It’s not often that the Baltimore Ravens get pushed around in their house. That happened on Monday night against the Detroit Lions and Luke Jones and Nestor are picking up the pieces of an ugly Ravens loss and a short week of prep before heading to Kansas City to face a similarly scuffling Chiefs team and Patrick Mahomes.
Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the Baltimore Ravens’ 38-30 loss to the Detroit Lions and their upcoming game against the Kansas City Chiefs. They highlighted the Ravens’ struggles with special teams, including missed field goals and poor punting, and the impact of rule changes on kickoffs. They also noted the team’s defensive issues, particularly the lack of a pass rush and run defense, and the impact of injuries to key players like Matt Abika and Van Noy. Despite Lamar Jackson’s strong performance, the offense has been inconsistent, and the team is 1-2, raising concerns about their playoff prospects.
- [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Follow up on the injury status of key defensive players like Marlon Humphrey.
- [ ] Analyze the team’s performance and identify areas for improvement.
- [ ] Prepare for the upcoming matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs and develop a game plan to address the team’s weaknesses.
Ravens Loss to Lions and Preparation for Chiefs
- Nestor Aparicio introduces the show, mentioning the recent 38-30 loss to the Detroit Lions and the upcoming game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
- Nestor discusses the Maryland crab cake tour and other local events, including a show at the Beaumont and the new fishmonger’s daughter in Catonsville.
- Nestor highlights the tough start for the Ravens, mentioning the injuries on the defensive side and the need for better performance.
- Nestor and Luke Jones discuss the special teams’ issues, including missed field goals and the impact of rule changes on kickoffs.
Special Teams and Rule Changes
- Nestor and Luke discuss the changes in special teams rules, such as the new kickoff rules and the impact on game strategy.
- Luke mentions the importance of kickoffs becoming competitive again and the challenges faced by rookie kickers like Tyler Loop.
- Nestor and Luke talk about the reliability of technology in determining plays, such as the automated strike zone in baseball.
- Luke highlights the importance of special teams in recent games, mentioning blocked kicks and long field goal attempts.
Impact of Special Teams on Game Outcomes
- Nestor and Luke discuss the role of special teams in the Ravens’ recent losses, including the impact of missed kicks and poor punting.
- Luke mentions the importance of special teams in creating field position and the challenges faced by the Ravens’ special teams unit.
- Nestor and Luke talk about the need for better execution in special teams to improve the team’s overall performance.
- Luke highlights the importance of attention to detail in special teams, especially in critical moments of the game.
Offensive and Defensive Performance
- Nestor and Luke discuss the offensive performance of the Ravens, including the struggles of the running game and the impact of injuries.
- Luke mentions the importance of having a reliable running game and the challenges faced by the offensive line.
- Nestor and Luke talk about the defensive performance, including the issues with stopping the run and the impact of injuries to key players.
- Luke highlights the need for better execution and attention to detail on defense to improve the team’s overall performance.
Strategic Decisions and Coaching
- Nestor and Luke discuss the strategic decisions made by the coaching staff, including the decision to punt on fourth down and the impact on game outcomes.
- Luke mentions the importance of making bold decisions in critical moments and the challenges faced by the coaching staff.
- Nestor and Luke talk about the need for better coaching and strategic decisions to improve the team’s performance.
- Luke highlights the importance of having a clear game plan and executing it effectively to win games.
Impact of Injuries on Team Performance
- Nestor and Luke discuss the impact of injuries on the team’s performance, including the loss of key players like Matt Abika and Van Noy.
- Luke mentions the importance of having depth and quality players to fill in for injured players.
- Nestor and Luke talk about the need for better management of injuries and the impact on the team’s overall performance.
- Luke highlights the importance of having a strong backup plan and being able to adapt to injuries to succeed.
Looking Ahead to the Chiefs Game
- Nestor and Luke discuss the upcoming game against the Kansas City Chiefs and the challenges faced by the Ravens.
- Luke mentions the importance of being prepared and executing the game plan effectively to win.
- Nestor and Luke talk about the need for better performance on both offense and defense to beat the Chiefs.
- Luke highlights the importance of having a strong mindset and being ready to face the challenges of the game.
Final Thoughts and Predictions
- Nestor and Luke share their final thoughts on the Ravens’ performance and the upcoming game against the Chiefs.
- Luke mentions the importance of being bold and taking risks to succeed.
- Nestor and Luke talk about the need for better execution and attention to detail to improve the team’s performance.
- Luke highlights the importance of having a strong mindset and being ready to face the challenges of the game.
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SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Ravens loss, Lions game, Kansas City Chiefs, short week, special teams, field goals, kickoffs, defensive injuries, offensive struggles, fourth down decisions, Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, pass rush, run defense, game strategy.
