The Dallas Cowboys had four chances on the 1-yard line in the final minute and still lost the game. Fans of the franchise of Jerry Jones are familiar with bad beats but so are Luke Jones and Nestor, who kick up all of the issues the Baltimore Ravens will need to resolve after their miraculous win over America’s Team in South America.
The discussion assessed the Ravens’ 2–1 start after their close win over Dallas and identified defensive inconsistency and offensive-line health as the main concerns.
Defensive Issues
- The defense has struggled to stop the run, tackle consistently, and finish fourth quarters.
- Kyle Hamilton’s comments reflected concern that the unit is relying on the Ravens’ reputation rather than current performance.
- Jesse Minter and Anthony Weaver are still adjusting schemes and personnel, though the return of Matt Abike and Teddy Buchanan may help.
Offensive Concerns
- The offensive line remains unsettled because of center injuries, Ronnie Stanley’s toe injury, and uneven play from John Simpson.
- Carson Vincent performed adequately at left tackle with added schematic help, but the group remains a significant concern.
- Zay Flowers’ impact reinforced how important the team’s star players are to winning.
Open Questions
- Can the defense become more reliable in fourth-quarter situations?
- Will the Ravens need to add help at center or guard?
- Can the offensive line stay functional if Stanley or another center misses time?
- Can Tyler Loop sustain his improved kicking performance?
- Host the Friday 28th-anniversary Music Memory Bank event at Pizza Johns in Essex, including the planned guest and sponsor segments. (@Nestor Aparicio)
- Book Tasker for a show appearance in a couple of weeks to discuss special teams. (@Nestor Aparicio)
Game Assessment
- The Ravens defeated the Cowboys and improved to 2–1 despite late-game defensive stress.
- Lamar Jackson, Zay Flowers, and Tyler Loop delivered key plays when needed.
Defensive Performance
- Discussion focused on fourth-quarter collapses, run defense, tackling, shell coverage, and adapting to new coaching and personnel.
- Individual positives included Roquan Smith, Trenton Simpson, Calais Campbell, and the return of Matt Abike.
Offensive Line
- Center depth, Stanley’s toe injury, Simpson’s inconsistent play, and the need to protect Lamar were identified as ongoing risks.
- Venga Yone handled emergency center duties, while Carson Vincent made his first start at left tackle.
Special Teams
- Keandre Jackson’s blocked field goal and Tyler Loop’s 56-yard kick were pivotal.
- Dallas’ kickoff decisions and Brandon Aubrey’s out-of-bounds kicks contributed to the Ravens’ opportunity to win.
Looking Ahead
- The team enters Titans week at 2–1, with the defense expected to improve and the offensive line remaining the larger unresolved concern.
Nestor Aparicio 0:01
Welcome home. We are WNST AM 1570 Towson, Baltimore. This is Baltimore positive. It is our 28th anniversary, and to celebrate, we’re celebrating music and our music memory bank. That is all brought to you by our newest sponsor, Rosedale Bank. I don’t have any swag to give away yet. Their their logos are blue, like my Raskin Global and Raskin somewhere over the Amazon right now, making his way back from Rio by Friday. However, we will be at Pizza Johns in Essex. All of it brought to you by friends at the Maryland Lottery. I’ll have the Kiss Face Bird to give away. And by the way, Kiss was band 28. John Mayer is going to be 27. ACDC is 26, and they’re in the area on Tuesday. They got blown away in New Jersey over the weekend, just like my friends at Hootie and the Blowfish. So for everybody over the weekend, they got screwed on the ocean’s calling thing. At least I didn’t get in the car. I feel like I missed a good time in Dewey, but did not miss my hair blowing around. And we had so much more fun watching football from Rio de Janeiro this week. So we’ll have plenty to talk about Friday at Pizza Johns in Essex. Kevin Benson from Rosedale Bank will be over, as well as our friends at GBMC doing a big segment this week with them, and our friends at Farnham and Derma. And Zach joined me last week. We were at State Fair in Catonsville doing the Maryland Crab Cake Tour, talking baseball and old rock and roll and David Bowie and smithereen stories And whatnot, the Rio Turf was a big story, Luke, and a national story, and people following it, and the soccer story as well. As it all turned out, very successful trip for the Ravens. They come home, the Cowboys awful, all of that in the field. But we now come back to like it’s going to be Titans week around here. They’re two and one, not one and two, and picking up the pieces of the tape itself. And look, the Samba, the celebration, the Ronaldinho, like the whole deal. I can’t wait to get Raskin on when he gets back to hear about how much fun he had, how much stake he ate, and because I heard JJ Watt talk about it for four hours as well, but I don’t know, man. I mean, how do you feel about the team?
