I as we get up on this, Lamar feels very distant. Let’s start with that, right?

Luke Jones  01:00

Yeah. I mean, we’ll have to see. I mean, we’re as you and I are talking in real time. There’s still practice to go this week. There’s still time for him to feel better. However, there’s not that much time. And as we talked about in the aftermath of the loss in Kansas City, when you’re talking about a hamstring, even if it’s a minor hamstring, and I do think it’s minor, I don’t expect this to be, you know, I don’t think this is the Ravens hiding a two month injury or anything like that,

Nestor Aparicio  01:25

but which they would but, yeah, go ahead,

Luke Jones  01:29

we kind of saw how the knee back in 2022 turned into a longer thing than honestly, I actually think they thought it wasn’t going to be what it ended up being, but that said, even a minor hamstring is typically a couple weeks. You look at the timing of where they are in relation to the bye week, even in contrast to where they stand at one in three, and not wanting to be one in four, let alone one in five, you also still have to acknowledge you don’t want this to turn into truly a two month injury, if there’s a setback, if there’s a re injury, which a hamstring, you know, anytime you’re talking about soft tissue, that is reality, and especially for someone who relies on his legs as part of his game. I mean, even if you’re just going to stand back there in the pocket, even if it’s a more traditional pocket passer, that’s still a challenge, because you still have to be able to push off and move and lateral quickness, all the different things you need to be able to do, so and you’re vulnerable, and you’re vulnerable, right? And we’re talking about an offensive line that may not have Ronnie Stanley, again, has not been playing at a high level as it is so, and it’s for all the flaws of the Houston Texans. They do have a really good front. They do have a good defense, right? I mean, we can talk about how much they have scored or haven’t scored so far in 2025 which is why they’re also one in three, but it’s not great. It’s obviously not ideal. But as we talked about a couple days ago, and I’ll talk about it again. I mean, this is the exact scenario why you got Cooper rush in mid May. And that’s not to say that the offense isn’t going to drop off or look different or have to rely on the rest of their skill talent. Need to rely on their offensive line to be better, and that’s asking a lot, especially if Ronnie Stanley’s not going to be out there on Sunday. And you know, that’s certainly a question right now. But the idea, the the ideal for a veteran backup quarterback to be brought in, and it’s not as though they gave Cooper rush crazy money, let me be clear about that, but they gave him more money than Josh Johnson was making last year, for example. Let’s just use that very simple one for one trade off, who has a nice commercial, by the way, Josh does, he does, but he was making the veteran minimum. Cooper Rush is, you know, I think it was 4 million guaranteed. Now that’s, that was part of a two year deal. It’s, he’s not, you know, necessarily, banking all that in your mind this year. But the idea is, if Lamar Jackson or Patrick mahomes in Kansas City and Gardner mentioned their backup, or Mitch Trubisky and buffalo, if Josh Allen goes down. I mean, it’s all these guys, Jake Browning for Joe burrow, if it’s not a three month injury, but it’s a two or three game injury, the idea is you’re hoping that guy can play well enough to help you win a game or two, if it’s much more than that. You know how this works, and I hear a lot of people talk, you know, I’ve even seen, you know, media types criticizing Well, this is why the Ravens needed a better backup quarterback. Who were all the great backup quarterbacks out there? There aren’t 32 good starters in this league, let alone when we start breaking down the list of backup quarterbacks that you really feel are worth their salt. So it’s not ideal. It doesn’t make you feel good about going into this game, let alone if Lamar has to miss the Rams game next week, when you’re talking about a team that’s playing at a much higher level overall than Houston. But. But it’s the reality right now. It’s the distinct possibility that, yeah, you might not have them on Sunday, and it’s possible you might not have them the following week because it’s a hamstring. And again, even a minor hamstring is a week or two usually. So we’ll have to see. But at the same time, if you truly have this great roster that so many were lauding and so many were praising going into the season, and so many were picking the ravens to be, you know, they’re the popular Super Bowl pick, even with some of the injuries they have now. On the defense, well, we’ll get to that. But on offense, you know, you still have Derek Henry. You have Justice Hill, as I said, Bring Keaton Mitchell out of the garage, right? I mean, maybe, maybe, you know, so many fans have been clamoring for that. You still have zay flowers, Rashad Bateman and DeAndre Hopkins healthy. You have Isaiah, likely back now. You have Mark Andrews, and you have a backup quarterback that you pick who won games, who’s

Nestor Aparicio  05:59

in the league like, like, he’s a punch line around here. This week, he might go out and play, okay, on Sunday, it’s, this isn’t over his head, right? I mean,

Luke Jones  06:06

he’s not, look Cooper rush didn’t play at an extremely high level in Dallas, and, you know, I don’t want to, I don’t want to blow this up into something that it wasn’t. But they were nine and five in his 14 starts. Now, how much of that was him playing great, not too often, but it was talent around him and Michael Parsons, sure, sure, certainly, their defense was in a better state than Dallas’s defense currently is, but, but the point is, it does need to be a more collective effort. When you’re talking about that as much as I mean, how many times have you and I talked about, you know, Lamar going into the phone booth and becoming Superman? Cooper rush can’t do that. So yes, you need a more collaborative effort. And I mean, it’s, it’s gut check time. I mean, you’re one in three. You might not have your starting quarterback on Sunday. And there are two ways,

Nestor Aparicio  06:52

if you don’t have them this week, you probably wouldn’t play them next week to give them the break to come back. So if there’s two games this year that Cooper rush plays, these are the two, not a good thought at one and three, no, but they’re home games, so you have that the offense ought to be able to operate at home, you know? So there’s some things here about trying to steal these two games, not just one of them, because two and four wouldn’t be so good two weeks from now, but if Lamar doesn’t play five, yeah, yeah.

