Ravens will live on the edge of the ledge rest of season

The Baltimore Ravens are 6-7 and Luke Jones and Nestor Aparicio aren’t convinced they’re going to repair a lost season as they prepare for another AFC North road game in Cincinnati as the NFL flexes them into a pair of holiday prime time games against New England and Green Bay. The road ahead is fraught with peril and better quarterbacks. So many question that will be answered on the field by Lamar and company.

Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the Baltimore Ravens’ upcoming game against the Cincinnati Bengals, focusing on Lamar Jackson’s injury status and the team’s recent struggles. They highlighted Lamar’s inconsistent performance, particularly in the two-minute drill against Cincinnati, which was criticized for its slow execution. The conversation also touched on the Ravens’ need to win to keep playoff hopes alive, with Luke expressing skepticism about the team’s chances against the Bengals and upcoming games against New England and Green Bay. They also mentioned the impact of officiating calls and the team’s overall mediocre play.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Analyze the replay of the “likely” play from the previous Ravens-Bengals game.
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Follow up on the Ravens’ performance in the next few games and their playoff chances.
• [ ] Pick the winner of the upcoming Ravens-Bengals game.

Holiday Plans and Tributes

• Nestor Aparicio discusses his holiday plans, including eating crab cakes, Seven Fishes at DiPasquale’s, and Asian food at Honeys and Alethorpe.
• Nestor mentions giving away the rest of his Raven scratch off and a tribute event in Dundalk for his friend Woody, who passed away.
• Nestor shares memories of Woody, who used to play music requests at Ravens games, and mentions tributes to Woody and his friend Ed Lauer.
• Nestor talks about upcoming events, including a show at Gertrude’s with John Shields and Dan Rodricks, and a New Year’s Eve celebration at Planet Fitness in Timonium.

Lamar Jackson’s Injuries and Practice Misses

• Nestor and Luke Jones discuss Lamar Jackson missing another Wednesday practice and the impact on his performance.
• Nestor expresses concern about Lamar’s sharpness and the team’s overall health, noting that everyone is banged up at this point in the season.
• Luke highlights the inconsistency in Lamar’s injuries, mentioning the hamstring issue that cost him three games earlier in the year.
• Luke brings up a reporter’s observation about the team’s two-minute drill at the end of the game against Cincinnati, noting it was embarrassing and slow.

Offensive Struggles and Two-Minute Drill Issues

• Luke and Nestor discuss the team’s struggles in the two-minute drill, including slow play execution and inefficiency.
• Luke mentions the holding penalty on the punt that moved the team back, leading to a slow start in the two-minute drill.
• Nestor and Luke agree that the two-minute drill was poorly executed, with Luke noting that it felt like a high school offense.
• Luke questions the trade-offs of giving Lamar days off from practice, wondering if it affects the team’s sharpness and on-field time.

Impact of Officiating and Player Performance

• Nestor and Luke discuss the impact of officiating calls on the team’s performance, mentioning specific plays that went against the Ravens.
• Luke expresses frustration with the team’s inconsistency and the need for better performance from key players like Marlon Humphrey and Ronnie Stanley.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the team’s good football players but question their overall performance and coaching.
• Luke highlights the team’s mediocre play and the need for better execution in critical situations.

Upcoming Games and Playoff Hopes

• Nestor and Luke discuss the upcoming games against the Bengals, Patriots, and Packers, noting the importance of each game for the team’s playoff hopes.
• Luke expresses skepticism about the team’s chances, mentioning the short week against the Patriots and the tough matchup against the Packers.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the team’s need to win in Cincinnati to keep their playoff hopes alive.
• Luke mentions the team’s recent struggles against good quarterbacks and the need for better performance from the defense.

Team’s Chances and Coaching Decisions

• Nestor and Luke discuss the team’s chances of winning the division and the impact of coaching decisions on the team’s performance.
• Luke questions the team’s overall talent and the coaching staff’s ability to get the most out of the players.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the team’s need for better leadership and the impact of officiating calls on the team’s morale.
• Luke mentions the team’s recent struggles in January and the need for better preparation and execution in critical situations.

Player Performance and Team Dynamics

• Nestor and Luke discuss the performance of key players like Lamar Jackson, Marlon Humphrey, and Ronnie Stanley, noting their inconsistency.
• Luke highlights the team’s need for better performance from the offensive line and the running game.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the team’s struggles in the red zone and the need for better execution in critical situations.
• Luke mentions the team’s need for better leadership and the impact of officiating calls on the team’s morale.

Impact of Injuries and Team Health

• Nestor and Luke discuss the impact of injuries on the team’s performance, mentioning key players like Lamar Jackson and Justice Hill.
• Luke highlights the team’s need for better health and preparation to improve their performance.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the team’s recent struggles and the need for better execution in critical situations.
• Luke mentions the team’s need for better leadership and the impact of officiating calls on the team’s morale.

Team’s Future and Coaching Stability

• Nestor and Luke discuss the team’s future and the stability of the coaching staff, mentioning the potential impact on the team’s performance.
• Luke expresses skepticism about the team’s chances of winning the division and the need for better performance from the coaching staff.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the team’s need for better leadership and the impact of officiating calls on the team’s morale.
• Luke mentions the team’s recent struggles and the need for better execution in critical situations.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

• Nestor and Luke share their final thoughts on the team’s chances and their predictions for the upcoming games.
• Luke expresses skepticism about the team’s chances, mentioning the short week against the Patriots and the tough matchup against the Packers.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the team’s need to win in Cincinnati to keep their playoff hopes alive.
• Luke mentions the team’s recent struggles and the need for better execution in critical situations.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Ravens, Lamar Jackson, Bengals, Cincinnati, Joe Burrow, injury report, two-minute drill, playoffs, coaching, offense, defense, turnovers, Super Bowl, John Harbaugh, football team.

