With the Ravens returning from a lackluster win over the Cardinals in Arizona, the men of purple finally get three home games in a row. Dennis Koulatsos and Nestor discuss the roots of family, good offense and how to win November.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
ravens, week, game, derrick henry, running, baltimore, year, great, quan, euler, lamar jackson, team, play, ball, bengals, junction, abby, greenville, sunday, roots
SPEAKERS
Dennis Koulatsos, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome back, WN S T tassel Baltimore and Baltimore positive for getting America crabcakes. We’re back out on the road presented by the Maryland lottery conjunction with our friends at window nation. Well, I have a full slate of crabcakes. I’m going to be double crabcake in this month and next month, because I sort of took a little downtime around my birthday, and I just got away. So I’m getting back. I feel like I’m fresh. I feel like I had a bye week. And then you know, I watched the Oilers, run around and those jerseys and sit and watch the football on the couch all day I was gonna be out in Phoenix I was at Las Vegas last weekend, I was denied credentials by a longtime friend of mine from the Arizona Cardinals PR department. So I thought maybe there’s a chance but I got onto the couch and in the aftermath of all of it. You can read my column next up at the Baltimore positive and that is Colossus is going to join us now he will be here on Thursday, back on the beat from a three and five and getting Sunday Sports force together for the Seattle Seahawks to come to town this week that I look at this ravens team after the lions game last week, and we spoke about that track meet and how that went and how it wasn’t going to be like that every week. I want to see them be a little bit more final in being a one and 17 and a backup quarterback than they were on Sunday. It was a choppy effort. I mean, a victory is a victory we’ll take it six and do with the turn. But seeing the Bengals get a little better. I just I want to see consistency. Lamar talked about that last week, and in his podium on Wednesday, consistency. That’s all we saw on Sunday didn’t
Dennis Koulatsos 01:32
know but I felt it was to be expected Nestor, they’ve traveled a lot. they’ve logged over 13,000 miles the last few weeks. You’re a world traveler, you know that what I’m in distance can do to your body, right your sleep patterns in between that they’ve had to lift weights and go to meetings and recover and go to the trainer’s room and whatnot. So to me it was it was a predictable, choppy effort. The game, of course, wasn’t as close as the final score indicated, based on the late rally by the Cardinals. But to me, it was it was look just like Al Davis used to say, just win baby.
Nestor Aparicio 02:08
Well, in this gambling era where I’m watching this and i By the way, I was eight and 686 and one on one picks. I’m way above 500 a year with their friends in Hollywood casino and I’ll get to that. But it was a nine and a half point spread. I looked at I thought I had the Ravens all day and like then all of a sudden, eight, six, and one doesn’t sound nearly as good as nine, five and one, you know, for me on a week. And it is amazing that you can look at it and say, Well, I thought they would kind of play down or whatever. But this is a tough trip. And they’re a bad team. And you go into that empty dome. And you hear the couple 1000 raving fans that are there and whatnot. But it was asleep your effort. And I think defensively they’re outstanding. Offensively, we still continue to say they have a ways to go and identity and all of that. I don’t know what their identity is, I know what it needs to be it needs to be run the ball, get the ball to mark Andrews, these are the things that work for them. And that first down efficiency of getting into a good down and distance and second down avoids third down, right. And Lamar not running and then running and then not running and then running. And then they’re nine points up and he’s running draw plays in the fourth quarter. Come on, you gotta have a better play than that. If you’re when you’re up nine points in the fourth quarter on the road with your $260 million quarterback. I mean, some of this has been very disjointed. And I know everyone wants to give the purple Halo to Todd Monken because he’s not Greg Roman. I don’t know I’m eight weeks into this and it doesn’t look like anything. Um, the defense is the better side of the ball as predicted here. Back in July and August.