Luke Jones  07:18

And that’s, that’s why, to me, this game is so important, right? We don’t know Lamar status. I mean, we still don’t know it for sure. On Sunday, and, you know, there have

Nestor Aparicio  07:27

been you win this game, you give them off next week and then, and that makes a lot more sense, right?

Luke Jones  07:31

I mean, it just comes down to, obviously, you can’t let your record completely dictate this. I mean, you just can’t, because there is a lot and, and I’ll throw out a very recent example, the Rams. They gave the Eagles everything they could handle on the divisional round. Do you remember what they started off at their record was at this time last year, they were like us, right? They were one in four. Yeah. I mean, they weren’t. They were one in four, and they made it to the divisional round, and they gave Philly their toughest game on the way to the Eagles winning the Super Bowl. So it’s a reminder that it’s not ideal. We all know that we’ve talked about that plenty, but it is a reminder that there is a lot of football left, and you do have to keep that in mind when you are trying to evaluate not just Lamar, but all these guys that are banged up right now. It’s not that you don’t want them out there, or that you’re just going to completely err on the side of caution and not care about these next two games. But you do have to look at it realistically and say, Look, you know, for example, I mean, the NFL Network put out, I think it was Monday that roquan Smith has a grade two hamstring. He clearly isn’t playing until after the bye week. I mean, a grade two hamstring, he might not be ready until the game or two after the buy, right? I mean, again, it’s speculative in nature, right? Well, right Well,

Nestor Aparicio  08:41

right now you’re trying to get everybody on the field a month from now, first week in

Luke Jones  08:44

November, and that’s and that’s where we’re talking about, and that’s tough, because if you’re one in five, it doesn’t matter everything. Well, it does. It’s not that it doesn’t matter, but you’re in a position where, my goodness, you better hope that everyone’s healthy at that point. And you just have to go on a roll and go nuts, and you have to hope that you don’t have any more injuries, which just because you’re very injured now doesn’t mean you won’t have any injuries later in the year. So it’s just

Nestor Aparicio  09:10

tough. Well, we honor the 75 Colts. They won nine in a row. So there’s possible the ravens, this seems capable of winning with as a healthy unit. The thing where we are is Matt a BK, not coming back, Ronnie Stanley. I mean, the fans are harder on him than I am. You know what? I mean, you know what? You know

Luke Jones  09:27

since you brought up Ronnie Stanley, what’s interesting? I have not had gotten it confirmed that it’s the same ankle, and having watched him on Sunday. I mean, he played two series, so I went back to the all 22 I’m actually not convinced that it’s his other ankle that he I mean, think about he has this long injury history. I’m not saying it’s a catastrophic or degenerative or anything. I’m I’m wondering if he tweaked his ankle a couple weeks ago in the Detroit game, and he’s just dealing with that. But I watching him because it was his left ankle that. He had multiple surgeries on and everything watching it. He didn’t have a brace on either, like a noticeable brace on either ankle, to identify it that way. But there were a couple times it almost looked like he was favoring the right side a little bit more. So that might be a good that might be good news in terms of a big picture, sense that this isn’t like a chronic thing. Again, I don’t know I’m based off of what I saw. And, you know, no one’s confirmed it for me and said anything, because, you know, they’re trying to not give things away in that nature.

Nestor Aparicio  10:30

But if you ask him the truth, they’d lie to you anyway. So you’re not there’s not telling you any report act. I mean, they might

Luke Jones  10:35

tell you after the fact, but, but my point with that is that might be something that, yes, it’s worrisome right now, but if it is the opposite ankle, in a big picture sense, that actually makes me feel better, that it’s not some degenerative you know, that his ankle is just like where you know, you know, as he gets older. I mean, anyone who’s had multiple surgeries to a certain part of their body, you wonder about the wear and tear, and just like they’re just going to wear down, right? Like a pitcher has multiple elbow injuries, like, if they tweak a hamstring, like you’re not as worried about the hamstring as you are their elbow, right? I mean, so, you know, in that sense, we’ll see. But it’s obviously not great that he didn’t look great last week when he practiced Friday, didn’t look great in the pregame workout, tried to give it a go, and then, you know, had to come out after two series. But with all of this, you know, and to bring it back to Cooper rush and the Lamar talk, because that’s paramount here, obviously, you know, you need everyone to rally. You need everyone to be better. It’s way, way easier. I don’t want to say easier, because that implies it’s easy without Lamar Jackson, but you are more whole on the offensive side of the ball, even with taking Lamar out of the picture the rest of your players, compared to the defense. Now, where to your point? Matt Abigail is out for the year. Broderick Washington is out for the next three games, and on ir roquan Smith isn’t going to play. Marlon Humphrey is not going to play. Kyle van Nestor and Travis Jones are practicing. I think there’s a good chance they’re going to be back on the field, so that helps. But you know, where is Nate Wiggins in this something to keep an eye on, Nestor, I you know again, we’ll see as the practice Week continues. Kyle Hamilton showed up on the injury report Wednesday is limited, but a groin issue. Did it happen? Did something happen in practice? Is it something that, you know, he’s just a little sore. You know, when someone’s listed is limited the first day of the practice week, and there was nothing you observed from the game. It doesn’t always mean that an injury occurred during practice, let me be clear, but we do know occasionally that happens. So maybe he needs a day off of work too well, but, but, but if he’s not out there, you know, the last practice or two of the week, then you start to say, Oh, did he get her turn practice? Like, you know, when it rains, it pours, right? So, you know, there there’s a lot going because practice