SPEAKERS
Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T am 1570 tasks in Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. We have been breaking down Monday nights. 38 to 30 loss the hands of the Detroit Lions. In the short week of preparation, getting ready for the Kansas City Chiefs. We’re going to get the Maryland crab cake tour back out. Speaking of short weeks of preparation, I did a lot of stuff in August, a little bit here in September. We get back in October, I’m going to be bringing these Raven scratch offs out for the Maryland crab cake. Try probably have some crab soup, because it’s that time of the year as well. Get back to Costas, get back down to Coco certainly get down to fade leaves, as we see the new fade leaves in the fishmongers daughter getting being built over Catonsville. Did a show at the Beaumont last week, and I wish we had better news than one and two and a really, really tough start to the season for the Ravens now on the road to Kansas City, the injuries are started to pile up on the defensive side. Luke, I wrote down special teams is something to sort of talk about a little bit here, and you’re like, well, they’re not missing a lot of field goals. I just think that they’re playing the game differently. Fourth and nine for lots of reasons, right? Like the team we thought they were in the third, third quarter in Buffalo a couple of weeks ago doesn’t. And that’s typical to three four weeks into the season, where, hey, they were owing to last year losing to the Raiders, right So, and still had every opportunity to secure that two point conversion and Mark Andrews and march on and go back to Kansas City again. Now this week, they go to Kansas City one and two with their feelings hurt. They got pushed around on Monday night, but sacks for Lamar, lack of being able to run the ball. Derek Henry dropping the ball defensively, disastrous, really, without Matt abika, no pass rush. Can’t stop the run. Had a hard time stopping the pass in certain circumstances there. There’s just, there’s a lot of meat on the bone here. But the special teams part, for me is the thing that I see as the glaring thing, because the cast of characters have changed, and how I feel about them punting and whether they’re going to get a good punt or not, I always felt like with Sam Cook. I mean, God bless the wolf pack. I’m glad it did a whole chapter on them in Purple Rain too. Um, but there was a different level of confidence about special teams and about where they could get three points, where they would want to punt, if they ever would want to punt, what kind of punt they would get, and then the kickoff. Things just weird around the league. I’ve watched all these kickers hem and all about exactly where they need to put the ball. I saw the Ravens field the ball that would have gone out of bounds, or you feel like it would have gone out of bounds. We saw the Steelers kid let the ball go over his head last week, and the Seahawks piled on it. It’s just been, this is a strange thing for fans, and even heard like Joe Buck say, what does that mean, Troy? Does that mean to get it on a 20 or the four like, like, just trying to interpret the rules, because it’s been a sea change for special teams in this league in recent years, and I think fans are trying to understand it a little bit better on the kickoff side, but kickers have had a hard time executing some of this stuff.
Luke Jones 03:13
Yeah. I mean, there’s no question about first of all, it’s an absolute positive, because kickoffs are becoming a thing again, whereas in recent years, and this is why they made the change they did last year, that that had become touchback, touchback, touchback, touchback, touchback, maybe a return, touchback, touchback. I mean, that’s kind of what you were seeing around the league. It was becoming kind of like what they didn’t like, what, the extra point had become, just being so incredibly automatic, it’s why they moved it back to the 15 yard line as opposed to the two, as it had been for years.
Nestor Aparicio 03:49
So making competitive plays, right? Sure, so,
Luke Jones 03:52
but I think, you know, I, I mean, I don’t really, obviously it’s a negative when Tyler loop doesn’t drop it inside the landing zone after the Ravens scored their touchdown to start the third quarter, and Detroit gets the ball at the 40 yard line. And, you know, but we’ve seen, we’ve seen that both ways. We’ve seen that for ravens opponents. We’ve seen the Ravens be in that position where, you know, kick, kick goes out of bounds and you get it at the 40 yard line. It’s, it’s changed the strategy, though, like, for the longest time. I mean, even go back years ago, I think back to Billy Cundiff, not the Billy Cundiff in Foxborough, the Billy Cundiff who made the Pro Bowl the previous year. A big part of that was he had a heck of a foot for kickoffs that. And that was at a time when the kickoff was from the 30, and he could really boot it. And that gave the Ravens a distinct advantage for kickoffs and covering kicks. And, you know, at that point in time, you liked touchbacks, right? I mean, that touchback was at the 20 yard line. You were fine with that. Now you booted in the end zone. They get it at the 35 so it has changed the strategy. It has changed. Is how teams want to approach it, you know, whether it’s kind of a, almost like a, not a squib, but, you know, you kind of just pooch it. You want to
Nestor Aparicio 05:10
just kind of position game. The difference between the 20 and the 35 and the 40 is like a 15 yard penalty, right? Or a real positive first play on a drive,
Luke Jones 05:20
yeah, so, so, I mean, it’s, you know, this is something that, I mean, even if Justin Tucker were the Ravens kicker this year, still it would have been different for him, because they, they kind of changed it. I mean, last year a lot of teams still said, You know what, we’re going to kick it in the end zone. We’ll give it to you at the 30 I mean, that they were still doing that. You put it at the 35 and then, you know the kind of the juxtaposition of that, where if you don’t get in, if you come up short of the landing zone, as loop did after that touchdown early in the you know what, I guess, close to midway through the third quarter, but after their touchdown drive to start the second half, then you know, it gives the opposition the ball at the 40. So it has changed things. I don’t think the ravens are necessarily doing it any better or any worse than your typical team, but it’s something that can be a little more glaring, and certainly when you have a rookie kicker that you know is trying to figure this out, just like everyone else, in addition to, oh yeah, making field goals and making extra points and and all of that. I mean, I don’t know. I don’t know how much they brought it up, but how about loops kick that? I there was a lot of debate whether he actually made that. Oh, yeah. I mean, yeah. I mean, obviously that was at the opposite end zone from the corner, where the press box
Nestor Aparicio 06:37
chip in these balls. I mean, just down on the end zone and just where first downs are, like, just chill.
Luke Jones 06:45
My understanding, with some of that is, and it’s, it’s kind of like the automated strike zone in baseball. I mean, the automated strike zone in baseball has been talked about for a number of years now. It’s finally getting to the point where there’s a degree of reliability where it’s I think going to become a thing, whether it’s next year, the year after that, like it’s coming. I think, I think there’s still some of that at work here, as far as but
Nestor Aparicio 07:09
these plays are settling bets of millions, if not billions.