Luke Jones 2:10
I mean, they’re a work in progress, and that’s okay, right? I mean, you don’t need to be at your absolute best in week three. You want to be at your absolute best in December and January, right? And that’s still what this all boils down to, right? I mean, even last week’s game, week two, it’s not so much you lose the game; it’s the manner in which you did, and it’s the same mental block or whatever you want to call it for this football team in terms of when they get in the fourth quarter and protecting a lead and and and needing to finish games and all that, but they kind of go back to what Kyle Hamilton said after the game on Sunday night down in Brazil. I’ll read it for you verbatim. He he was asked, “What are some of your takeaways from the drives in the fourth quarter? So obviously he’s speaking as a defensive player. He said, “I said it to a couple people in the locker room. Obviously super excited we got the win. Super excited guys like Zay and Loop showed up, and everybody on the offense. Guys had their moments on defense. I would agree with that, but it’s unacceptable for us to keep putting ourselves in this position in the fourth quarter. They should not have to go out there and score 30 points for us to win. That’s kind of what it has been these first three games. We are in position as a defense to get off the field, win the game, and we have ebbs and flows. But I don’t know; it’s frustrating. Happy we got the win, but like I said, unacceptable to be saying we are a Ravens defense. This was the kicker. This this was the line that resonated with me, Nestor. Unacceptable to be saying we are a Ravens defense, whatever that means at this point, and be going out there and doing that. It feels like every time we got a lead, obviously we have a new staff, so it’s on the players. We have to get it fixed as players and do right by these. Whatever that
Nestor Aparicio 3:51
means. Hold on, that that’s a yeah, that’s a go back. Stop that. Read that again. Whatever that means. Unacceptable
Luke Jones 3:59
to be saying we’re a Ravens defense, whatever that means at this point. I mean, that’s a that’s a self awareness there that, and I don’t think Ray Lewis is gone. But it’s guys, we can keep puffing out our chest because we’ve got the Raven logo on our helmet, and yeah, people will connect that with Ray Lewis and Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs and Hello Di Nada and go down the list and yeah we’ve got some Pro Bowl players on this defense plenty of them right I don’t think anyone has questioned the talent on paper at the very least but I thought that was really interesting and and look I mean to me it’s a it’s showing a self awareness right let me be very clear Dallas scores points, right? I mean, this Cowboys offense. I mean, last year, go back and look, scoring points was not their issue. They couldn’t stop anybody. They couldn’t stop a junior varsity offense last year. But that said, there’s the fourth quarter against New Orleans last week. There’s not getting off the field against the Saints last week. I mean, how about the? That the Cowboys came into this game averaging 67.5 rushing yards per game over their first two games, and Javante Williams, I mean, ran one of my like if I were doing Dallas radio right now, one of my big questions would be why did you not run the ball more inside the five yard line? Go back to their first drive as well, right? I mean, they to me, Dallas kind of bailed them out when they tried to throw the ball on second and goal on that opening drive. Let alone talking about the the very last Dallas drive of the game. the The Ravens didn’t stop the run very well. I mean, they just didn’t. And I talked about this a lot. Jesse Minter, I’ve even asked him about this. When the Ravens play the style of defense they play, right with so much shell coverage, a lot of too high, there is a hidden cost there. You are in at times conceding some rushing yardage, but they haven’t found the sweet spot for that because it’s too much on Sunday, and I mean this is where we can get into the tackling and how many issues they had with that, right? I mean it’s just it’s a at best has been a very choppy unit, right? They’ve had some periods, they’ve had their moments, right? I mean they they played a pretty good game against the Saints until the fourth quarter defensively, and then it was terrible in the fourth quarter, right? So and obviously the fourth quarter needs to be the money making quarter. So I’m not not going to sit here and say, well, it’s a good defense other than the fourth. Well, then it’s not a good defense, right? But in terms of but in terms of breaking it down statistically, it’s not as though it’s been bad all game long, start to end. But man, they’ve got to clean some things up, and I think what’s surprising, especially had you told me back in mid-August, Nestor, that Zay Flowers would miss week two, would go out late in the in the first half of week one, would play. I mean, the amazing thing about Zay’s production on Sunday is he only played. I think it was 21 snaps, yeah, 21 snaps, and he did what he did. But if you had told me in mid August that Zay Flowers would miss the amount of time that he has to this point, I would have said, boy, if if they’re two and one or three and zero, it’s going to be because their defense is playing at a really high level, and that hasn’t really been the case. I mean, even the Indy game, the defense played. I thought it was fine, right? I mean, it was fine. But even Hamilton, I think, said after that game it was kind of a C plus effort, and I wouldn’t disagree with them. There’s
Nestor Aparicio 7:32
nothing dominant about it. Yeah, it’s just at all. I mean, not the run stop, not the pass. But not the secondary, not the tackling. Yeah, there’s been nothing excellent about it. I will give. Yeah, I mean,
Luke Jones 7:45
there there have been some excellent individual performances, right? I think there have been some individuals that have played really well, but collectively, I mean, who are the
Nestor Aparicio 7:54
individuals? You think Simpsons playing well?
Luke Jones 7:56
I think I, I mean, he had a bad he had a bad face mask penalty. I, I thought he played terrific through the first two games. I I’d like to go back and and rewatch it to really. No, I’m
Nestor Aparicio 8:05
just saying, like he’s one of the guys I notice him. Yeah,
Luke Jones 8:07
I I notice
Nestor Aparicio 8:09
him in a way that I haven’t. I think Roquan stepped up a bit. I think Roquan
Luke Jones 8:12
Smith played well. Yeah, yeah. Again, like and Madabike’s
Nestor Aparicio 8:15
in there five minutes. I don’t know what to make of that yet. Yeah, right.
Luke Jones 8:18
Um, you know, someone who I thought played well as a pass rusher, who had not really done a whole lot as a pass rusher the first couple weeks, I thought Kaleus Campbell was really disruptive on Sunday as an interior rusher. I didn’t think he was the first couple games. So it’s not as though there’s no good what whatsoever. It’s not as though there’s no redeeming qualities whatsoever. But man, I think there was. I know you and I talked about this a lot, considering the offensive line, considering Declan Doyle being a first-time play caller, considering Jesse Minter, his defensive prowess, right, his defensive acumen is what got him this job. I know what you’re going
Nestor Aparicio 8:56
to say. We expected better. We thought the defense was going to be
Luke Jones 9:00
kind of what carried that that did the heaviest lifting early on, and if anything, the offense would not be bad because I’m I’m never going to sit here with if you have a healthy Lamar Jackson and say your offense is going to be bad. I mean, it just
Nestor Aparicio 9:12
well, we had more questions about the offensive line than we did any part of the pedigree of the defense. I mean, even with bringing in Kaleus Campbell and bringing in you know older guys and like you know the the Brent Urban games that they’ve played for 100 years with different players that they like that they identify that they like Awoozier got to get him on the you know these these Eric DeCosta guys you know not even John Harbaugh guys anymore if they’re here they’re DeCosta guys at this point they’ve become Minter guys to work their way through all of this, but they they pieced this together, and this felt like a real reason for Minter to want this job to have Kyle Hamilton and deploy him in this unique modern way, and have all the other part. And dude, they spent a fortune on Hendrickson and setting the edge. Dude, bring you know I don’t like Terrell Suggs even a little bit. Bring him back.