Nestor Aparicio  12:53

is easy to be able to go out there, run around on Thursday. You can’t do that. You can’t play

Luke Jones  12:57

well, yeah. I mean, Wednesday practice is typically the hardest practice of the week, and when you show up on Wednesday for that practice, you know, on the injury report is limited, that sometimes does mean that something happened during practice. We’ll see they don’t want you exerting yourself on Wednesday Well, or he got hurt, right? You know. So we’re gonna see, you know, that’s certainly on top of all the other defensive players and the woes, we

Nestor Aparicio  13:23

don’t need any new injuries. Dude, Kyle Hamilton, I don’t need fresh names this week. Yeah. So anybody.

Luke Jones  13:29

So that’s something to keep an eye on. And certainly, you know, people want to be on the Baltimore positive tech service, you know, sponsored by coal roofing, as we get to the end of the week and the injury report and all that. But point is, they’re clearly much more banged up on defense collectively than on offense, which look they’re they’re missing their two most important offensive players. If you want to throw Derek Henry or zay flowers in there, but Lamar and Ronnie Stanley, you could still very much Lamar is one, and then the argument is, who’s their second most offensive, important offensive player. And you can still argue it’s Ronnie Stanley, and he’s not out there either, right now, some

Nestor Aparicio  14:06

would say Derek Henry, because they don’t know football, but, yeah, I mean, right? I mean, I mean it’s, you know, it’s hard to say. I mean, you’re talking in the passing game. Derek Henry’s no factor at all. But that means you have to continue to run the ball. They didn’t need a passing game five years ago. They just ran it,

Luke Jones  14:18

ran it, ran it. And let’s face it, their path to victory. If Lamar is not out, there is one of them all, and run the ball with Derek Henry, with Justice Hill, with Keaton Mitchell. I’ll even throw this out there. I would not be shocked, because John Harbaugh and and some of this is absolutely gamesmanship. He when he’s been asked about Cooper rush this week, he’s also mentioned Tyler Huntley, who would be elevated from the practice squad to be the backup if Lamar is inactive on Sunday, I would not at all

Nestor Aparicio  14:45

chat, baby. Let’s go. Let’s do it. Let’s run the Derrick Henry, Wildcat or

Luke Jones  14:49

more. So go back to 2018 when Joe Flacco was still starting games and Lamar was coming in for six or seven plays, a game. I could absolutely see that scenario with Cooper rush and Ty. Huntley coming in the game.

Nestor Aparicio  15:01

Hey, Joe, go out, catch a pass with you people. I’m not doing that. Yeah, yeah. So what did he call it? He called it JV off. What did he call

Luke Jones  15:09

it? That was he called it something that was a few years before. That was when, I think they did that with Tyrod Taylor, right? Yeah. Anyway, when you’re when you don’t have Lamar Jackson, when you don’t have

Nestor Aparicio  15:21

your MVP quarterback, you’re on the Navy offense. Let’s go on the wishbone. Let’s go. I mean, you need to go win a

Luke Jones  15:26

rock fight. I mean, that’s what, what it is, right? I mean, it’s gonna be ugly if they can find a way to win 13 to 12. You, you win 13 to 12 and you’re happy.

Nestor Aparicio  15:35

I have McLean on this week. It’s gonna be a low scoring game, you know? And I’m like, yeah, it’s going to be a low score game.

Luke Jones  15:41

It might be. But then again, has he watched the Ravens defense? I mean, this is the way you

Nestor Aparicio  15:46

win the game. Is a Woozi a picks a ball and runs it back or something. You know, some defensive points, punt the ball well, make two field goals. 4853 yards. You know, put some points up, like, whatever it’s it might be Joe Flacco coming back. It’s old school, Rock ‘Em, sock ’em football here, because you don’t have the weapons and defensively, that’s the thing that freaks me out, is like, I don’t even the front seven wasn’t good to begin with, by the way, I had Sean Merriman on the show this week. He had Terp lights out and all that stuff. And he really shamed the Ravens for not being deep enough in the front seven to begin with. He said they had no depth. They had no pass rush. We were questioning their pass rush a month ago. No van Nestor like they have not had a pass rush. And obviously a guy that chases the quarterback, and Sean Merriman takes umbrage with that, but he said, Well, you can’t rush the quarterback. There’s so many other things you’re going to get you’re going to get gashed on. He said, you know, and I played the league 15 years, so I’ll listen. I’ll hear him out. But you know, when I start to see football players concerned about what this front seven and knowing how vulnerable that is, and worrying about whether Cooper rush and Derek Henry are going to get the ball back?

