It’s July and before the end of this sweltering month, the Baltimore Ravens will take to the fields in Owings Mills to prepare for a September 13th kickoff in Indianapolis. Luke Jones and Nestor set the summer stage for Baltimore Ravens season with observations about strengths, weaknesses and center needs for rookie head coach Jesse Minter as a new purple era begins for Lamar Jackson as heavy favorites in the AFC North.
Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the Baltimore Ravens’ upcoming season, highlighting the importance of the offensive line, particularly the center position. They noted the absence of key players like Max Crosby and Tyler Linderbaum, and the potential impact on the team’s performance. Jones emphasized the need for new head coach Jesse Minter and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle to deliver results, especially with Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry as key players. They also discussed the defensive unit’s potential, the importance of young players stepping up, and the overall excitement and challenges ahead for the Ravens.
- [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Finalize and publish the full schedule for the Maryland Crab Cake Tour for July and August, including all planned stops.
Maryland Lottery and Maryland Crab Cake Tour
- Nestor Aparicio introduces the program, Baltimore Positive, and mentions the Maryland Lottery, GBMC, and Farn and Dermer as sponsors.
- Nestor talks about the Maryland Crab Cake Tour, including upcoming events at Costa’s and Dundalk, and Pizza John’s.
- Nestor mentions his upcoming vacation and all-star game in Philadelphia, while Luke Jones will be on vacation during the Orioles’ games.
- Nestor expresses excitement about football season despite the Orioles’ performance, and Luke cautions against wishing away the rest of summer.
New Head Coach and Offseason Changes
- Luke Jones discusses the excitement surrounding the new head coach, new coaching staff, and new uniforms.
- Luke highlights the quiet spring without major headlines, which was a positive for the team.
- Luke mentions the lack of major issues like injuries, holdouts, or player requests for trades, compared to other teams.
- Nestor and Luke agree that the team has talent but has question marks, especially at center.
Offensive Line and Center Concerns
- Nestor and Luke focus on the offensive line, particularly the center position, as a major concern for the team.
- Luke mentions potential acquisitions and the rotation of players during the spring.
- Luke discusses the impact of the center on other players like John Simpson, Van Gooney, and Ronnie Stanley.
- Nestor and Luke debate the importance of the center and the potential impact on the team’s performance.
Allocation of Resources and Player Evaluations
- Luke Jones discusses the allocation of resources, including the decision not to sign Max Crosby and the trade for Trey Hendrickson.
- Nestor and Luke talk about the importance of the center position and the potential impact on the team’s success.
- Luke mentions the importance of Dwayne Ledford, the offensive line coach, in addressing the center and guard issues.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the potential impact of Matt Abika’s return and the team’s overall offensive line depth.
Defensive Unit and Player Performance
- Nestor and Luke discuss the defensive unit, including the edge rush group and the potential impact of Mike Green, Zion Young, and Tavius Robinson.
- Luke emphasizes the importance of Matt Abika and the potential impact on the defense if he plays well.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the performance of Roquan Smith and Marlon Humphrey, and the impact of Jesse Minter’s coaching on the defense.
- Luke highlights the need for the defense to be dynamic and turnover-prone to support the offense.
Offensive Coordinator and Passing Game
- Nestor and Luke discuss the new offensive coordinator, Declan Doyle, and the challenges he faces.
- Luke mentions the importance of the passing game and the need for complementary receivers to support Zay Flowers.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the potential impact of the new tight ends and the need for Mark Andrews to perform well.
- Luke emphasizes the importance of the offensive line and the center position in supporting the passing game.
Player Health and Age Factors
- Nestor and Luke discuss the age and health of key players like Derrick Henry, Ronnie Stanley, and Mark Andrews.
- Luke mentions the importance of these players performing well to support the team’s success.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the potential impact of young players like Van Gooney and the new tight ends on the team’s performance.
- Luke emphasizes the need for the defense to perform well to support the offense, especially with the new coordinator and passing game challenges.
Training Camp and Future Outlook
- Nestor and Luke discuss the upcoming training camp and the importance of addressing the team’s question marks.
- Luke mentions the excitement of the new coaching staff and the need for players to step up.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the potential impact of the new coaching staff and the players’ performance on the team’s success.
- Luke emphasizes the importance of the defense and the offensive line in supporting the team’s overall performance.
Final Thoughts and Predictions
- Nestor and Luke discuss their final thoughts and predictions for the upcoming season.
- Luke mentions the importance of the defense and the offensive line in supporting the team’s success.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the potential impact of the new coaching staff and the players’ performance on the team’s success.
- Luke emphasizes the need for the defense to perform well to support the offense and the potential impact of the new coordinator and passing game challenges.