Luke Jones 07:12
I understand that, but, but what I’m saying I don’t know if the technology is fully as reliable as they as they want it to be, before they make the change. So, but, you know, that said, I mean, these types of plays are important. I mean, we saw special teams around the league. You know, I don’t think special teams necessarily played a major factor in Monday night’s game, but it certainly did around the league on Sunday, when you look at blocked kicks and missed kicks and made kicks. I mean, how about the fact that the lions tried a 67 yard field goal right before halftime, and it had the distance, you know, as wide left, but it had the distance. So it’s it also speaks to the talent level of the kickers that, I mean, you’re seeing kicks being attempted now. I mean, we saw this with Brandon Aubrey in Dallas. You know, when the Ravens were there last year, he made a kick in the first half from, like, 60, I think it was 60 yards and, like, it was not even like, Oh, here’s Brandon Aubrey to try a 60 yard field goal. And it was like, he casually makes it right. I mean, granted, it’s kicking inside and and all of that, but it really does speak to the raw leg strength that you’re seeing from kickers. And yeah, you still see kickers have their misses and but
Nestor Aparicio 08:31
it also speaks to strategy and how we played the game differently here in so many ways. I mean, Jeff a Campbell going for that fourth and two and throwing that balls out Anquan Boldin back shoulder thing that they threw to their star wide receiver, right? I mean, by the way, old German background. I watched the pregame show. He might be my favorite player in the league. Now, all of a sudden, he seems like a nicer version of Steve Smith. But so for me, watching how teams navigate, what they think of their special teams, whether it’s attempting a 70 yard field goal, you know, with two seconds left in the first half. Because why not? As long as does it get blocked? I saw kickers making tackles on Sunday too. So that’s another part of this. Is when and I saw so many blocked punts and people being able to get in and you can’t leverage but I saw leap frogs. I saw all sorts of stuff going on in the special teams game, but the headspace of field position, can my kicker make it? Is my punter really going to pin him in, or is he going to pooch it? Are you going to get a 30 yard punt here? We’re going to get a 60 yard punt here. I don’t punt here. I don’t know I we were spoiled here, as you would say in East Baltimore, you know, like we were spoilt with the wolf pack, because that’s Rare, unique, and as much as kickers can kick it further and punters can punt it better, and the rules have changed and all that stuff. Uh, it still was sloppier part of the game as I watched the game of from my couch here the last three weeks watching all this football. It’s still something that it’s an unreliable art form in a lot of ways. And it was made very to feel very reliable here for a long time, and that’s a credit. And if Harbaugh’s out there listening, this is the, this is the most insulting thing you can ever say to John Harbaugh. Don’t ever say this to John Harbaugh for being a special teams coach, because he was a special teams coach, and the special teams here were special for a long, long time. I know they’re trying to get that back. And Randy Brown, you know, just on and on and on as to how important it is. But when it’s not the best in sport when it’s not top of game, like the running defense was on Monday night, it becomes a glaring thing we talk about because we haven’t talked about kickers and punters, and we haven’t done much of that since Billy conduct around here.
Luke Jones 10:53
Well, we did a lot about Justin Tucker last year. It’s one reason why the Ravens more easily moved away, moved on from him, which obviously football decision, but, but, but there were football factors, because he, he had the worst year of his career last year. I’m not going to sit here and say that that wasn’t part of it. I’m not saying, I’m not saying sitting here saying it’s a driving force either, but, but, yeah. I mean, it’s, it’s a factor again. I’m not sure how much of a factor it was Monday night, per se, but, yeah, that’s something that has to be better. It’s something that has to be on point. I mean, you know, you kind of look at this team across the board. I mean, attention to detail in big moments. I mean, we talked about it with Trenton Simpson, with his failure to down the ball at the one yard line in Buffalo. I mean, that was massive, right? I mean, a situation where you have a chance to have them backed up and they have it at the 20 instead. So I, you know, I’ve already mentioned it, but you know, when, when you look at this, the decision, when on fourth and nine, with four and a half minutes to go, and you send Jordan stout out there, and you’re punting from your own 32 you know, that’s a chance where that that’s an opportunity there, where you need a boomer, and he boomed a couple punts. You know, he had a couple really good punts, but, and this is where I’ll considering Jordan stout was a fourth round pick back, you know, 2022 you know, he’s in a contract here. He also has had the tendency to when they’ve really, truly needed a big time punt. He hasn’t necessarily come through, but, but there was an example right there. So you know whether you’re talking about something with the landing zone, with kickoffs, with loop or loop, making a kick, missing a kick, whatever.
Nestor Aparicio 12:28
Hey, look, dude, you can’t pin him back further than the one and a half. They had 295 yard drive, so from a field position standpoint, yeah, there’s a couple times that they hit. You know, you can’t do much better than starting to drive there defensively.
