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Luke Jones and Nestor get Ravens fans ready for playoff life without Lamar Jackson on Sunday in Cincinnati for a Super Wild Card matchup with Joe Burrow and the defending AFC champion Bengals.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

lamar, ravens, play, week, year, quarterback, game, running, contract, injury, playoffs, talked, franchise, sunday night, night, point, john harbaugh, huntley, lamar jackson, playoff game

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

W n s t Towson Baltimore and Baltimore positive it is Festivus. I got the purple floodlights out for all this. I was driving around town earlier in the week and I noticed the lack of ravens flags you know on my way to G and a Coney Island hot dog on Thursday for the Maryland crab cake Tour presented by the Maryland lottery gets ravens scratch offs as well as some a holiday cast drops. Weโ€™re gonna be doing more crab cake tours as well with our friends at window nation 866 90 nation and it is the strangest playoff week ever. I dispatched our Luke Jones out to Owings Mills on Wednesday because they donโ€™t let me in anymore. Itโ€™s kind of I feel like Iโ€™m in like a twilight zone. And we still donโ€™t know what quarterback is playing or who will be playing on Sunday night. So I thought I bring Luke in. And heโ€™s the one been out there reporting on the report. And, and, you know, I guess this is all part of the frustration of John Harbaugh that we see at the podium because I think he was led to believe Lamar was going to play around Christmas. And now everybody in the organization kinda reminds me when they fire Brian, Kevin burns told everybody, everybody he wasnโ€™t getting fired, didnโ€™t get fired. And then all of a sudden itโ€™s like, oh, well, all bets are off. i We all love Lamar want to believe in Lamar want Lamar to get paid, we argued for Lamar to get paid Lamar to get paid Lamar get hurt, and LMR is not gonna play on Sunday night. Am I clear on that? Because because I donโ€™t know that thereโ€™s any Kenny walk out on Sunday night he just Willis read this. Thereโ€™s no chance of that Luke, right.

Luke Jones  01:36

I mean, at this point when heโ€™s not on the field on Wednesday, which was, what 38 days after suffering the sprained PCL on his left knee against Denver. Whatโ€™s 39 going to be? Whatโ€™s 40 going to be? You know, whatโ€™s another if heโ€™s not ready to practice on Wednesday as he wasnโ€™t? Whatโ€™s another day or two gonna be at this point? I mean, okay, if the Ravens can pull out a miracle win on Sunday night, and they turn the Cincinnati turns the ball over three times, you return to kick for a touchdown, you win in some kind of unexpected way which the NFL things like that can happen. Certainly not the the highest probability outcome of what weโ€™re expecting to see Sunday night. But if that happens, then okay, weโ€™re doing this all over again next week. But in terms of this week, you know, the idea that heโ€™s just going to step on the field for itโ€™s why I was talking so much about the need to, in my mind to see him late last week, not that he was going to play against the Bengals in week 18. But the idea that he was going to start running around, start testing out the knee, seeing how he feels seeing how heโ€™s moving, making sure that heโ€™s right. Enough. You know, we had our joking little comment that I I said tongue in cheek, but there was some truth to the idea of if he has a very slight limp if heโ€™s 90%. Compared to well, the running back has a slight limp and he plays right, right. I mean, we and John Harbaugh was asked about this on Wednesday in a general term, in general terms and is asking or reporter asked, Could Lamar play at less than 100%? And John said, I mean, look, with any player, if theyโ€™re feeling good enough, if theyโ€™re moving well enough, if there is no perceived risk of a reinjury I mean, thereโ€™s you can never take the risk down to zero, right? I mean, every time these guys step on the field, you know, I mean, we saw this with Tamar, Hamlin in the most terrifying way possible, they are taking a risk. But, you know, there are plenty of players that play less than 100%. And Iโ€™m not saying that Lamar should be playing right now. I have. I donโ€™t know. I mean, only Lamar