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SPEAKERS

Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T. Am 1570 to Baltimore, wishing all of you happy holiday out there. We’re getting out eating some crab cakes, and I’m going to feast on Seven Fishes at deep DiPasquale’s. I’m going to have some delicious Asian food at honeys and alethorpe on Friday, and I’m going to give away the rest of my Raven scratch off. So the Maryland lottery, also our friends at GBMC, keeping me healthy and on the road throughout all of this will be cost us next Thursday and Dundalk, that’s going to be a jam packed event, certainly a little tribute to our friend Woody, who passed away. Was one of my music buddies at ravens games, and so many people knew of him, but he would always ask me before ravens games. You want to hear Led Zeppelin, you want to hear rush? Come on, pick a song. I’m going to play a song for you up in 513 so he would always do that. So my thoughts and my strength to everybody out there that loved him, we will pay some tribute to him, and also to my dear friend Ed Lauer, who’s very much alive and also knew Woody. He said woody used to play Prince songs for him at Orioles games. So I see I thought I was the only one that got the that got the request in, but apparently took music request from everybody so and so many ties. So next week, it cost us, because I know woody ate it cost us as well. So on Friday of next week, we’re going to be at Gertrude with John shields and Dan Rodricks, and then on Monday, the 22nd before the holiday, and, more importantly, before January 1, they found Luke. I told the planet fitness people doing the show with with April at Planet Fitness in Timonium, we’re going to bring the Costas crab cake over across the street. It’s literally across the street in Timonium. And, you know, I told her, we’re coming in and we’re doing this thing. I said, Look, man, I’m in there Christmas week. I always watch New Year’s Eve. And you have all that Planet Fitness party hats say 2026, all that. So what we’re going to do on the 20 seconds, they’re going to bring all the party hats and stuff in, and I’m going to get to celebrate New Year’s eve before even Christmas Eve. But you know, I get my kicks in different ways. You know, some of us labor at Faith lays over crab cakes in the middle of the Orioles signing Pete Alonso and some of us make it 50 million a year to take Wednesday off, dude.

Luke Jones  02:09

Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that you to throw it to me with that, but yeah, I mean another Wednesday Lamar Jackson missing another Wednesday practice.

Nestor Aparicio  02:19

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So I mean, it’s okay with me if they, if they win, but, you know, he’s missed a few winches, and have won too. So, and I’ve had to say he doesn’t look sharp, he doesn’t look what they practice. So, you know, I have talked about them in that way, and I’m, you know, I need to sugarcoat anything or six and seven, and they’re playing for their lives. So whatever they think is best on Sunday is probably the best thing to do, right?

Luke Jones  02:37

Yeah. And look, I mean, we also know that it’s, I mean, it’s week 15, right? I mean, everyone is banged up at this point in time. Everyone could be list listed on the injury report at this point in the season, when you’re a couple weeks away from Christmas. But, yeah. I mean, the difference this week, Lamar not officially listed with anything. And look, we know how this had kind of worked the last few weeks. I mean, whether it was the, you know, ankle, knee, toe, ankle, again, whatever it is. I mean, he’s been banged up, and is there one specific injury that’s been really dogging him, right? I mean, we know the hamstring cost him three games earlier this year, but we’ve also acknowledged, while not necessarily putting it all together in terms of performance, he has looked better physically the last two games. I thought he played better against Pittsburgh, especially in the second half, than he did against Cincinnati, but, yeah, we’re still not seeing an operation. And it’s funny, I want to bring something up to you, and I’m all this will be an unnamed reporter in the Ravens media that I was talking with, but we talked about it. I wrote about it and included it in my 12 ravens thoughts at Baltimore positive.com one of the uglier elements of what we saw on Sunday, beyond the fact that you know, the calls on, you know, the officiating or, or what have you, is just how bad, ugly, I’ll say it embarrassing that two minute drill was at the end of the game. I mean, awful. And the shame of it was, they still found a way to get to the 30 yard line right, and they ran out of time Lamar gets sacked, the game ends. But it’s funny because I had the same thought as talking with another reporter who also had this thought, and we don’t sit particularly close in the press box either. But watching that, watching that two minute drone, I’m not even saying like it was lamarr’s fault. I mean, there was, you know, it was slow zay flowers, you know had to run across was lined up on the wrong side of the field, whether that was his a thing, but whoever monkin Like, I’m not, I’m not blaming an individual, but this individual that up in the media that I was talking to about this on Wednesday had the same thought I did, watching that in real time, where I’m like, feels like they haven’t practiced their two minute drill. And when your quarterbacks missing a practice every week. And now that’s not to say that they haven’t necessarily practiced that on Thursday or Friday, but that was, that was a symptom of that problem, right where you said it. I mean, it’s one thing to talk about vet days and guys missing practice, and they show up and they play great on Sunday. And look, John Harbaugh was asked about it earlier this week, and there are trade offs on the on the one hand, Lamar has looked a little bit better physically the last couple weeks. So are the days off from from practice helping him in that way that he’s feeling better on Sunday. But then the drawback is, are you not as sharp as a unit, not even just Lamar individually, like I said, that two minute drive. I’m not even saying that like that was lamar’s fault 100% or anything like that. But because you’re not getting as much on field time as an entire unit, does that hurt you? And does that show up in that specific instance? Or did they practice that plenty on Friday of last week, and they just, for whatever reason, it didn’t work out. Point is, you kind of look at it and say, I mean, at this point, it’s, it’s do or die, right? I mean,

Nestor Aparicio  06:11

kind of unprepared, right? Yeah, that looked bad like that was a that was,

Luke Jones  06:18

I’ll flat out say it. I’ve seen High School offenses run a better two minute drive than what

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Nestor Aparicio  06:24

that was they and I wrote this. So from a play efficiency standpoint versus time, it’s embarrassing. What a stat sheet. Yeah.

