Our resident Cincy radio host and former NFL safety Solomon Wilcots tells Nestor about The Jungle waiting for Ravens in the chili-plated and playoff mad Queen City on Sunday night. Joe Burrow has raised the bar in Ohio.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
cincinnati, week, ravens, game, play, lamar, winning, team, people, joe, quarterback, bengals, baltimore, player, playoff, financial insecurity, cigars, sirius xm, league, field
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
W n s t test the Baltimore and Baltimore positive we’re doing the Maryland crab cake tour putting it back on the road with friends this week lifelong friends Andy at G and a Coney Island hot dog moved his business from island town out to White Marsh and I am having my first crab cake with him and we’re gonna be doing it on Thursday. In advance of all things ravens it’s all brought to you by the Maryland lottery I got some my ravens scratch offs I’ll be giving away as well as a few holiday cash wrap leftovers. That’s a $50 Winners couple of weeks ago cost us with jeans shock from the Go Go’s as well as our friends at window nation 8669. D nation you buy two you get two free and five years is 0% financing. They didn’t give me 0% financing, but they’ll give it to you and when the nation they want it’s playoff week around here. It’s the weirdest weirdest strangest playoff week I’ve been through a mall. I’ve been to a mall. We’ve had a lot of them. A lot of them have been out on the road. But I never been to Cincinnati for a playoff game. Solomon wilcots is in Cincinnati, Ohio with his little bangle helmet behind him doing this fantastic radio show for Sirius XM each and every day. And I only bother him when the Ravens get together with the Bengals even though he’s bothered with 32 other teams and the 32 other places and all that pretty big week where you are right now. Solly right. I mean, this is Maddie stuff and who a nation out there in Cincinnati.
Solomon Wilcots 01:19
Very heavy stuff. Because first of all, you know the ravens and Bengals we know they don’t like each other. They’re used to tussling in the postseason. I still remember one game when Andy Dalton hit Tyler Boyd across the middle and ended the Ravens playoff hopes that year of getting into the postseason. And then last week with all the machinations of what the league was doing, because the Bengals only played in 16, not 17 games, saying okay, you get the percentages of winning the AFC North title. But if you lose to Baltimore in the final game, you’re going to have to have a coin toss if you have to play him in the playoffs. Well, the Bengals were not happy about that. There’s no doubt there was a lot of people on social media, calling the Bengals a paper champion. So the Bengals wanted to go out and win that game last week they want they knew that it would have only been right to hand out T shirts and hats after getting it done on the field. And now they’re gonna play each other back to back weeks. That’s Never before happened.
8
Nestor Aparicio 02:21
So you evaluate all these teams. And just because you’re in Cincinnati, and you’re probably closer to that situation where we are telling me about my situation here as you view it from there. In that second year, quarterback can’t play live where we all we can all say we love Lamar place game like nobody else in a different way. High risk. We talked about him running the linebackers, all of that. But where this franchise is right now, where are these press conferences where John looks a little bewildered and lost. We’re on the front end of not knowing whether he’s going to play Vegas thinks he’s playing I saw the pointspread. Right, which we can say that now because we’re all they’re all in on gambling and betting. So I can say that now. Yeah, for you and watching the weirdness of his contract all of this he represents himself. They say he’s coming back, you as a former player, you know, you want an age to get a second opinion on that knee. You won’t be flown around, see Dr. Andrews or whomever it is. You want your own timeline, not John Harbaugh was one to three weeks. They’re telling the NFL Network, he’s playing Christmas and now oops, January 15. This is weird, man. And I’ve been doing this forever. I don’t know what to make of all of this. What do you make of it?
