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Edholm colon Hard to argue with any of the decisions of Eric DeCosta on draft weekend

Luke Jones and Nestor recap the Ravensโ€™ unusually small draft class and discuss whatโ€™s next for general manager Eric DeCosta in building a roster for September.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

draft, teams, talking, ravens, marcus peters, lamar, year, corner, quarterback, play, baltimore, afc, point, offseason, mentioned, feel, bengals, lamar jackson, signs, rookie

SPEAKERS

Nestor Aparicio, Luke Jones

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

What about W en st Towson, Baltimore and Baltimore positive we are positively into a beautiful spring week. Lamar Jackson sign. The Orioles are playing great baseball. Luke Jones is here to monitor and the Chronicle all things at a Baltimore positive you can follow his work at Baltimore, Luke. And of course if thereโ€™s any breaking news as there was last week, get plenty of it. Youโ€™ll get it first on the wn s. T tech service brought to you by Coons, Baltimore Ford, look whatโ€™s going on, man, you gotta come out of crabcake with me at some point now that the Lamar watch is all over with maybe over MC falls on Thursday get I got a lottery ticket for you to come by.

Luke Jones  00:38

But that sounds great. Weโ€™ve talked about this so much. And weโ€™ll continue to talk about it cuz you and I have differences of opinions of Lamar and all that. And thatโ€™s fine. It makes for interesting radio. But can I just say and I know I echoed this when we first talked about the reaction to the contract. I am glad itโ€™s over. I mean, this, I mentioned in a previous segment, the dark cloud that was just hanging over the entire organization, the entire fan base. I think it just gotten to the point where just wasnโ€™t healthy. Everyone felt the way they felt about it. And I didnโ€™t feel like after a while anyoneโ€™s opinion was really changing. But I think the one thing that everyone could agree with, at a certain point in time was, can we have a resolution, whether thatโ€™s Lamar getting a big contract, whether thatโ€™s Lamar getting traded what you know, signed to an offer sheet elsewhere, whatever it is, I think everyone was ready to move on from that part of the conversation. And now, the focus, the Attention now shifts back onto the field, not just with Lamar Jackson, but with the 2023 Baltimore Ravens who completed a six man draft class and not the sexiest of draft classes beyond as a flowers in the first round, which a wide receiver is almost always a new shiny toy. And I think thereโ€™s some very easy comparisons to be made to Hollywood Brown, but I think they flowers, five foot nine 185, little more toughness, little more physicality little more willing to mix it up and get yards after the catch maybe the marquis Brown was but you look at the rest of the draft class. Clearly a focus on the future, as is usually the case when youโ€™re talking about later round picks. But I think if youโ€™re the ravens, I know you mentioned this in a previous segment. Itโ€™s kind of by default, youโ€™re just gonna say you feel like he got better, because while you added players that you didnโ€™t have anymore, right, even if the players arenโ€™t very good, typically, youโ€™re not going to get worse by doing that. But I think for the ravens, They felt like it was a very productive weekend. And it was very telling Eric to caster after the draft had concluded on Saturday, late Saturday afternoon into the early evening. He acknowledged theyโ€™re tired, but he said it was a good tired. And I think most of that context, obviously the Lamar situation. But we also know that these draft classes, these draft halls that these picks that they make, itโ€™s at least a year, if not for some of these guys a couple years in the making. So thereโ€™s a lot of work a lot of boots on the ground, lot of sweat equity that goes into these picks. And you know that of the six players that they took, certainly theyโ€™re not going to go six for six. It never goes quite that well. But youโ€™re hoping that you came away with at least a few guys that are going to help your team to varying degrees over the next few years.

Nestor Aparicio  03:31

Well, yeah, we could sit here and talk about day two and day three picks and how that affects the team and guys run in special teams and you know, heck this week, Iโ€™ve got a young man from Dundalk thatโ€™s going to camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So you know thereโ€™s a dream for all of these guys. But the reality for the Ravens at cornerback and the reality for them at linebacker which weโ€™ve discussed that thereโ€™s an abundance. We talked about the Orioles having too many infielders, and, you know, never enough pitching even though it feels like they have enough pitching right now, the back end, which was your complaint for a long, long time. I remember way back when when all you did was pitch about secondary in the offseason and Ozzie Newsome and all that, that there needs to be a veteran signing that they would have maybe gone with corner at 22 Instead of wide receiver. I donโ€™t know if we were shocked on the other side of Odell Beckham and I donโ€™t, heโ€™s not long term. We sort of know that based on what heโ€™d want to be compensated especially if he does pan out this year. And they win that Super Bowl that Lamar has talked about and promised so but for the back end and for the defense and for what theyโ€™ve done offensively now, which is this deep, rich wide receiver room with all of these guys are going to make you forget about James Brochet and Devin DuVernay and a Thailand Wallis and all the rest of these guys that John had to sort of remember on no cards as he was going through to make sure he didnโ€™t offend anybody. But the secondary in that room right now what Mark is Peter Whatโ€™s gonna happen here?