Dennis Koulatsos 03:49
I think in a game like this Nestor from a coaching perspective, when accomplish two things, of course, job one is to win the game. Job two is to leave the field the game with no major injuries when you’re playing such a substandard opponent, as the Arizona Cardinals. And I think based on those, those top two criteria. I would say that Sunday was a success for the Ravens. And even Yes, choppy. Yes. Lots of question. The bowl call like you said, I couldn’t believe they were running Lamar Jackson with three to four minutes left in the game. between the tackles. I thought that was inadvisable. But I think coming out of there with no major injuries and a victory. That’s what you want when you’re playing an inferior opponent.
Nestor Aparicio 04:34
Derrick Henry, I mean, on the other end of the city either happened or not. You’re you’re you’re down to see now I think for the organization there. You know, Eric gets his man according to the cover of Baltimore magazine that I just saw. The RO Quan Smith thing has rocked the franchise. I mean, what is this franchise if they don’t make the RO Quan Smith deal last year? What is this defense right now? I mean,
Dennis Koulatsos 04:58
and they were pundants Nestor that didn’t like the trade, didn’t like the money, the guaranteed money offered to row Quan Smith and didn’t like the fact he was off ball linebacker right to make a big deal out of that. So to me if Eric, the castle makes a splash play, I like to I like to see him do something along the offensive line or the defensive line and keep the guy around for two or three or four years versus just getting a short term rental in the form of a Derrick Henry.
Nestor Aparicio 05:28
Well, if it’s short term rental, that’s going to run the ball for you 15 to 18 times a game. And Dennis if they add Derrick Henry, I mean, honestly, if they if Derrick Henry’s on the field running around, I hope he has an oiler Jersey oh, by the way, but if he’s on the field Sunday, they’re the Super Bowl favorite for me and I and we’ll talk about homes and Buffalo and all you know whatever but if they had that kind of running back and I and it’s weird, it’s middle of the season, giving up the 55th pick in the draft and you know, whatever it would be for them add of character to rent a player you know, rent a play or rent a player is gonna help you win a Super Bowl and I’ve talked at length about this and I don’t know that it’s going to be anything you’re going to hear over on the fan or with the unsophisticated crowd but the notion that the salary cap things come in for them on Lamar and that Mata became gonna be here next year. Gina stones plan is way off the team right now Patrick Queens already long gone cow Hamilton’s gonna come in and want some money soon because he’s that kind of player i mean he’s the kind of player you you got to go sign and he’s gonna get to the market make a lot of money. Um, you know, Luke talked about the left guard position, maybe upgrade and I’ll hear all that and there’s real subtle moves and they’re all good. I think they will do something and maybe by the time people hear this we’ll have another pass rusher was something like that, that that’s their nature and trying to improve it to Eric is it’s you Steve is it’s the way that it’s why they got ro Quan Smith on the trading deadline last year. When the bears are thrown in the towel. There’s so many teams that stank that have players that could be looked good and purple, but to me nothing would make them better than making the running bring Mark Ingram back from five years ago and put them in here go get put JK Dobbins back together and bring him in here. I’m not against Gus Edwards I think we see what Hill is and as much as horrible these press conferences are a joke you know, he’s talking about how much we love the guy who’s on the developmental squad when he doesn’t have running backs that are getting the job done. The running game to me worries me concerns me it does and Lamar having to be the running back when they’re behind by six points in the fourth quarter. That worries me and Luke and I have gone back and forth looks like I’m so much more concerned about the passing game the passing game the passing game and I’m like if you get the running game right I’m convinced the passing game benefits from that
Dennis Koulatsos 07:54
let’s all complimentary we’re not we know that one feeds off of the other a strong running game sets up play action pass among other things but look at this Derrick Henry upgrade over Gus Edwards of course he is. The question is it’s right player right price. What kind of a price are will Titans be ready to let Derrick Henry walk that and so does he make the team better? Absolutely. He does. He’s a game changer just like Lamar Jackson, but I don’t expect that to happen. But I would hope some trench help either offensive line or defensive line would help this team.