Solomon Wilcots 03:34
If if Lamar Jackson was actually speaking, and he shouldn’t be, even if he did have an agent, his agent be like, you can’t negotiate in the press. So just stay out of there. I think if truth be told, and if we all allow our emotions to separate, and I don’t have any emotions in it, because I’m on here at Cincinnati, you know, I’m not, I’m not attached to the organization. But I’ve covered the Ravens for a long time. I really care deeply about Mr. pachadi. I love them. And I like the I got close to that organization when Ozzy was there and learn to appreciate the Baltimore Ravens in a great way. So I esteem them very highly. But if truth be told, there this fractures of the unity they had is beginning to kind of fray a little bit. And it has to, because there was a point in time that if the Unity was going to stay strong, that they would have taken care of Lamar pay to Lamar at an appropriate time. Because right now as he sits here, he doesn’t have financial security. And people are wanting him to go out and play as if he does. See this is
Nestor Aparicio 04:49
going to play off right like
Solomon Wilcots 04:51
8this is this is still a business. That’s that’s what I’m sitting here telling. So the in the business relationship There’s the team. There’s the player. And then there’s the fans. And the fans are part of the business dynamic, right? You know, let’s face it, they are. The fans are like, Oh, come on the Marlins, what the team is like, if you want your money you should play. This is what we told you. You’re always getting hurt at the end of the year. Well, just like you would say to your employer, or anyone would say, I got hurt working for you. Like I got, I got hurt providing a service for you. And so now you want me to play when I’m less than 100%. But yet I don’t have financial security. There’s a precedent here. Go back to 2005. There’s a quarterback by the name of Drew Brees. He played for the Chargers. And he’s playing on the last game of the same kind of contract that that Lamar is laying now. He blew out his shoulder on his throwing on. You know what happened? You know what the team, the team that drafted the the team that said they love him so much. You know what they did? They threw him out like trash. And they elevated Phillip rivers, he became the quarterback. And guess what, not even the Miami Dolphins would sign Drew Brees. And it just so happened to team in a city that was broken in New Orleans. They signed the quarterback that was broken. And Drew Brees. The rest is history. But he’s still working on that shoulder for the rest of his days. And the financial insecurity there was exploited by the Chargers. So I think we need to step back and understand that this is a much more complex thing. I think Lamar wants to play. But we need to ask ourselves can he play? In other words, physically Can he play? And then we have to ask ourselves should he play? That’s a whole nother different conversation? Well,
Nestor Aparicio 06:47
just the fact that we’re asking that is makes this wildly unique. And certainly the way the Ravens have stumbled into this thing. There’s no better agent for Lamar is contract and watching this freaking team played last six weeks, right? Like trying to play without him in this system. There’s nobody that does what he does. His view, his value is is innate, it’s just sitting there to say with him, they have a chance of winning on Sunday night in Cincinnati. Without him, they have no chance of winning.
Solomon Wilcots 07:22
But the best case scenario would be if he was playing ball and out winning all the games take you deep into the playoffs. But there’s for NFL players, we have the saying sometimes the heart is willing but the body’s not a he’s willing to play. That’s how you got to eight and four in the first 12 games. So he’s willing to play even though he’s got this financial uncertainty, but now everyone wants to wants him to double down on on it by saying play harder without financial security.
Nestor Aparicio 07:55
Do you really fudge and be
8Solomon Wilcots 07:58
done? Do you realize what you’re asking? Well, I think people are starting to ask Lamar to do something that they themselves wouldn’t do. And I already gave you the president the example of what can happen if he plays in, say this game on Sunday night, given the financial insecurity and he gets hurt to the point where now he’s on the market. I guarantee if he blows out that knee in a game on Sunday, let’s just play devil’s advocate. You think the ravens are gonna sign me to their long term contract, even with the one that was on the table? That thing will come off the table so quick. You didn’t make your head spin.