Luke Jones  05:01

Yeah, I think thatโ€™s whatโ€™s gonna be interesting. And even as someone is listening to us talk about this keep in mind, we are now at the point where we are passing the deadline for the compensatory pick formula. That wouldnโ€™t factor in from Marcus Peters, of course, because he was was a raven. So itโ€™s not as though theyโ€™ve theyโ€™re worried about losing comp pick, you know, the compensation part of this. But for someone like Iraq Eocene, who was someone that they visited with earlier, in the free agent process, anyone that was an unrestricted free agent, you get to the Monday after the draft, you get to the 4pm deadline, they no longer count against a compensatory pick formula. We know if we know anything about the ravens, we know they love compensatory picks, I mean, thatโ€™s evident over the course of their entire history, and where they rank in terms of comp picks over the years. But I think thatโ€™s, thatโ€™s significant because they clearly need to bring in at least one veteran corner, if not a couple. And keep in mind that could also be done via trade. We already mentioned just spitballing the idea of is there a Patrick Queen for some other teams slot corner kind of deal out there. And again, I donโ€™t know that Iโ€™m just throwing it out there as a talking point, but they clearly need to add there. You look at the roster. Offensively, it looks pretty set, theyโ€™ve got to figure out left guard, but theyโ€™ve got Ben Cleveland, theyโ€™ve got a couple other internal candidates, you know, not saying necessarily the sixth round rookie whose name Iโ€™m still scared to try to pronounce over the air at this point. But they have candidates there and theyโ€™re typically youโ€™ll find some veterans out there that if push comes to shove, you can kind of patchwork that together and get by especially having Ronnie Stanley to the left guards left and Tyler Lindenbaum to his right. So offensively, theyโ€™re pretty much set right? Theyโ€™ve got work to do. You gotta install new offense got to have Lamar Jackson come in and build rapport with Odell Beckham and ze flowers but you feel good about that defensive line? Well, thereโ€™s certainly some questions long term. You know, when you look at the contract status of Justin Matta, BK Broderick, Washington, you look at the age of a Michael Pierce of a brand urban. Theyโ€™re pretty much in place on the D line. Youโ€™d love to see a couple young guys step forward. That could be pieces for the future. But youโ€™re youโ€™re good there for 2023 Even if itโ€™s not a great group, I think itโ€™s solid at the very least, inside linebacker, you know, weโ€™ve already talked about Patrick crane. Weโ€™ll see how that plays out. But you have row Quan Smith there, I think even if itโ€™s the rookie Trenton Simpson next to row Quan, I think thereโ€™ll be okay there you Pedro Quan Smith $100 million to be okay there and I think they will be edge rusher. I mean, they added TBS Robinson, you know, you still have high expectations for adopt AOA, who I think at this point, you know, heโ€™s kind of under the microscope this year this year three needs to start living up to the hype. David Jabo fully healthy offseason I think theyโ€™re expecting big things from him. You have Tyus Bowser. But is there a Justin Houston reunion? Oh, on the horizon. I think thatโ€™s a distinct possibility. And maybe that comes over the summer like it did last couple years. But you look at corner right now. Marlon Hopper you feel great about right three time Pro Bowl corner. Heโ€™s your number one, no question about it. And even his versatility knowing he can play on the outside, or you can move them inside to play the nickel in certain spots, depending on the matchup, any given week. But beyond that, I look at where they are. And with no disrespect to KU blue Kelly, who they drafted in the fifth round out of Stanford a four year starter. Its father played in the NFL, a nice pedigree, but heโ€™s a fifth round pick. Youโ€™re certainly not looking at him as someone youโ€™re targeting the play as a rookie, other than just on special teams. So you Who is it right now on paper without a veteran or two being added to the mix? I mean, yeah, Brandon Stevens whoโ€™s done some nice things. But are you ready to make him your number two corner? I thatโ€™s thatโ€™s a step a little too far for me you.