Nestor Aparicio 0:00
Hey, welcome home. We are W N S T A M 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We call this program Baltimore Positive. We’re gonna do some football in this segment. Before we do that, we’re gonna talk about our friends at the Maryland Lottery in conjunction with GBMC and Farn and Dermer. This is a bowling shirt. I mean, I kind of look like the dude a little bit with this thing here, but they are the comfort guys. They put us on the road for the Maryland Crab Cake Tour. We’re gonna be back out to win the Maryland Treasures later on in the month. You have a full schedule ahead, I promise you. Crab cakes are ahead as well, some crabs over Costa’s and Dundalk. We’re gonna be back at Pizza John’s later on in the month, where they also have a crab cake, and I haven’t had a crinkle cut French fry ever since I got that GBMC blood report back, so I certainly haven’t had the gravy on my French fries either, so hoping to change that here in July. As I skinny up and healthy up, this guy is getting ready for a vacation all-star game, by the way. I’m going to be up in Philadelphia representing WNSG am 1570 in Philadelphia. Luke’s going to be on vacation, Orioles are around this week, but I want to talk football with you, Luke. I know we haven’t talked in a couple of weeks in mini camp, and nobody’s been arrested yet. We know if you’re on the WNST tech service, you’ll get all that sort of stuff first, but I would think the WNST tech service is on a little bit of a hiatus here next couple weeks for the Purple. It’s quiet, everybody’s away, but in one month pads are out, and Lord knows where the Orioles are headed right now, that it will be a very refreshing thing, even if we hope it’s not 103 like it is today out in Owings Mills, but I know you’re looking forward to it, because the Orioles have already made me drop an F bomb once today,
Luke Jones 1:40
over a month out. We’re literally a month out, or depending on when you’re listening to us, maybe a little less than a month, but a month out from training camp. Not to wish away the month of July. I, I always caution folks who are excited about football season. I say, look, I get it. Let’s also not wish away the rest of summer, but there’s excitement, obviously. It doesn’t help with how the Orioles have played and continue to play, but you know, in a year where you have a new head coach, a new new coaching staff, new uniforms, regardless of whether they’re that different than the old ones, I mean, there’s a lot of new, and there’s excitement about that, and there was a lot of frustration last year, right? I mean, we talked about how the Ravens and the Orioles were quite closely aligned this last calendar year in terms of disappointment and perception of not playing up to ability, and questions about coaching and all kinds of things, but you know, I think the Max Crosby saga aside, you know, really from that point forward it was a quiet spring, and I think that’s what they wanted, right? I don’t think you want a brand new head coach making headlines or players talking about a brand new head coach making headlines, right? I think it was a harmonious business like spring, and that doesn’t mean that they’re going to win the Super Bowl, but you’ll certainly take that over three players suffering season-ending injuries, some players not being happy or requesting trades, or I mean, look around the league, I mean, look at, like, the Brandon I, you saga that’s going on right now with the ers and him talking about wanting to go to the commanders, and like there’s nothing like that going on with the Ravens, and sometimes that’s something that that can be viewed as a minor win, right? That’s something where you just say, look, it seems like guys are excited, you know, Lamar Jackson was in the building most of the spring, you know, there are very few question marks. I mean, they have question marks, and centers like a big one, and we’ll continue to talk about that, but in terms of the guys that are on the team right now, it feels like it was the spring went about as well as you could reasonably hope a spring to go, like it looked what you want it to look like. There weren’t injuries and stuff like that. You didn’t have holdouts or anything like that. I mean, the Lamar contract is a thing until it’s not, but at least in terms of him being there, and you know it’s not like he was absent all spring or anything like that. So I think from that standpoint, yeah, there’s excitement, and I think there’s still an acknowledgement that this team has a lot of talent, and yeah, they’ve got some areas where there are some question marks, but that’s everyone in football, but when you have an elite franchise quarterback and you’ve got a handful of other players who were regarded as some of the very best at their position, expectations are high. We’re going to see how Jesse Minter does, we’re going to see how Declan Doyle does, right? We’re going to there. Those are all fair questions, you know. It’s why I’m not sitting here saying book your tickets for the Super Bowl just yet, but. There’s optimism, there’s excitement about this, and that’s natural when you’re talking about having a brand new head coach in place for the first time in 18 years. Luke
Nestor Aparicio 5:08
Jones is here, the Ravens will be there, center is the first thing, right? I mean, that’s the, that’s the story until it’s not right. I mean, we last year was offensive line, we had a few years where the secondary were issues clearly. Here’s where Lamar, you know, the question at the beginning was, you know, the you’re going to turn the team over from Flaco to Lamar. So every year there’s a theme about players. Ronnie Stanley was, you know, one of those themes, and you know, we’ll get to the theme of the passing game and all that, and and the 29 year old coordinator. But first things first, roster, we look at it and say glaring offensive line in a general sense, and the center, and how that’s going to play a big weight, and how good this team’s going to be this year. Yeah, I mean, for me it’s two things, but that would be one. One A is Matt A B K, like just not until we have clarity on that one way or the other,
Luke Jones 6:00
and who knows, we might not get that, even on like the first day of training camp. It doesn’t mean we’re going to have it then, but in terms of acquisitions, right, or potential acquisitions, you do look at Center, where you just say, like, you know, Stanley Pinter really going to be that guy, are they really going to consider Javon Gwinn, are they really going to consider Cory Bullock, or is that guy still out there somewhere else right now with another team, or whatever. So, yeah, it, and look, they rotated the guys in in the spring. It’s exactly how you would expect it to go, and if you’re asking me to handicap the incumbents in terms of who would be most likely, Pinter would be that guy. I don’t think that’s a surprise. I mean, he’s the only one of those three names I mentioned that’s actually played in the NFL, to you know, other than a handful of snaps, right? He’s actually played now. He hasn’t played a whole lot, and hasn’t been a starter a whole lot, but he’s at least played. But all that being said, I mean, you’re just talking about someone who has 10 career starts, you’re talking about someone, there’s been debates, you know, whether he’s better at center or guard, whatever, and you just, for me, it’s not just center in isolation, but it’s how it impacts the whole operation, right? You know, even go back to John Simpson, when he was with the Ravens three years ago, right? He was a starter. He started every game. He played well enough, at least for the Jets to give him the contract that they gave him. But I think a big part of why John Simpson was regarded as good enough at that point in time was what Tyler Linderbaum was, was the center, right? So for me it’s not just the center, it’s how does that center impact the play of John Simpson? How does that center impact the play of Van Gooney, who I think is going to be a heck of a player, and I think they’re completely pleased with everything they saw from him this spring, but he is still a rookie, right? I mean, like, you don’t.. I think it would be unfair to just assume he’s going to be Marshall Yonda from Jump Street, right? Like that would be very unfair, like he’s probably going to have at least, even if they’re very tiny, he’s probably going to have a couple little hiccups and a little couple growing pains here and there. So again, whoever’s playing center is going to impact him. And then you get out to the tackle spots, Ronnie Stanley’s a year older, right. Roger Rosengard is entering year three. I think this is the year where we find out, is he an ascending player? Right, is he going to be a guy that you’re going to give a second contract to, or is he a guy that’s just, you know, he’s fine, and like,