Nestor Aparicio 08:28
I said Mark Andrews is like you know the cowbell in the Saturday night I need more of it. I need I need more Mark Andrews and
Dennis Koulatsos 08:36
how about Michael Pierce? What Oh, the guys he just had a career gained and he
Nestor Aparicio 08:40
yeah and I always liked Michael Pierce he has a great countenance about him i i You know a lot of these guys you know Andrews does everything he can do to not smile because he’s got all that ball coach ish in him and his agent and his you know his college coach and like all that yeah, I’ve always found like appears to be jovial and I love seeing that kind of guy in front of a Ravens having a big day but he’s been around for a while got picked on about his way got you know, out of shape like all that but motivated and motivated to play well and still enjoying the game. You know, I think that was one of the things I’ve seen a lot of players of that size of that stature they make some money it’s hard it’s hard you know I mean it’s certain guys like Sir Gusa love the game reminded me sir goose like wreck and play yeah,
Dennis Koulatsos 09:25
yeah, he he really jumped off the tape. And also you have to like the Ravens chances now they have three straight home games. Seahawks, browns and Bengals. What a great Trifecta and for some homecooking ravens Of course now up to games in the division with the Steelers that are Browns losing Bengals looks like they’re getting it back together again, but they’re four and three, but they’re still lagging behind behind the Ravens.
Nestor Aparicio 09:48
How would nine to sound
Dennis Koulatsos 09:51
not to sound would sound amazing. And they have a chance to put themselves in a position to be able to get the nine and two and the look out And to keep getting better and to keep getting some cohesiveness on both sides of the ball particularly offense, it’s still a work in process with one consistent and the consistencies of the offense not take care care of the football to me still present your biggest problem moving forward.
Nestor Aparicio 10:15
Well, I mean, not take care of the football and and not being in great down in distance. If you fail passing on first down, you know, like, second intense really bad for them. I mean, I like second and two, I like second and three and I like when they can run the football with that kind of authority and and they got run on a little bit, you know, in the game out in Arizona that early in the game. For me concerns at this point, they are a Super Bowl contender, Dennis, right? I mean, very much. So. I mean, we could sit here and make a case and chiefs last. Bills are so so you’ve made the case. There are real Super Bowl contender I want to see not perfect football like lions. But to your point, can you play a game with less penalties? Can you play a game where there’s maybe one turnover and it’s not on the lopsided side of the field? Can you make the field goals you attempt 53 yard field goal in a dome. In that environment. We used to think that’s a chip shot. That was like a 35 yard field goal for other kickers and when you don’t put points on the board, when third down, gets gets bogged down inside the red zone and you’re kicking field goals in general. There just been some warning signs over the last month about the offense. Even though it all came to life last week. I want to see that against the one in 17. Not that not to steamroll, but just more consistency.
Dennis Koulatsos 11:42
Well, I get a chance to play a bit of a mayor in the cells in the form of the Seahawks, even Pete Carroll. There’s some similarity between Pete Carroll and John Harbaugh. They both love hard nosed defense, they both love running the ball. Both teams would rather run the ball first than throw the ball. Gonna be as tough strong physical matchup for the Ravens at home to Sunday and then of course the Browns that won some revenge of what happened down in Cleveland and the Bengals are the Bengals Of course they’ll also want to extract extract a pound of flesh from the ravens and in attempt to catch up with them but it just sets up a great great homestand the next three weeks look forward to
Nestor Aparicio 12:18
well yeah and winnable games and really strange scheduling with flying out to the West Coast twice flying out to the west coast at Christmas week and they’re gonna have a short game on the begin this season. The last three games, they’re gonna need some padding, it’s gonna you know, those are going to be three you look at and say you know, that’s gonna be tough to win three in a row at the end of the season. This is the time to put that padding in there. Take the end of division you end the division these next three weeks if they can play well and I like you. There is healthy knock on wood as they’ve ever been at Halloween for me.