Luke Jones  16:52

Well, yeah, and that’s, that’s where you kind of look at this game and say, if you’re the ravens, what’s your path to victory? It’s absolutely and it needs to be a bigger part of their identity, even when Lamar Jackson’s back and healthy, is getting back to building more of a rhythm, and not be this high variance offense that, look, I’m not going to sit here and say their offense has been bad. It hasn’t been they’ve scored a lot of points, but it’s been too Jekyll and Hyde, right? We’ve seen them make these massive, huge, big plays, right? These long Derrick Henry has popped some long runs, but we’ve also seen them go through extended periods within games where the offense completely breaks down. It’s been way too high variance. And the problem with that is, you kind of look at the cumulative impact that that has one you’re not sustaining drives and converting. You know, whether we’re talking about third down, whether we’re talking about inside the red zone. We’ve talked a lot about the goal to go play calling. We’ve talked a lot about the short yardage play calling. But you think about all those things, those are all things other than goal to go when you know that’s when, Okay, it’s time to score a touchdown. But all those other things are about what sustaining the drive, moving the chains, keeping your offense on the field and the opposing offense off the field, which, in turn means you’re keeping your shoddy defense off the field. Let’s call it what it’s been. The defense has been bad, and it was trending way in that direction, even before all these injuries started to mount. So that impact has absolutely been there. When you look at how the Ravens have played in each of these games. I mean, go, look at how many plays their offense has run in comparison to how many plays the opposition is running. And that. You know that that’s a byproduct of so many of these issues. But if you can get back to more of the Greg Roman style, where you think about all those? I mean, think about the two, the two drives the lions had against the ravens, right? I mean, 295, plus yard drives, which I get it Montgomery’s long run was part of that second long drive they had, but they sustained. I mean, you know these to have six or seven or eight minute drives that end in a touchdown. One, it’s a touchdown. Two, you’ve shrunk the opportunity size for for the opposition when you do that. And I think that has to be a much bigger part of what they do moving forward, but it certainly needs to be a gigantic part of what they’re doing right now, with Lamar Jackson status in question. So can they do that? Well, problem is for all of Houston’s issues, and I’ll remind everyone, they’re one in three also, right? I mean, this isn’t a juggernaut coming in here, the Rams coming in next week. That could be a different story if you’re still missing Lamar and some of these guys. But this is a Texans team that struggled, but they’re good defensively, and that’s where you look at this and say, You need to be able to find a way to run the ball and control the clock and be good enough on third down. And if you’re Cooper, Rush play action needs to be a big part of what they’re doing. I don’t think he’s going to throw a whole lot, but he is going to have to throw some. And you have to be able to be fine in all those ways. Your operation needs to be as clean as possible. And. This is where hopefully you have more trust in a backup quarterback then maybe Tyler Huntley being their backup five years ago or four years ago, where you say, Can the operation be clean here? Can we get up to the line and not have to lay a delay a game? I mean, even with Lamar Jackson last week, they had to delay a games in a three play period. I mean, in that first half against Kansas City, when it was still a game, you can’t have that, you know, so you need to be better in those ways. You need your offensive line to not have penalties. It’s funny, Nestor, we haven’t talked about it. If there’s one thing that this team has been way better about, I mean, there’s not a whole lot you can say that about. They’ve heard the penalties, they’ve cleaned up. I mean, they go into the year they’re second in the league in penalty yardage, like they have 145 yards of penalties and four four games. That’s really good. I mean, last year they had games where they had 110 yards of penalties in a game. So that’s one area. They’ve cleaned things up, but hasn’t helped the record. I was gonna say that only means so much when so many other areas are failing for you so but that part of it is something that you hope can help weather this storm of if Lamar is going to miss Sunday, if he’s going to miss the following week, and you know that those are the kind of things you need to be perfect at on Sunday. And you know, if we’re gonna even throw it, throw out the the following week. I’ve said it hypothetically, if Lamar has to miss these two games, I’m certainly not of the expectation that they’re going to win the next two games, obviously, but got to find a way to win one, right? This would be the easier one to win. And that’s my point, right? I mean, you look at it on paper, this is the much more winnable game sans Lamar Jackson. Then talking about next week, where you have a rams team that has played well, and their one loss is a game in Philadelphia where they blew a big lead, right? I mean, they kind of pulled a Ravens. So this is, this is the game you got to win, right? I mean, you’ve got to find a way. I’m not saying anyone should feel fine if they’re two and four at the bye week, but that feels a heck of a lot better than one in five, right? And but you’ve got to go be clean with your operation. You can’t make major mistakes. Cooper rush needs to value the football, take care of the football. They’ve got to run the ball. Todd Monckton has to have a much better game calling plays than he’s had the last couple of weeks. And they have to go out and execute defensively. You know, it’s a case of coming devising a game plan that fits where you are, personnel wise. And look, they’re not going to become, they’re not going to transform back into the 2000 ravens, or the 2023 ravens, you know, to make it a little more modern, as far as a comparison, that’s not going to happen, especially not overnight, especially when you’re this injured. But can you raise the floor? Can you get back to the point where you’re getting some stops, you know, you’re not giving up 30 plus a game. How about, how about start with, can you hold them to 20 points, right? That’s not it. That’s not an extraordinary expectation, right there.