Nestor Aparicio  09:06

Are you ready to make Marcus Peters your number two corner and what price? Do you think he can still play? Do they think he can still play? Is he done being an earner in that sort of Jimmy Smith way where heโ€™ll hang on, you know, on Moxie and certainly a dog? I mean, as he loves him. I mean, like they love him. Like, if thereโ€™s a place for him to play in the league at a fair price, because nobodyโ€™s gonna pay him $10 million a year. Right? They saw the tape. But how do you feel about him? Does that does that feel locked down if they bring him back at 4 million because that where are we you know, whatever the number is that they can afford? Is he the answer?

Luke Jones  09:42

Well, first of all, they should be able to afford a reasonable deal at this point. We need to see the Lamar contract structure, but the assumption is theyโ€™ve cleared some cap space compared to what what he would have been at 32.4 Because you look at these deals typically year one, they are pretty forgiving in terms of the cap number so financially cap cap structure wise they should be okay to to make move. Okay? If youโ€™re talking about Marcus Peters signing him to a long term deal or anything like that Iโ€™d be uncomfortable. But if youโ€™re talking about him in a 2023 light I donโ€™t think while there was some drop off last year, I donโ€™t think he played so poorly that youโ€™re looking at him as a liability or a guy thatโ€™s not still a starting caliber corner in this league. So I would absolutely be open to that now rock Eocene would be someone thatโ€™s a little bit younger. Never the the caliber of player of Marcus Peters in his prime, but certainly someone that you would sign and would say, Okay, itโ€™s gonna be a starting corner for you. So well,

Nestor Aparicio  10:48

Esther slay and how that might have worked out right, like right off the off season Purple Rain three, if Iโ€™m writing it is, thatโ€™s how close they were to spending a lot of money. Thatโ€™s how important that position felt to them six weeks ago, right that they were going to spend a lot of money and make a splash. And instead they wanted them to spend the night on a wide receiver. Really? Thatโ€™s what happened with the money for this year.

Luke Jones  11:11

No, I agree with you. I think if they had signed Darius slay then yeah, I donโ€™t think Odell Beckham would be Raven right now. Probably not. At least not at 15 for $15 million. So

Nestor Aparicio  11:23

and then maybe Jackson wouldnโ€™t be a raven, maybe? Maybe? I donโ€™t know. Right. At 5 million. I think Lamar was gonna come in either way.

Luke Jones  11:30

Yeah, and Iโ€™ll still Iโ€™ll still maintain that. I think the Jalen hertz deal was way more influential on getting this done than signing Odell Beckham and Beckham may have warmed up the temperature a little bit. But I still think it comes back to the Hertz steel and theyโ€™re just being that the price point from

Nestor Aparicio  11:46

a football team standpoint, they offered the money to slay they were ready to go. So like according to him, right. So at the end of the day, the they prioritize when they got together with Jupiter with Steve and smoke cigars and had lemonade out on the deck. They the priority was, letโ€™s go get the corner. Letโ€™s take care of that. We donโ€™t be a Marcus, weโ€™re done with him. Weโ€™re gonna do this. And then the kid turn them down. And that turned into this. I mean, it really is. That That seems to me, I donโ€™t have the narrative wrong.

Luke Jones  12:18

Well, first of all, Darius Leigh is not a kid, heโ€™s actually sex a little older than Marcus Peters. So, so thatโ€™s part of where he maybe you take a little bit of pause anyway. But he was with the eagle, he was still with the Eagles, right? I mean, he never actually got released, it was just one of those cases where, you know, that player is kind of in that limbo, where might get traded, and you kind of see how itโ€™s gonna play out. And they talked to some other teams. Again, this is according to him, the Ravens have never commented on that, because that would technically be tampering, you know, from a legal standpoint as it pertains to the league. But, you know, I donโ€™t think it was even necessarily like, Oh, weโ€™re gonna go get him because they couldnโ€™t have known that because he wasnโ€™t a scheduled free agent, you know, that was going to be a cap related move. But obviously, Philadelphia ultimately worked it out and slay stayed put, but, you know, youโ€™re always, you know, what, when they meet down down in Florida, and they have their summit in January, youโ€™re mapping out different paths, right? Itโ€™s just like GPS, you want to get to a death destination, which is a Super Bowl, right, or AFC Championship, whatever it is, however you want to categorize it, but, or characterize it, but you have different paths, right? You can upgrade your offense, you can have an amazing defense. But I think whatโ€™s obvious, and was still obvious going into the draft. And thatโ€™s where I think it was kind of telling to me that even in the third and fourth round, when there had been some names of interest at the quarterback position in the draft class that fell down the board a little bit, at least compared to what draft pundits thought that they didnโ€™t go after those players probably tells you what they thought about this corner draft class collectively. And itโ€™s not to say they didnโ€™t like Deonte banks or guys that were drafted in the first round, but they like say flowers, they really like say flowers. So, but thatโ€™s where you come back to understanding how the rules work, understanding the post draft, May 1 deadline for the compensatory pick formula. Keep in mind just a couple years ago, Iโ€™m not saying it worked out nicely but 100 Villanova fit that category. They signed him after the draft and they did not have to give up the comp pic in order to do that. So, you know, do they have a handshake agreement in place for a raucous scene? Well, weโ€™ll find out here pretty quickly, or we should anyway.