Luke Jones  06:30

So remember, they get the ball back, there’s a holding penalty on the punt, so they’re moving back more. He’s commits holding on the first play. So from so it’s first and 20, from the time they snapped it on first and 20 until they snapped it on third down two plays later, 56 seconds came off the clock. You might as well have huddled up. That’s how slow it was that you just had no efficiency in terms of getting the play off move. I mean, at that point they had moved, what, 10 yards, or whatever it was. I mean, it was just awful Nestor, and that’s what the frustrating part is. They finally got it going, and they had a chance, like they were within striking distance, but they ran out of time, because they wasted so much time in the beginning of it. So but to go back to the larger point at work here, where you just, you know, what’s the trade off? You’re trying to have your franchise quarterback be as healthy as possible. But we also know that the operation, the offense, collectively, just does not look sharp for a very long time, and now you’re going on the road now you’re in a position where, I mean, they have to win this game. They have to win this game, if there’s any like because if you don’t beat the Bengals, why in the world am I going to think you have any shot against the Patriots on Sunday night football now and then, as we’ve since found out, also, they’re going to Green Bay for the Saturday night game, so they’re going to have a short Week situation there. And I mean,

Nestor Aparicio  08:00

they could really fail unbelievably miserably, national state and flame out in front of a whole world, and that’s how Harbaugh gets his ass fired,

Luke Jones  08:11

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and that’s not even counting the scenario that, let’s face it, I don’t feel great about this team. I’ve said that like I’m not gonna belabor that. I don’t think anyone feels great, even if you’re great, even if you’re, even if you’re someone that’s not saying the season’s over, you’re not feeling good about it. How can you feel good about this football team right now? You just can’t. All you can say about it is, they still have a chance, they still have a path, and Pittsburgh’s not that good either. So you can keep saying that

Nestor Aparicio  08:35

and but the thing you and I would keep saying is they have good football players. And I don’t, I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know. I’m 13 weeks into this. I’m not sure Marlon umphs a good football player anymore. I’m not sure the Ronnie Stanley is a plus football player anymore. I’m certainly I know the guards aren’t so like, you know, and I don’t know where Lamar is when it’s gimpy. Lamar, not real Lamar, because it’s not real Lamar.

Luke Jones  08:56

So I think, I think I would say they still have plenty of good football players. Do they have a good football team? No, and we’re 14 weeks into. Well, when that happens, you are talking about the coaching. But I mean, it’s certainly, it’s part of it, right? I mean, I’m not, I’m not going to say it’s all John horrible. I’m not going to say it’s all Zach Gor. I’m not going to say it’s all Todd moncken and go down the list of the position coaches. On the flip side, I’m not going to say it’s all the players. The players.

Nestor Aparicio  09:23

Well, they’re not getting the most out of their talent. It’s everyone’s fault.

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Luke Jones  09:27

Like, I’m disappointed in the entire thing. Like I said this to you in the aftermath of Sunday nights or not, Sunday night, Sunday afternoon’s game. It just feels so painfully mediocre. And we’ve talked about this. What did they do? Well, okay, statistically, they have a they still have a darn good running game. But we also know the eyeball test pokes holes in that, in terms of how mad and how maddening it’s been, in terms of how inconsistent it is, right? And success rate is, you know, their 23rd or in success rate, which that kind of shows. Up in terms of, situationally, how up and down they are, and red zone and red zone, well, red zone is not inconsistent. They’re red zones. The red zone offense stinks. I mean, it stinks. I mean,

Nestor Aparicio  10:11

but not being able to run the ball down there. Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry, yeah. Sorry, you just got me because No, I mean, all you want, 30, yes, it does stink, but it’s also indicative of the running game.

Luke Jones  10:24

Yeah, no question. I mean, whether we’re talking goal to go, or just when you get in the red area, the idea of that failing you the way it has so, so, yeah, so, but, but it’s, you know, it’s fascinating to look at this and say, Okay, you’re going to Cincinnati. You’re playing a team that two weeks ago embarrassed you on Thanksgiving night that said the Bengals are coming off of a loss that really put their playoff hopes in extremely unlikely, dire kind of straights. But it’s Joe burrows, first home game since coming back,

Nestor Aparicio  10:57

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they stay alive if they beat the Ravens in a nice way, if setting up for the Steelers to lose and the ravens to lose, them to play each other at the end, and somebody could maybe the Ravens could beat the Steelers and help them. And I talked to Dan hoard about that this week, who’s the voice of the Bengals. You can check it out at Baltimore positive. I mean, yeah, he had great observations on all of it. And he’s a buffalo guy, like grew up in Buffalo, so he was up there in the snow for the game the other day, and whatever, I mean, the Bengals are one goofy play away from winning that game, like literally one miracle play. And you know, it’s not hard. I’ll take the Raven sidles, and I swear to you, Luke, after doing four hours of radio with you on Monday morning, I almost, almost, and I I’m busy with AI, and I’m doing all these shows this week and crab cake tours, and have had friends die and Fred just weird stuff going on this week. But I was going to call you on Tuesday and say, let’s do a segment you and I on just the three plays that were the referee plays. You know, the play that the goal line play or the field goal play that they