Nestor Aparicio  23:10

But first down and making him kick some field goals would be really helpful. And again, like I said, going fourth down, making a stop and getting the ball back, there’s going to be some swing moments in this game, field position, all of that Tyler loop, you know, let him win a game. I mean, I to your point, rock fight. I like that, whatever happens. But we’re not going to give him style points on Sunday in any way. I you know, I

Luke Jones  23:33

wouldn’t think so. I mean, if there are style points, and maybe it’s Derek Henry, if he goes off for 200 or something like that, but they’ve got to find a way. Like I said, that rock fight analogy, you normally hear that term described in a basketball game that’s kind of, you know, more defensive minded, and there’s not a whole lot of scoring going on. And, I mean, they’ve got to, just have to find a way. And that that sounds so cliche, but it’s where they are. They need a win. They need a win here. I mean, this is as I hate using the term must win the first Sunday in October. My goodness, it’s as close as you can possibly get to must win in early October because of what next week brings and a tougher opponent. And assuming Lamar isn’t playing Sunday, how much better are you feeling about his availability next week? And again, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he finds a way to get out there. Maybe he’s okay much more quickly than we think, but in terms of what we know, and in terms of being realistic, and in terms of having to recognize that after this week, there’s still 12 more games and three months of season left, and you’re in a division where Cincinnati might be the worst team in the league right now, the way they’ve looked the last two Sundays. Cleveland has a rookie quarterback playing now, and Pittsburgh is give them their props, or three and one. But I also don’t expect the Steelers to go 14 and three and run away with this division. So the

Nestor Aparicio  24:55

opportunity, no, they might be eight and three by the time we see them or something. They’re not going to

Luke Jones  24:59

be But, but. I just, I don’t think they’re that kind of outfit. Now, that doesn’t mean they won’t be 10 and seven or 11 and six, right? I mean, I’m not saying they they, but I’m still skeptical of a 40 year old, 40 plus year old quarterback, and their defense, it’s made some big plays at Big times, but that hasn’t been it’s not on the Ravens level of stink, quite frankly, but their defense has had issues. My point is, there’s not a juggernaut in this division right now, and I don’t think Pittsburgh is a juggernaut. They’re in first place, and they deserve first place. But the point is, the opportunity is still going to be there. You have to start winning some games for that to matter, right? You can’t let this if this is one in five at the buy, I mean, you’re talking about man, no matter how much the schedule softens up and it does after the buy, and that’s why I’ll continue to have a little more optimism than people are that right?

Nestor Aparicio  25:53

Steelers have a tougher schedule. I haven’t looked at their schedule. Let’s go steal Steelers. Here they go. Let’s see they’re gonna have Bengals, browns Bengals, but then they have packers, colts chargers. So, you know, I mean, they’re gonna have three they have the bills. They have the bills in thanksgiving weekend. So, and then we see them the week after they play the bills in early December. So we see them week 14. So they would have 12 games played at that point, because they have a buy. So, you know, are they going to be eight and four? Are they going to be seven and five? Are they going to be nine and three? Could be something like that. And then it’s where the Ravens going to be. And I’m not getting too far ahead of my skis, because these guys are coming back. The ravens are a joke. They’re, you know, the ravens are BE LUCKY TO GO seven and seven and 10 if nobody’s coming

Luke Jones  26:36

back. That’s where I remind everyone the difference here compared to some of their other like, we think of 2021 with all the injuries, right? We think of 2015 with all the injuries. Go all the way back to 2007 you know, a pre John Harbaugh era and all the injuries they had that year, 2005 same thing. The difference right now, as banged up to all heck as they are, right now, it’s not as though all these guys are out for the year. Matt abigay is out for the year, right? Ardarius Washington, they lost in May. Maybe he’s back Thanksgiving, December. And by the way, I still we’ve talked about it in passing. I think that our Darius Washington injuries end up being bigger than people might have thought, just at face value in terms of, oh, well, you drafted Malachi Starks now you can just play more corners and all that. I think they’ve missed that because I think it’s made Kyle Hamilton less dynamic.

Nestor Aparicio  27:26

Well, it’s also just scrap their plans, sure, right? Like, what the ideas they had back in February and March and said, We’re going to get this, we’re going to do this, we’re going to draft that, and then on May 1, we’re going to install this, and on September this, we’re going to have that defense. And now it’s October and we’re out here blind by

Luke Jones  27:44

the seat of our pants, but I would also say, hey, he got hurt in May. He didn’t get hurt September 2, right? I mean, there, there were bad times out there. So and look, maybe they’ll still add a veteran safety before it’s all said and

Nestor Aparicio  27:56

done well to your point, Lamar is not playing this week. They they had a choice to go get a backup quarterback. They went out early and often, and they

Luke Jones  28:03

identified because they wanted, yeah, and we’re gonna see how it looks like look. If I’m being totally honest, I wasn’t impressed by Cooper rush in the spring and summer. I wasn’t impressed by him in the preseason. That said I wasn’t that impressed with him playing in Dallas, even even in winning fashion at times again, there aren’t 32 quality starting quarterbacks in this league. I don’t know what you reasonably expect your backup quarterback to look like, let alone how much you want to spend on that, in terms of the opportunity that is lost to spend that much cap space elsewhere, as I’ve you know, I’ve always cited the Tom Moore talking about Peyton Manning and the Colts and all that, as far as how they felt about a backup, the idea that you’re kind of, you know, you’re completely screwed if you lose your backup or your starting quarterback long term anyway. So how much is too much to spend? How much is not enough to spend? Look, there’s plenty of nuance there. It stinks to lose your starting quarterback. I mean, ask the Bengals right now. I mean, by record. They by record. They don’t look you know, they’re in better shape than the ravens, but, my goodness, you watch them play right now, they might be the worst team in football without Joe burrow. That’s how bad it’s looked for them the last two weeks. I mean, horrible. But that said, if you miss your quarterback for a couple games, you got to have a plan. You’ve got it, especially when you’re one. I didn’t

