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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Lounge podcast from the Baltimore Ravens.

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Speaker 1: Make sure you subscribe here. You can listen to the

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Speaker 1: podcast wherever you get your podcast Apple, Spotify, and again

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Speaker 1: make sure you hit that subscribe button so that every

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Speaker 1: episode gets delivered as soon as it is available.

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Speaker 2: Welcome into the Lounge presented by DraftKings.

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Speaker 3: I'm Ryan Mink here with Garrett Downing, and we are

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Speaker 3: going to take a look at the news surrounding the

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Speaker 3: Ravens regarding their injuries, potential changes that could be coming.

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Speaker 3: As John Harbaugh hinted in his Monday press conference, some.

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Speaker 2: News from around the league, including Joe Flacco.

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Speaker 3: Yep, breaking news here, Garrett, So a lot to talk

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Speaker 3: about here today. The Ravens obviously still stinging from another

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Speaker 3: lopsided loss. They sit at one and four going into

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Speaker 3: a very difficult game against the Los Angeles Rams, who

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Speaker 3: are come to Mt.

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Speaker 2: Bank Stadium on Sunday. The Ravens are.

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Speaker 3: An underdog at home in this game, which you don't

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Speaker 3: often see, and they need to write the ship here

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Speaker 3: and do it really fast. I know the bye is

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Speaker 3: one week away, and I feel like the Ravens are

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Speaker 3: gonna be better after the buye when they get a

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Speaker 3: little bit healthier. But you can't just say, na, we'll

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Speaker 3: be good when we get back from by like you

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Speaker 3: you want to win going into the buy Yeah, I mean.

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Speaker 1: John Harbaugh talked on Monday about how the sense of

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Speaker 1: urgency around this team is as high as it could be,

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Speaker 1: players coaches that like there's a He praised the level

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Speaker 1: of accountability and the urgency around the team and just

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Speaker 1: feels like everyone understands the circumstances, like you don't need

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Speaker 1: to tell the Ravens, Hey, you guys were supposed to

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Speaker 1: be one of the best teams in the league and

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Speaker 1: you're not.

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Speaker 4: What's up?

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Speaker 1: Like they're they're aware of that. They they know the

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Speaker 1: situation around this team, and I play outstandings all of it.

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Speaker 3: I think there's urgency not only in the locker room,

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Speaker 3: but also in the front office and in those coaches

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Speaker 3: meeting rooms.

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Speaker 2: Right now.

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Speaker 3: I think you suffer back to back losses and your

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Speaker 3: season is you know, it's it's it's in peril a

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Speaker 3: little bit right now. It's things got to turn around

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Speaker 3: fast if you're going to make a run and get

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Speaker 3: back in the playoffs. And I think that everybody is

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Speaker 3: feeling that and it's time to make some changes. You

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Speaker 3: can't just stick with the status quo and expect different results.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I know.

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Speaker 1: A big piece of the equation is the injury front,

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Speaker 1: and the Ravens have many guys who are dealing with injuries,

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Speaker 1: and we can talk through some of the specifics there

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Speaker 1: at a very high level, like the Ravens expect to

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Speaker 1: get some guys back, but not everybody back, and so

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Speaker 1: the course, the question there becomes who could come back

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Speaker 1: this week and how much longer? But the guys who

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Speaker 1: aren't back this week, how much longer are they going

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Speaker 1: to be out? Lamar Jackson is the biggest question for

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Speaker 1: this team. Of course, missed last week's game with the

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Speaker 1: hamstring injury. John Harball was asked about him, did not

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Speaker 1: provide any clarity as to whether he will play this week.

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Speaker 1: The reports are that he's likely going to be out

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Speaker 1: through the buy and then come back for the Ravens

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Speaker 1: a Week eight game against the Chicago Bears. So if

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Speaker 1: that's the case, that would be another week without him,

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Speaker 1: and that's again Hardball didn't provide any specifics on that.

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Speaker 1: I think we're gonna get an indication on Lamar in

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Speaker 1: particular based on the practice schedule, if he's not at all,

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Speaker 1: if he's not out there at all Wednesday and Thursday,

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Speaker 1: you're thinking it's probably not gonna happen. And then if

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Speaker 1: he doesn't practice all week, he'd probably be ruled out again,

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Speaker 1: just like he was a week ago. But I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: guess at this point, coming back from a hamstring injury,

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Speaker 1: he would probably have to practice in order to play

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Speaker 1: in this game. And again the reports have indicated that

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Speaker 1: he's probably going to be out through this game, through

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Speaker 1: the buy and then come back for that game against Chicago.

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Speaker 3: I feel like there are some other players that may

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Speaker 3: have a better shot at coming back this week. You know,

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Speaker 3: Kyle Hamilton was a player that practiced last Wednesday and

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Speaker 3: then did not on Thursday and Friday with a groin injury. Now,

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Speaker 3: again we don't know how serious that is, but he

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Speaker 3: was at least on the field last week at some point.