Luke Jones  12:01

clearly got wrong well, and the league even acknowledges right

Nestor Aparicio  12:05

Aaron Rodgers, whether his you and I could do eight minutes on that play, and then we probably do 15 minutes on the likely play. And then you think about likely at the end zone, and the zay flowers pushed two weeks ago that ifs and buts and candies and nuts. It’s not like they got freight trained, but they did lose my three touchdowns on Thanksgiving. So, you know, like, I can’t I don’t have purple goggles anymore that Chad steel stole them. So, you know, I see it clearly. But I also don’t think these guys suck, and don’t think that somehow they can’t win in Cincinnati even convincingly in some way because of their defense, or they pick borough off, or burrow gets hurt, or, I don’t know, Burr gets diarrhea in the middle of the NFL, sure, right? You know, whatever. And beating New England here, okay, it’s a gut check, and that would put them back on the map, because they would have beaten a really good team, right? And then they go to Green Bay, and some miracle happens, and it snows, and somehow they squat on the ball. You know what? Like, I could see them getting luckier than they’ve been, you know, I don’t want to give it the luck one way or another, but they’ve been unlucky in a lot of ways, on officiating, on close plays and things like that. They’ve also been bad. They haven’t run the ball, they they haven’t converted. I’ll say all of that, but from a it turning around and then winning two in a row here, I wouldn’t bet against it. I mean, they’re two and a half point favorite on the road. I don’t know what the thing would look like with the New England, but you’ve lost all faith. I’ve kind of, I’m not as far gone as you. You’ve been nastier about them the last two weeks than I have, and because I still have a Derek Henry Jersey in my closet, but, but I, I think at some point, likely will pull the ball in, and zay won’t get the call, and in the bounce, the ball will bounce a different way, and they won’t turn the ball over five times this time. And I, I’m not picking them, I’m still early in the week, and I want to see Lamar. I’m like, Clem Florio, when he used to get the binoculars out at Pimlico, he’d be like, oh, I want to see a move. I want to see how he’s moving before I would bet on it. But I don’t know. I They what’s the line that Berman would always use? Circle the wagons. Bill, circle the wagons. This is circle the wagons. Ish, here it really is. This is, this is. And we haven’t had a lot of circle though, usually our circle the wagons are, hey, they’re playing buffalo. They’re playing the Chargers. It’s week two of the playoffs. It’s January. That’s when you feel the nerves of and they might get eliminated here, and this has gone the wrong way. I feel like they’re as close to winning the division as they are to getting eliminated. And that’s bizarre, man. Yeah.

Luke Jones  15:00

I mean, it’s definitely, I just, I’m tired of waiting for it. You know what? I mean, like, I look

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Nestor Aparicio  15:09

Luke Jones has become the cynic here, everybody. He’s part of YouTube. Negative, I gotta come with a nickname for you. Cynic.

Luke Jones  15:16

Guess how many games I picked them to lose all year? Oh,

Nestor Aparicio  15:20

3222, you know, it’s the Munch, yeah.

Luke Jones  15:24

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Now one of them was that bear. Just the weirdness of the bears with Lamar and then Kyle Hamilton and Stanley ended up not playing, yeah.

Nestor Aparicio  15:33

So they, you’ve picked them to win six times that they, I would

Luke Jones  15:37

have revised that. It like I make my Pick Saturday, you know, I put it out my 12 Ravens. Thoughts with my prediction Saturday mornings. If I revise that Sunday, I would have picked the Not, not, yeah, no, wait, what? No, not the bear. Sorry, I’m getting the bears in the Texans game confused that the Texans game, if I had known Hamilton and Stanley, we’re not going to play, I would have picked the Texans because we knew Lamar was out. I thought, I thought they had a chance to do what they did against the bears against the Texans, if they had Hamilton and Stanley. And they didn’t that day, and they got embarrassed, as we know, so I just look, I’m not going to sit here. This isn’t me sitting here saying they have no chance to win any of these games, but at the same time, like, what would we put their chances are for each of these games? You know, I at best, it kind of feels like a coin flip every week and then so, like, you’re asking me a hell of a parlay bet. You know, are they is the coin going to keep landing on heads, like, three or four weeks in a row? And I just, I

Nestor Aparicio  16:38

feel like they’ve gotten squeezed pretty good the last two weeks, by the by the zebras, and just by bad fortune. In a general sense, it hasn’t been things like dumb, you know, first down jump on the line of scrimmage put you in first and 20. So you got a pun, stupid stuff that was knocking them out last year. These are ticky tack penalties and weird strip plays and, like, just, I mean, those are four, five, if you count four points on the field goal, those are were huge plays. They were touchdown plays, man. They were, what isn’t that? 32 points in plays?

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Luke Jones  17:19

It’s crazy, but that’s the league, though. You know what I mean? Like, I I just, I don’t see it with this team. I just don’t, at this point, I think they’re a really mediocre football team that is probably going to continue to be mediocre, and look to be clear that that formula still could land them in the playoffs. Because, to your point now, it’s not impossible not going to sit here and say that they can’t win in Cincinnati. That’d be dumb to say that. I’m also not going to sit here and puff out my chest and say, Oh, the ravens are coming to town. Well, what does that meant all year? I mean, even when they’ve won, they’ve rarely done it in impressive fashion. And Joe burrows looked a lot better than Lamar has the last two weeks. Operation is looking that’s part of it too. I mean, they’re motivated. There I was, I was, I was really starting to buy what this defense was putting down over the course of the five game winning streak, and the pass rush looking better. You know, look, just the defense being a cleaner operation. And we saw what happened these last two games where they step up in weight class in terms of the opposing quarterback. I mean, they made Aaron Rodgers look like Green Bay. Aaron Rodgers, Rogers had been looked, had looked terrible in recent weeks. You know, burrow. Look burrows a great quarterback. I’m not. Yeah, and, and it wasn’t even the defense like they they let down in the third quarter and gave up the two touchdowns on third down plays, which, you know was part great play by Cincinnati, but also not great from the Ravens. But, you know, I just, I come back to we keep waiting for, like, some version of the Ravens that we all envisioned they were going to be, whether you were picking them to win the Super Bowl, or whether it was, we’ll see in the divisional round, which is where I stood, right? I mean, I, I didn’t pick them to win the Super Bowl this year, but it was, it was kind of the I my default was, I expect them to be playing in the divisional round, and we’ll see if it’s against buffalo or Kansas City, or do they find a way to avoid one of them? And I think part of what hurts about this is, you know, the chiefs are very likely not going to be in the playoffs, and you’re sitting here at six and seven, you know, it’s looking like buffalo is the team that has the chance. I mean, it feels like maybe they’re starting to rise up the last couple of weeks. I mean, we’ll see. I mean, who knows. But I just, I just don’t, I don’t believe in this football team at this point. And look, doesn’t mean that they’re not going to be back next year, or any of that. Doesn’t mean they can’t win the division at nine and eight. But like, I just, I I’m off, I’m off the bandwagon, right? I mean that. I mean. That’s just what I’m saying. Like, that’s just how I feel. Like I’m picking Cincinnati. I put the