Nestor Aparicio 8:35
and he’s not their left tackle the future. We like, right? Right,
Luke Jones 8:40
I wouldn’t think so. I mean, right, look, not that those that cover the team are out there for every single rep of every single practice all year long. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him work at left tackle, right? I mean, like, you know, you think of guys of the past like Michael Orr went back and forth, right? Patrick McCarry, even years where McCary was starting some games, would go back and forth, even right,
Nestor Aparicio 9:02
even that the thought that if Stanley were to be injured, that that could be an option, it doesn’t, he hasn’t practiced there, so yeah,
Luke Jones 9:08
and
Nestor Aparicio 9:09
in two years, not even a little bit, or yeah, so that’s not realistic, right, doesn’t seem
Luke Jones 9:16
that way, right, and maybe, and that’s all Orlando Brown wanted
Nestor Aparicio 9:19
to do,
Luke Jones 9:19
is get to the other side, sure, sure, and maybe that change, maybe, maybe they would privately tell you, yeah, if Ronnie got hurt for Orlando Brown, might have gone to the
Nestor Aparicio 9:27
Hall of Fame as a right tackle, as a left tackle, he gone to the Hall of Rich,
Luke Jones 9:30
yeah, sure, fair enough, I mean, that’s that’s a pretty appropriate way of describing it, but, but, yeah, so, so for me, like it’s figuring that out, and then figuring out how that’s going to impact everything else, right? You know, you’re not going to have an all pro, right? You know, you’re not going to have someone that plays at the level of Lindner Bomb. The positive spin on it, and I’m not even saying, like, this is like spin, meaning it’s not truthful or it doesn’t have a chance to happen, but you’re viewing your guards as being in much better spots than they were. Four last year, right, and you’re also
Nestor Aparicio 10:02
viewing it as we didn’t give him $28 million
Luke Jones 10:04
of course, of course. I mean, that was
Nestor Aparicio 10:05
the same thing with Alec, with, with, with Jet Ryan Jensen, and with the right tax that went to Detroit. You know, when you don’t give these guys that money, even, even Zeitler, I didn’t even mean him, I meant the guy 10 years ago, Rick Wagner, Rick Wagner. Thank you. You know, the guys that of that generation, there were two generational sort of offensive linemen, but they got paid top of class. Now you throw Linder bomb on that, you let guys go. Stanley was the guy they kept here and paid, right? And Marshall, you know, at the end, but you can’t have it all, and they tried to have it all for a minute with Morgan Moses and Zeitler and a young lender bum like that was what was special for three four years ago,
Luke Jones 10:47
yeah. Well, I’ll throw out another name that you didn’t even mention, but Colegio Semile, I mean, look at that one. So, but yeah, I mean, it’s you’re talking about allocation of resources, right? I mean, in no way am I implying that the Ravens should have paid Tyler Linderbaum $1 more than the Raiders did. No, not no, like I wouldn’t have even considered it. Now, the offensive
Nestor Aparicio 11:09
line would smell nice, but they were three players they couldn’t sign. I mean,
Luke Jones 11:13
there’s there’s always that, and there’s always you have to value players a certain way. I mean, you just have to. Can you over value certain positions, sure. You
Nestor Aparicio 11:23
and I, nobody’s beaten to Costa more than you and me. Well, me, for sure, over the last four months, nobody would beat him up over the Lindner Bomb thing. I mean,
Luke Jones 11:31
my criticism of him with Linder Bomb was a year ago, not well. I also think the
Nestor Aparicio 11:36
criticism might be that he believed Linder Bomb was going to come back, like I think they believe that week that that was part of the Max Crosby thing was sort of like okay we’re going to be able to do this and keep our center and then it didn’t happen and then the money got weird on and and the draft picks now we need that draft pick to get alignment offensive lineman and by the way never mentioned Matt Abika either but that’ll be part two, but, but just of their question marks to say where’s their money versus what their value is. They got exactly what they wanted at this point. They got Henderson a little less, Hendrickson, excuse me, they kept their draft pick, and now they’ve at least filled that hole on the offensive line with their next Marshall Yonda, and they feel better about that than they would have felt about giving Lindner Bomb the money and having Crosby, and not having the draft pick. I think, I think, yeah, I mean, we’ll, we’re gonna find out. I will say this, I’ll push back a little bit on this, just based on things I’ve heard. I don’t think there was any expectation that Linda Bomb was coming back. Fair enough, as it got to, as it got closer, as it got
Luke Jones 12:41
to the last month or two, right? I,
Nestor Aparicio 12:44
okay,
Luke Jones 12:45
based on certain things I’ve heard or gathered, and, like, you know, I’m not.. I can’t say that with 100% certainty, but I never got a sense that that was even remotely on the okay. It sounded like he was gone, like the
Nestor Aparicio 12:57
fact that we’re shining him up in the way we are, Linderbom, I’m talking about, and the fact that he got so much money, and the fact that you and I have watched him play for a couple years, and we liked it, and we, you know, like it didn’t feel to me watching the game, and I know the importance of center, I mean, I’m the guy that when Matt Burke left, it fell apart, like all of that, right? It doesn’t feel like a hall of fame center to me. It didn’t feel Germany Dawson-ish to me. It’s now, now, if we’re gonna go play with Pinter, whoever we’re gonna play with, I’ll feel it, I’ll smell it. But they know more than me, and if Lamar needed him like a binky, they cut Derrick Henry and give him the money, and get a different running back. If they felt that way, they felt like they could live without him. And as it got pricier, Eric decided we’re get a young guard and get that pick back and screw the Raiders. And you know, like, like, whatever that happened in that 568, day period of time there, where they soured on Crosby and wanted the pick back, and knew they were losing Linderbaum, like all of that. That are they as happy in this seat, and I would say Eric, who has no conscience at all about anything, friendship, relationships, media, right and wrong, integrity. I mean, Eric, thumbs down on all of that, Eric DiCos is not a man of integrity. I’ll say that out loud, and I’ll say that’s his face to his wife. Anybody wants to hear it, I’ll say it out loud. But all that being said, as he wakes up today on his vacation in his yacht, wherever he’s off having fun, I think he’s sleeping better today. I think he’s happier with the young guard next year’s draft pick. Crosby’s pissed off in the Raiders. Who cares? That, who cares? Trey Hendrickson looks good, fits the suit a little bit. Matabiki might be coming back now. You, in his mind, Matabiki, he’s.. he knows whether Matabeek is coming back or not. I guess, right? He, but or. Least feels
Luke Jones 15:01
at least has a better idea than we are,
Nestor Aparicio 15:03
right? Yeah, so I think he’s sleeping okay, knowing at the end of all of this, back on that decision day when they were giving Crosby the money, and they were going to do all of this, and Linda Baum was gone, and to your, you’ve interjected, he was already gone, and that was part of it. Now I agree. I agree with that, with the money you’re right. I’m getting it wrong from a timeline of that week of the tampering period. Let’s go back to the tamper. It’s still,