Luke Jones 12:43
You kind of just made my argument for why I said I think you need to more strongly consider going for it on fourth and nine in that spot because of what you just said, right? They can pin it the idea Detroit was at the advantage there, right? I mean, at that point they’re trailing, you know, they’re leading by seven points. So the burden is on the ravens to make a stop. Detroit doesn’t need to score there. Detroit, you can pin them back. And to your point, you can have an 11 minute drive. I mean, not 11 minutes, but the point is they could go into four minute offense there and just bleed the clock. So yeah, I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 13:16
Detroit had a chance to end the game at the two minute warning. The Ravens scored that touchdown to push the game closer. They were a yard and a half, one broken tackle, and the game’s over there, right? So you know, as far as giving the ball back or whatever at that point, if, if you really have confidence in your special teams, to our point here, that you feel like we can punt anytime, anywhere, and you’re going to start from the 12 to 15, the eight yard line, whatever. I don’t feel that way about this punter. I don’t feel that way having I don’t have a body of evidence for Tyler loop for a couple of games as to how my nuts are going to feel with seven seconds left on the clock if he’s got to make a 53 yard field goal in Kansas City on Sunday, right? I don’t know. We don’t know, but I don’t have confidence in that part of their game right now. I don’t know.
Luke Jones 14:07
Dude, what do you mean? I mean, I mean, I just didn’t, like for me, it has nothing to do with Jordan stout there. Like for me, it’s looking at how much time’s left, and are you going to get another possession? That’s what it came down to. Yeah, you got another possession after Detroit scored a touch.
Nestor Aparicio 14:21
But if I’m going to punt, it has to be a good punt. Oh, sure, sure. And I said
Luke Jones 14:24
that, right? I mean, so, you know, but, but these are Game Theory. These are, you know, this is probability. This is fourth. And go for it or not, go for it models. I mean, you follow the right of counsel on social media, you know, on Twitter, X, whatever you want to call it, it, automatically comes up. You know, Ben Baldwin has a fourth down bot that will, if you follow it, it’ll whatever games it’s tracking, it’ll automatically come up and say, Is this a go, or is this a punt? Is this a go for it, or is this kick a field goal? So you know that that fourth and nine for what it’s worth. And again, understanding that these. Things do not happen in a vacuum. That fourth and nine, they said to go. Now again, it’s way different. I am not comparing that to Buffalo, where, to me, it absolutely was a go for it, and it was a much shorter fourth down to convert. But I think, I think you have to be realistic about where your defense was at that point in time. But to your point, yeah, if you are going to punt, that’s when Jordan stout needs to come up big. And he didn’t, right? I mean, it goes back to when this team is in these situations where they’re a little, you know, whether it’s really close or they’re behind the eight ball like they were. In that instance, you need to come. You need someone to come up big there, you know. You need, you know. How about the fact? How about if he booms one so much that Detroit’s punt returner makes the blunder of trying to field the ball inside the five yard line or inside the 10 yard line, and he muffs it, right? I mean, you know, but instead, I mean, what? Punted it out of bounds, right? And did not get all of that one. So it’s just part of it. I you know special teams isn’t why they lost on Monday night. No one’s going to say that, but it’s a matter of just being finer in what you’re doing. I mean, how about the fact, you know, we touched on it in passing, but you know what’s going on with their goal to go play calling, right? I mean, they had the second, you know, the second quarter. I mean, where, you know, you end up coming up empty. And I get it, they got to stop. And then they scored a touch. Scored a touchdown on the following drive, but, but even in the third quarter, you know, you think about it, you have what, first and goal from the 10, and you have Derrick Henry try a pass from the 10. I didn’t like that. I mean, it’s one thing that, and we saw Derrick Henry do this against the Ravens in the past, right? It’s one thing if it’s a jump pass from the two yard line and you throw it over Earl Thomas’s head in the way they did in that playoff game six years ago. But it’s another thing when you’re going to try something like that from the 10 I mean, I don’t know. I just feel like, you know, I thought when they got stopped in the SEC, in the second, the first half, they’re at the one yard line on third down and fourth down. The Ravens were one of the teams that that voted not to get rid of the tush push. The Ravens may not run it with the the prolific nature that that Philadelphia can, you know, the they’re not perfect at it the way Philadelphia basically is, but we’ve seen them run that very well with Mark Andrews. You know, why wouldn’t you just push push rather than, you know, they coming out of the two minute warning and kind of rushed to the line, and it felt like they kind of rushed themselves right out of executing. So, no, it’s just even with the offense that’s been so great, and they’ve scored so many points. And again, I don’t want to make it sound like I’m blaming the defense is way more to blame for what we’re seeing as far as why this team’s one and two, but yeah, they just, they just are finding they’re more out of sorts than they should be, right? I mean, inside the five yard line, you’ve got the greatest rushing quarterback in NFL history and a guy that might go down as a top 10 running back in the history of the NFL, right? I mean, certainly a guy that is trending that way, if he does it a couple more years, it shouldn’t be tough inside, you know, goal to go shouldn’t be tough for this team. And it feels like it’s tougher for this team right now than it should be. So now, okay, I get it the offensive lines, not an elite group. And, you know, here, something can happen on any given play that kind of gums things up, but right there that feels like something that should be like elementary algebra, and they’re making it calculus, you know, when they’re inside the five yard line, as far as what they’re trying to do. So, you know, it’s just, they’ve got to be better. They’ve got to be sharper. They they need to be sharper with with attention to detail. I mean, that was, I mean, that’s a, one of the biggest reasons why they lost in Buffalo. I don’t think that’s why. I don’t