Nestor Aparicio  14:38

The fact that they didnโ€™t draft a corner like if youโ€™re just you know, Joe, back corner of the bar, youโ€™re yelling corner corner, but your mind they have a solution.

Luke Jones  14:51

They think they have a solution right now, does that mean itโ€™s guaranteed to work out? Sure. But my point is, I would be I would be stunned. If They are not bringing in at least one veteran cornerback of note whether itโ€™s a handshake agreement with Marcus Peters and keep in mind until Lamar actually signs physically signs the deal, their cap, theyโ€™re still kind of in flux in terms of their cap as far as where they stand right now. So keep just thatโ€™s just something to keep in mind here at least over the next week or two, until he physically comes in and signs the deal on its, quote unquote official. So, but that said, handshake agreement in place with a Marcus Peters or a rock Eocene or some other corner thatโ€™s out there. Iโ€™d be stunned. Iโ€™d be shocked if weโ€™re talking about mandatory minicamp. So Iโ€™m not even talking training camp just mid June. Iโ€™d be shocked if weโ€™re at that point. And Brandon Stevens and Marion Williams are there number two and number three corners? You know, lining up? So I think youโ€™re gonna see something again, do I know what it is exactly at this point? No. Does it mean that the quarterback position could be a little bit of a question mark, because again, you are talking about Marcus Peters being another year older or bringing someone else in? Thatโ€™s not an all pro kind of corner. So weโ€™ll see how that plays out. But itโ€™s definitely thatโ€™s clearly the big position right? Now, if youโ€™re gonna say, if youโ€™re gonna ask me, Luke, whatโ€™s the big position on either side of the football that right now could really harm their chances of being a serious contender. There are a few ways for a season to unravel more quickly than having issues at the cornerback spot. So thatโ€™s where again, Iโ€™m making the assumption that thereโ€™s some contingency plans here in place, maybe not even contingency maybe it kind of morphed into what their plan was even just a few weeks ago. And then weโ€™re gonna wait after the draft and kind of see how it played out and then revisit a Marcus Peters or a raucous scene or someone like that.

Nestor Aparicio  16:47

Luke Jones is here he is Baltimore Luke monitoring all things Orioles this week or it was in Kansas City, and of course Atlanta, weโ€™re gonna be at MC falls oyster in real doing the crab cake tour in Middle River on Thursday afternoon, just got a confirmation that washed up sitting back on his rocking chair, head coach Pete Kurinji is going to be coming over after his retirement soiree with the heavy hors dโ€™oeuvres on Saturday night over Kaysville. So while we have word that Peteโ€™s gonna be joining us on Thursday, as well, so weโ€™re looking forward to that. Weโ€™ll be giving away scratch offs in Maryland pizza to get one of these now heโ€™s retired, heโ€™s gonna need it. So hopefully he wins $10,000 The throwback for the mayor of the lottery, done scratch offs and the crabcake tour. We got dates ahead on the 12th and 19th. Heading into the Preakness. Weโ€™re going to be all over town. Weโ€™re up in Bel Air on the 23rd a lot of things happening locally here all month long, but nothing more important than the football team that doesnโ€™t play for six months after the baseball teams are on fire. Iโ€™m gonna show this to you. Okay, letโ€™s I donโ€™t want to do next week show this week. Okay, because weโ€™ll have next week to talk about this. But big picture for you from where you were. Five days ago, seven days ago Lamar and flux draft all this. What are we going to do even where Odell Beckham came into this two weeks ago? If they sign rocky scene or quarterback X, respectable, serviceable second quarterback for X million dollars and they get their cap and Lamar signs and they take pictures and tweeted all out and do all that. Where do you feel they are? Give me your Las Vegas scenario for where they are in the hierarchy of Bengals Steelers having a good draft Browns lurking chiefs are still the best team. The bills are still the bills. Justin Herbert had more than anything. Aaron Rodgers is playing up in the swamp now, like Bella checks a mess. Like Iโ€™m trying to figure out their path to the Super Bowl. Now that theyโ€™ve spent the money they have the quarterback they have the players they want. Youโ€™re more bullish on them than I am as a Super Bowl contender because Iโ€™ve seen the other quarterbacks in the other teams. I certainly think theyโ€™re a better football team today than they were a week ago.