Luke Jones 10:05
I mean, I need more of that, but but it’s just it’s been really again the kindest way I could describe it is it’s been extremely choppy, right? They’ve had periods of time where it looks good, and then other times it looks bad, like just bad. So I will say this, and this is where I think you do take a little bit of solace. I think you do exhale a little bit and realize where we are right now. That Mike McDonald defense in 2022. Remember, they had that Miami game. They had some other performances early on in the season where that defense did not play very well, but it rounded into form. Now, it helped that they got Roquan Smith at the trade deadline that year. But that defense, by the end of the year, was playing at a really high level. So you hope with the idea that Matabike is back, right? And he played a lot of snaps. I mean, he he didn’t stand out as as having a great performance individually, but you know the fact that he played as many snaps as he did. I think he played 47 of their 74. He
Nestor Aparicio 11:06
got in there late on one play, right?
Luke Jones 11:08
Yeah, he he did have. Yeah, and I
Nestor Aparicio 11:10
mean timing, dude. I don’t know how you. It’s a fast, violent game that he hasn’t been in in all of that time. But to your point, they don’t do a lot of hitting. They don’t do a lot of this. Certainly not doing a lot of tackling, you know. So like the part of the violence part of it at that level, in the middle of it, I tip my cap to him. And I’ve said this about Ronnie Stanley forever. It was holding the clipboard, but like you know, it it’s beyond gladiatorial. And I went on a I went on a rampage in the first segment, just about how these owners don’t care about these players. Not only just their heads and like their ankles getting ripped up, like just the turf. It’s just sort of like to to see, you know, guys sort of persevere that. And the posting thing, like even Nance is like, don’t look at this. I mean, we’re at a point week after week. We don’t really know what happened with Gwyn in the aftermath and the carpet and what they’re really saying on the flight back? Like, hey, I’m glad that dude that was a disgrace. I mean, I’m sure a couple of players would say like, I slipped, I moved, all of those kinds of things. It could still happen in Cleveland in December or wherever. But I, I just think, in a general sense, the health part of this and getting guys back onto the field and having them feel like we’re trending toward the positive physically. You mentioned Zay Flowers, dude. I’ll tell you this, man. They’re gonna have a hard time winning games without their star players. And I keep forgetting Flowers makes $35 million. I always think of like a good wide receiver is a $20 million commodity. I mean, it’s like thinking Cadillacs are still 20 grand. You know what I mean? Like it’s nuts. But their best players stand out, and I mentioned Simpson and a couple of the other cast of guys, the the cast players, the role players, which I consider Bateman, Chris Moore, you know, all of those guys. I consider Mark Andrews to be a a role player at this point in this outfit, but stars got to be stars, and Zay Flowers got to be on the field. And to both of our point, if Zay Flowers didn’t play on Sunday, they didn’t win. So is he worth 30? I thought to myself in the middle of the game, 35 million. Holy hell, that’s 2 million a game. Well, he helped him win the game. I like he was a difference in them winning the game on Sunday.
Luke Jones 13:21
It’s it’s pretty wild when you really break it down and think about it. So Zay Flowers has played 41 snaps so far this year, and on those 41 snaps, 10 catches for 234 yards. I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 13:36
that’s like a home run rate, right? Like that’s hitting a home run every four at bats or three at like that’s you know that’s pretty
Luke Jones 13:43
remarkable. So it just speaks to how valuable he is. But but to get back to the defense, I mean, they’ve got they’ve got Pro Bowl talent at every level, right? They are now with Matt Abike back. Teddy Buchanan was back, primarily played on special teams. I wasn’t surprised by that because Trenton Simpson has played so well early on in the season. I think you’ll see them find their ways and pick their spots with Teddy Buchanan as he’s looking healthier and as the opportunities present themselves, scenarios present themselves. I think it was interesting for me. One of the very first things I noticed on Dallas’s opening drive, the Ravens actually had Hamilton back at at a deep safety spot. They ran a little more, I guess I would call a conventional nickel, where you know typically you think of a nickel defense. It’s a third corner. Chandler Rivers came in, and and they kind of ran a more conventional nickel, and they just had two safeties on the field. They had not played very many plays at all the first two games where they didn’t have three safeties on the field. So they you know, they still did plenty of three safety. Don’t get me wrong, but they did that. They got a Woozier onto the field a little more, where they spelled Marlon Humphrey and I, I believe even Wiggins for a series. So you got you got the sense. I mean, they they shifted some things. They did some things differently. Obviously, Matt. BK being back is what they hope will be a force multiplier impact for their pass rush. So, but to me, that was evidence that Jesse Minter and Anthony Weaver, they’re still trying to they’re still trying to establish best practices as far as this defense with this personnel for this season, right? And and that’s always going to look a little bit different, right? You can’t even just compare it to the previous year. Obviously, it’s a different coaching staff, but players are a year year older. Veteran players are a year older. It might not be as good. Younger players are a year older. It might be better than they were the year before. Right, so you’re always doing a little bit of that early in the season, and that’s why I’ll probably be a little more bullish on the defense figuring this out in in a general sense. Now the whole fourth quarter thing, like that’s something that this entire team carries from from a you know scar tissue wise, right? I mean, we’re going to continue to talk about fourth quarters, and we’re going to continue to talk about January and whether they’re going to rise to the occasion, and we have no way of knowing that right now, but unlike the offensive line, where you say, “Okay, well, you’ve already lost Danny Pinter for the year. Post six injury didn’t look good. We’ll see about Quinn. I mean, I mean, Venga, you want a really if you started at the beginning of training camp, he probably would have been your number four, number five option at center in an emergency scenario. Is he going to have to start? Are they going to go sign someone? Are they going to elevate someone from the practice squad? I mean, you don’t know. Maybe Gwyn will be okay, right? But point is, I still have some substantial question marks about this offensive line, and honestly, I probably feel worse about it now than I did a month ago. If I’m being honest, because now you throw Ronnie Stanley with a toe injury that’s already forced him out of one game. It’s already took him out of another game. I’m not. I’m. I’m not trying to speculate that it’s a toe injury as bad as Jonathan Ogden’s once upon a time. But every Ravens fan remembers that a toe injury shortened the career of a Hall of Fame left tackle. So it’s not something to take. Deion
Nestor Aparicio 17:00
Sanders as well, dude. Right, right. So, so it’s one of
Luke Jones 17:02
those things that, and again, I’m not saying that it’s a horrible, horrible injury. If it was, they’d probably want to put him on IR by now. But the point is, you’ve got to get him right because, man, you kind of look at this thing, and and I will say this: I thought Carson Vincent held up as the backup left tackle making his first career start, he probably did about as well as you could reasonably expect him to do, right? And I’m not going to sit here and say he played like an All Pro, but it didn’t seem as though, from an operation standpoint, that Lamar’s blind side was an absolute disaster. Well, part of the reason
Nestor Aparicio 17:36
that guy smised in there running around is that he needed help on that side.