Luke Jones 15:29
it’s still a matter of allocating resources. Well, right. And I
Nestor Aparicio 15:33
think Eric wakes up today, and if he were still talking to me, because I’m such a bad guy, I treated him so bad. If he were still talking to me today, like he normally did, for, you know, the first 30 years we knew each other, he would admit to me over a coffee that he always admitted to me. I mean, our conference, I felt like we had an honest relationship, we did not, but he would say, you know, it’s tough doing this and that, but in the end I’m happy with where we are. Pinter will be okay, or we’re going to get a center, but like we don’t have a lot of money into Max Crosby, and we were worried about his knee, wink wink, or not. And Matt apega was coming back, so that affected what we felt like we needed to do defensively. We still have our draft pick, and let’s be honest, between you and me, Steve likes that concept, that we still have our one next year, in case Lamar breaks his leg, and we’re, we have the fifth pick. So, from an asset management, all that we’re talking about, I think Eric DiCosta is pleased with all of this. In the.. I really do, and I think if the center’s the only thing they’re worried about, that’s better than a lot of other alternatives, especially if Matabiki is coming back, and I’m going to continue to go into that, because I think that’s a huge number three in their payroll, three, four, whatever it is, right? I mean, it’s important that he comes back and plays, or not, and whatever they’re going to do with that, but as you and I sit here right now. I’m expecting him to play 13 games this year, in some way. You know what I mean, like I think they expect him to play. We’ll get to that, but is Eric happy with his moves? I guess that’s what was my drop the mic. I think he’s happy. I think if Eric really would look at this and say, if all that we came out of this was without Crosby, with Hendrickson, with the picks, with you, Juan A, and the center being the thing we have to worry about, and not a $28 million deal for Linder, but then bet Eric can live with this, and I think he can.
Luke Jones 17:34
Agreed, however, you’ve got to play the games, fiscal responsibility can’t be your center,
Nestor Aparicio 17:43
third name, what I mean. Yeah, the center’s got a hole, and that’s
Luke Jones 17:46
where that’s where I look at it and say, look,
Nestor Aparicio 17:49
first and 10, every everything
Luke Jones 17:50
you just laid out has merit. I’m not, I’m not disagreeing with you, even, but just because you make a decision evaluation of a player, your evaluation doesn’t align with reality of what that player ultimately gets, and again, this is not me saying they should have paid Tyler Linderbaum anything close to that, but that was an option
Nestor Aparicio 18:12
for them, and they decided not. You still have to replace
Luke Jones 18:14
them, you still have to replace them, and that’s where I do look at this, and that’s where I do look at the offensive line and say, all right, you’ve upgraded at guard. I think it’s still TBD in the immediate future. How much you’ve upgraded at guard? Because, again, look, Venga could end up being the next Marshall Yonda, but is he going to be that in 2026 We’re gonna find out, right? I mean, he’s he’s a rookie. We’ve seen rookies, not even players that end up being great players, they’re not necessarily great as a rookie. So, you have that. You have John Simpson, who, believe me, is I love him as a person. I think he’s certainly there’s merit to bringing him back into your room, but let’s also not use revisionist history. He was very, very clearly the weak link of this offensive line three years ago, when they were the best team in football in the regular season. So you do still look at it through the lens of understanding how problematic their offensive line was to their operation in 2025 and there’s still an angst that I think is legitimate to say, did we just trade in our guard problems for a center problem that’s going to be just as, if not possibly more prohibited. Yeah, oh yeah,
Nestor Aparicio 19:33
I mean, the center thing to me, especially
Luke Jones 19:35
quarterback, right, because it’s all related. I mean, it’s all related, but, but, yeah, I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 19:38
cadence line noise, yes,
Luke Jones 19:41
it’s just all connected, it’s connected tissue, yeah. So, so that’s where I do look at it from a football standpoint, and I think it’s completely fair to ask that question, but if you are Eric DiCosta, you’re looking at it in terms of allocation, you know, of your resources, and you’re also saying, well, we’d like. Dwayne Ledford, our offensive line coach, we think that is a sizable upgrade for that specific position that we think he is going to help us. They’ve talked, I mean, it is, it is unique territory when a general manager goes out of his way to talk about a position coach on the coaching staff, like Eric DiCosta did early on in free agency, right, that was something he went out of his way to talk about, and look, Dwayne Ledford is highly regarded, I’m not sitting here disputing that, but I think that really speaks to how important his job and how well he does is going to be because it’s not just center, it’s having two new guards, you know, new guards, new guys on this team. I mean, John Simpson was here three years ago, but he’s back, and you’ve got a Ronnie Stanley, who’s a year older, and you’re hoping he stays as healthy as he did the last couple years, but we also know the injury history there. Rosengarden is the safest commodity you have, but you’re hoping that there’s another level he can hit, right? So, but, but there’s also, okay, who’s your backup left tackle, like you mentioned a few minutes ago? Who’s going to be your swing tackle in general? Who are your depth pieces on the O line if you have an injury or two, which, hey, it’s football, right? So there are a lot of question marks there to be answered, and that’s not to say that there aren’t some answers on this roster already. And who’s not to say that Dwayne Letford’s not going to identify someone that was previously a disappointment or an unknown and suddenly they become a meaningful contributor, and who knows, maybe one of these guys is going to be the starting center. I certainly, if I’m looking at it in terms of projecting where I think this team can go, I hope not, because if you’re going to tell me right now that their starting center is already on their roster, I’m already kind of in the territory of that makes me question whether they can win a Super Bowl, you know. I think they can get to the playoffs, but you know that’s a, that’s a big question for me, especially understanding how important that position is and how important that group is to keeping your franchise upright in number eight. So, so there there’s definitely a lot to sort out there, but to go back to your big picture point, in terms of how the off season played out, and allocating your resources, and paying Trey Hendrickson what you pay paid him, ultimately not doing the Crosby deal, ultimately not paying Linderbaum, right? You kind of go down the list of all the other, all the other moves they made, you know, like Jalen Hawkins, their number three safety. I think that’s, I think that, you know, from Jump Street, I kind of said to me that was an underrated signing in terms of what I think Jesse Minter is going to want to do with this defense, with three safety looks, and being able to deploy Hamilton, maybe moving Malachi Starks around a little bit more than they did last year. I mean, I think, well, the genius
Nestor Aparicio 23:02
of Jesse Minter better have value. Oh yeah, no
Luke Jones 23:05
question, no question. And that’s maybe where we transition into Matt a BK. First of all, right off the bat, I remember the last
Nestor Aparicio 23:12
genius around here was Billick, and you know the offense, it was supposed to be this thing. They have pieces, though, defensively to be a top five unit, would you agree, or maybe you don’t feel that way about Roquan Smith anymore? I don’t know.