Nestor Aparicio  03:39

knows that. This is like fibromyalgia you know what I mean? Like canโ€™t see it canโ€™t feel it. You gotta tell me how youโ€™re feeling today. Right? Well, the fact that thereโ€™s less than trust, and less than honor built into this, in general, based on the contract based on how fans would perceive it, because if heโ€™s not playing Sunday, theyโ€™re getting eliminated Sunday, weโ€™re coming back Monday, heโ€™s still the quarterback, theyโ€™re going to franchise him allegedly. Theyโ€™re never going to down talk about him and say he could play he saw he didnโ€™t want to play. It was about money. It was about contract. If he had an agent, this would be better. If the Browns didnโ€™t give Deshaun Watson $230 million, we probably would have had him locked up for whatever we offered him eight months ago or 10 months ago. So all of this factors in but the other side of this, what happens after they lose is going to be and I talked about that before I knew he wasnโ€™t playing like what happens the day after this franchise is eliminated this year is going to involve turmoil. And itโ€™s going to involve turmoil because I sense I sense from the outside, that thereโ€™s a lack of communication, a lack of trust. I know thereโ€™s a lack of integrity because Iโ€™ve met Chad steel and Iโ€™ve dealt with John, so I know theyโ€™ll lie about anything. I donโ€™t know whether they were lying. about one to three weeks, or whether they were pressuring the kid or what like, I donโ€™t know, but itโ€™s gonna come out. Too many people are privy to this too many people have loose lips when itโ€™s all over with, but they do not want to do anything to devalue Lamar, or make it sound even remotely that he might have could have sort of played if he had a contract and if you wanted to or whatever, theyโ€™re not going to intimate anything like that, because they want to get three number one draft picks for him. And itโ€™s bad enough for another franchise for Stephen Ross or for the Glazers, or for Miss Adams. Strunk down in Nashville to look and say, well, that can help me sell tickets. I mean, heโ€™ll be healthy next January. Sure he will. Okay, well, weโ€™ll give him $250 million. Right. Itโ€™s gonna take somebody to give him the money he wants, because I theyโ€™re not giving him the money they gave. We do. Weโ€™re 10 minutes into this. We buried the lead. They just gave row Quan Smith $100 million, right. Like, theyโ€™ve never had a problem signing a player. And I guess thatโ€™s why if I were still a reporter in there, and people were talking to me a little bit after the fact, later on, someone will get to the heart of what this is. But this is not normal. Luke, youโ€™re out there every This is not. No franchise wants to deal with this scenario. And I even said to Paul, Dana, this week, I said, Is there any chance Joe burrow would be dangling in week 18 Playing a wild card game without a contract? Is there a chance that the Bengals would allow that to happen? Itโ€™s kind of unprecedented in modern NFL history really. Flacco maybe

Luke Jones  06:32

was just gonna say Joe Flacco. But not,

Nestor Aparicio  06:36

not injury. Not.

Luke Jones  06:39

I might, but he wasnโ€™t under contract. Sure.

Nestor Aparicio  06:40

Right.

Luke Jones  06:41

I mean, I hear everything youโ€™re saying. And I donโ€™t disagree. Iโ€™ll take this from the flip side, letโ€™s just say. And we donโ€™t know. I mean, everyone thinks they know. I see lots of fans say, well, itโ€™s clearly this or itโ€™s obviously this. No one knows. I mean, no one knows. I mean, you know, people will say I told you four weeks ago, heโ€™s not gonna play again this season. Yeah, you just said that four weeks ago, unless you have some special intel that no one else including Adam Schefter. And Ian Rapoport have had. But letโ€™s take it from the other side. Letโ€™s say that this injury was worse than the Ravens lead on and truly was a case of Lamar has been trying to get back. And, and to be clear, I donโ€™t think this is a case where heโ€™s been healthy for four weeks, and itโ€™s just holding in. I donโ€™t think that I havenโ€™t gotten that indication from anybody. I think thatโ€™s a big reason why John Harbaugh said what he said at the end of last week, which I think was probably two or three weeks late, in the in the grand scheme of if youโ€™re trying to protect your quarterback, and he hasnโ€™t

Nestor Aparicio  07:46

been touchy feely about the kid, you donโ€™t I mean, he hasnโ€™t been protective of Lamar, at seeing it from the outside. Heโ€™s been the Ball Coach saying, Son, are you gonna play ball or are you not like, because thatโ€™s his job, too. Right? Itโ€™s, heโ€™s the one thatโ€™s going to lose the football game Sunday night. Itโ€™s his franchise, and he needs this kid to play and they all know they need to skip the play. Of course,