Luke Jones 17:39
Sure, and and that’s and that’s fine. Shame on you if you have a backup playing left tackle and you’re not going to give him some help, right? I mean, shame on you if you’re not going to scheme up some of that. Well, in some weeks it’s going to
Nestor Aparicio 17:50
work, and other weeks when he has the wrong guy, if he had a Demarcus Ware over there or a Micah Parsons, it probably would have reached out. Hey, I that 55 with the dreads. I mean, God, he blew up plays, man. He was unbelievable.
Luke Jones 18:03
Yeah, I mean, was it 55
Nestor Aparicio 18:04
or 56? Wait, the the guy that the linebacker that they couldn’t stop crazy,
Luke Jones 18:10
Barham,
Nestor Aparicio 18:10
Barham, correct? Jay
Luke Jones 18:11
Sean Barham, yes, number 55, yeah, 55. But
Nestor Aparicio 18:15
yeah, but I’m like an old football coach. I number I’m at 55. Why that double nickel? Watch him. Yeah, but generally, but generally but
Luke Jones 18:21
generally speaking, I think you look at the offensive line. We already had questions about the interior, obviously, right? And by the way, John Simpson, not great, right? I mean, penalties getting blown up at times. I mean, that’s why he was the
Nestor Aparicio 18:38
star off season signing, and you and I were like, if that’s what solid is,
Luke Jones 18:42
you know. I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 18:44
it wasn’t good enough two years to go to keep morale. Well, that’s what I’m saying. I mean, he was the
Luke Jones 18:48
weak link on the O line three years ago, right? So, but you know, part of that is Vengo Yone. I mean, he’s had his ups and downs these first few weeks, but I thought he played well. I mean, and especially he gets pressed into duty at center. I thought he handled that as well as you could expect. Someone who, the extent of the reps he gets at center, probably Nestor is at the very beginning of practice. We see 3o linemen, their two, their top two centers, and Venga was the number three guy go and snap to the three quarterbacks for a little while. Right, that’s probably the extent of what Venga’s actually done at center until Sunday’s game. So credit him, but now you throw the Stanley issue, which let’s face it is always kind of sort of there, even when he’s playing at his best. You just know the injury history. He’s a year older. He’s got a toe. You’re always wondering about the ankle, right? Because I mean, that’s something that hindered him for the better part of three or four seasons until it seemed like he finally got on the other side of that a couple years ago. But that old line, yeah, I still have some concerns about that. On the flip side, to bring it back to the defense, I am a little more bullish as far as. Between Jesse Minter and Anthony Weaver, the talent you have, the idea that Matabike’s back, Buchanan’s back-they are about as healthy as you could expect. I mean, their defense is very healthy right now. I mean, it just-it is. So you have to have some optimism, and for me, it’s not just optimism. It’s-it’s more like an ultimatum, like that defense better be better than it’s been these last couple weeks. But if you look at the pattern of where Mike McDonald was in his first year with this defense, now Jesse Mintres not a rookie defensive play caller, so you know I’m not going to give him quite as much grace there. But they do have to figure this out, and you know, we I talked about this some, but perhaps I undersold the idea a little bit. Of Minter’s got a lot on his plate, right? I mean, it’s one thing to just say, “Okay, Anthony Weaver, you’re going to do the defensive game plan. You’re going to be leading the meetings, all of that, and then you hand over, you hand me the steering wheel on Sundays. But keep in mind, Jesse Minter’s also the head coach, right? He’s not just the play caller, so they’re probably, and and I would say I probably underestimated that part of it that maybe you know Minter’s still trying to find his stride as a head coach in general, but now you have a defense with different personnel than you had last year with the Chargers, right? You’re trying to figure out what does everyone do best, what can I do in this spot, what should I do in that spot, all those different questions that you know there there have been more growing pains for the defense than I anticipated, and I don’t say that to give them a pass. I’m disappointed in the defense so far this year. You know, the offense for some of the flaws that the the offense has shown, I’m not surprised that they’ve had offensive line issues. I am surprised that their defense has given up as much as they have in the running game and had some issues tackling, and obviously, especially against New Orleans, but obviously against the Cowboys, gave up plays in the passing game, right? So, so they’ve they’ve got to get better. But I think there’s more evidence when you kind of size it all up on paper and who they have personnel wise, and considering the the brain, you know the brain trust that they have between Minter and Anthony Weaver, who’s of course been a defensive coordinator in the league. I’m more confident that they’ll figure it out than my level of confidence in the O line and whether that’s going to still be a relative weakness for them over the course of the season. I think it’s going to be doesn’t mean you can’t doesn’t mean you can’t win. I mean, Kansas City.