Nestor Aparicio 08:35
Last question as to whether it’s even on the table at this point, to your point, whether he wants to be in Baltimore, after Hollywood Brown and Solly this this is so unique, right? Because I’m seeing Joe Flacco throw the ball around and and he they threw him out like luggage 1.2 He’s not getting a statue here. He’s
Solomon Wilcots 08:54
business that this doesn’t. This doesn’t make the Ravens the bad guy. And but I’m just telling you to tell people it doesn’t make Lamar the bad guy either. And just because you see hardball, upset doesn’t mean that Lamar did something wrong. It just that means the coach and getting what he wants. Look, Miss Coach Harbaugh can’t go down there and say here, here, Lamar, here’s a contract. That’s not his job. His job is to coach the player once he gets him. Okay, Mr. Prashad. He’s the only one that can sign into the dotted line. And it’s also up to Lamar to say yes or no will he accept, say if contract? The coach is caught in the middle here a little bit. I’m sure he gets the way it was. But he wants a player he don’t have access to the player. And this doesn’t make the Ravens wrong. I’m not saying that they should be vilified. But I’m also cautioning people because we tend to vilify the player right? Because we want the player to do all these great things play well play if you’re hurt, when do all this stuff. But then nobody is saying well, God Can we at least give the guy some financial security before we ask him to do all these wonderful one amazing things
Nestor Aparicio 10:07
8on the back end at Mr. Hanlon last week, I think that’s front and center in everyone’s mind, Solomon wilcots Here, bringing his usual wisdom. And you can follow Solomon’s wisdom out on Twitter, as well as that in the Cincinnati area, getting the chili all worked up for us Sunday Night Football, super wildcard weekend and all that stuff. So for the Ravens in this pivotal time for this franchise, Solly and winning or losing, and hey, they go down, shock the world. And then they got Patrick mahomes Next week, and then there’ll be Josh Allen are like that, on the other end of all of that. This is a wild tournament, there are some great players coming into their own, sort of the looking forward to this tournament and who comes out of it. This is a wild tournament and a lot of ways including maybe even, and I know you don’t wanna hear this in Cincinnati neutral site game for a championship game, all of it. That’s happened since last Monday night. It’s been a whirlwind of things. But the Ravens being in the middle of this and cleaning out lockers maybe on Monday without Lamar sign. Boy, ranch is his take on different directions, whether it’s fired coaches this week, Monday, all of that that’s going on. There’s just a lot moving in the league this week. And even more so when six more teams get their feelings hurt this weekend.
Solomon Wilcots 11:30
Listen, there’s a finality to it all of the 14 teams that are in the playoffs, only one is going to end with a with a happy end. Like okay, and you are right, there’s ramifications or repercussions to not winning these games just like there were went from not winning during the regular season. So yeah, there’s still more to come. We got five teams out there right now shopping for a new head coach in the National Football League. There’s gonna be more added to that list. By the time it’s all said and done. I can tell you this from a Cincinnati Bengals standpoint. This team was built to weather the storm. No one’s ever believed in them. A quick order they’ve been able to go from one of the worst teams in the league to one of the best teams in the league. When the scheduling came out. Everybody looked at the last eight games of the regular season said whoa, it’s murderer’s row. You’ve got teams like at Pittsburgh, you’ve got Tennessee you got Kansas City. You’ve got on the road. You’ve got they just started. I mean all these Tampa Bay, and then you finish up with Buffalo and then on then at Baltimore at home. murderer’s row, they go eight Uno and their final eight games the second half of the season. Their General Manager Duke Tobin has been named executive of the year last year probably should get it again this year because they won games this year without Jamar Chase. They’ve won games this year without Trey Hendrickson on the field. Some of their best players Joe Mixon missed a couple of weeks, he score five touchdowns, and he’s out for two weeks ammaji P Ryan comes in and this guy’s had have have a career game every single week. It’s somebody different. And you’re asking, you’re going through your your guides and who the hell is this guy, but they just kept winning. They’re they’re very resilient group. And they didn’t like the fact that by virtue of the way that the league handled things, they were immediately taken out of the running for a number one see immediately, not because of what happened on the field. But by the way that the league decided to litigate or manage the crises they found themselves in. But you know what, all they did was go out in the final week of the regular season. They wanted to earn it on the field by beating the Baltimore Ravens on the field, they weren’t going to have the Ravens walk around saying we swept you guys that you still won the Division crown. How is that so they’re willing to earn it, they didn’t pass out one t shirt, they didn’t pass out one hat until they proved it on the field. So you have to like the way that this team is being managed. And that the way that the perception of how they carry themselves is being handled.