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Now, whether it got worse over the week, I don't know.

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Speaker 1: There was a report that he aggravated the injury in practice.

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Speaker 1: So for the injury and practice, John Harbass said at

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Speaker 1: the end of the week last week that it was

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Speaker 1: really something that was a holdover from the game on Sunday,

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Speaker 1: and so it wasn't necessary like it was came out

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Speaker 1: of nowhere in.

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Speaker 3: Practice, correct, So maybe he has a shot to get back.

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Speaker 3: I think Marlon Humphrey, who suffered a calf injury in

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Speaker 3: the loss in Kansas City, potentially he could be a

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Speaker 3: player that gets back. Maybe left tackle Ronnie Stanley, you

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Speaker 3: know he's been dealing with that ankle. He gave it

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Speaker 3: a go in Kansas City early in that game and

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Speaker 3: did not end up. You know, he was pulled in

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Speaker 3: the first half from that game. He also practiced some

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Speaker 3: in limited capacity last week but didn't end up playing.

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Speaker 3: He that would seem to indicate he would have a

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Speaker 3: better chance of coming back.

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Speaker 1: You would think that basically, the guys that practice.

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Speaker 2: Exactly feel you're close enough.

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Speaker 3: Exactly, if you're close enough to be practicing in some fashion,

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Speaker 3: you feel like they have a chance to play.

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Speaker 1: The players who did not practice at all last week

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Speaker 1: and then missed the game. It was Marlon Humphrey with

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Speaker 1: a calf, it was Rokwan Smith with a hamstring, and

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Speaker 1: Cheeto a Woozy a also with a hamstring.

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Speaker 4: Those three guys, which we'll get to.

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Speaker 1: Him in just a second, because we'll have we do

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Speaker 1: have some a little bit more clarity on his situation,

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Speaker 1: which has been kind of one of the big questions

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Speaker 1: on the injury front this year, and then and then

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Speaker 1: of course we'll see if there's anybody else that's added

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Speaker 1: to the injury report. John Harboll did say good news

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Speaker 1: coming out of the game was that there was no

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Speaker 1: major injuries that were added to the list, and given

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Speaker 1: where the Ravens are injury wise, like you just can't

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Speaker 1: afford to have anybody else.

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Speaker 2: That that was some of the best news that came

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Speaker 2: out of that game.

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Speaker 1: Defensively, yeah, it's really really short handed and to not

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Speaker 1: add anybody else to that list is pretty important. So

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Speaker 1: Patrick Riccard you mentioned, and he's not been on the field,

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Speaker 1: even in the practice capacity since early this summer. He's

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Speaker 1: been sidelined for going on two months now with a

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Speaker 1: calf injury. And this has been a confusing situation because

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Speaker 1: he's now been out five games in the regular season,

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Speaker 1: And if you knew he was going to be out

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Speaker 1: five games for the regular season, why didn't you just

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Speaker 1: put him on injured reserve, which would have knocked him

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Speaker 1: out for the first four games.

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Speaker 3: Well, the easy answer is because the Ravens didn't think

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Speaker 3: he was going to be out this long, correct.

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Speaker 2: So John Harball said, originally.

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Speaker 3: Way back in training camp, they thought it was going

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Speaker 3: to be a two to three week injury, which would

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Speaker 3: have put him on track potentially to play week one,

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Speaker 3: and then he reaggravated the injury after that span, which

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Speaker 3: then set him back even more. But you're still thinking, potentially,

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Speaker 3: maybe you get him back before week five, and that's

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Speaker 3: still not the case. And so that's the reason that

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Speaker 3: they didn't put him on IR. And now you know,

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Speaker 3: you get to this point now where it's like if

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Speaker 3: you put him on there now, now it's another four games, right,

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Speaker 3: So like it's it's been I think frustrating for all

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Speaker 3: parties involved, especially you know, Pat wants to be out there,

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Speaker 3: Ravens won him out there, and it's just a frustrating

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Speaker 3: situation that unfortunately happens sometimes with these injuries, like you

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Speaker 3: just you can retweak things, or it just doesn't heal

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Speaker 3: as fast as you expect or whatnot. And I think

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Speaker 3: it's been a big I think like the Ravens, of

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Speaker 3: course they're gonna say, you know, they're gonna say the

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Speaker 3: right things that like, hey, we can overcome this, and

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Speaker 3: you know whatever, Like I have confidence in our run

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Speaker 3: game that we can that we can have success without

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Speaker 3: pat Ricard, who's a multi time pro bowler. But like,

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Speaker 3: I think it's honestly been a little understated and underappreciated

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Speaker 3: how like important Pat is to this rushing attack and

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Speaker 3: pass blocking for that matter too. Like He's a really

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Speaker 3: good player that sets a physical tone, and I think

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Speaker 3: that has been kind of one of the issues is

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Speaker 3: like the Ravens have not established they've they have not

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Speaker 3: been the physical bullies through the first part of this season.