Luke Jones 22:42
If you go back and look at Kansas City the last 345, years, it’s not as though their offensive line was always great, and they still made it work. But I think you do kind of look at the defense and say, “All right, it’s underperformed. There’s no doubt about that. But I still look at the whole picture, and it feel I have more confidence in that group cleaning itself up than I do maybe looking at the state of the O line right now and saying you know does Eric DeCasta especially depending on the health of the centers does Eric DeCosta need to go out and get a trade for a center does he need to trade for a guard you know maybe you are going to say Uwani can handle it for now in the present, but you do kind of look at that interior, and then you couple that with the health of Ronnie Stanley, and man, there’s not a whole lot to hang your hat on with the O line right now. I guess maybe Rosengarden at right tackle. I think he’s played pretty well overall, but that that group has well, it’s
Nestor Aparicio 23:40
as bad as we worried about it, but the schedule is good. Lamar’s healthy. Henry looks healthy, right? I mean, I mean, Lamar’s is back. Hamilton took a stinger-looking thing, like we’re. But seriously, the center thing, the interior of the offensive line, the totality of the offensive line, how that affects the operation, how that affects these tight ends. I mean, seeing Cuevas and and and the other guy again, Hibner get involved. Cause a touchdown,
Luke Jones 24:10
yeah,
Nestor Aparicio 24:11
yeah, like that’s good to see, and what they’re going to do with tight ends and what Declan Doyle wants to do with that. But right now, the wide receiver thing’s also outside his a flowers and his health. I’ll say this: they should feel real good about getting back here two and one. Sure. I mean, I mean, it was it was a losing effort to some degree on Sunday in Rio. Had they lost, we’d have said we we we would have talked about the pass interference at the goal line and you know who hooked who and and poor Wiggins on that play, but there would have been plenty to that we just poured through that was forests about both sides of the operation, literally both sides of the operation, and it felt to me like with Dak Prescott, and I said this in the in the initial segment that two minute four. Thing he ran, he felt like a real veteran cat. Like, and I don’t watch the Cowboys much, and I don’t root for them. I, I, I love when the Cowboys lose. I mean, I, I, I’ve, I didn’t like Roger Stallback. I don’t. Then ask me what, but I got, I rooted for the Vikings back then, or the Rams, or anybody. I just never liked the Cowboys, and so I got no soft spot, you know, to think that I want to praise Dak Prescott or think that that organ is-they’ve never won anything. When they put the Dak Prescott stats up, I’m thinking I’ve never been impressed from him about him on the outside. Even watching him play the Eagles at 4o’clock after my game or whatever, thinking like, oh, I wish we had him. I don’t ever think that. Not, not when I had Flacco. I just have never been that guy. But I, there’s something about him. What’s how far into the league? He’s nine years in the league. He’s,
Luke Jones 25:52
I think this is year 11 for him. 11.
Nestor Aparicio 25:54
I mean, like, I want
Luke Jones 25:56
to. I, I mean, I’ll double check, but I’m pretty sure he was a rookie in 2016. Well,
Nestor Aparicio 26:01
Lamar’s nine in, so he’s been here longer than Lamar.
Luke Jones 26:05
Yeah, right. He was a fourth round pick in 2016, and you know, 17. Remember, Romo got hurt, and he while he picked him. I mean, I mean, it’s that simple. Well, the running back
Nestor Aparicio 26:13
was the guy that was going to save their lives at that point, and with the muscle thing, with the big Elliot. Yeah, yeah, and so nonetheless, and again, he wasn’t a golden child. He wasn’t a one-one or the top 10 pick or anything like that. So I’ve always, from the outside, I tell you what, like I watching him command it and watching the receivers he has, I thought they can win with him. Now the defensive side and the crazy owner and just like all, and I believe in Schottenheimer too. I mean, he’s a guy. If he were my coach, if the Ravens hired him, I’d say they got a qualified guy, right? I mean, I’m not. So I’m not down on them because they’re the Cowboys or whatever. I’m just looking at it, and I didn’t think much of the quarterback. I think more of him today than if you had asked me on Friday, having watched him for a couple hours. I thought, you know, I I thought they were going to win. I did. I thought if I’m in Dallas right now, what the hell happened? Because it looked. But to your point, we think we’re the Charlie Brown of defenses blowing leagues now that they have graphics ready. They literally have graphics ready for the Ravens meltdown in the fourth quarter at CBS. And
Luke Jones 27:21
but that’s kind of been the that’s been the Cowboys for three centuries now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So no, I mean, I and I hear what you say about Prescott, but man, I for me, I I don’t even know if I necessarily disagree with you, except man, that final set of downs at the goal line, he did not look like an 11th year quarterback in command of the offense, there, right, and that’s kind of been the knock on back. He puts all these numbers up, but in crunch time, like gotta have it, like gotta have it. Game on the line. That’s when he tends to not look like that. Everything
Nestor Aparicio 27:54
Jesse Minster talks about being at your best when your best is needed. Correct.