Nestor Aparicio  20:03

baseball stadium behind me on Zoom, just for Pete Alonso. So you know, you saying it’s baseball season here.

Luke Jones  20:10

I mean, it’s not yet, but I just, I have a feeling

Nestor Aparicio  20:14

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you’re gonna have to drive up through Somerset, and I’m not gonna be surprised by that. Yeah, I mean, you’re gonna have to Pittsburgh, and I think that’s going to be a meaningful game, maybe for Cincinnati, if they win a couple of games right on

Luke Jones  20:26

Sunday night football. Then, I mean, you know,

Nestor Aparicio  20:28

yeah, this is just really, like, I’ve condensed my schedule and fixed my schedule because of the flex game in Green Bay and where Pittsburgh would be. I moved the Pittsburgh game to eight o’clock on that last week thinking, like, that’s going to be the game. It’s going to be the prime time game on that Sunday night. Because I think it’ll be a play in game. Yeah, I don’t think, I mean, it’s almost going to have to be right in one way or another, unless somebody really falls apart. And I think last week, we were all thinking the Steelers with the team was going to fall apart. I don’t think they’re going to lose to Miami. I don’t think they’re going to lose to the browns. I don’t I think they’ll beat those teams. I think they stand a far better chance of beating those teams than how I feel about the Ravens beat in New England or Green Bay. And based on the things you’ve said, you probably feel the same way.

Luke Jones  21:13

Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, if you kind of look at it, I will say this, Miami, quietly, is playing much better football, and has been for a while. So I think that’s interesting.

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Nestor Aparicio  21:22

By your general manager, you get better.

Luke Jones  21:24

Yeah, right. I mean, crazy, right? So, I mean, it kind of feels like McDaniels saving his job at this point in time. So which is interesting. I certainly wouldn’t have called that two months ago, but, I mean, it’s, that’s where, like, they’ve, they have to win Sunday. I’m, I mean, like, I’m ready to write their obituary if they lose Sunday because, like, especially Pittsburgh wins Monday night, then you’re talking about being two back with three to play. Need a lot of help, including helping yourself. Facing the Patriots, okay, it’s home. They’ve been terrible. They’re three and five at home this year. And then you’re going to go to Green Bay, where Jordan love has played at a high level. I mean, and ain’t gonna Fletch you out of that game. Well, no, not now, no, right? I’m saying you’re going

Nestor Aparicio  22:10

to Green Bay. It’s going to be cold as good balls, and you’re going to be playing for your life, and they’re going to be playing for first place for them too. I mean, you know, they, need to win. They’re, they’re, they want a home game. They don’t want to go to

Luke Jones  22:23

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Chicago, yeah, but, but I just look at this and you know, they’re, they have not played well against good quarterbacks this year. They just haven’t. I mean, who’s the best quarterback they’ve beaten all year, Caleb Williams and, I mean, Joe Flacco and Cleveland,

Nestor Aparicio  22:37

I saw Rogers coming up to the line of scrimmage and reading everything they were doing, and that’s why he was having some success. Burrow saw him two weeks ago. They better get multiple this week, because already studied him once. Burrow had 10 days to study for him, and didn’t even have to play three days before. Dude, I got such a crush on him, right? Just in a general like, he’s a heck of a quarterback, a great quarterback and and I wish they could keep him healthy, that that’s yeah, I fear him on Well, if he kept him healthy, the Ravens would be in deep doo, doo, because the Ravens aren’t as good as them right now, and Lamar is not as good as he is right now. And that’s on a body of work, and that’s on an aging tire on Lamar, where I’m like, the minute Lamar can’t run away from people, they’re not going to like the $70 million you’re spending on him. I mean, there’s not, and I think this is indicative of that. And I think there’s also part of, when you spend $70 million on him, what’s going to be around him, and how that’s going to blossom out, boys. I mean, a lot of questions. This thing hits the side of the road. If this thing crashes in Cincinnati and 430 you and I are looking at a six and eight football team

Luke Jones  23:47

at that point. Yeah, also, yeah, they’re not down the drain, but they’re circling the drain at that point. So, I mean, I

Nestor Aparicio  23:54

that’s no fun. I mean, we haven’t had a season where, like, the season ends before Christmas in some sort of weird way, and then they’re going to go get whacked in front of national audiences the next couple of

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Luke Jones  24:03

weeks too. That’s, that’s where you kind of look at this thing. I mean, you know, we’re going to find out, like, the these next few weeks, I think are going to say a lot about John Harbaugh.