Luke Jones 23:26
I would say this: they have question marks, and you just named a couple of them. I would still say I look at their Edge Rush group, and obviously you love Hendrickson, you know that’s the captain obvious statement. But is Mike Green really going to take the step that you need them to make, is Zion Young really going to be ready to contribute as a rookie? Is you know, is there another level for Tavius Robinson to hit, or because you do have some cap space, is there a Jadevian Clowney move to be made? And by the way, he’s available, and I’m not just saying him specifically, but someone of that ilk to throw into the mix, and you know, look, I’m guilty of this sentiment in the past as well, but I’m not really worried about getting enough reps for the young guys, right? You know, make them earn it. If Mike Green is really that good, and he’s going to be that kind of player, he’ll force his way onto the field, right? If Zion Young can be the game record that the Ravens clearly, you know, as excited as they were to be able to get him in the second round, then he’ll show it, right? I don’t like this idea of young, you know, early draft picks being on scholarship that, well, you know, we, we can’t go bring in another veteran because, well, what does that mean for his workload, and
Nestor Aparicio 24:41
they’ve done that with second round picks historically around here. The kid from Florida State that played safety 20 years ago, and, and the linebacker was it from UCLA, Arthur, or whatever, like some of these guys that from the minute they came in, you looked at them and said second round draft pick, but getting them on the field, there’s nothing like Rosengarten, you know what I mean. That, like, turned out to be something, but I was
Luke Jones 25:02
kind of out of necessity. I mean, he was like, he needed to do that because I didn’t have anybody else to play. They didn’t have McCarrick, I guess they had McCarrick, but McCarry, I ended up having to play guard, guard, so yeah, but, but yeah, I mean, I, I guess that for me the Mata BK pieces is still just so huge for that group’s upside. You asked me if this could be a top five defense. If they have Namdi Matabikake at least somewhere in the vicinity of the player he was pre neck neck injury, then yeah, absolutely, because you’ve got him rushing from the inside, you’ve got Clays Campbell, who isn’t going to be a 50 snap a game kind of guy, but I think can still make an impact in a rotational kind of role. You’ve got Trey Hendrickson, obviously, I mean, that’s why you paid him $100 million so you’ve got some pieces there. And then you get to the second level of the defense. Okay, yeah, I have some questions about Roquan Smith at this point. I do, like, I just do from a value standpoint, not that he’s like, “Oh, he’s not a starting caliber player, nothing like that, but is he a 20 plus million dollar linebacker? And also, is he going to get you beat being on the field?
Nestor Aparicio 26:11
Maybe not. I’m speed wise, speed kills in this league, dude. Some scout back comes out, eats him up, a tight end’s got to step on him all day long. He’s not a guy trying to get to the quarterback, or going to get to the quarterback, can he get to the Keaton Mitchell running away from him? I, you know, like that would be a terrible thing if he becomes something that other teams feel like they could expose. Well, as the old fart who can’t do it anymore, versus,
Luke Jones 26:37
well, he’s not old, but, but there’s. we’ve seen that over the last year. I thought he was
Nestor Aparicio 26:43
going to the Hall of Fame. They dealt the day they dealt for him, and he’s going, he’s very been very not a difference maker, good, good player, solid player, but, but,
Luke Jones 26:52
but, yeah. I mean, I think
Nestor Aparicio 26:54
he brings that attitude, and you know, he’s a talker, and this, and all, like, I just thought I thought he might have more Ray Lewis in him, and I think he.. I don’t want to be disrespectful, I want to compare him to something, but he’s not Ray Lewis. Let’s start with that. Nobody is, but.. but at least that I don’t notice him enough, and I haven’t noticed him enough. I don’t even.. in the beginning.. I don’t know, he’s never.
Luke Jones 27:19
look, you know that I was not someone that rubber stamped the contract, right? You know, like, oh, we did like the
Nestor Aparicio 27:27
trade, we love the trade.