think that’s the primary reason why they lost, because I just think Detroit was just better than them, period. But that doesn’t mean they, they don’t need to be better in though, in those ways as well. So, you know, Monday night was, you know, just kind of Detroit being better, generally speaking. But, yeah, when you’ve got situational football, when you’ve got a, you know, specific decision to make, if you’re a coach or special teams needing to execute at a given point, or, you know, whatever the call might be on defense, you know, your run fit. You know, I think, you know, I saw a great breakdown of how well Detroit blocked on Montgomery’s final touchdown run, you know, after they converted on fourth and two. But you also look at that play Teddy Buchanan kind of cheated, you know, did not protect the cutback possibility. And, you know, you kind of see a couple defensive linemen kind of get turned the wrong way in terms of, you know what, what their run fit, presumably, was, you know, that gap integrity. So, you know, I mean, these are, these are the things that either get your beat or make it impossible for you to stage a comeback or make it difficult to protect. To lead or affect your field position, you know, whether you’re getting the ball or giving it back to the opposition. I mean, these are things that they need to be cleaner with. Because I think we all look at this team and see the talent, right? I mean, the the defense right now. I mean, that’s that feels fraudulent right now they’ve got, I mean, that’s some soul searching, and that goes beyond Madame BK and Van Noy, because Madame BK and Van Noy were on the field against buffalo, especially in the fourth quarter, and they completely got
Nestor Aparicio 20:29
but the problem is they don’t have a replacement for that. The problem is the B team, but
Luke Jones 20:34
that’s why you have to be even finer with all the details. Then you know, if you’ve got some deficiencies because of some injuries and and let me be in the interest of fairness, because I just beat them up. I just criticized Todd monkin with the play calling inside the 10, that’s where you do miss Pat Ricard big time. You might not miss Pat Ricard as much in between the 20s with your ability to move the ball in so many different ways, but when you get in the compressed, condensed area of the field inside the five yard line. That’s when you want a 300 pound fullback that can absolutely blow up a guy and spring Derrick Henry for a touchdown, or spring Lamar Jackson for a touchdown in that spot that they are lacking that so, yeah, I mean, the injuries are part, are part of this. I’m not, not going to sit here and say that, you know, it’s easy just to say, next man up, next man up, next man up. But you know, you’re talking about $100 million defensive tackle. That’s not out there, but that said, Man, you got to do better than that, right? I mean, you can’t. This is like a couple days ago when you and I were talking about the Orioles, and I really started talking about their young core and how disappointing it’s been. And yeah, I’ll hear the injuries. I’ll hear the injuries, and that’s absolutely part of the equation. But that doesn’t give you license to be the worst in the league, like the Orioles being last and run scored over the last two months of the season. Doesn’t give the Ravens license to be to give up over 200 yards when Matt abika and Van Noy aren’t out there. I mean, come on, now that doesn’t say much for the other guys on your football team. Then like to Kyle Hamilton’s point, you know, shame on us if we’re going to completely fall apart because we’re missing one Pro Bowl player, right? Meaning, you know they’re D line. So I certainly wouldn’t hope those guys are saying, Woe is me. Oh, you know we didn’t have mattabe Cam van Noy. Oh, well,
Nestor Aparicio 22:22
right. Well, Humphrey doesn’t look healthy, right? Jones looks like good problem right now, right? I mean, so in that way, likely hasn’t gotten onto the field. You mentioned things about the offense they’d like to do playing heavier in certain regards, same thing. So they have been snake bitten by injury in a way that they weren’t last year. And, you know, we’re not talking about Lamar, Derek, Henry being injured. Maybe their feelings were hurt and and Andrew’s emerging again on on Monday night was, I guess, a little glimmer of purple fairy dusty try to put on this thing this week, because I’m trying to say who’s playing well. And by the way, we’re about two, three hours into this conversation. You and me here in the aftermath, I haven’t pissed on the head coach yet, or the defensive coordinator, or Pagano, or the play call, all of these ideological things that made me feel during the game, certainly during the game, play to play, they were getting out coached, you know, they literally the lions looked and said, This is the deficiency we’re going to go after in the same way that everybody’s been going after the Alabama cornerback, you know, from the lions that The Ravens tried to exploit that man, Hopkins is unbelievable too. Like, just in a general sense of throw the ball up, I have full confidence he’s going to come down with it. And they have all of these weapons. Flowers was asleep, although we didn’t hear from him. It was and the Derek Henry fumbling thing. I don’t even know where to, but you’re not going to find a bigger I own a Derek Henry jersey. You know, like I’m a Derek Henry guy. I don’t, I don’t know what to make of this, other than if I’m writing my John Steadman column today, and I’ve been talking about it for three hours here on the radio, and I’ll continue to do that all week until they play. I I’m trying to find anything I’m happy with other than lamar’s quarterback rating. Yeah.
Luke Jones 24:29
I mean, I think Lamar is playing at a high level. Mostly, I don’t know if I I don’t know if I’d go as far as saying he’s playing as well as he did last year at his best. But look, Lamar Jackson’s obviously the last of the least of their worries. But yeah, I mean, Derrick Henry, the last few years had fumbled, had hardly fumbled at all. He’s fumbled in each of the first three games. Now the the Cleveland won, tylen Wallace, if you recall, recovered it, and then. And caught a touchdown on the next play, great sequence for him. But not only is Derek Henry fumbled in three straight games, but it’s been a back breaking fumble in the fourth quarter in two of those that they’ve lost. So, you know, doesn’t mean he’s
Nestor Aparicio 25:17
washed up or wouldn’t even pay the price for it. On Monday night, it was field goal, right? So it didn’t really crush them.
25:23
I mean, it
Nestor Aparicio 25:24
didn’t, but it hurt. Oh, I think it changed the momentum. It it tilted the field. It tilted.