Luke Jones  19:02

Well, I mean, they are because they know Lamar Jackson is gonna be their quarterback compared to unnamed rookie. Right or unnamed veteran acquisition. So

Nestor Aparicio  19:11

that drama with angry Lamar playing for 32 million. Yeah,

Luke Jones  19:15

right. And we even we even mentioned that X factor that, you know, just the idea that no one has to answer questions about that anymore. Other than how happy are you that Lamar is back and heโ€™s gonna be your quarterback the next five years. So Iโ€™ll say this much. Look, itโ€™s a loaded AFC. And thatโ€™s the case for everyone. But the only team that that shrugs their shoulders at that notion is who Kansas City because theyโ€™ve done it, and theyโ€™ve done it multiple times. Now, theyโ€™re the new patriots. Right? And that doesnโ€™t mean that theyโ€™re going to do it for 20 years, the way the Patriots did, but theyโ€™re that team, theyโ€™re the team that everyone else is looking at up out and chasing. Thatโ€™s just reality now, but I will say this much. I think the ravens are a divisional round team, and then weโ€™ll see what happens after that. You know, I mean, it really does come down to at that point not too This Lamar Jackson, but everyone, all those names weโ€™ve mentioned, guys that have not broken through everyone on this roster Now, other than Justin Tucker, who was a rookie when the Ravens last won the Super Bowl and last made it to an AFC Championship game. But my point is, I think theyโ€™re a top four team in the AFC. Now, Iโ€™m not ready to say theyโ€™re one. Iโ€™m not ready to say theyโ€™re two. And Iโ€™m probably not ready to say theyโ€™re three although I think theyโ€™re neck and neck with the Bengals. You know, I donโ€™t think the Bengals even if theyโ€™re better than them, I think itโ€™s by a little bit now. So it comes down to you get to that weekend, and you need to break through? And do they have the ability to do that. I think on paper, there are compelling reasons to think that could happen specifically with the offense and a bigger emphasis on the passing game than weโ€™ve seen in years past. But theyโ€™re still, theyโ€™re still going to run the ball, theyโ€™re still gonna be about their offensive line, theyโ€™re still going to be about their defense. You know, Mike McDonald, had this defense playing far better football in the second half last year than it did over the first half of the season. In row Quan Smith being a big part of that. So I think all the elements are there to put them right up there as as having a chance and getting to the second weekend of the playoffs. And you see what happens after that. And you know, that might sound a little wishy washy, but you know, am I gonna sit here and say that I think theyโ€™re the favorite to win the Superbowl. And I think theyโ€™re absolutely the best team in the AFC No, do I think that they have the potential that they could be in that position by yearโ€™s end? Yeah, I do. So ultimately, and weโ€™ve seen this play out 2020, after on the heels of 2019, lots of people thought they were gonna win the Superbowl because they were so amazing the previous year. And they were bringing just about everyone back other than what Marshall yonder. And we saw what happened, you know, like, it was COVID, it was weird. And, you know, they had some injuries, and, you know, they got eliminated in the second round. And then 2021 All hell broke loose in terms of the injuries. And, you know, they still havenโ€™t fully recovered from that when you really think about it. So itโ€™s tough. And as much as we all want to believe that you have your full destiny in your own hands, you know, for lack of a better description of it. Thereโ€™s a lot of luck involved. And there are a lot of variables at work that you know, your schedule, what happens at the, how an injured or how healthy are the other teams when youโ€™re playing them who plays whom, when I mean, thereโ€™s a lot of factors that work there. And so I think to in the AFC as its presently constructed, as you mentioned, with all the additions and Aaron Rodgers now in New York, and you have to what comes back healthy. Keep in mind, the dolphins are pretty darn good when he was healthy and upright and playing. You know, youโ€™ve got eight nine teams in the AFC that. I wouldnโ€™t say theyโ€™re all serious Super Bowl contenders. But I think theyโ€™re all teams that right now can envision a somewhat realistic path to at least getting to the conference championship game. And thatโ€™s usually not the case. Normally, youโ€™re saying that about four, maybe five teams. So itโ€™s going to be really tough, and a lot of itโ€™s going to come down to health and schedule and timing and all those different things. But I think the Ravens have acquitted themselves well with what theyโ€™ve been able to do specifically in the month of April, starting with getting your quarterback under contract and putting that story to bed. And you know, theyโ€™ve augmented, theyโ€™ll, they need to do that at corner still. So but I see them as being a top four team in the AFC and then youโ€™re gonna have to see what happens. Iโ€™m not gonna go against the Chiefs until someone definitively and Iโ€™m not talking about the Bengals doing it once, but Iโ€™m talking about someone definitively over overtaking them, so that the Chiefs remain the team to beat in the AFC. But I think the ravens are right there with, you know, that next tier that saw all trying to be the next team to get to the Super Bowl out of the conference.