Luke Jones  08:07

heโ€™s their best player. I mean, itโ€™s just itโ€™s that simple. But letโ€™s just, you know, again, put aside the contract for a moment, even though thatโ€™s impossible to do, but put that aside in terms of the of what is that work here, which Jim Trotter who is very highly respected around the league had a monologue that he offered on NFL Network that Lamar Jackson retweeted. Thatโ€™s the first time weโ€™ve really seen Lamar make any reference to his injury. As far as even someone speaking for him, and we talked about it as far as Lamar being a gamer and his teammates love him. And he works hard and everything that weโ€™ve talked about over the better part of the last five years. But letโ€™s just take it completely. I donโ€™t want to say face value, because no one knows what face value is. Kumar hasnโ€™t talked about this. And this is the most communication weโ€™ve gotten from him as a retweet of what Jim Trotter said in terms of Lamar needing to feel like heโ€™s going to be Lamar and not going out there with a knee brace. And weโ€™ve talked about this for weeks. Now. This is a six week conversation weโ€™ve had that he wasnโ€™t going to just slap on a knee brace and then suddenly just played from the pocket. I mean, that doesnโ€™t serve anyone well, and it goes back to protecting his value, as you were just talking about a couple minutes ago. But even if this was just a case of the injury, ended up being way worse than they thought and the team did what the team does and did with Prasad Paramon did with Elvis Tuberville with his torn Achilles years ago. I mean, go down the list of injuries that the team downplayed publicly when theyโ€™re speaking to the media, and what it ended up being.

Nestor Aparicio  09:40

Well, Jimmy Smith was also one of those cases, right? Yeah.

Luke Jones  09:43

I mean, weโ€™ve seen that but even if it is that and even if you are still in a position where you want to sign him long term, heโ€™s now been unable to finish each of the last two seasons. This is why I said to you how many different times over the last over the offseason Eating into the season I said, what constitutes a win for the Ravens in terms of a negotiation here? And this is one of the scenarios I talked about, okay, he gets hurt again. And okay, maybe Lamar Jackson, at the end of the season says, I donโ€™t need the full guarantee or the nearly full guarantee that I was seeking, I can now take what youโ€™re offering. And whether that offer is still still stands from the Ravens perspective or not. Who knows? Again, not trying to get too far into it. But even if you get them at your number, youโ€™re now having very serious questions about availability. This isnโ€™t the hypothetical that we talked about three years ago, over and over, and critics really talked about it. Oh, this isnโ€™t sustainable. When

8

Nestor Aparicio  10:40

I was the critic. I was the critic. I was the one on the press conference saying is this sustainable? And they all pissed on me. And then they threw me out. Like above and beyond all that I asked the toughest of tough questions and Lamar shirk did me hardball, got all dolled out and then learn more never play it again Linton, next year, last year. So like, this was obvious from then, like they drafted him and the night that you and I sat in Canton, and he started running into linebackers in July,

Luke Jones  11:08

heโ€™s gotten hurt, and hurt as a passer twice, Nestor. Iโ€™m making a point here. The point is, regardless of who it is, we saw this with Tavon young, weโ€™ve seen it with Nick Boyle, the last couple of years, guys are durable until theyโ€™re not anymore. And itโ€™s for me, Iโ€™ve said all along. For me, it was never an issue of thinking necessarily that he was going to suffer a catastrophic injury. Thatโ€™s possible for anyone we saw with Dak Prescott, even though he came back and has been the same player now performance, you know, at different times. But it had nothing to do with his broken

Nestor Aparicio  11:44

ribs. A great example of a guy that got really hurt. And heโ€™s right.