Luke Jones 25:29
I mean, I mean, it’s three points gifted to Detroit, and that’s one, you know, you lost the possession as a result, right? I mean, possessions are, I thought one thing that I wasn’t surprised by because I think either team would have done it, quite frankly, but certainly Dan Campbell was going to do it. But I want to go back to the first drive. You know, they had fourth and three from the 11, I’m sure. And I didn’t hear the broadcast copy. I’m sure Troy Aikman wanted them to kick a field goal there. I could guarantee it. Chris Collinsworth would say the same thing. Tony Romo would say the same thing, get get points, get a lead, and you’re feeling good about yourself, right? I mean, that’s what you hear the old school analysts say the on TV. Dan Kemp, they went for it, right? I mean, they went for it. They, you know, ravens, Blitz. They went right to Saint Brown, first and goal, score, touchdown. A couple plays later, they told you right there what kind of game they thought it was going to be, and Dan Campbell and the lions came in to a hostile environment. We’ve talked about this so much over the years, Nestor in terms of the Lamar factor, how the Ravens have played, and I’m not talking about January or like when they play Kansas City or Buffalo. I’m talking about teams that they don’t see as often. The NFC thing, we’ve talked about that so much, right? But also lesser teams in the AFC, there are so many teams that, Let’s call a spade a spade, they’re defeated before they even walk into the stadium, when they know they’re playing Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, well, the first time Lamar breaks their ankles, it’s over. They quit, or they are so per, you know, we talk about the idea of putting the defense in stress, and the Ravens are so great at doing that, and have been from the moment Joe or Lamar Jackson replaced Joe Flacco, and they were running the, you know, the bumper pool, you know, electronic football offense that they ran that first year, especially. But Detroit, they came in and they weren’t intimidated whatsoever. They came in and, like I said, on that first drive, fourth and three. You know, it’s not fourth and 1/4, and three from the 11. You know that even in this day and age where you see more aggressive offense across the league in those situations, that’s still one where I think a lot of teams kick the field goal. Dan Campbell and the lions said, No, you know, we’re this isn’t going to be that kind of game. And the lions played
Nestor Aparicio 27:54
calm. They were smart on the road. They really played calm. They impressed me. They were really bold,
Luke Jones 27:59
too. And how many times have we said, if you want to give yourself the best chance against Lamar Jackson led ravens team, Lamar Jackson led ravens offense that even this year. I mean, you know, we’re talking about the mistakes they made, they still scored 30 points on Monday night, right? I mean, it speaks to how prolific and explosive and deep this offense can be even when they’re not. You know, their shockers aren’t all aligned in the way that that you’d like them to be. They’re not firing on all cylinders Exactly. And you know, they’ve had some guys out of the lineup here these first few games. But I’ve said this so many times, if you’re going to beat the Baltimore Ravens, you cannot be afraid to fail when it comes to being bold, when you’re faced with fourth down, when you’re faced with with situations where you need to throw the ball, situations where you should run the you know, like you’ve got to you can’t play with any fear against them. And Detroit came in and played with no fear whatsoever. Look again, there were 15 and two last year the Ravens this just because they don’t play the lines very often. And you know, I was as guilty of this as anyone. You saw what happened two years ago, and you said all the lions came in, they got their asses kicked because they did right? That game was over midway through the second quarter two years ago, and the lions were really good two years ago, right? I mean, they were playoff team and all that. But, well, dozen to 15 of these guys were on the field that night, right? All the key players, all the key players, were part of that team, but, but they came in and they completely they were a completely different team. They took it to the Ravens. They dictated how they wanted to play, and the Ravens had no answers for them. Ultimately, had not enough answers for them. And, you know, it’s just, it’s a credit to Dan Campbell. And you know, it’s funny, because, you know, we’ve talked a lot about this fourth and nine decision. And again, fourth and nine is not fourth and three, like it was back in week one, or a fourth and two, like Detroit went for. The fourth quarter and got it. But we it has been interesting to see where John Harbaugh and this offense and this decision making process was six or seven years ago, how bold they were. I mean, the one time they beat Kansas City in the Lamar era was that Sunday night game in Baltimore, where they went for a fourth down, right where, in their own territory, where you’re saying, Hey, this is the game. And they went one, and they won the game there. Kansas City didn’t get the ball back. We’ve seen John Harbaugh and this team get more conservative the last few years in those in those situations. And I’ll be honest, Nestor, I’m not entirely sure why. I mean, and John’s been, you know, he’s asked about these and look, we’re not just talking about the Ben Baldwin’s fourth down bot on social media. I mean, by the way,
Nestor Aparicio 30:55
I mentioned the confidence level in in their in their special teams, in a general sense, I think that that dictates some of this where I can be comfortable punting or kicking, or comfortable that my defense can go out and make and make a stop, or confidence that we’re going to make a fourth and three instead of we’re going to fumble, or Lamar is going to drop the ball, or something bad, something Black clouds going to happen on fourth down, as opposed to we’re going to run the ball down your throat. And they don’t have that mentality right now. You know why? Because they don’t really have that ability right now, the ability to run the ball down your throat right this minute, in the way that they’re playing, in the way the offensive line is playing. They do against bad teams, not against miles, Garrett, not against Aidan Hutchinson, yep.
Luke Jones 31:44
But they, they did it in Buffalo, and they had run all over the place in Buffalo. I hear what you’re saying at the same time. I don’t know if you’re, you’re, I don’t know if you can Well, part
Nestor Aparicio 31:55
of that scheme too. They were pulling guards. They were doing all sorts of weird stuff that was really working and being and being effective, and to your point, being bold, you know, getting the other team off their dime, which they never could do, to golf defensively on Monday night.