Nestor Aparicio  24:02

One thing I will say over the weekend and I sort of screwed on watch too much NFL Network Friday and probably too much ESPN on Saturday and Sunday, quite frankly, because going back and forth. You canโ€™t get a little mesmerized by all this but going from one city to another from one franchise to another from one hopeless awful franchise all these Houston Texans draft at the top and Carolina and new owners and a browns and your other versions of the Browns around the league these bad teams. I never feel that way in regard to the Ravens but certainly this last six months is been choppy waters for the franchise to try to get to where they are. And then you look around the league and you see these teams that donโ€™t have a prayer. And then you see other teams that are sort of coming on in some way with whatever the new thing is whether itโ€™s in Jacksonville where they start to believe a little bit in Tennessee where they draft a quarterback later Weโ€™re in feel like Indianapolis and all these sort of underbelly teams that are on this, some of these teams are on the schedule. I saw the schedule the other day, but my schedule is 10 days out. So we might want to mention that. And I looked at the, the Ravens play on the West Coast three times, they might get along the game, they might not because they have a couple of teams that are in that popcorn machine and maybe get that, but they have a soft dish kind of schedule against some of the really bad teams that could help them out. But I donโ€™t know that thereโ€™s easy weeks anymore in a lot of places here where weโ€™re talking about the lions being okay, and the jets being okay. And some of the teams that have been real drags, maybe maybe making a step up a little bit this year and wondering where those teams are in the 32. And wondering where the dreamers are, because to your point, Ken said, heโ€™s not going to win every year. But But where is that step up team? Whereโ€™s that step up Francis, who were looking at the schedule and thinking theyโ€™re a cupcake, and theyโ€™re gonna be a lot harder to beat in the year. And in doing that over the weekend, and looking at whoโ€™s leading teams? And whereโ€™s Frank right coaching now and whoโ€™s whoโ€™s the quarterback there? And whereโ€™s that coordinator go? Itโ€™s a time of, of hope and a lot of places. And I think it is great that we have hope here. But this isnโ€™t one of the bad places weโ€™ve seen that but there are other places where theyโ€™re working hard and some places where theyโ€™re trying to step up i i find it weird that the talking about the lions being a contender thatโ€™s weird.

Luke Jones  26:23

Yeah, I mean, certainly I mean, we saw Jacksonville do what they did last year even with the comeback in the first round and whatnot. So Cincinnatiโ€™s like

Nestor Aparicio  26:33

the guy seeing the division, like I heard Steelers, people, the ish talking the Bengals and Iโ€™m thinking, you donโ€™t hate us anymore. Whatโ€™s wrong?