Dennis Koulatsos 12:55
Yeah, they really haven’t as long as number eights on Friday, they certainly have a great chance of winning Nestor he has more weapons at his disposal. Good to see Rashard Bateman I thought look pretty good run running the ball. I was surprised by his explosion. His he was just really explosive and obj is getting a couple of PI’s again he’s good for that at least when he’s not catching the ball. So it isn’t working practical process in the offensive end of the field for the Ravens but there are some encouraging signs intermixed with the with the warning signs as well.
Nestor Aparicio 13:25
Alright, so look, you you’ve been a little under the weather. You spent the weekend on the couch watching the Terps lose and watching all the redzone machinations. Why did you make the Oilers throwback, you’re an old school Euler guy, you got an Earl Campbell Jersey in the wall. I have a closet full of Euler stuff around here. And you know, I’m the guy that’s always proven out on eBay looking for weird Houston Oilers stuff that might appeal to me trying to find like an old starter jacket, you know, to wear because it’s fun. And then they go out in the field and they wear them on Sunday. And it felt it felt 30 To me, for Baltimore. And you know, you’re a great Lemoore it felt like the Texans should be wearing those jerseys. If somebody’s going to wear them even though the Addams family owns them. Maybe they can make the money off of it. But like that, man, that’s Houston stuff like what are you doing? I
Dennis Koulatsos 14:14
know, look, I just tried to picture myself, Lamar Jackson and occults Jersey Oro Quan Smith in the Colts uniform, and I cringed, it just doesn’t work. Visually just doesn’t work. And this this experiment with the old throwback Euler jerseys and now Dan Passerini, Earl Campbell, Robert Brazil. Those are the guys that we picture in uniform, not the current version of the Tennessee Titans.
Nestor Aparicio 14:38
Yeah, all of it made me itchy er than I thought clean on a couple months ago. And Joshua and I go Wareham, and it’s gonna be controversial. And I’m like, and I’m like, Nah, man, it’s your boy was putting on Slack. And then I saw the Euler markings all around the endzone. And I’m like, Come on, man. You know, nobody in tennis. He should be excited about that low you know, I
Dennis Koulatsos 15:02
would agree with you there now I think it’s probably the one time thing and it should not do it again. They shouldn’t repeat it. I thought it was a massive flop.
Nestor Aparicio 15:09
Yeah that’s sort of the whole I mean it’s such a beautiful Jersey though it really is. I mean, and that love is good. They’re not going to ditch it they want in it they’re going to wear it again. Okay, I mean, they want in it
Dennis Koulatsos 15:22
they wouldn’t want to know an old uniforms as well. I don’t think the uniforms have anything to do with their victory to be frank with you.
Nestor Aparicio 15:28
Are you quoting the other great Greek George Michael and saying sometimes the clothes do not make the man is that what you’re saying?
Dennis Koulatsos 15:34
That’s exactly right. So not make the man that’s Miss Kalonzo
Nestor Aparicio 15:37
is here. He’s always I got the right clothes on I got I got my coons logo on he’s armed security Boulevard. He will help you get into a newer pre loved car can certainly help service your car and do all that stuff. You’ll also be on Thursday for three and the five driving home. And if you’re on the WNS, D tech service, the minute the Orioles make that big trade with now Kastler Molins or whatever they’re gonna do. You’ll get all that breaking news and all that has gone well as well. So Seahawks this week, and browns and Bengals and watching all these watching Geno Smith, wondering who the Browns are seeing the Chiefs lose seeing the Cowboys look great seeing the Redskin or excuse me commanders hanging around with the Eagles for a period of time. I mean, the leaks a little wacky, it really I mean, and I there’s no great team, that’s for sure.
Dennis Koulatsos 16:26
Again, it underscores a statement that is a week the week League, which is one week does not have any bearing clearly on the ensuing week. So I think that’s what makes it fun. Nestor you talked about parity, Pete Rozelle great rosellas dream was come true. Any Given Sunday, anyone can be taken down right. And that’s what we want to see competitive matches that come right down to the wire and most of these games that’s what they come down to the final the final minute.