Luke Jones 27:58
I mean, I, I again, I watched it so many times, and I saw the comments. I mean, the the Ravens kind of showed a pre-snap look with their coverage, and it ended up being different. And that’s part of the Jesse Minter or Mike McDonald or any of these different great defensive coordinators today, right? There’s a look pre-snap, and there’s a look post-snap as far as what you actually get. But I mean, Pickens was open at the pylon there. Deliver the ball, and he just he throws it 15 feet over his head, right? I mean, threw the ball away. I mean, he just he threw it away there. To me, this goes back to what we said in our previous segment that, man, if I’m Schottenheimer, I have to look at the state of my secondary, not just going into the game, but then the attrition even during the game. I mean, literally, they had a practice squad corner covering Zay Flowers on that last play. They had a third string safety, like third string meaning not not your third best safety, meaning starters and backups, and then he’s on the next line of their next. He’s your eighth best. Yeah, he’s your fifth or sixth best safety. Okay, so that’s what they had to me. That’s where I looked at that thing and said, “Boy, you needed more urgency. You needed better play calls to win the game in regulation. There. Now, this is where you get Jesse Minter and the defense credit. They did get a stop and hold them to a field goal there, right? I mean that was the the saving grace about that first drive, right? I mean, I I already talked about it. Dallas’s very first drive, I mean, they moved that that was a hot knife through butter on that first drive. Yet Dallas gets down to the goal line, for whatever reason, they decided to throw the ball on second and goal, which I thought was a total bailout that got the Ravens allowed them to exhale and say, “All right, let’s get a stop here. They held them to three, but it was kind of the same thing at the end of the game. There, like, this is really the best you can call in that spot. I mean, that’s that’s what was kind of wild to me, and that’s where you know the Ravens defense, for as bad as it was in certain ways, situation. Equationally, they did get a couple holds inside the red zone, and not just inside the red zone. Oh, stripping the ball as well. They
Nestor Aparicio 30:07
stripped the ball.
Luke Jones 30:08
Yeah. So, so they they
Nestor Aparicio 30:11
blocked the field goal. I mean, they did like yeah, and they did things we didn’t even like talk about to win the game.
Luke Jones 30:17
I’m so glad you brought that up because we haven’t brought it up yet. First of all, we’ve been talking about it since last year. Keandre Jackson. I mean, you want to talk about some of the best special teams players they’ve had over the years? Go back to Benny Thompson at the very beginning. Sure. You could think back to Adalis Thomas at the beginning of his career. Albert McClellan. I mean, go through the list. I mean, return specialists are one thing, but just four guys that make tackles. Anthony Levine, right? I mean, Anthony Levine is the special teams coordinator today because of the dog he was on special teams for so many years.
Nestor Aparicio 30:46
Anthony Levine’s probably the best special teams player they ever had, and I mean, he’s certainly pretty good too.
Luke Jones 30:50
Certainly in that top three or four, right? I mean, and some of that is just that you stick around long enough, right? I mean, special teams players. I’ll get
Nestor Aparicio 30:56
Tasker on in a couple weeks. We’ll talk about this.
Luke Jones 30:58
Generally, you talk about churn on your roster, and special teams guys are the first guys that get turned over year after year after year. Because anyone of of ilk will then make more money somewhere else where some bad team says, “Hey, we need some good special teams player. Let’s sign that guy from Baltimore. But Keandre Jackson, I mean, he is an outstanding defensive player or a special teams player. And last week we talked about this, right? One of the more underrated parts of that loss last week was the field goal getting blocked, and then the kick return they allowed at the end of the first half. I mean that was a six-point swing in a game that ended up being a a one score game at the end. So in in turn this week, Keandre Jackson blocks a long one. I already talked about this. I mean, Brandon Aubry, who is a star kicker, one you know some people would say is the best kicker in the league. Lots of people would say that. Quite frankly, he kicks two out of bounds, and then as a result of that, the Cowboys got spooked of that idea, and they decide to just boot it through the end zone with seven seconds to go, which is the exact opposite of how Jesse Minter tried to play it at the end of the first half last week, and he got criticism for it because they gave up a long return. But you see, the thinking of why Minter did that last week is exactly what the Ravens were able to exploit. Right, you get the ball at the 35 yard line, and you throw one bullet down the seam for 20 plus yard, 25 yards, 27 yards, whatever it was, and your kicker has a chance to win the game. You know, one play, you have a chance to win the game. So the special teams, as much as they were something that really harmed them last week, I mean, it was huge for them this week. I mean, once again, I mean, give him credit, Tyler Loop, for all the criticism, all the doubts, and and look, he’s still a bad game away of missing three field goals away from all that chatter returning, right? I mean, this buys him maybe a couple weeks in terms of hey, good good for you, Tyler Luke, but he’s got to keep doing the job, right? Justin Tucker wasn’t Justin Tucker week one of his rookie season, right? Justin Tucker made big kicks and made big kicks and made big kicks and then made some more big kicks. Before you know it, then you’re saying, “Wow, this guy’s unbelievable, right? And and and he was starting that already at the end of his rookie year, but he just continued doing it, right? I mean, to the point where this guy was voted team MVP a couple times, which said a lot about the state of the rest of the team at that point in time. But speaks to it. You just have to do it. Like you have to go out and do it. You you’re not always going to have opportunities to be the guy and win a game. But man, when you get it, you’ve got to deliver. He didn’t in Pittsburgh last year. He had to live with that all year long, all off season long. He did it this time. So, as much as the special teams were a major factor in them losing last week, their special teams were a big factor of why they won. Obviously, when when Tyler Loop makes a 56 yarder, but again, well, not to mention,
Nestor Aparicio 33:59
not to mention, he was
Luke Jones 34:00
huge. The
Nestor Aparicio 34:01
other guy kicking the ball over to San Paulo and over to Santos instead of kicking the ball down the middle. That’s the reason they won the game. They won the game because the other kicker missed the kick and kicked two kickoffs to give them a chance to win the game at the end. So like special teams, man. Like it always made Harbaugh angry that I called him a special teams coach, but he didn’t mind doing it when it won him games, right? Like, and in this particular case, it matters a lot.