Nestor Aparicio 14:14
Well we watched him play and you know what this is like sort of this back to back they’re gonna see each other again and how much was shown in the game on Sunday, how hard the Bengals had to work against the second team. Some thoughts about the Bengals in them going through this last year and how that benefits them because I mean, I remember last time you and I got together. I thought at the two minute warning, y’all were in the Super Bowl. You know what I mean? I think everybody in the upper deck with me, and so fi thought that too and today in the jungle, it was very, very close the cocky quarterback as part of the storyline. I sort of liked that kid don’t tell anybody you know, I mean, I you know coming at LSU boy, the Ravens fans this week especially have caught on to oh, he’s the new bad guy. He’s Roethlisberger, he’s the guy for the next 10 years. It’s gonna be our Peyton Manning our Tom Brady, our pain in the ass. That guy we’re gonna have to deal with because that kid’s not going anywhere even if somehow, Sunday night miracles happen and you’re cleaning lockers out and we’re going to Kansas City. Joe borrows a series cat man.
Solomon Wilcots 15:18
First of all, I think what the Bengals showed last year, because you talked about the postseason. It’s a tournament. It belongs to anybody who’s in it. The Ravens have just as good a shot as all the other 13 teams in the postseason. Everybody’s got a shot. The reason why the Bengals like their chances since this guy came to town in quick order. He turned around the franchise turned around the team and the town. I’ll just share with you a story. He grew up in Athens, Ohio, we know it’s a blue collar town. And this story is told by his AAU nine year old basketball coach who happens to be a sociology professor at the University of Ohio. He’s coaching AAU basketball, he’s got this kid on his team who’s the point guard by the name of Joe burn. He said, we’re down by eight, with just seconds like 40 seconds left to go. And we keep they keep falling. Joe Joe keeps knocking down the free throws. He knocks down one knocks down another. He said I’ve never seen a kid at that age that didn’t blink. That under pressure. His post never went above normal. He knocked him down, I end up winning the game by two points. He said he after the game, he went over to Joe Burroughs parents and said, Look, I just got to share which because I’m a sociology professor at the University and we study behavior and what we call first responders and EMT specialists. This is the kind of behavior that we see and and first responders and firefighters and and policemen. People have to act in a moment and their post never go above normal. He said we also see it in serial offenders. And everyone in this town, we have heard that story. That’s the same Joe Berle we see on Sundays. That’s the same Joe burrow we see that gets sacked nine times. And it don’t change a thing. And so what you see in him is not bravado, because he don’t go around telling people how good he is. That’s what bragging is. That’s what bravado that’s what arrogance is. He’s just extremely confident in himself. But he knows he’s got to lead other 4052 other guys. So he doesn’t with this charisma, with the strength about themselves. That every single guy in that locker room. We’ll follow him. We got people signing up to play in Cincinnati that wouldn’t even come to have the chili. But they come here to play with Joe burrow, because they know championships are coming. He said it when they asked him how long is the window open for this team to win a championship? He said, Oh no, that window will be open for as long as I’m here. He was bragging. He would just say and like Mike Thomas said the standard is the standard. He says this is the standard work. As long as I’m here. We’re gonna be playing for championships. There’s no other way to even think about it. Now I’m gonna tell you something. Everyone wants a quarterback like that. Everyone does.
8Nestor Aparicio 18:23
Well, yeah, you hate him because you can’t beat him. So we’ll catch you. Hey, man, you get all fired up. You might want to go back and play with a guy like him, don’t you?
Solomon Wilcots 18:33
It’s all about love. We love football Metairie. When you when you run across a young player like this. You get excited. You get excited. They look after you beat the Patriots Bella check. Bella check could couldn’t wait to get over there to talk to him. I remember they played the Packers last year. Aaron Rodgers couldn’t wait to get over there and talk to this guy is the real deal. I know I’m not saying that because he’s a think look, I covered all these guys. I cover Peyton Manning I said that about him. I said this about Drew Brees when he was in San Diego and they left him for scrappy. I knew he was the real deal. Top right look when you can’t when you see him. You know him.