Luke Jones 27:28
No, I’m not. And let me be clear, that wasn’t me saying that it was a disaster or anything like that either. You just know how I felt from a positional value standpoint, and all of that. And
Nestor Aparicio 27:36
if you’re going to make the trade, you had to get in the money. Let’s talk about that’s part of it, right? Yeah,
Luke Jones 27:41
yeah, but you know, and the
Nestor Aparicio 27:43
need at the time was acute. You would agree,
Luke Jones 27:46
yeah, sure. Because Patrick Queen, you know, where
Nestor Aparicio 27:49
else you’re gonna get a lottery pick when you’re the Ravens, and you’re, and you got Lamar, and you’re making the playoffs over here, so to get that caliber of player was, you know, and not a damaged version of him or a guy who had all, he was, he just played for a crappy organization, that’s literally it, right? Well,
Luke Jones 28:05
or yes, but is it possible now that we’re a few years into Roquan Smith here in Baltimore, is it possible some of the things that we, that you were just saying about Roquan, maybe Chicago saw that, and that’s why they weren’t worried about making sure he was the next Michael, Mike Singletary, or Dick Butkus, right? Meaning, like, right. So, I don’t know. Again, I think part of this is also, you’re hoping that just Chicago’s like the village idiots for getting rid of him, right? At that, but, like, why, why are they giving, giving up on him? Well, I don’t know. All this money, four years in, Luke was more on point than Eric DiCosta was. I would say, in this particular case, because we’re asking about him right now, as is he a liability for the defense going into the year, or is he not? I don’t know. I hope he’s not. If he’s a liability, that’s problematic. And if Madame BK is not going to play, that’s problematic. I mean, I think liability is too strong, but I think the point, and the bigger problem for me is he’s being paid like a star, is he playing like a star, right? And Marlon Hupre is in that same exact conversation at this point, right, with what he’s making, and, and you know, the player he was last year, now the year before he was really, really good, so, but I think the Jesse Minter factor, and you know, not just him, but the entire coaching staff, they brought in there, is some of that at work, where you’re hoping, like Roquan Smith looked really good when Mike McDonald was their defensive coordinator, right, when, when Roquan arrived midway through the 22 season, I mean, he was dynamic, and in 23 maybe he wasn’t white as dynamic as maybe he was over those final eight games in 22 but he was, he was absolutely a Pro Bowl inside linebacker, right? I mean, there’s no question about that, I’m not even me, as someone who. So you know, at least question the contract a little bit at the time. I’m not going to sit here and diminish how good he was in 22 and 23 So the thought, as we’ve said all along, with Jesse Minter, him kind of being the soft mulligan for Mike McDonald, right, for Mike McDonald leaving and going to Seattle and doing what he’s done since then, winning a Super Bowl with the Seahawks. So, the idea is, can Jesse Minter make these guys better? And, and maybe to this point, this is where I bring up the name that we haven’t mentioned yet. Who is their best player on defense? Is there another level for Kyle Hamilton? And I don’t mean that necessarily in terms of saying Kyle Hamilton needs to play better. I mean that in terms of is there another level in terms of how you deploy him and how you use him, and if we’re going to talk in terms of Jesse Minter being the superior defensive mind to Zach Orr and the and the coaching staff from last year, is there a way to deploy Kyle Hamilton? Are there ways, not a way, because he’s going to do a lot of different things, that’s part of the talent and the beauty of Kyle Hamilton, but are there ways to deploy him to make him even a greater impact player, right, to make him even more dynamic, to get to get him in a position to get his hands on the football even more often, to get a couple more interceptions, to get a couple more sacks, to force a few more fumbles, right. The kind of things that are just chaotic, right. We’ve talked about this idea a lot. I mean, going back to Dean Peas being their defense coordinator, and there was a time when Wink Martindale took over where they were doing this a little bit more, and they’ve had their years where they’ve done it, but I will absolutely take the defense that has that dynamic factor in terms of splash plays with forcing turnovers.
Luke Jones 31:56
Right, I will live with giving up some yards and giving up some first downs, and even giving up a few more points here and there, give me that defense that can be dynamic to turn the ball over and put my offense on the 15 yard line, right, to steal an extra possession or two. I mean, I will take that over the group that just is number one in total defense, but never turns the ball over, right? Never never gets the ball for your team in plus territory, so you know, can there be more of that? Well, I think you know some of the guys we just mentioned, you know, whether it’s Matt a big, a being healthy up front, Trey Hendrickson coming off, you know, rushing off the edge, Kyle Hamilton playing at mostly the second level, right? I mean, we expect he’s going to be in that nickel spot, he’s going to be in that dime linebacker spot way more than him being deep in a too deep, you know, cover to alignment. So those are the ways that you kind of look at this defense and say, okay, one, it just needs to be better. Period. I mean, it was just, it was bad last year, but can they be more consistent, and can they be more dynamic? And I think that’s where you’re hoping, Jesse Minter and Anthony Weaver, you know, I want to, I want to give Weave his credit, credit as well, but we know Minter is going to be calling the defense, so can it be more dynamic in that way, and yeah, you are looking for a better version of Roquan Smith, you better get a better version of Marlon Humphrey, right, because we’re talking about Marlin potentially being a cap casualty, and we’re talking about him at the very least taking a pay cut to this point, at least at anything that’s been documented with the NFLPA, or you know, because all that stuff comes out in terms of when you redo contracts, I mean, like that becomes record after a while, but to this point, I mean, they haven’t done anything with Marlins contract, which I’ve been very surprised by. So, if they’re not going to do anything with him, and if he is going to be on this team, which that’s my assumption at this point, then can you get a more dynamic, better version of Marlon Humphrey again, as he look, he’s in a contract year, he’s got a lot to play for this year. So, yeah, to go back to your original question, do I think this can be a top five defense? Yeah, I’ll say at the very least it better be a top 10 defense at worst. If not, then that’s where you go back to the offense with a lot of new moving parts, offensive line health of your quarterback, Derrick Henry, another year older, right? I mean all those things, where you know, I kind of look at this, you know, two years ago when they were setting all the records, you know, at Lamar having an MVP-like season, even though Josh Allen technically won it, but you know you could, they were able to survive the defense having hiccups and not being as good, and all of that, but if Jesse Minter doesn’t have this group playing at a really high level defensively. That’s when I do have a little, you know, not like grave concern. Let me be clear about that, but then I do start to question, because you know, until I see who’s playing center, and until I see how that offensive line performs, until I see what the new tight ends look like behind Mark Andrews, who look, Mark Andrews, like they need to bounce back from him. Yeah, we had to talk about him, right. We talked about contracts and money,
Nestor Aparicio 35:22
and, and Isaiah likely, and they drafted another per like
Luke Jones 35:26
point is there. He
Nestor Aparicio 35:27
hasn’t trended well in two years, really, right.