Luke Jones 34:32
Well, and I’d even go back to think about when Dallas scores the touchdown late in the first quarter to go up 10 nothing. Brendan Aubrey kicked that kickoff out of bounds right there. So the Ravens got the you know the Ravens offense looked terrible the first couple drives right I mean just terrible they get the ball at the 40 yard line and then obviously I I think Simpson had the false start which did move them back but then they do the design run with Lamar and suddenly the offense was awake right so. Even that, which it’s still the end of the first quarter. I’m not going to sit here and say it was one of the most important plays of the game, but their special teams, as as good as Aubry is perceived to be, boy, he was lousy. I mean, that was, and again, it impacted. Schottenheimer flat out said the fact that Aubrey had kicked a couple out of bounds was why they just decided to boot it through the end zone on the last kickoff, which ended up being colossal. I mean, okay, is there some percentage chance that Legente Wester takes it all the way? But think about it. Even if it’s a long return with seven seconds to go, if it’s a long return, unless he scores a touchdown, it still goes into overtime. Even if he gets tackled at the 10-yard line, you know he returns at 75 yards. If he gets tackled at the one, time is expired by then. So again, that’s where you look at that and say, “Boy, that was a really massive tactical error right there. When you really start, you just have to recognize we’re, and this this goes back to the point you made about coaches with game management. Kickoffs are a different animal now. Everything you might have thought about kickoffs and strategy for any modern coach. The last throw it away. It’s a different game. It’s totally different in that way. Yeah, checks
Nestor Aparicio 36:19
and chess, man. And that’s
Luke Jones 36:21
and that’s why, and Minter got criticized for this at the end of the first half last week because the Saints busted off a return. I asked him about it because I wanted to hear what he had to say, but he alluded to the idea that if you just concede the 35 yard line with these kickers the way they are in the modern day, you only need one or two chunk plays that you’re already in field goal range, so that’s why the Ravens kicked it. They they made the Saints return it. Now it didn’t work out, but I don’t think it was faulty thinking. It was faulty execution of the kick coverage, which obviously is a different kind of problem that they need needed to clean up. But I think what happened with the Cowboys here? To me, it very much validated Jesse Minter. You know, despite the criticism he got the week before for how they approached the end of the first half, because that was even like I think that was like 26 seconds to go. I mean, you get the ball off the 35-yard line. If you have one timeout left, teams are gonna you’re gonna at least give it a shot or two because think about this: if you’re the Ravens, there, Lamar throws the ball. What’s the downside? There’s basically only, I guess, there are two things that could happen, right? Blindside strip sack, and maybe Dallas picks it up and returns it for a touchdown, or Lamar throws the pick, but even then, he’s probably throwing it far enough downfield that you’re not the chances of it being a return for a touchdown. You know, you’re talking about minuscule probabilities there. So why wouldn’t you give it a shot there? The Ravens did worked out. Tyler Loops, the hero. Lamar Jackson and Zay Flowers at their best when the Ravens needed them to be at their best. So it still kind of comes back to that, but man, the contrast in how the Ravens handled the very end of the game in in comparison to how Dallas handled the very end of the game, it’s pretty striking. And that was even with Dallas being in many people’s minds gifted the two yard line on that on the pass interference call. So, like I said, here
Nestor Aparicio 38:20
you win. No, no, no, you take it. No, no, no, no. We’ll take it. You know,
Luke Jones 38:25
it’s it’s like I said to you. Being as much as the Ravens, it was looking like it was going to be another master class of dude. They
Nestor Aparicio 38:30
kicked the ball out of bounds, gave up a 20 yard chunk play across the middle of the field, and with one second left to go, had their heart ripped out by a 56 year, 56 yard field goal from a kicker who missed it the last time he had a chance to win, and they got to get on the plane and walk out of there. And it was first and goal from the one, and they had the game won. Like it’s insane if you’re on their end. If you’re on their end, it really
Luke Jones 38:56
is. I mean, I saw, I forget who it was. I mean, you know, it wasn’t anything overly profound, but it was striking. Someone just did a screen grab of Dallas lining up on that third down. Yeah. Oh, I saw lining up at the goal line, and it’s just like, would you believe that the Ravens actually won this game in regulation? And it wasn’t because of a like they didn’t pick the ball off in the end zone at the last second, right? It’s like Joe
Nestor Aparicio 39:19
Pasarchik kind of stuff, right? When when you consider the the 15 seconds and the totality of it
Luke Jones 39:26
all, right? That and also go back to the idea. Go back and look at the two players that are closest to Zay Flowers on that last play. The corner who’s covering him was literally elevated from the practice squad the previous day because of all their injuries and the safety that, so he
Nestor Aparicio 39:42
literally flew to Rio thinking he wasn’t going to play. I
Luke Jones 39:45
mean, he knew he was. He knew he was going to be on like because Dallas had a bunch of injuries. Like they knew guys weren’t going to play early in the week. But the point is, the plan was not for that guy to be in that moment, and that that was even more reason for why it was. Insane that Dallas tried to approach it the way they did, and like just to finish my point, the safety that was coming up was the next closest guy in this in the picture. There was their third string safety. I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 40:11
let’s think about this for just one minute. When that moment happens and they’re kicking the ball off, what’s the only thing that can beat them? A return,
Luke Jones 40:22
a return, okay. But
Nestor Aparicio 40:23
but but even, but you have to in their mind. In their mind, the only thing that beats is if we get the guy to the ground, we win the game. Well, if we don’t give him the ball, well, they don’t
Luke Jones 40:34
they don’t win it, but it goes to overtime because it was tied. Fair enough. I’m sorry. Yes. No, it’s okay. No, I just wanted to clear clarify. Okay, it’s fine, but yeah, I mean, it’s again, it’s one of those, and that’s why, and I was the one that asked Jesse Minter about it last Monday about what he did against the Saints. His answer to me, he sold me on the idea that strategically speaking, they actually played that right. Execution-wise, they messed it up, right? You have to be able to cover a kick. You have to be able to cover a kick. And like I said, the difference here, when there’s only seven seconds left, even if Lejante Wester or Chris Moore or whoever is returning the kick, if they spring a long one, as long as they don’t score a touchdown, what happens? The clock has hit zeros, so they even had that going for them. That’s why. And look, at the same time, the degree of difficulty and the probability that the Ravens pulled it off as perfectly as they did was still one of those where I don’t want to make this sound like I’m not giving Lamar Jackson and Zay Flowers credit because they deserve a hell of a lot of credit for executing that the way they did, right? But strategically speaking, I just look at how Dallas handled that, and I’m just like, well, that’s why you’re the Cowboys. He’s Luke Jones. I am the. So we
Nestor Aparicio 41:56
got plenty more ahead on our football conversations this week. We’re gonna take a little easy on baseball. Probably gonna watch how much baseball you gonna watch this week? Be honest with me. How many hours you gonna? I mean,
Luke Jones 42:04
when I’m not at Ravens covering practice, you’re gonna watch 50
Nestor Aparicio 42:07
hours of baseball this week.