Nestor Aparicio  24:15

And nobody’s gonna say, I piled on John Harbaugh, because I’ve already piled on John Harbaugh, but I’m just, you know, like, literally,

Luke Jones  24:22

this is going to say a lot about what may or may not be left in his tenure as ravens coach. It says a lot about the core, you know, the core of players on either side of the ball. You know, it’s one thing that and look, they, they do deserve credit for getting digging themselves out of one in five. There’s no doubt about that. I’m not going to completely going to completely just gloss over that. Yeah, sure, the post buy schedule was favorable. There’s no doubt about that. But we also see teams lose games every week in the NFL where you scratch your head and say, How

Nestor Aparicio  24:53

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did you lose? Hey, they won those games. And I said, you win five in a row. That’s hard to do. That’s hard to do.

Luke Jones  24:58

That being said. It’s a little bit different now where, like you’re the lights at the end of the tunnel now, or the trains coming

Nestor Aparicio  25:06

towards you read the indicator light a little different when they won five in a row. We all sure, right, sure, yeah,

Luke Jones  25:11

but, but, but you look at it now and now, it’s where it truly you know when it’s one in five, you still can say to yourself, there 11 games left. When you’re six and seven, you’ve got four left, right? I mean, like, and you’re you’re down a game in the division, and you know, you have no shot at a wild card with, with the way that all lays out. So you’re looking at this thing, and you know you’re obviously all eyes are on Cincinnati. But you know, these guys aren’t dumb. They know that the next three games after that are going to be really, really challenging.

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Nestor Aparicio  25:44

Well, it would be one thing to say they lost the game because of five turnovers, and that’s why burrow and those guys ate the turkey, right? Orlando Brown, all those guys, right? I, I, they were outplayed. And the likely play and the zay flowers push was talking points or were talking points in the aftermath of an 18 point loss. But what do you feel could be different about this game, just in a general matchup sense, other than going back 10 days ago and talking about turnovers and some of them bad, some of them unlucky, some of them weird. But Lamar given the ball away, just like, things that happen that were maybe even indicative of him playing a second game in four days and being injured, right? Yeah.

Luke Jones  26:32

I mean, obviously. I mean, if you’re going to turn the ball over five times, like, you’ll probably lose by five touchdowns. Then if you turn it over five times again, so, I mean, that’s, that’s the non starter part of it. Like, like, you obviously have to take better care of the football. And I think, look, I mean, it’s not as though they moved the ball all that extraordinarily well. I mean, they, they, they piled up yard, sure. And like, okay, you can look at the likely play, you can look at the zay play, but it’s not like they were on their way to hanging 50 on the Bengals, despite the fact that the Bengals have had one of these worst statistical defenses of the last three or four decades, as our friend Aaron Schatz has talked about it in terms of DVO way, they have been better over the last few weeks, although certainly in Buffalo. I mean, you kind of look at that and say, Okay, it’s not like they shut down the bills by any means, but that’s where, that’s where I look at this thing. Look, I don’t think their defense is going to shut down Joe burrow, because I just I don’t think their defense is good enough to stop completely stop good quarterbacks. They don’t have a good enough pass rush. And when you don’t have a good enough pass rush, I don’t care how good your guys are on the back end, you’re going to give up some plays. Now I will point out T Higgins is back in the concussion protocol. He was limited at the start of the practice week, but man, that would be a tough sell to me as a football team and as a league, if he came back, played in a game and then was twice checked for concussions, passed, went back into the game and then reported symptoms after the game to let him play six days later. You know that? So I’m going to work under the assumption, until we see, see and hear otherwise, that T Higgins isn’t out there, but T Higgins didn’t play on Thanksgiving night. So they still have Jamar Chase. They still have yoshibash, yoshibox, who caught a touchdown. They still have, you know, they what, Tanner Hudson made the really nice catch for the touchdown. So, I mean, they have weapons. And I mean, obviously they have, you know, Chase brown out of the backfield, who is very active. So yes, they need to be better defensively. But for me, if I’m going to feel good about this team. You know, their chances to win on Sunday, man, their offense needs to be way better. And it’s more than just, you know, don’t turn the ball over like, how about play like the offense. We thought that they could be

Nestor Aparicio  28:55

crisp, moving to the stick, the group, they finishing drives, like all of those things.

Luke Jones  29:00

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And they just haven’t been that, I mean, at all that, since the first half of Buffalo, since the first three and a half quarters of the Buffalo game. And that’s, that’s where I, you know, you asked me why I’m so down on them, and I just watched them play. Just haven’t seen it, yeah, I mean, right, I just think they’re a really, really mediocre football team. And sometimes it’s just how it is. Like, look, I’m the dummy who, six weeks ago, was telling you that this is the best Kansas City has looked in a few years when you talk about their offense and we see what’s happened to them since then. So that’s not to say that, that I’m gonna I’m right here, or that they’re not going to turn it on, but, man, I mean, I feel like waiting for the ravens to turn it on is like waiting for Santa Claus to come down my chimney, you know, like, I mean, we’ll see okay. I mean, that’s just where we are right now. I’m just not a big believer in this football team at all at this point in time. And I I. I question whether they’re going to get off the mat this time. I really do if they, if they go to Cincinnati and win an AFC North Road game after they just dropped AFC North home games back to back, then good. I’ll feel a little bit better. I’ll, I’ll give them a chance against New England. Then, right? So if they don’t,

Nestor Aparicio  30:19

then, well, they’re doing a point favorite to win. So somebody thinks they’re winning this week,

Luke Jones  30:23

Vegas has loved them all year. I mean, I, I joke with someone the other day, Vegas is gonna have the Ravens as a favorite in the Super Bowl as they’re watching from their couch. I mean, like, that’s just, I mean, Vegas has just been an all in on the Ravens all year. So look, Cincinnati’s Cincinnati is not a good team. I mean, they’re four and nine, right? I mean, I’m not. This isn’t about me thinking that the Bengals are awesome or anything like that. This is solely about my just loss of belief in this football team at this point in time. I’m just for them, and we didn’t talk about these elements as nearly as much coming out of Sunday’s game, they had extra rest. They were playing at home again. They had the Super Bowl. 35 team coming in. We talked. We did talk about that they had so they had extra time to prepare. Go down the list all the things that would tell you they should be ready to take it to the Steelers. Not that they have to blow them out by any means, because we know how this rivalry works.