Luke Jones  11:47

But But my point is, isnโ€™t even so much about the running ability, itโ€™s or about the risk of running so much. He got hurt rolling out from the pocket in Cleveland last year. That was a kind of play, where any quarterback rolls out from the pocket at some point in time and a guy will die but his ankles, he got hurt, purely playing from the pocket against Denver. Itโ€™s not even so much the risk of running, itโ€™s now heโ€™s had back back to back years where an injury to his lower extremities. And now youโ€™re wondering, availability, youโ€™re wondering as he continues to age, and heโ€™s only 26. I donโ€™t want to make it sound like heโ€™s 33. But you start to question that. And thatโ€™s part of the entire equation. And weโ€™ve said all along, and this is eliminating the risk of an injury, just talking about in terms of him running in the same way that you talk about running backs, that is going to be a depreciating part of his game at some point in time doesnโ€™t mean at age 26 doesnโ€™t even necessarily mean at age 28. But at some point in time, just like any runningback not named Adrian Peterson of the last 20 years really, theyโ€™re going to decline and they typically decline quickly. And look, Omar is not a running back. But he still carries the ball way more than any other quarterback other than Jalen hertz and Justin fields. Now as weโ€™re starting to, weโ€™ve seen this model of quarterback become more prevalent and in the case of Jalen hertz, itโ€™s been wildly successful in Philadelphia this year. But the point is, at some point, that sliding scale was going to have to move away from running the ball gradually, you know, running the ball as much and it was going to have to trend more towards him playing more from the pocket. And thatโ€™s where the frustration falls in here. As far as what 2022 has been because they were inadequately equipped and wide receiver even before Rashad Bateman got hurt, then he gets hurt. And you see what itโ€™s looked like. And youโ€™ve really seen what itโ€™s looked like since Devin DuVernay, who isnโ€™t a true great number two wide receiver but was the Ravens number two wide receiver. And you see what that looks like. And weโ€™ve seen, you know the passing game from Week Four on did not work. And it didnโ€™t spin

Nestor Aparicio  13:52

the million dollar passing game or quarterback play or position as at where they are theyโ€™re in the playoffs. But when you canโ€™t win a playoff game. i This is fundamental to the shotty and horrible and too costly, because theyโ€™re not here to be a wildcard team and lose playoff games right like that. Theyโ€™re just not and I donโ€™t know what theyโ€™re going to do with him. But I know someone will find him to be beautiful, even if he doesnโ€™t play this week. Right. Like somebody else will go all in maybe probably Yeah,

Luke Jones  14:23

yeah. I mean, thereโ€™s no question about it. And let me be clear what I was just saying that wasnโ€™t that that issue with the passing game for me is not really that much of an indictment on the more as much as itโ€™s everyone involved, you know, the personnel, Greg Roman, all of it, it didnโ€™t work. And it youโ€™re in a position now where his entire rookie contract including his fifth year option, which is $23 million. Still dirt cheap for a franchise quarterback in this day and age has now been exhausted. And you still have the same questions about the passing game. You now have not hypothetical real questions about his availability having not been able to finish each of the last two seasons, heโ€™s going to become heโ€™s about to become very expensive. I think everyone expects a change at offensive coordinator. So whatโ€™s going? What is that going to look like? And even if you want to keep Lamar, short of signing him to a long term contract extension, by March or by the draft, youโ€™re looking at a holdout of some sort. Itโ€™s not even a holdout, when itโ€™s a franchise tag, a guy doesnโ€™t sign the tag, heโ€™s not under contract, heโ€™s not obligated to be there. And heโ€™s going to have to exhaust his leverage. So anyway, you look at this from the most precious

Nestor Aparicio  15:35

you donโ€™t want to pissed off quarterback. Right. That becomes untenable to say, just franchise and heโ€™ll play. Iโ€™ve heard plenty of people say that. And Iโ€™m like, I donโ€™t think thatโ€™s gonna play. I just donโ€™t I donโ€™t think youโ€™ll come back and play happily next year here without a contract. I donโ€™t I donโ€™t? Well, I mean, I donโ€™t know, no matter. Somebody would say, well, Lamar, you havenโ€™t been available to play in January. And heโ€™d say, Well, thatโ€™s the franchisors fault for getting me hurt.

Luke Jones  16:02

Well, I donโ€™t I mean, I donโ€™t believe itโ€™s a franchise getting him hurt. I mean, heโ€™s, you know, it wasnโ€™t as though. I mean, the offensive line has been one of the best in the NFL this year. But the overall point there is any way you want to look at this from the most optimistic lens to the most pessimistic possibility. Itโ€™s a lot of concern. I mean, thereโ€™s any way you want to even if Lamar says tomorrow, okay, Iโ€™ll Iโ€™ll take the deal youโ€™re offering me or, or even less than that. Thereโ€™s that question of availability, thereโ€™s that question of, What is this offense going to look like, if you have a no new OC? And are you gonna be able to have the resources to go get a better wide receiver? And you know, you just go down the list? Iโ€™m not saying thatโ€™s the worst possible outcome that would, thatโ€™s the best. You know, thatโ€™s thatโ€™s the

Nestor Aparicio  16:48

point, if he were making $48 million right now, and weโ€™re really happy. And weโ€™re signed that his motherโ€™s everybodyโ€™s happy. wouldnโ€™t make any difference. Still canโ€™t play Sunday night. Right.