Luke Jones 35:30
So, point is that I’m making is there are a few more questions on offense than we’re accustomed. Well, Derek Henry’s age
Nestor Aparicio 35:38
and Ronnie H. Stanley’s age, I mean, it’s
Luke Jones 35:40
just,
Nestor Aparicio 35:41
and even Lamar’s age, given the run, is coming out of his game, yeah, and the running part of his game, and what the strength of his game was five years ago, and what it’s going to need to be right here, right now, what it’s going to
Luke Jones 35:51
look like, and realistically speaking, I wouldn’t
Nestor Aparicio 35:54
love the Ravens as much as I do to win the division if the other teams weren’t so impotent, right, like I’m looking at the Ravens and thinking, you know, I mean, they’re gonna, they’re gonna win double digit games because of their schedule, because of the strength of the, because of the just all, there’s a lot of reasons I think that they’re going to excel this year. It’s not because I think the old guys are, are like, if you start giving me Derrick Henry, Ronnie Stanley, Mark Andrews, Roquan Smith, Marlon Umphrey, I’ll give you five reasons that, that those won’t be the reasons they win, unless I mean, I don’t know what those five guys are, and they’re all going to the hall, are really rich, and they’ve all made a lot of money, and Henry’s going to the Hall of Fame, but what they are right here, right now, would be looking for you and me at Bassett, Eflin, I’m just trying to,
Luke Jones 36:41
I mean, it’s better than that, but I understand the point you made,
Nestor Aparicio 36:44
guys on the back nine, or maybe the back two or three,
Luke Jones 36:47
I think the better way to frame it, more so than that, they’re not on that,
Nestor Aparicio 36:50
they’re all way on the back nine, they’re on the all five of them are on the back, back of, so who’s trying to get one year,
Luke Jones 36:56
you were saying Henry,
Nestor Aparicio 36:57
Henry,
Luke Jones 36:57
Henry, Henry
Nestor Aparicio 36:58
Andrews, Stanley on one side, all right, other side, Roquan and Humphrey, okay, and Matt, throw Matt a BK in there, too young, and all that huge question mark as to what we’re gonna get out of him, and then on top of that, what their draft picks, I’m talking about the secondary guys, I’m talking about the two secondary guys the last couple years that they really need to step up and be, you know, a Starks, McAllister. They need to be elite, you know, the back end needs to be elite here. If you’re gonna go see Joe Burrow, I mean,
Luke Jones 37:29
that’s fair, but because we spent
Nestor Aparicio 37:31
so much time talking about the pass rush, so on the back end’s got to be automatic, because we drafted for it, right? Literally,
Luke Jones 37:36
I’ll frame what you just said about those five guys, or that group of players like this, if you’re needing all of those guys or expecting all of those guys to play at their highest level at their respective stages of their career, I think that you’re looking for trouble. I think if you have a Derrick Henry’s got to
Nestor Aparicio 37:55
play well, but so Stanley,
Luke Jones 37:56
I mean Henry especially, Stanley’s
Nestor Aparicio 37:58
got to play well, Henry’s got to play well,
Luke Jones 38:00
they need one, can’t be a,
Nestor Aparicio 38:02
you know, a liability, and Marlon, I don’t think they’re counting, they’re not worried, and Mark, they
Luke Jones 38:07
need Marlin to be decent. Andrew’s just
Nestor Aparicio 38:09
been a binky for, for, for Lamar from the beginning, so if he can’t do those things anymore, and it just puts a lot, it
Luke Jones 38:16
puts a lot of pressure on Zay Flowers, then, man, and it puts
Nestor Aparicio 38:19
a lot of pressure on your 29 year old play caller, too. Sure, no question if the tight end’s not going to be what Kelsey, what you know, what the Binky was for Brady, what just the Binky for the quarterback, and Binky meaning he’s got to get the ball 70 to 90 times, you know, in and convert some third downs and catch the ball and be red hot, and like all of those things that he was so good at for so long, so
Luke Jones 38:44
yeah, I mean, I think, I mean, let’s face it, the Andrews extension, I mean, I think it would be strong to say it was panned, but I think a lot of us really looked at that, like, really, you know what I mean, like it was more confusing than anything else, I think, but yeah, you look at his numbers, I mean, he played 17 games last year, Nestor had 48 catches for 422 yards and five touchdowns. Now he doesn’t have to be 1000 yard tight end. Let me be clear, like, we don’t, you don’t need to see the 2021 version of Mark Andrews, but you know, are what are you going to get from Hipmar? What are you going to get from Cuevas, the two tight ends they just drafted that are, you know, and I get it, they have Durham Smyth as well, but he’s more of a blocker, but they need Mark Andrews to be, you know, if I’m looking at his career numbers, he needs to be somewhere in the neighborhood, let’s say at least where he was in like 2020 which was 58 catches, 701 yards, seven touchdowns. If he’s not at least somewhere in that neighborhood, man, unless one of these, unless one or two of these rookie wide tight end slash wide receivers that they just drafted, you know that. Of that group of four, unless a couple of those guys are like, wow, like, man, they’re really good as rookies, then boy, that really puts you in the position that, man, Zay Flowers is this entire passing game, which, don’t get me wrong, I think very highly of Zay Flowers as a player, you know, I, he’s the number one receiver, he maybe he’s not a the conventional way that you thought about a number one receiver five years ago, but everything about him speaks to other than gotta hold on to the football, you know, the fumbles cut, you better cut that out, but everything else about his playmaking ability, I’ll sign off on, but you don’t want to be in a position where he’s essentially what Mark Andrews was six or seven years ago, which was the entire passing game, right? You don’t want it to just be now, okay? It’s not Mark Andrews anymore, but now it’s a flowers. You want it to, you want some complimentary pieces behind Zay, like Zay is going to be 1000 yard receiver if he’s healthy. He’s been that the last two years, but you need a couple other guys that are going to be 700 yards, right? right somewhere in that neighborhood, a couple guys that are going to be legitimate red zone threats for you, because that’s not really, you know, Zay is not going to catch a jump ball in the end zone, obviously that’s not what he’s, you know, that does, you know, his kind of vision of what you’re going to make him to be, but, but yeah, there is a little more, you know, what the heck are you going to get from Rashad Bateman this year? Like, well, we mentioned
Nestor Aparicio 41:28
his name, right? So, like,
Luke Jones 41:29