Nestor Aparicio  29:28

love Tyler Huntley, but when he went in there, it was the same offense, and he did give them he almost beat the Bengals in a playoff game. So like, I’m not gonna be down but, but the whole time I’m like, now they bring a different kind of quarterback, and at this point, hand chosen, I think to myself, they’ve never really been in love with their backup quarterback, or had a backup quarterback that felt capable, maybe RG, three for a minute, you thought, you know that that was a little bit more thinking he could be capable because he had done it at various points

Luke Jones  29:59

same time. Remember how he played in that and I get it, it was that covid rescheduled. He was awful on that, all

Nestor Aparicio  30:05

right, yeah, Steelers game, right, yeah. I mean, yeah, he never

Luke Jones  30:10

correct me. If I’m wrong here, I could be wrong on this. I don’t think he played in the NFL again after that day. He played himself out of the league that day, I believe. But again,

Nestor Aparicio  30:18

meanwhile, Josh Johnson still got a job, and what’s crazy, but

Luke Jones  30:21

what’s crazy about Josh Johnson? Go, look at his career. Games played. He’s barely played. I mean, he’s, he’s, I mean, he’s been with 16 different teams, or whatever it is, and, and, but he’s played 12 games in the league, or something like, yeah, yeah. It’s crazy. I mean, it’s, it’s so little. Now, I would also say Josh Johnson has probably been, probably closer to being more of a number three quarterback for a lot of his career than than a true backup, even so. But yeah, it speaks to like, if you it’s funny, it’s kind of like in baseball, you know, if you’re, if you’re a left handed pitcher and you have a pulse, you’ll last in the league a good period of time. I mean, that’s kind of backup quarterbacks at this point in time.

Nestor Aparicio  31:01

Well, the guy who’s, who’s head coach of the Vikings could be, still be a backup quarterback in the league if he had gone in that path instead of going to be a coach, right? He was sort of back up to Tom Brady and said, Yeah, never really give you a starter. Give me a clipboard. I want to be a coach. And now he’s a head coach, you know, making quarterback money for himself. But like, you know, that’s the kind of guy, or Joe Flacco still doing this? Because he can all that being said, Would you rather have Joe Flacco this week? Cooper rush this week? Tyler, I don’t, I haven’t met the backup quarterback that I’m like, I feel good about this this week, you know. So I’m with you on that. But running the ball? Are they capable of running the ball? Are they capable of having a short passing game? Are they capable of getting zay flowers loose or Bateman loose or something like that, making a couple of plays? I mean, yeah, I don’t think they shouldn’t be incapable this week now, stopping the run and getting after the quarterback, different story. And I’m way more concerned about the defense and just sort of how that part of the game could get lopsided. And the other team, Houston this week, the Rams next week, without Lamar, or even with Lamar, are going to be able to control the ball and run the field a little bit, because I’m this defensively speaking of them. Have we done this a month ago, without Matt abigay, without roquan Smith, without Marlon Humphrey, he would have said he could spend the season without them. Take that $80 million off the books for our salary cap. You’d look at this team and you’d say

Luke Jones  32:27

it’s a 10 win team. Maybe they’re going to lose games because their defense isn’t good enough, no matter if Lamar gets in the phone booth or not, and He’s incapable of doing that right now. So the defense, it’s never going to get better. And we’re going to talk about this the next 12 weeks in regard to who’s playing, because they’re going to get more guys hurt, I promise you, that’s but they’re also going to have guys come back too. I mean, again, matta BK that’s, that’s the colossal one, right? But they should have Travis Jones back this week. They should have Kyle van Nestor back this week. So that helps your front that should help your pass rush. That doesn’t mean it makes it whole. Doesn’t mean it makes it good, but it should be better now inside linebacker, and, you know, I’ve at times, not expressed a whole lot of fondness for how roquan Smith has played, you know, going back to last year, but the alternatives, I mean, Trenton Simpson, who’s been benched multiple times over the last two years, Teddy Buchanan, who has replaced Trenton Simpson, but has not looked very good, who’s going to play for roquan? I mean, it’s going to be those two guys. And I’m guessing, you know, assuming Hamilton is healthy, and so it’s going to get Simpson on the field, is what you’re saying. I mean, it’s probably, I mean, now Jake Hummel, you know who? I mean, he played some last week. I mean, he played some last week. He’ll probably be in that mix too. I mean, that’s where. And we talked about this. I’ve written about this, you know, if there was, you know, we I talked about the depth on the defensive line, not the starters, but the depth on the defensive line going into the season and going into the draft, more specifically, because, you know, they didn’t draft a defensive tackle until Peebles in the sixth round, which, as we saw. I mean, he played so little on Sunday, it’s because he’s, he’s more of a situational inside pass rusher at this point in his career, right? He’s not a guy that you can trust to play the run. He’s small. I mean, he’s a tiny guy, you know, he even lesser, less so than, uh, talking about, uh, Buddy Lee, you know, Kelly, Greg, who wasn’t the biggest guy, but had the wrestling background and the great leverage and all that, you know, peoples might be able to become something like that eventually, but for right now, I think it’s kind of limited when you truly want to put him on the field. But in the meantime, you’re relying on practice squad call ups and Brent urban, who’s well into his 30s at this point in time. I mean, John Jenkins, who’s played well for them, he’s 36 years old. I mean, this isn’t, this isn’t ideal.