Nestor Aparicio  31:19

But and the Steelers stunk the week before, and the ball went over there, had the first play,

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Luke Jones  31:23

the Steelers stunk worse than they did the week before. And to your point, they came out and gave up a big play right off the bat. And you know, I mean, they never recovered, by the way, where did you

Nestor Aparicio  31:35

stand on the replay after you really looked at it again? The likely thing just, where did you because people have asked me, I’ve been out all week and everywhere I’ve gone. People are like, what did you think? What did you think? I’m a yoga studio there. What do you think? What you think? And I’m like, you know, I to me, he didn’t complete the catch. So, like, I It’s one thing to break the plane of the goal line running through where you got your half a foot over and the ball’s over, right? Whatever, that’s the rule for that. But you have possession when that’s going on as well. If the ball was bobbled up at the goal line, you get likely last week, because there’s no possession. To me, he didn’t he if it was in the field of play, it would have been incomplete, because he really didn’t catch the ball. That’s all. That’s where I am on it.

Luke Jones  32:24

Yeah, I kind of fall into the shrugging my shoulders about the fundamental question that has persisted now for going on 10 or 15 years, what is a catch? What exactly is a catch? In the way they explain things. I’ll put it this way. I can follow the rationale of how they are trying to explain it. But if I’m trying to talk in practical, common sense terms, I felt like a touchdown. I will say this. And this is where it actually, for

Nestor Aparicio  32:57

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me, drew a little bit of a callback to the Lee Evans play, where I just feel like, hold that football with a vice grip, like that, that it’s like your child and someone’s trying to pry it away from pry it away from you, like, hold it like iron clad, you know, like that. No one can. That’s my point, Lou, it’s football. It’s a reception. If you don’t catch it. You didn’t catch it. Yeah, you know I’m saying, that’s why I’m and I’m not catching three steps get stripped. No, no, no. I mean, just like, not a nanosecond, he did not catch the ball and pull the ball in and put his feet down in. And that’s not me being referee speak. I’m just get the he get He took two steps in the same way to me, the Aaron Rodgers play. His hands weren’t on the ball

Luke Jones  33:48

well, and that’s why I said I can’t reconcile that

Nestor Aparicio  33:51

would to me, wasn’t that wasn’t again.

Luke Jones  33:55

I can’t reconcile those two. You know what I mean, like those two calls being made. I can’t reconcile that. One is that way, and the other one is that, you know, so that said, I kind of chuckle when you asked me that, just because it’s funny, we all ask. But does anyone actually change their opinion? No, we everyone feels a certain way about it. You either thought it was a catch, and I think that’s how most people outside of Pittsburgh felt, and in Pittsburgh. Mike Tomlin, hey, good call, right? I mean, like so, but that said, I’ll go back to they still had a chance to score a touchdown. I mean, they had third and two a couple plays later, and they completely botched that didn’t get it on fourth down. And as I said, that two minute drive was absolutely atrocious. Earlier in the fourth quarter, the Bateman drop on fourth down, that would have been a first down and maybe a touchdown. I mean, so I just that’s part of my problem with this team, in terms of you’ve got to have. And they even they, they, they use this term. They talk about having a champion mindset, knowing that things are going to go. Wrong. You know, you might have a turnover, you might have someone slip and bust the coverage. You know, if someone drops a pass, you’ve got to put officiating calls into that same bucket of things that are going to go against you over the course of a game. And that’s not to say that officiating shouldn’t have accountability, not let me, let me be clear on that, but in terms of how you’re going to handle it as a football team and as a professional athlete, and I just, there’s just they’re lacking in that way for me, and that’s just, and look it, that’s part of been what their downfall has been in January. But the problem is,

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Nestor Aparicio  35:35

this year, would you say, going back to our baseball that it’s their makeup?

Luke Jones  35:41

Sure, sure. And look, that’s not to doesn’t mean they stink, you know? It doesn’t mean that they’re not professionals, or in many cases, great, great football players. I mean, you’re talking about a two time MVP. You’re talking about guys that have been all pros

Nestor Aparicio  35:55

running a two minute drill under duress. That was not what he does,

Luke Jones  36:00

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a bad look for everyone, for an eighth year quarterback and for a third year offensive coordinator, and for an offense that was completely healthy, save for Justice Hill, you know, knowing that in a two minute, you know, Justice Hill would have been out there because he’s, he’d be the guy that’s, you know, playing running back in that situation, but Ali’s gonna take Their snaps, right? But, but the point is, that operation entirely, man, that was so below the bar, and that’s everyone’s fault, so. But my point with that is, you know, those are the situations that I just don’t see them handle well enough. And that’s what’s disappointing. That’s what’s been disappointing in January, in in these losses in January, where if you don’t have makeup,

Nestor Aparicio  36:41

it means you didn’t have leadership. If you know, leadership. If you don’t have leadership, it doesn’t mean you don’t have coaching, right? So, like, I’m just, I’m I’m extrapolating where it is because and it’s going to come back to when bashadi is watching that, he’s going to say it’s coaching, but I don’t think he’ll ever fire John. So I don’t know, you know, I this, this last month of who’s going to get blamed for what and who was injured, and is it dicostus fault? And why did it not have a pass rush? And why did they do better things for Lamar? Why did Lamar do better things with Lamar? And how they’re wasting Derek Henry and they wasted D hop at this point, like there’s just a lot of dirt to kick on that grave. Such a thing, I mean, especially when there are two and a half point favorite again this week, every everybody on TV after the game they’re making, they’re going to make the playoffs. Well, like I’m looking at the schedule saying, who’s beating New England and green. But how is this outfit doing that? Maybe one of them, but not both of them. And they go back to Pittsburgh, I don’t know.