but, but someone had, like, someone’s got to be a complimentary receiver for them, and if it’s not Bateman, well, is it going to be Jacobi Lane? Is it going to be Surratt? Don’t get me wrong, I think they’re nice picks. I didn’t disagree with those picks, but you’re talking about third and fourth round guys, man. If you’re, if you’re absolutely counting on them to be an important part of your passing game, boy, that’s that’s uncomfortable territory until they show they can do it. So, the greater point we’re making here, and this goes back to the defense. When you asked me about them being a top five defense, there are more question marks with their offense. And let me be clear, that doesn’t mean I think the offense is going to be bad. Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, two names you can cite that tell you this offense will be good, but is it going to be great? Is it going to be consistent? Is it going to be elite? Man, there are a lot of other questions to sift through center O line wide receiver depth, tight end depth. So, and how about the fact? Oh yeah, what do you have behind Derek Henry if, heaven forbid, something happens to him, right? So they’re, they’re, you know, but because you know, Justice Hills, another year older, okay, you’ve got a couple young backs, Keaton Mitchell’s not here anymore, so there’s not that, you know, at least perceived home run upside that he could provide, whether they really believed in that or not. So, yeah, I think you want this defense to, to really be firing at a high level, because there are a couple more questions about this offense than in recent years, and that’s the 29 you know, the 30 year old offensive coordinator they have who has never called play, he’s 30 now, he’s 30 now, yeah, we gotta stop, okay, he’s 30, and let me be clear, every, you know, the couple press conferences, and some of the miked up stuff that you know that the team website puts out, and how the players have talked about him. I think there are reasons to be excited about Declan Doyle. You know, I, he could end up being a rock star that is a head coach 12 months from now, but it’s a lot of new that you’re navigating, and a lot of change that you’re navigating on the offensive side of the ball, and yeah, Lamar is going to cover up for a lot of that, and Derek Henry can cover up for a lot of that, but you know there’s covering up, and then there’s thriving. If this offense is going to thrive in 2026 yeah, they’ve got some questions that they’re going to definitely have to find answers for, whether we’re talking about during training camp or, more realistically, the first six weeks or so of the regular season, you know, are are any of these young guys ready to step up immediately, or will they be like a lot of mid round picks where you kind of say, hey, might take them a year, right? I mean, Dennis Pitto wasn’t, you know, Todd Heap wasn’t a rock star as a rookie, Dennis Pitto wasn’t that as a rookie, right? I mean, Mark Andrews came on late in his rookie year, but you know, that’s that’s a lot to try to, you know, to try to figure out, so just a lot of new, and let me be clear, anyone who’s listening right now, this is not Luke Jones saying that he doesn’t think the Ravens are going to be very good. I think they’re the best team in this division. I think they’re going to make the playoffs, you know. I think Cincinnati.. I’m not a big believer in Pittsburgh, I’m just not at this point. I mean, we’re going to see maybe Mike McCarthy has a renaissance, you know, at his latest stop, but.
Luke Jones 44:58
I think the Steelers are what the Steelers, at best, what they’ve been in recent years, which is, you know, they can take advantage at the Ravens and the Bengals, you know, are self-inflicted mistakes and all that, but, but I, you know, I like this Ravens team, but I do, there’s a lot of new to navigate here, and the few question marks that they have to me are are significant enough, where I am taking some pause before you just ask me, are they going to be a bona fide Super Bowl contender? I need to see some of these questions answered to a satisfactory level before I’m ready to sign off on that, but still think they’re going to be good, and I’ll go back to my original point, you know, I’ll leave you with this. As we were talking about being a month out from training camp, I am really interested. You know, I think this is a really interesting, fascinating time to be a Ravens fan, to see what this is going to look like, right? I mean, you know, as much as it’s easy to just kind of brush off John Harbaugh on, and how this era finished, and you had to
Nestor Aparicio 46:00
get rid of him, whatever it is. This is going to be different. They won
Luke Jones 46:03
a lot of football games for a long time, and just because you hire a new guy doesn’t mean that it’s automatically going to be better. We’re seeing that right now, Alberna, so we’re going to find out. And I want
Nestor Aparicio 46:15
my money back.
Luke Jones 46:16
I will also say John Arball and that coaching staff, they’re gone. I’ll also say the onus is on the players now. You guys better step up. Mark Andrews, John Harbaugh didn’t coach you to fumble in Buffalo. John Harbaugh didn’t coach, say Flowers to fumble going across the goal line against Kansas City two years ago, right? So, let’s see if the coaching staff was holding this group back then. Let’s see it, right? Let’s see a dynamic coaching staff, and let’s see players that are ready to rise to the occasion, not just in September, October, November, December, but ultimately in January. We’re a long way off from that, but that work commences or continues, resumes a month from now. Here’s Lou Jones. He will be at Oriole
Nestor Aparicio 47:00
Park for a couple of days until the Orioles go out to Cincinnati and go westward. I will be at the Major League Baseball All-Star game in two weeks. Luke’s going to be on vacation, running around the New Jersey with Joe Flacco, hopefully, and I’m having some fun here. But it will be football season, more month out. Enjoyed the conversation to kind of reset things we haven’t talked about in a couple weeks. We might not talk about it much more for a couple more weeks. If there’s any breaking news, you’ll get it first on the WNSD tech service. That’s all brought to you by Coal Roofing and Gordian Energy. Big thanks to all of our partners, including those who put us out on the Maryland Crab Cake Tour. No full dates right now. There’s a full schedule to be out for July and into August as I’m getting our Crab Cake Tour set. It’s all brought to you by the Maryland Lottery, in conjunction with GBMC and Farnham and Dermer, they are the comfort guys. It’s hot out. If you need them, they’re there. 410 367771 Reach away, fast serves, especially on days like today when it’s hot. As Hades out there, we can only hope that the Orioles get as hot as they do. I’m Nestor, he’s Luke. We are WNST AM 1570 Towson, Baltimore, and we never stop talking Baltimore positive.