Luke Jones 42:08
It will be quite a bit, right? Yes. Well, think about it. You have probably three and a half hour games for the postseason because it’s not quite as crazy. 12 hours a day. That’s what I said. Four
Nestor Aparicio 42:18
days of 12 hours a day. It’ll be 50 hours a week, so yeah,
Luke Jones 42:21
so yeah, but Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, we’ll see how many of them go three, and then we’ll have the division series this weekend. I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 42:27
there’s a minimum of 30 hours in the first three days. Well, maybe not because they can all end in a couple, but nonetheless, yeah, you’ll be plenty of baseball.
Luke Jones 42:35
I mean, I already, I already scouted that out. Yeah, as you know, Tuesday is the Ravens’ off day. You know, there’s no media access or anything. That’s like a whole high
Nestor Aparicio 42:42
holy holiday. Man, I looked
Luke Jones 42:43
at that, and you know I’m looking. There’s Christmas, there’s
Nestor Aparicio 42:46
Easter for you, and then there’s this for you, right?
Luke Jones 42:48
This will be a distant third, but yeah, it’s pretty special. There’s no doubt. But no, just looked at it, and right off the bat, you’ve got Philly rage. By the way, Philly’s almost almost choked away. Oh, dude, unbelievable, terrible. Until you know they fall. Oh, I mean the White
Nestor Aparicio 43:04
Sox Guardians thing’s been crazy, right? I mean,
Luke Jones 43:07
but you know you’ve got White Sox Astros at five, Red Sox Yankees at eight, and then you got the Cubbies and the Padres 10 o’clock. Now
Nestor Aparicio 43:18
I’m gonna dust off my Tony Gwynn jersey this week, but I’m not touching any of my Oilers stuff this week. Just let me, I’m
Luke Jones 43:24
gonna, I’m gonna tick you off here right now. If you’re not already aware, you do know a couple of those games are on Peacock. Sorry, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I will. Well, you know
Nestor Aparicio 43:36
the Steelers are playing a big game on Thursday night too, apparently with another two and one team in our division, and that’s on the Amazons. Is
Luke Jones 43:43
that is that the Pittsburgh Cleveland?
Nestor Aparicio 43:45
Yes, the Amazons. Oh gosh, what?
Luke Jones 43:49
No, no, no. It’s fine. I mean, just the Steelers Browns Thursday night football. It’s probably put it this way. I don’t think it’s going to look like Ravens Cowboys look,
Nestor Aparicio 43:59
dude. When when Luke, no, I give Pittsburgh credit. Pittsburgh manned up on Sunday. When Luke came out to kick that field goal, I’m like, they’re gonna be last place. Like when the drive was happening, I’m like, they’re gonna be last. They’re gonna be one and two, and I’m thinking now they’re all two and one. So everybody smells good today, including my Maryland lottery scratch off tickets with the Kiss Face Bird. We are doing our Music Memory Bank here. It’s our 28th anniversary, and it’s all brought to you by Rosedale Bank. I’m going to get fined $1 at least the first 100 times I say Rosedale Federal. I haven’t done it yet. I’m not going to do it. But Rosedale Bank is our newest sponsor, and they’re sponsoring the Music Memory Bank and our 28th anniversary, which is cool. Kevin Benson is going to join us on Friday at Pizza Johns in Essex. Leonard Raskin’s on his way back from Rio. I don’t know if he’s going to join me at Pizza Johns in Essex on Friday or not. Luke has a standing invitation, but it’s a busy week around here with the Tennessee Titans. All of this baseball going on, all of this excitement of being two and one, as well. The excitement of AC/DC plan in Philadelphia this week. They’re number 26. Number 27 is John Mayer. So we’re getting out to all of this stuff. We’re going to have crab cakes, proper French fries, and gravy. I went to Pizza John’s to celebrate the loop kick on Sunday night. All been brought to you by the Maryland Lottery. Our friends at GBMC and Farnan and Dermer. They are the comfort guys. Zach Dermer joined me with Casper Wells on Friday at State Fair in Catonsville when we did the Crab Cake tour last week, and Richard Abrams. If you hear him this week, he’s one of my oldest pals. I met him in the parking lot of Reicherstown Road Plaza when I was 13 years old, camping out for Billy Joel tickets, and we’re still friends 44 years later, I guess, 43 years later, and telling rock and roll stories. He once promoted a smithereen show at the Towson Center, and we had a press conference at the Sheraton Lord Baltimore Hotel, where I would later do radio. So all of these old stories are there. The clips are there. The the silly thing where I I trash David Bowie, and I’m sitting underneath the David Bowie thing, and then David Bowie called. It’s a long story. I’m Nestor. He’s Luke. I know it’s only rock and roll, but I like it. And the Ravens are two and one. Back for more with football talk right after this.