Luke Jones  16:58

Right. I mean, yeah, if this is a case of and again, Iโ€™m not gonna, Iโ€™m not gonna speculate and suggest that heโ€™s healthy enough to play right now. I donโ€™t know. I know, from hearing people in the organization. Thereโ€™s been varying opinions, you know, a few weeks ago. Yeah. There was no question there was optimism and an expectation that he was going to be ready. But as Iโ€™ve said, from the start, I said, the name that I brought up immediately, with a PCL Prashad Perriman, first day of training camp, goes down in a way, not terribly different than what we saw from Lamar, meaning he hit the ground with his knee bent. That is the mechanism for a sprained PCL, Iโ€™m not a doctor, but Iโ€™ve read enough sports medicine types talk about that. And that was very similar. The Ravens did not think that was a big deal. They did not think it was gonna be a long term absence. And we saw how that played out. And look, Prashad Perriman didnโ€™t Jake it that year, he was a rookie, he was a kid. So thatโ€™s where I think we got to be, you know, not not saying you and me. But everyone needs to be careful and more thoughtful here not to just automatically assume itโ€™s about the contract. Thatโ€™s part of the entire consideration. But keep in mind, this is also an individual who did not hold out during training camp whatsoever did not hold out during the start of the season. If youโ€™re going to hold out over your contract, you do it then you donโ€™t do it during playoff time where oh, by the way, youโ€™re youโ€™re also impacting your teammates there, because itโ€™s not just an opportunity to win games in the playoffs. There are playoff shares involved. Youโ€™re talking about guys that are making the minimum practice squad guys, theyโ€™re getting extra money by playing in the playoffs. So Lamar Jackson is beloved by his teammates. This is a guy whoโ€™s highly thought of by everyone in the organization, whether he has flaws or not, whether the imperfections about him or not just like anyone else to be clear. So thatโ€™s where I continue to, to look at this and just struggle with saying that, Oh, you know that, you know, people that are suggesting that, you know, he could have played weeks ago or anything like that. I donโ€™t think thatโ€™s the case. But that doesnโ€™t mean there isnโ€™t frustration and major disappointment right now that heโ€™s not going to be out there on Sunday night barring something thatโ€™s completely unforeseen, when heโ€™s not practicing even on the Wednesday leading into wildcard weekend when you know, itโ€™s been going on 40 days since heโ€™s been out on the practice field. So itโ€™s a lot and I just Itโ€™s so disappointing. You said this at the beginning of our conversation. Iโ€™ve never saying this as a media member and as a longtime fan from the beginning, when I was 13 years old in 1996. I can never remember a playoff week. That felt less like a playoff week than this one does right now. And thatโ€™s just thatโ€™s just disappointing. That just stinks. Yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  19:42

that didnโ€™t make the playoffs and you canโ€™t be excited. You canโ€™t sell tickets. You canโ€™t have fun you can throw that nobody is feeling the vibe of Sunday night. Itโ€™s almost like God forbid I say this. Iโ€™m waiting for it to get over with ya know what I mean? Like thereโ€™s thereโ€™s a point of they canโ€™t win and You know, on a personal level the last six months itโ€™s not been my favorite season by any stretch of the imagination are ours here at wn St. And our 25th anniversary, but I donโ€™t feel optimism from anywhere and I donโ€™t even sense confidence coming from John. And thatโ€™s and part of this would be, I would ask you Mr. Reporter guy whoโ€™s the quarterback Sunday night. I donโ€™t think he even knows. I donโ€™t think Tyler Huntley they have enough confidence in him. Health wise to think or know that if you said to John right now, give me $1 Bet bet me $1 And let me go to Vegas and bet whoโ€™s gonna start? I guess weโ€™re gonna see Anthony Brown at some point on Sunday night because it doesnโ€™t feel like to me, If Tyler Huntley were well enough to lead the team right now. This is his big opportunity to go win a playoff game that game wants to play, right.