Luke Jones  37:38

And that’s where I kind of look at this and say, okay, even if you tell me, each of these four games are a coin flip, which, you know, I’ll give you a Cincinnati like, let’s say Cincinnati. They have a, you know, according to Vegas they, let’s say they put them at like, 53%

Nestor Aparicio  37:53

or so. They’re two and a half point five, which, let’s say they win by two and a half. Let’s say they win by three and they now, they come home. Are they an underdog to the Patriots.

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Luke Jones  38:02

I mean, no, they’re a favor because their home. I mean, maybe minus one, maybe so they’re supposed

Nestor Aparicio  38:09

to winning. That’s close to people think winning is to a picket. This is why people think they’re going to be playing in January, because you’re making the case already before they go play, not making the case of, I’ve seen them play the last two weeks, making more the case of, well, they got unlucky and the ref screwed them.

Luke Jones  38:25

But if the best case is a coin flip in each of those games, one half times, one half times, one half times, one half is their probability of winning out. Now they don’t need to win out, obviously. But you know, you start to look at that and say it’s probably two more losses there. Well, that puts them at eight and nine. I mean, now maybe Pittsburgh’s eight and nine too. And then we’re talking about a tiebreaker scenario. And you know, record against common opponents see your point. They better make sure this is one of the wins this. This has to be a win. I mean, I’m ready to bury them if they lose Sunday. Yeah. I mean, it’s that simple. So now that said, You’re gonna have to see who I pick, because I I just And look,

Nestor Aparicio  39:08

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pick them and flex them into these games, thinking like, this is gonna be still Lamar.

Luke Jones  39:13

It’s still a high profile team. It’s still a team that has a lot of stars. Look, there’s a reason why. When you when you drive down 695 and there’s a fender bender on the shoulder, everyone slows down. So they want us. So there’s even that element. And the same thing applied with applies with Pittsburgh.

Nestor Aparicio  39:30

Well, New England needs to win to get a one seed. Green Bay is going to need to win the so, I mean, they’re big games no matter what we you know. But and the notion that the Ravens would find themselves on the other side of elimination at six and eight by losing a Cincinnati. But kind of screw that plan up a little bit. So faith, Luke, there’s no reason to believe. So let’s believe anyway.

Luke Jones  39:49

My last point, that’s where you know I talked about it a lot. From the Ravens perspective, I am very interested to see what the Bengals, how they come out. How are they? They jazzed up with burrow being at home for the or do they think they’re four or nine? Or do they was last week the, you know, custer’s Last Stand and like, they kind of go through the motions and then, because if that happens, then yeah, maybe the Ravens win by 17 points. And people were, I’m not ready to say Super Bowl back on at that point. But then, yeah, you’re feeling a little bit better about your chances against New England then, but, I mean, you got to win. I mean, you lost back to back division games at home. Not much to feel good about when that happens, even if, no, they weren’t blowout scenario. You know, at least Pittsburgh wasn’t a blowout scenario. But, my goodness, you got to go win a football game. Your season is on the line here and but kind of sort of said the same thing last week, and we saw how that turned out. So mom were alive

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Nestor Aparicio  40:47

this week, and damn referees, they screwed us. They screwed us.

Luke Jones  40:51

Hey, you could say that too. That’s fine,

Nestor Aparicio  40:53

but you know, they got to play better. I miss my mom when the Ravens get screwed. Luke Jones is here. He is Baltimore, Luke. We are doing the Maryland crab cake tour at six places. I’ve got a big old fadeless crab cake in my belly. I even stopped at Koco’s in my home, because I’m not doing any tour. Stops there until the cup of Super Bowl. So I brought home some coconut shrimp. I brought home a creek salad. I ate some sodo ribs, which were unbelievably good. There’s two in the fridge right now. I may go have some. It’s all brought to you by the Maryland lot or friends at GBMC. I’ve been eating more since my colonoscopy. I can’t explain it, but I’m just hungrier and healthier and happier, even if the Ravens aren’t doing well. I’ve been studying up on AI having some fun. Bill Kohl’s gonna join me next week and do all that. I’ve got great conversations from DiPasquale’s. We’re going to be at honeys in halethorpe with a lot of Baltimore County electeds. My dear friend Sean stinnett’s coming by on Friday as well. Who is now going to be an elected, not elected, former w NSC intern, Sean Stinnett delegate, but he’s actually running. He was appointed. So he’ll be with me on Friday next week, Thursday, Costas Timonium, or excuse me, Dundalk, Planet Fitness Timonium on the 22nd and then the 19th. We’re going to be at gertrudes with cousin John shields. Chef John shields, somehow my kid married into his family, so he’s my cousin, and I’m bringing the eggnog. He’s bringing the gingerbread. I’m going to bring the candy cane scented tickets. So we’re going to have a holiday hoot nanny over at the BMA at the gertrudes next Friday, and Dan Rogers going to be there preaching the Feast of the Seven Fishes. For me, I’m just hoping that the Ravens aren’t swimming with the fishes. They’re in the Ohio River outside of Cincinnati. You know, football, it’s a long season. Twist and turns, Luke’s this close to giving up on him, but not me. I’m in on him this week. We’re Baltimore positive. Stay with us. You.