Luke Jones 32:10
Yeah, but I just, I hear what you’re saying, but I also feel, man, I don’t know if this team’s going to get with that mindset. I don’t know if you’re going to get where you ultimately want to go in the big picture. Well, they’re going to give up points every week. Points every week. Let’s stop with this, right? Like Lamar is going to have to get in the phone booth at some further all of that, zay flowers, they’re going to need all of that offensively, because it feels like they’re going to roll the ball out and give up 20 every week. Let them attitude to anybody, unless you’re playing the browns, right? You know, I mean, you know, brown scored 17 in the last one was that was garbage, right? I mean, that was a garbage touchdown. Get backups against backups at that point. But, yeah, I mean, it’s, that’s where I again, that’s where I’m not trying to belabor the point, because I think, you know, we’re talking about this big picture idea of when to be bold, when to be aggressive, when to be more conservative, right? All of that. But that’s where I keep going back to that fourth and nine and saying, Man, I don’t know if the confidence in your defense there was warranted, and I get it fourth and nine, but I also hear John Harbaugh saying, Well, have you seen what our offense has looked like since the first drive of the second half? Not exactly. Point is, you’re kind of in a low percentage spot either way. But I think he’s extending the game there. At that point, did he though, okay, right? He didn’t. He didn’t extend the game, right? You know what I mean, like, if your defense gets a stop, but their defense didn’t get a stop, right? So, you know? But point is, when you’re in that spot, and there’s, what, three and a half minutes to go, or whatever it is, you’re down the touchdown, your defense has given up at that point. I don’t know if it was 200 yards, but it’s close to 200 rushing yards at that point. To your point, you’re not really living another day. You’re already, yeah, neither, neither one of those is a high proposition. You know, it’s like in baseball, right? I mean runners rounding third. The third base coach has to decide if he’s giving them the windmill or the stop sign. You know if your number nine hitter is coming up next, if you’ve got a 40, if you think you’ve got a 40% or 50, 5050, shot to score there, or even, like a 30% chance. If it’s Jorge Mateo, no, disrespect, but it’s Jorge Mateo. Do up. You better send them there, even if, even if, an okay throw is going to nail the guy by six feet at the plate, because that’s still going to be a higher percentage than what’s up next. So again, these are, this is so easy to say from the press box, let alone talking about it the next morning, right? But when your defense is in the state that it’s in right now, man, I think more so than the special teams. You know, you’ve talked about the special teams, I think that’s where you look at this and say you might need to start taking a few more chances like that, because the faith in your defense. Now has not been John Harbaugh has not been rewarded for the faith in his defense on either of these fourth down decisions late in the game in Buffalo and then on Monday night, albeit, I get it fourth and nine, it’s a longer one,
Nestor Aparicio 35:14
but Well, you got my home Stroud of Stafford coming up here you’re seeing you know, quality quarterbacks who can beat you and
Luke Jones 35:23
Stroud and Houston’s debatable right now.
Nestor Aparicio 35:27
What? What? What is the strength of the defense? It’s not the pass rush, certainly not the run stop at this point, and the back end of the secondary, where all the draft picks were, money has been spent. All of that. Marlon Humphreys limping, roquan Smith looked a little lost without the protection up front, in the same way that Ray was a loss when they went three four back in the day, they missed so many tackles. Yeah, yeah, the missed tackle thing, as you pointed out in the aftermath, and the fact that they couldn’t get off the field first in 98 first and 95 I mean, John, geez. I mean, we’ve not seen that once in 25 years in Baltimore, and saw twice on the same night. Yeah. I mean,
Luke Jones 36:12
18 plays, 98 yards, 10 minutes and 48 seconds. That’s what the Lamar ravens offense kind of stuff.
Nestor Aparicio 36:22
They ripped the Ray Lewis statue down about right, if you do that around here,
Luke Jones 36:25
you know, I mean, like I said, I would, I don’t know how many it’s been, and it’s been more than we would think, because we’re talking about this stadium being close to 30 years old at this point. You know, 27 years old at this point. But the number of 95 yard touchdown drives that the defense has allowed in that building over the years. It’s not many, right? I mean, I mean, has there been one every year? Pro? Probably not, right. I mean, you’re talking about something that in their heyday and in the glory days of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed and Suggs, in their prime, didn’t give up points. They might not give up. They might give up one of those at home every three years or something like that. For that to happen twice in the same night? I mean, you talk about demoralizing, you talk about your pride, you talk about looking in the mirror and not liking what you see. And it
Nestor Aparicio 37:22
wasn’t fluke, either wasn’t like on penalties or anything like that. It was just on losing place.
Luke Jones 37:28
They converted a lot of third downs. I mean, Detroit, Detroit was third and fourth down. I mean, and the Ravens were able to get them off the field a couple times. And, you know, they, you know, they were able to do it. I mean, it’s what was funny, was it was kind of this feast or famine, right? I mean, either Detroit drove down the field and scored a touchdown or the Ravens got a three and out there weren’t they didn’t have like, a six or seven or eight play drive where they ended up putting from midfield or something like that. It was like, all or not. They also
Nestor Aparicio 37:54
didn’t turn the ball over. They also didn’t have a lot of penalties. They also weren’t favorable down and distance most of the game.