Nestor Aparicio 16:52
So I a little off sports here because you’ve done some traveling this year. And you have talked to me about your, your special island in Greece, where your family’s from and your heritage is from? What does it mean to you when you get on a plane and go over and seen and be in places your grandparents ate food as I did this last week? And you know, I don’t have like a family heritage or history. My Venezuelan family left in the early 80s. I’ve been over there a couple times. It’s certainly not a safe place to go. I had a couple of childhood memories there that I know my way around. I went as a as a young adult 3035 years ago. So I would find places that I ate with my dad or did I really don’t have any Mojo. Did you ever go back to South America chasing the Rolling Stones up to Ecuador, or to you know, Guam or something like that, but my father’s from Scranton, Pennsylvania, and never talked much about it other than being really poor and being hungry and the stock market crashing in 1929. But my mother was from Abby Ville, South Carolina and all of her life. If you just said Abby Ville she’d start to sniffle and get emotional and want to go home and. And in the 70s when I was a kid, my parents and I, because they never drove. We would take the Trailways bus every summer. I would take the Trailways bus from Baltimore through Richmond through Charlotte through Greensboro, through, you know, into Greenville, or into Columbia and my aunt, my uncles who are 100 years old, then came and picked us up and drove us back to this little hometown. And my dad and I were trapped for like seven 810 days. Sometimes we could get the Orioles game on PHL I definitely remember that out on the porch in the summer 7778 7980 But I was there every year if I could find wrestling magazines at that time. Did it. I remember telling you about going with my aunt to the wrestling matches in Greenwood. Dennis. I drove there last week I went to the place that I went to the wrestling matches. I went to my mom’s hometown and Abby Ville I saw the Confederate statues. Her grandfather was a Confederate, not a Confederate, the Confederate hero in the hometown, like statue, all Confederate the Moors rifles 1863 all of that. And I went and went to my mother’s homeland for eight hours. somehow some way she was there. It was weird.
Dennis Koulatsos 19:21
Nice. Nice. Like you get the vibes when you go back to your roots, don’t you?
Nestor Aparicio 19:28
What do you get when you go to Greece? Tell me what you get.
Dennis Koulatsos 19:30
They say the same thing. You just get that you get to it’s so weird. But it’s the kind of a wave one a vibe you get nostalgic. You go back you remember a certain thing you were born there as a child so you was born? Yeah. So you remember you remember moments in your in your lifetime when you were there and you go back and you appreciate and your respect that’s the other part of it. So you have an old one. You have an overwhelming sense of appreciation respect for your past and your your ancestors, your roots as we like to say oh you
Nestor Aparicio 20:00
told me when you got back is how much octopus you ate, right? Like little
Dennis Koulatsos 20:04
octopus and Greek salad every day fresh Greek salad, Greek, Greek village salad, no lettuce, right? Just the cucumbers, tomatoes, man. Um, and when you go back to your roots, it it really, it amplifies who you are as a person what he does, and I highly recommend to all of our listeners go back to your roots. It’s a it’s a wonderful thing.
Nestor Aparicio 20:21
Well get the sweet potato casserole when you’re in Abbey Ville, you get the mac and cheese you don’t I mean, you gotta get those things. So I had mac and cheese four times in the first 15 hours I was there. I’m still a mess. I gotta be honest with you. So. But Dennis, it was it was it was just an enlightening thing. And you’re one of the people that seeks your ancestry about a couple of friends that do the hometown or, I mean, let’s be honest, there’s a lot of the people you know, and I know that we grew up with this is their hometown, right? Yeah, they don’t like there is no other place to go to other than maybe the old country that 150 years ago. Maybe they’re they’re a Polish heritage, like my wife or I’m of Italian heritage as well. I’ve never been to Italy. But there is something about like, that thing when your mother moves from that sort of place. Like oh, down there it was. I spent six weeks of my life there. You know, I sort of did the math on it as to how many times I’ve been down there and how much time I spent there. But it is it’s enlightening.
Dennis Koulatsos 21:19
It’s It’s homecoming. You’re going home homecoming.