Luke Jones  20:48

Yeah, I mean, he was out on the field on Wednesday. He didnโ€™t we did not see him throw during the open portion of practice, which is kind of what weโ€™ve been seeing the last couple of weeks. If you ask me right now, I think Tyler Huntley gives it a go. I donโ€™t know what that means. I mean, the idea that he didnโ€™t throw in practice for a day or two, you know, thatโ€™s itโ€™s not the same thing as a sprain PCL, you know, I mean, this is a quarterback, this is a guy whoโ€™s thrown 1000s of passes over the course of the season. You know, this is shoulder, right, he attended Jim Palmer 10. Sure, this is a case where, but as you also know, if a player is willing to do it, there are injections and pain tolerance methods where someone can play a football game in that context. And letโ€™s be clear, I mean, itโ€™s not as though the Ravens blueprint is going to be to go out there and throw it 45 times. I think thatโ€™s obvious if the Ravens have a shot in this game with Tyler Huntley. And Iโ€™m not saying itโ€™s a good shot, but itโ€™s the NFL. You know, this isnโ€™t. I donโ€™t expect this to be GA TCU. Letโ€™s just be clear about that. I donโ€™t think the defense is too good. The running game is too good for it to get to that point. However, if youโ€™re looking for a blueprint of how the Ravens possibly win a football game without Lamar Jackson on Sunday night, itโ€™s probably not terribly different than what we saw the Tennessee Titans do to the Ravens in the 2019 playoffs. Couple early turnovers, you know, they maybe hit one shot play, they get an early grad out of it, and then they just lean into their running game like all heck, right. I mean, JK Dobbins. And, you know, you hope Gus Edwards is out of concussion protocol. Thatโ€™s something that weโ€™ll continue to monitor this week. But whether itโ€™s Dobbins whether itโ€™s Kenyan Drake, whether itโ€™s Justice Hill, you know, that youโ€™re talking about, youโ€™re youโ€™re aiming at Tyler Huntley. Although heโ€™s not Lamar, he certainly can run, youโ€™re looking to see if you can get an early lead on a couple turnovers, you know, big play on special teams. And then you see if you can run the ball for 250 yards, and you can have a 40 to 20 time of possession game. And you can play the kind of defense that, hey, letโ€™s face it, you know, even though you look at the final score this past Sunday, that 27 points was not because the Bengals offense was moving the ball up and down the field. It will that was because Anthony Brown turned it over three times, right. I mean, we know what that game was. So if this defense can do what itโ€™s done, quite frankly, twice against Cincinnati, which is contain Joe burrow in that offense, doesnโ€™t mean youโ€™re going to stop them, if you can contain them, and you get a couple of turnovers and you can run the heck out of the football. Thatโ€™s your blueprint for having a chance. Thatโ€™s your blueprint for being in the game and the first seven point game in the fourth quarter, right, literally. Yeah. So again, Iโ€™m not saying that it was like. And letโ€™s be clear, Iโ€™m not saying that thatโ€™s the high probability outcome here. Letโ€™s go back to that 2019 playoff game between the ravens and Tennessee, the ravens and Tennessee if they had played 10 playoff games, you know, 10 games, that outcome that happened that night, I think happens once or twice at most, you know, the Ravens were absolutely the better team. But the Titans were better that night and we know that thatโ€™s how the NFL works. So I do think you know, at this point, and again, I donโ€™t know this, but I just look at how they proceeded the fact that the Ravens rested Tyler Huntley and BK teen. To me, that was a tell that hey, we donโ€™t know if Lamar is gonna be ready next week. So letโ€™s make sure that Tyler Huntley can rest up that shoulder and weโ€™re going to really limit his throwing in practice. Now. It doesnโ€™t make you feel great about the execution of the passing game. But letโ€™s face it, I havenโ€™t felt good about the execution of the passing game and weeks and weeks and weeks even before the March completing

Nestor Aparicio  24:27

the pass is the key to winning the game on Sunday night. Theyโ€™re not gonna win.