Nestor Aparicio 19:12
Right now John Holmes were Trevor Lawrence looks like he might be going there’s a lot of real deals right now. This is exciting for me. Right? This
Solomon Wilcots 19:21
8guy’s different. He’s different. Not look Justin Herbert got more talent than Joe burrow. We’re not talking about talent. We’re talking this we’re talking this but there’s a lot of middle linebacker that ain’t a lot of Ray Lewis is running around you know what I’m saying? I mean come on now. Look there’s a lot of free safety day a lot of like every man you guys had your turn you guys knew you know what special looks like don’t tell don’t sit here act like you don’t know but net when they on the other team you just don’t want to let to sell Polina the first time I saw Ray Lewis in an NFL game they were Playing the Bengals. And now I’m gonna tell you something. It was here at all Three Rivers Stadium. Boomer Esiason was, I think it was 90 770-697-9690. So that went into the locker room. I saw this number 52 Martin. This too was different. I had to go over and introduce myself I introduced myself and Ray couldn’t have been nicer was after the game and I was like, Hey, buddy, is this dude I told everybody I said today, there’s two different Mike Singletary all the all the ones step aside. This guy is going to change the face of the organization. I was right now. Look, you don’t play for my team, but I love ballplayers. That’s what I get passionate about. When you see that kind of real wrong love for the game. You already know they’re gonna leave an imprint on our league like nobody who ever came before that’s all that’s all I know. So look all those other guys are good. I’m not taking anything bro. But this guy’s do.
Nestor Aparicio 21:04
Well, they’re gonna come steal our lunch money on Sunday night. Sama Wilcox is here. He’s out in Cincinnati. And you know, I hope you get one of his cigars if this thing ever happens for you in Cincinnati at the parade. You know one of those those Joe burrow specials.
Solomon Wilcots 21:17
I have some cigars right here in my humidor. Okay. I guarantee he wants one of mine before I want one to hear.
Nestor Aparicio 21:26
Okay, all right. That’s what but he’s got winning ones you know.
8Solomon Wilcots 21:31
Listen, they’re all winning. Trust me a cigar you must not be a cigar smoker because everybody who smokes cigars No. It’s a mini vacation. As soon as you light it up. A cigar is known as a mini vacation.
Nestor Aparicio 21:45
Well I tell you what, I have a massive celebration at some points. I just hope it doesn’t come at our expense Salli ala Sunday night that’s another thing but here at my flight was in on Sunday and out at like 5am Monday and because I was gonna go like straight to the airport like after the game and all I could think about was me sitting in an all night chilly stand at around 230 in the morning with three way and all the cinnamon they put on there and season being over for someone that’s going to be the case at 2am on Sunday night. We just hope it’s not us. But I don’t like our it’s tough right now going into this wouldn’t be incompetent on our end
Solomon Wilcots 22:27
that we hope Lamar plays in this because I love watching him play you know he he went to school nearby here just about an hour’s drive south and Lou. And so the people here in Cincinnati are big Lamar Jackson fans except for when he plays us. That’s it like we we literally in Cincinnati, we root for Lamar, trust me when I tell you I know people don’t believe that. Because you know, we’re big enough to put emotions on the table. But now when they play against us, that’s the only time when people in Cincinnati aren’t rooting for Lamar, but we you know, he we cheered him on during that MVP run. We’re hoping that things work out for him in Baltimore. I really want the best for him. I think he’s a tremendous competitor. And he works just as hard as all the other great quarterbacks in our league and I think that should be more of a conversation that people should be talking about. As it pertains to Lamar Jack’s
Nestor Aparicio 23:23
8as Ravens fan stylee we’ve watched them play with him and we watched him play without it. It’s all a lot more fun to watch and play with it. No doubt about it. Take care of yourself. Keep that going. That wisdom you have out there at Sirius XM and everything you have that at Twitter. I would love to see you at the Super Bowl this year out in Phoenix and I certainly I will be thinking of you and people like you and Hobson and Laugh all you guys out there if it ever if the magic moment ever happens for you guys.
Solomon Wilcots 23:51
All right, we appreciate the NAS all the best take care God Wilcox and
Nestor Aparicio 23:55
the wisdom of Solomon. You can find them out on Twitter and it’s Sirius XM seven to 10 each and every day out on Sirius XM so make sure you’re doing that and listen to Howard Stern too. And you know, listen to him. I am Nestor we are wn S T A and 5070, Towson Baltimore. Play off week around here. We’re going to Cincinnati we are Baltimore positive.com