Nestor Aparicio 21:21
Yeah, me and Sammy Hagar and some great banana cream pie is gonna be Greenville, South Carolina, that’s a place. It was a nice place.
Dennis Koulatsos 21:30
You know, Ford Motor credits down there. So I’ve flown in a couple of times to meet leadership. It’s, I’ve been to that town twice in my life.
Nestor Aparicio 21:39
Well, if next time you go to Greenville, I got a place for banana cream pie for you and fried green tomatoes. That is go autosys Here, eating his way back into full health. We’ll get him back on here Thursday from three to five. But we’ll also get them out in the middle of crabcake tour. Maybe stay fair, maybe the Beaumont, they’re trying to get you over to Oak WaPo as well. I’ll be over to west side of town. It’s all brought to you by the Maryland lottery in conjunction with our friends with their nation at Jiffy Lube, multi care as well. I’m going to be doing double duty double crabcakes all month, and then it’s gonna be dealt with do a double duty this week to two hours on Thursday, back again on Sunday morning to get you ready for the Seattle Seahawks. Anything I need to tell you about cars. I mean, we’ve talked we’ve talked forwards and you’re talking to credit. I mean, you start Ford Motor Credit. That’s 00 In some cases right now, right 00.
Dennis Koulatsos 22:21
And the good thing is the UAW strike is over Ford Ford Motor Company, the signing new contracts were good for at least the next four or five years. So we have vehicles coming. Great credit, great credit deals here. 0% 1.9 and most remodels, huge inventory over 300 new vehicles in stock right now. Do you want to use the word a loaded for bear heading through into winter?
Nestor Aparicio 22:43
I got to tell you a story about my mother because you don’t you’re not on my social media. So I’m in South Carolina. I landed in Greenville. You know where that is right? I’m driving down South Court Augusta. So Abby, Phil’s an hour south of Greenville, an hour and a half west of Columbia, an hour north of Augusta, which means it’s in the middle of nowhere, like it could not be it’s an hour from Clemson, you know, it’s like in the middle of literally nowhere. And my mother was born in this town called shoals junction. And it’s it’s a town that the sign shows junction. It isn’t even fully shows junctions just says shows JCT period, that’s like the marker in the city. It’s not really, I think the population is 210 or something. It’s like literally, it’s it’s a zip code. It’s not a place there’s a gas station on the corner. That is the junction of Shoals junction. And I pulled in purposely my mother was born in that town in July 26 1990. And I was trying to get my cousins if they knew where they were born and what the house was or whatever. No, say so I pull up to the stop sign. Then I say there’s no traffic. There’s no cars behind me. There’s no I just pull up to the intersection of Shoals junction, South Carolina, and I pulled my camera and I said, I’m gonna take a picture of the shoals junction side, and it held it up. And I took one picture to picture three picture, and I said, it looks like a beer truck drove into my picture. It was a Corona beer truck. My mom’s favorite beer. A Corona beer truck. Two of my pictures. It’s not in the frame. It’s only in the middle frame. I had to do the freeze frame chip thing where you rewind it a little bit on the motion to find the beer truck. And I thought to me this is before I got to Abby bill. Strange things strange things happened last week.
Dennis Koulatsos 24:30
There you go. Hey, that’s a message from above. That’s that’s what that’s what it is.
Nestor Aparicio 24:35
There is a higher power even higher the RO Quan Smith at this point. That is Glasser series declutter show as well as that get his classes out on the Twitter thing. And of course you can find him here today in 1570 on Thursday, and always just jump off security Bulevar right outside the Beltway stop and he’s usually sitting there on the front desk and get back on a beat that means you back Philhealth on Thursday, my brother you got to appreciate that is Colossus joining us here. kuj Ford ba Baltimore and of course our tech services well getting out the the injury reports everything that’s going on this week. Nice clean sheet for the Ravens we should hope for very, very soon as we get ready for the Seattle Seahawks I am Nestor we are wn st am 1570 Towson Baltimore back on the beat celebrating Halloween. And the first place Baltimore Ravens. We are Baltimore positive.com