Luke Jones  24:32

Yeah, I mean, itโ€™s gonna come down to you know, Can you can you complete half a dozen passes to mark Andrews and maybe maybe thereโ€™s a shot place somewhere in there. I mean, we saw that we saw them complete a pass the Sammy Watkins downfield before he fumbled the ball late in the fourth quarter. You know, can you have that play? Itโ€™s up to you donโ€™t turn it over. So again, this is not Luke trying to be eternal optimist. This is Luke laying out the scenario for how you compete and so much of it. I just mentioned the the Bengals turning it over in the running game and maybe you find one or two big plays in the passing game. By the way that sounds like the 2000 ravens there. Itโ€™s gonna come down to the deep play leading with Anthony right back in

Nestor Aparicio  25:14

the day. I remember, you know, it was Jamal and Jamal, Jamal Jamal, and that was it. Well, and the

Luke Jones  25:19

problem was the Titan shut down Jamal Lewis that night, but itโ€™s gonna be the defense. I mean, it really is. So I mean, itโ€™s look, the stinks. It stinks. Yeah. And I donโ€™t say this with any faulting anyone, Lamar, John Harbaugh the organization any it stinks? No. You as fans as media. You talk. You talk about the the upcoming season in the offseason for months and months and months. You talk about getting to this point, right? Weโ€™ve talked about that from the moment that the Ravens lost that playoff game to the Titans when they were 14 and two and they were the best team in the NFL and record setting offense and everything that you loved about that team, Lamar B and unanimous MVP. They had 13 Pro Bowl selections from the moment that they lost that game. All weโ€™ve talked about is the Ravens getting back to that stage and getting over the hump. And okay, they won a playoff game the following year in Nashville, they lost buffalo last year. We know what happened with the injuries. This year. Injuries havenโ€™t been as catastrophic in terms of volume, but you get the worst possible one at the end of the season when itโ€™s your franchise quarterback going down. I mean, itโ€™s just theyโ€™re continuing to chase the memory of what happened to him on that night in mid January in Baltimore when the Titans came in here and beat a 14 and two football team. And they just nowโ€™s their their latest opportunity to to move on, you know, to move past that to reach greater heights. And you donโ€™t have your franchise quarterback out there. I mean, it just it stinks. There is nothing you can compare this to in the history of the organization. Ray Lewis was never missed a playoff game Ed Reed never missed a playoff game. I mean, you could say okay, well, they didnโ€™t have Jamal Lewis in 2001 chamalla was lost in training camp. He wasnโ€™t part of that team. Right. Letโ€™s

Nestor Aparicio  27:03

go later told me that night in Indianapolis when Reed picked the ball off and talked about was hiring that he had a purple hip. Oh, literally. Flacco was immobile. And that Houston game. Weโ€™ve had these kinds of injuries and I think about even

Luke Jones  27:16

not like, but not when they werenโ€™t out there. I mean, Jonathan alguns toe was messed up for the playoff game against India. I mean, that toe injury that altered the end of his career short and shortened his playing career. So there been scenarios where guys have been hurt or there was some question, but I went down the list I looked at every I pulled up the game book for every playoff game the Ravens have ever played and not talking about guys that were already on IR or anything like that, but guys that were inactive and couldnโ€™t play that week. Kim herring missed a couple games in the 2000 playoffs. Peter Boyer and oh three remember he got hurt late in that season. A summary rolled in play in the 2008 AFC Championship Game. Eugene Monroe couldnโ€™t play in the 2014. postseason. And you know, Tavon young back in 2018 when they lost to the chargers, that list of guys compared to Lamar, I mean, doesnโ€™t compare. So this is really unfortunate. uncharted territory for the Baltimore Ravens to be in this position. And your franchise guy isnโ€™t out there. Itโ€™s just so deflating. John will have these guys ready to play. Theyโ€™ll play hard. I fully expect that but I mean, itโ€™s just you donโ€™t have Lamar Jackson and youโ€™re going up against one of the best teams in the AFC itโ€™s you know, itโ€™s hard to like their chances.

Nestor Aparicio  28:31

Tough Sunday night ahead of chili beer and tweeting Luke and I will be covering all things ravens all weekend long. What am I everybody Dennis will be here on Friday this week, as well as Sunday morning. getting you ready for six football games, ravens now eight and a half point dogs Iโ€™m sure thatโ€™d be moving towards 10 points. Now that it becomes more clear that Lamar Jacksonโ€™s not going to play on Sunday night. Weโ€™re doing the Maryland crab cake tour at G and a Coney Island hot dog and White Marsh this week. You will hear all of that on the air today and 1570 is all brought to you by our friends at the Maryland lottery conjunction with our friends at window nation. I am Nestor we are wn st am 1570, Towson Baltimore. getting you ready for Festivus for the rest of us. We are Baltimore positive.com

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