Nestor Aparicio  34:48

There’s no you can’t put that

Luke Jones  34:50

guy out there 55 snaps, right? But that’s why you have to get Travis Jones back. And you need Travis Jones to play at a high level, higher level than he did against Detroit, which, you know, he wasn’t very good in that game, even. Before he hurt his knee late. You know, they need van Nestor back. You know they need van Noy to be, you know, I don’t know if he’s going to be a 12 sack guy again. I mean, that was a career high last year. Do him doing what he’s not yelling either, by the way. No, he’s not. But at the same time, you need him to give you something even, even if it’s solid play and more leadership that you’re needing right now, you know, just just in terms of how everyone’s feeling about themselves on defense right now. I mean, as I’ve said to you, the biggest challenge when you’re one in three, beyond obviously the injuries, is between the ears right now, confidence and someone to tell you that, either to kick you in the tail or to tell you it’s going to be okay. And some guys need one or the other. Some guys need a combination of both, right? So you need some of that, but not having roquan, you know, not having Marlon Humphrey. What does that mean in terms of the nickel? You know is that Keon Martin, the undrafted rookie who had his moments on Sunday, but also had some plays that he looked like an undrafted rookie. Does that mean moving Kyle HAMILTON To the nickel. But is Kyle Hamilton healthy? Right? Like I said, you know that, it’s just there’s a lot going on right now with their defense. I mean, it’s obvious, the number one issue is Lamar Jackson status this week. I mean, that headlines the list, obviously, because he’s one of the very best football players on the planet. But their defense just is dealing with so much more. And if you’re talking about Zach Gore, Chuck Pagano, you know the the entire defensive coaching staff, one, who’s going to be out there for you? Two, what can we do game plan wise that’s going to be appropriate for let’s face it, some guys that are going to be out there that aren’t as experienced as some of these veteran leaders who are making $20 million a year. So do you need to pare down the defensive game plan? But you can’t do that too much because you’re still facing an NFL opponent, right? I mean, the Texans offense has not been very good, but they still have Nico Collins, right, who’s one of the best wide receivers in the NFL and can take the top off a defense and make big plays and kill you. And that’s where you question, okay, is Nate Wiggins going to be able to play? You know, my understanding is his elbow injury doesn’t, isn’t, I don’t think it’s as serious as it looked when he was carted off, but I don’t Nestor Aparicio, that means he’s going to play on Sunday. I mean, we’ll see if he’s practicing the last couple days of the week, then I feel better about where he is so but you know, of all, we’ve talked so much about Matt abigay, roquan Smith, Marlon Humphrey, weakens is, you could make an argument, and Matt abigay, I throw out because he hasn’t played since, you know, the first few weeks of the season, or first two weeks of the season, Wiggins has maybe been their best player. I mean, believe me, that man, that’s a damning with praise kind of comment, because, yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  37:51

who’s the Orioles best player

Luke Jones  37:54

this year? I don’t know. You know, my point is, I I’ve been encouraged. I’ve actually been encouraged by what I’ve seen from him, like he’s taken the next step forward. I mean, not saying he’s played at a Pro Bowl level, but I think he’s been exactly what I wanted him to look like, going from year one to year two. So far, the problem is everyone else being left behind and going backwards. So but with Nico Collins, that’s important to have Nate Wiggins out there, right? And, you know, I mean, I’m sure they’ll move Collins around. I mean, that doesn’t mean they’re going to have Wiggins travel with

Nestor Aparicio  38:24

him, but how are they going to get beat on Sunday? They’re going to get beat by their best players, right?

Luke Jones  38:28

Sure, sure, so. But at the same time, you’ve got to be able to stop the run. I mean, they have Nick Chubb woody marks, is their young running back who’s starting to come on. In fact, I you can almost see kind of a swing these last couple games where I think he’s starting to become, it’s become more one in one A, and I think there’s a chance he becomes the one and Nick Chubb becomes the one A, because, you know, Woody Marx has looked, I think has looked a little bit better. I mean, Nick we I love Nick Chubb. And you know, he’s a guy that was a good soldier in Cleveland for a long time, and a heck of a player, but multiple knee injuries, you kind of just ask, where is he at this point in time? And I think the Texans are asking that at this point. So, you know, they’ve got to stop the run. They’ve got to they can’t let CJ Stroud just sit back there and be able to pump the ball and and pump fake and let Collins get loose downfield. I mean, that

Nestor Aparicio  39:18

might get lamarred A little bit too. He might wind up running around and gashing them and chasing him a little bit.