Luke Jones  26:42

Yeah, I mean, and you just mentioned it. I mean, Steelers, browns, I mean, I still think theyโ€™re a step behind the the Bengals and the Ravens in terms of duking it out for the division. But the point is, itโ€™s really competitive AFC. And, you know, Iโ€™ll go back to you and I arguing about Lamar, and you know, Iโ€™ll bring up his regular season record, and youโ€™d say, you donโ€™t care. I mean, for me, at this point, unless youโ€™re going to be the number one seed, getting the dance, and then itโ€™s time to go, right. I mean, whether youโ€™re playing on the road, what stadium what the weather is, whatever, itโ€™s time to go. And I think the ravens are, again, that team that is fully capable of getting to the divisional round, and then weโ€™ll see what happens after that. I mean, itโ€™s a loaded AFC, you know, you mentioned Trevor Lawrence, or youโ€™ve mentioned Aaron Rodgers, how about the fact you have Sean Payton, in Denver? Now with Russell Wilson? I mean, look, Russell Wilson was a disaster last year, am I ready to say heโ€™s totally done? Not yet. Iโ€™m not saying theyโ€™re a top three or four team in the conference. But there might be something there to revitalize him a little bit. So youโ€™ve got a lot of teams and a lot of quality quarterbacks in this conference. So to sit here and try to say on May 1, or may 15, through June 1. If I think the ravens are winning the Super Bowl, itโ€™s, you know, thatโ€™s a tough ask to try to look into the crystal ball at that point in time, because you still have Kansas City at the top of the mountain. But I do think the Ravens have done well for themselves. And again, like you said, After these months of choppy waters, and letโ€™s just face it, it was just a bad vibe all the way around, you know, not even talking about press conferences or anything like or lumbars tweets or anything like that. Just talking about just how it felt it was a lousy feeling. This was not a fun start to the offseason whatsoever. And that all changed just a few hours before the draft started when the news trickled out that Lamar had come to terms with the ravens, I think it you know, it completely changed our offseason, it changed the the tone of the draft. And not not that it was this world changing kind of draft, but I think they feel solid and good about what the what they were able to accomplish. And now you get into spring workouts and you assume youโ€™re gonna see your quarterback there. I think we will see Lamar there for OTAs I donโ€™t, itโ€™d be a terrible look if he wasnโ€™t, you know, so I fully expect to see him there. And it will get back to much more of a business as usual. From a football standpoint. And team, this quarterback, this team has a lot to prove in terms of not regular season, weโ€™re beyond that. Thatโ€™s why even talking about the schedule, itโ€™s like play well enough to make the playoffs right. And then after that, thatโ€™s when your legacy really starts to be defined and, and thatโ€™s where they are at this point. Theyโ€™re entering year six of the Lamar Jackson era. I mean, they made it to the playoffs four out of five years. And thatโ€™s, thatโ€™s an accomplishment. So your point, talked about some of the have nots over the course of draft weekend and seeing how many of these teams are back at it, drafting a quarterback and whatnot. But itโ€™s go time, it really is for them. So I think they have a chance absolutely to be one of the top four teams in the conference and then hey, you gotta go do it. Whether itโ€™s go into buffalo or go into Kansas City or go into since Cincinnati or one of those teams come in here. Itโ€™s go time. You want to be a champion you got to go out and win games in January and to this point, theyโ€™ve struggled to do that. This current era of ravens football

Nestor Aparicio  30:15

10 days out on the schedule release in the Ravens have nine home games this year. Weโ€™re gonna be doing the Maryland crab cake tour at MC falls oyster and real on Thursday and Middle River weโ€™re getting ready for everything all the brought to you by our friends and when the nation 866 90 nation the way to reach them you buy two you get two free to get five years 0% financing our friends at the Maryland lottery have given me these instant lottery scratch offs Iโ€™ll be giving away at MC falls this week. Weโ€™re going to be the local up in Bel Air later on in the month. Weโ€™re gonna be moving around the city. I got a downtown location targeted for the 12 we have Preakness in town this month. We have the Orioles with full relevance. It is the first offseason where we just donโ€™t have to talk football, football, football, football, more football, and just waiting on football because we have baseball tonight and tomorrow night and the next day and the next day. And Luke will be there to monitor all that he is Baltimore Lukey follow him out on the Instagram and on on the interwebs and Twitter if thereโ€™s any breaking news, youโ€™ll get first on the WSD tech service brought to you by our friends at coons Baltimore for I get a little ROFO coffee in my coal roofing mug here today a little pep in my step. Itโ€™s been a great weekend. At some point the weather will come along and I wonโ€™t be fall any longer in May. Weโ€™ll have some baseball around here but good tidings and better vibes. It truly is a Baltimore positive version of Baltimore positive on Nestor. Heโ€™s Luke we are WNS TA in 1570, Towson Baltimore. And we never stop talking Baltimore sports and Baltimore positive here in the spring.

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