Luke Jones 38:00
Sure, yeah. I mean, like, but you look at how they finished, I mean, they were seven to 14 on third. I mean, the Ravens were six of 11 on third down. It’s not like the Ravens were awful. You know, one
Nestor Aparicio 38:09
way to stay in favorable down and distance, don’t get sacked, sure. So if there’s no pass rush, incomplete pass, live another day at second and 10. That’s different than second and 19
Luke Jones 38:20
and, I mean, you know, and for people that are questioning Zach, or look, Zach coaching staff needs to own their part of it too. You know, times where they did Blitz, didn’t get home, and when you Blitz and you don’t get home, then your coverage is more vulnerable.
Nestor Aparicio 38:34
And then the next time you think, I don’t have the confidence level, he ain’t getting there. So, I
Luke Jones 38:38
mean, they they try different things, but, man, they couldn’t get any. I mean, five quarterback hits when a guy throws the ball, how many times? I mean, you know, it’s not like Jared Goff threw a ton, but five hits, no sacks when he had 28 pass attempts. I mean, it’s not very good. Doesn’t say much for your pass rush, and it speaks to how much they did miss Matta BK and Van Noy, but at the same time, look, we talk so much about and I get it, it’s third NFL game, but that’s where you need Mike Green, David ajaba was active. Was his name called at any point during the game?
Nestor Aparicio 39:12
We talked about him on Monday, but they didn’t talk about him Monday night. Yeah.
Luke Jones 39:16
I mean, so, you know, away. I mean, without van Noy out there. I mean, they
Nestor Aparicio 39:22
need a way to step up. He made a play in the first series, and I never saw him. Rest tonight.
Luke Jones 39:26
He had a tackle for a loss, and he did have two. He had, hey, he had two of their quarter. He was the only one that officially went down as having multiple quarterback hits. He had two. But, you know, he’s, he’s in his fifth year, option year like that guy’s look playing to get a $20 million a year contract somewhere. Now, I don’t think any team’s going to give him that, but he had 10 sacks last year. He’s playing for a contract that I don’t think he’s going to get here, but someone to pay him. Man Without Kyle van Noy, that was his time. You know you’re going up against, and I get it. I mean, Taylor Decker and penne Sewell. Pro Bowl tackles. But at some point in time, you kind of look at this defense and say, I mean, it’s not like the Ravens don’t have Pro Bowl talent, even without Matt abika. It’s not as though they don’t have high priced guys at at every level, or guys that you view as being future high priced guys, man. I mean that they came up so small on defense. I mean, that is, that is as underwhelming, you know, two of the last three weeks. I mean, pu 30 points, you can’t expect to win. And you know the past defense, I mean, Jaya Alexander, you know, was kind of took the brunt of it in week one. And you know, he hasn’t been on the field since then, right? I mean, and we can talk about his knee and all that stuff and but,
Nestor Aparicio 40:45
oh, in a short week, we’re going to talk about all of it, because one in three at eight o’clock on Sunday night, you and I are doing emergency radio
Luke Jones 40:53
here. I mean, it’s, it’s not season over by any means, but it’s, boy, well, you’re really starting to think about this team in way different terms. There’s no doubt about it, so. But even last year, when the first half was as bad as it was for their past defense, they stopped the run at the very least. What’s alarming here is you’re not stopping the run. I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 41:14
okay, Cleveland, I get maybe not going to stop it if Matt abika is not going to play,
Luke Jones 41:18
and that’s the thing. I mean, it allows teams to put even more focus on Travis Jones. I mean, Broderick, Washington, you got to stop the run. And, you know, Brent urban was up, and Peebles is going to play more. And you need your edge guys to set the edge and and do what they need to do against the run. But, you know, Kansas City doesn’t have a run game like Detroit. But at the same time, if you’re not going to stop it, they’re going to run. So, man, it’s this is this is a
Nestor Aparicio 41:44
bad circum I don’t know what place they could go that would be worse, but also place where they could exercise some demons as well, and find the fountain of the first half from Buffalo and Orchard Park two weeks ago. Luke Jones can be found at Baltimore. Luke The GBMC hotline is up and running. I’m doing all sorts of pieces here in regard to men’s health, women’s health care, local care. Great Hospital. They make great babies over GBMC. They made my brother there. So that’s a good thing. And also just the wnst tech service, if breaking news short week, injury report, all of this stuff that’s happening. Certainly the Matta beak is circumstances all of us concerned. It’s all brought to you by cold roofing and Gordian energy. I’m getting the Maryland crab cake tour brought to you by Liberty, pure solutions, as well as our friends at the Maryland lottery. I have these fantastic matted hopefully luckier than the Ravens were on Monday night. Scratch off tickets for the Maryland crab cake tour. We’re getting that back out on the road. Tastiness is down the number two and number one that is brought to you by curio wellness and far and daughter, I’m trying to chase Wendy around get her on here, because I want to talk some rock and roll and tell her about my trip last week out to the West Coast where I got to see football stadiums. Hey, I sent Joe Ortiz a text over the weekend because they’re undefeated. And I, you know, I told you I was in El Segundo so when I was there, I thought about them so and there’s another team there that needs to be contended with, but with the Ravens thinking they’re so much better than Cincinnati, so much better than Cleveland. Got to be better than Pittsburgh. I don’t know they better be better than Kansas City, four o’clock on Sunday. Luke’s going to be around all week. Any breaking news, you get it first, and of course, you keep it right here. I’m Nestor. We are W, N, S, T am 1570 Towson, Baltimore, and we never stop talking Baltimore positive.