Luke Jones  39:23

Yeah, I mean, he’s not like a he’s not like a speed demon, like Lamar at his best. But, you know, he can certainly move around like he’s not a statue back there. So, you know, I mean this look, I’m trying to lay out a path to victory for this team. If it is Cooper rush, it is there. I mean, Vegas, even, you know, Vegas has Houston as the favorite, assuming Lamar is not out there. You know, you’ve seen that line move as you would expect it to, but it’s not as though they’re picking the Texans as a 10 point favorite. You know, I think the line I saw most recently, as you and I are talking, was like one and a half. You know, that’s still to me. That’s still showing, I don’t know if that’s showing more respect to the Ravens or a lack of respect and a lack of thought of what Houston is, because, again, the Texans are one in three, right? I mean, this isn’t, these aren’t, this isn’t a great team coming to town on Sunday. You know that that that the ravens are dealing you know they’re going to deal with that next week, most likely with the Rams. You know, with how they’ve looked through four games, but this is still a winnable football game, as much as, as bleak as it feels with all these injuries, and as bleak as it feels if number Eight’s not going to be out there, but, man, you need a such, a better all around effort than what they got last week. Because not, I mean, they just, they were beaten soundly, and they just didn’t play tough. I mean, it was a very honestly. I’m going to use the word because I’m not calling individuals this, but the collective performance from them last Sunday was soft. I mean, it just was. That even goes for the play calling, right? So they need to be tougher, they need to be more physical. They need to be able to run the ball. Their offensive line needs to block better. Todd monkey needs to call it better on defense, gosh, whoever’s out there, my goodness, start tackling better. That’s where, like, I’ll call out Zach or Sure, I have no problem with that. He needs to be better. And ultimately, he’s going to take the fall for their defense, you know, you know, John Harbaugh is ultimately responsible, but he’s under fire. But my goodness, that Gore can’t go out there and tackle for these guys. They’re NFL defensive players. Go tackle. Their tackling has been so poor these last couple weeks. So, man, that’s a lot. There’s a lot of ifs I just threw out there. But if they can clean up some of those things and improve those things, you know, then I think they still have a good chance to steal a football game here with that, without your starting quarterback, presumably. But if you’re going to go out there and do all those things again, then who knows, Texans might beat you by two or three scores. Then if you’re going to play like that again, so it’s got check time, and you’ve you’ve got to find a way, any way it looks. And the nine, seven to six, whatever, 31, to 30, however it looks, you just you have to find a way to win. Because, man, if you thought one in three was dark, then you’re staring down the barrel of one in five if you lose this game, and you’ve got the Rams coming to town, and you’re still without Lamar and roquan and Marlon Humphrey and staring at all of that, that’s that. It feels pretty bad right now. It can get worse.

Nestor Aparicio  42:27

No new injuries on Sunday. Can we say that? Yes, I

Luke Jones  42:31

mean that that’s the moving forward. That’s kind of the captain obvious that they need. I mean, and look, they’re going to have a few more injuries along the way. But you can’t. It’s crazy. Go look at what the injury report was two and a half weeks ago compared to what it looks like now. I mean, they had 14 total guys on the injury report on Wednesday, eight of them not practicing at all, and then six other guys limited. I mean, that’s and one of those is Emory Jones. They finally activated him from NFI, so you know, he’s not on the roster right now. That’s a positive that he’s practicing on a limited basis right now. But boy, that there’s a it’s a crowded list and some very, very important football players for a team that can’t afford to be without them, but they’re going to be without some of those guys on Sunday, at the very least,

Nestor Aparicio  43:15

I will be watching football day. Sunday, Luke will be down at the ballpark. I am around all week. Nestor Aparicio com always reaches me. Luke is luke@wnsd.net and also you can follow Luke on social media. If you’re on our wnsd tech service, we’re going to be getting these injury reports out to you. It’s all brought to you by cold roofing and Gordian energy. Want to give a shout out to my partners at GBMC for getting me together and my colonoscopy next month. I’m getting inching closer to that. I got that circled on the calendar saying, Can I can I cop out of that? Can I sneak out of that? What can I do? But that’s going to happen in November. A reminder to everybody to get yourself checked out, make sure you’re safe. Guys out there, I’ll be yelling about that the next six, eight weeks as well as we see all the pink coming out here this week on breast cancer, we’ll come out and say, get a colonoscopy, because I am, and then my friends at GBMC are helping me push that along so and I’m also talking to some doctors around here, trying to have a little bit of fun with some crab cakes. Maryland lottery presents, our Maryland crab cake tour. I was at faidley’s on Wednesday. It was delicious. Luke didn’t join me, so I had the cucumber salad. He didn’t get to steal any My Big Fat french fries, my my Western fries. I get down there. I forgot to bring some fish homes. I got to get back down there. We’re going to be at Costas on Monday. I’m going to be eating the crab Imperial and feeding feeling royal waiting on baseball as well. We watch a lot of baseball this week. Luke’s still watching baseball. I’m up all night. My wife was all red, SOX up earlier in the week. So if you’re an Oriole fan, I don’t know, hate on the Yankees. Hate on the Red Sox. Pick somebody you don’t like the Royals. Oh, they’re not in it anymore. So we’ll find the bad guys in baseball this week. Meantime, we’ll watch football around here and get you ready. I will. I’ll see you at one o’clock on Sunday. I am Nestor. We are W, N, S, T. Am 1570 towel, Baltimore. We never stopped. Talking Baltimore positive you.