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Speaker 3: They have not been bullying defenses, you know, at the

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Speaker 3: line of scrimmage, And so Pat helps with that. He

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Speaker 3: is a physical tone center. They've said setter, They've said

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Speaker 3: that many times. So I think they've missed him now

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Speaker 3: Iri Mitchell Payton's done it, Yeah, as well as he

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Speaker 3: could be expected.

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Speaker 1: I think Carr has been the best fullback in the

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Speaker 1: AFC for like the last five.

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Speaker 3: Years six so like and you put him next to his

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Speaker 3: I year like Zier's cut up dude, but like two

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Speaker 3: very different players. And I'll tell you which one I'm

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Speaker 3: more scared of running downhill at me.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, And like I always just go back when you

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Speaker 1: talk about pat Riccard, I go back to when we

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Speaker 1: had John Gruden here and he couldn't stop gushing about

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Speaker 1: pat Riccard and was calling him the straw man because

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Speaker 1: he's the straw that starves a drink on this offense

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Speaker 1: and thing he just opens up everything else. So if

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Speaker 1: John Gruden feels like he's that critical to this offense, like,

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Speaker 1: I trust what he has to say about that. Just

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Speaker 1: in terms of his timeline, Hardwall did say that the

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Speaker 1: hope is to get him back for the Bears game,

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Speaker 1: and so typically he's not providing too many specifics on

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Speaker 1: when guys are going to come back in the lineup,

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Speaker 1: but he said the hope is for the Bears game.

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Speaker 1: So maybe we'll see Patt on the practice field this week.

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Speaker 1: If he's going to play in the Bears game, you'd

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Speaker 1: think maybe he gets on the field and moves around

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Speaker 1: a little bit this week and depending on how that goes,

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Speaker 1: you know, hopefully the trend is in the right direction

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Speaker 1: for him.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: I think that would be a big addition for this

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Speaker 3: offense and especially Henry in the run game.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. One of the injury note and it's kind of

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Speaker 1: injury related. Is is Jie Alexander?

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Speaker 4: He played?

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Speaker 1: He was back in the lineup again on Sunday played.

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Speaker 1: John Harball said, he still doesn't feel like he's one

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Speaker 1: hundred percent back to himself as he's working his way

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Speaker 1: back from the knee injury that he suffered last year

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Speaker 1: and had surgery this offseason. But obviously he was healthy

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Speaker 1: enough to play in that game. Ravens needed him to play,

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Speaker 1: and so I think that he's just going to get

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Speaker 1: more and more reacclimated to being on this defense, playing

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Speaker 1: seeing how the knee responds, and and I think that

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Speaker 1: you know, it's been it's been slow going for him,

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Speaker 1: but the Ravens still feel like he can get back

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Speaker 1: to the player that he's been in his career, and

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Speaker 1: that just just kind of takes some time when you.

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Speaker 3: Wonder what kind of role was he going to grow into,

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Speaker 3: you know, as he gets closer and closer to one

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Speaker 3: hundred percent, is he going to start out snapping TJ?

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Speaker 2: Tampa right? Like?

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Speaker 3: Does he kind of take that that spot? And then

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Speaker 3: obviously once Cheeto comes back and Marlin, you know, where

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Speaker 3: does he fit into that puzzle?

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Speaker 4: So that kind of brings me to the next point.

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Speaker 3: Exactly there there could be a number of lineup changes

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Speaker 3: coming to the Ravens because John Harball was very clear that,

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Speaker 3: you know, if if you're plateauing, if you're not getting better,

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Speaker 3: if you're a young player, that they had expectations that,

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Speaker 3: like playing time, you were going to just keep getting

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Speaker 3: better and better and better. If if that's not happening,

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Speaker 3: it's time to find another solution. And uh, and I

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Speaker 3: agree with that. I think that the Ravens sometimes you

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Speaker 3: have to shake things up a little bit and you

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Speaker 3: have to turn over every rock and say, hey, maybe

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Speaker 3: this other guy is gonna.

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Speaker 2: Give us, is going to give us higher level of play.

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Speaker 3: You can't just kind of sit back and keep saying, ah,

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Speaker 3: we think it's gonna pan out. The Ravens have a

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Speaker 3: big enough sample size. Now it's some of some of

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Speaker 3: these positions.

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Speaker 1: Well, John Harpball does say everything is on the table,

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Speaker 1: and when when asked about potential lineup changes now, he

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Speaker 1: didn't go through and say this guy's getting benched, that

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Speaker 1: guy's getting benched, and so like it's it's gray in

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Speaker 1: terms of where those changes could come. He was asked

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Speaker 1: specifically about the offensive line and could there be changes

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Speaker 1: along the offensive line, and he said yes. And if

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Speaker 1: you know, you look at the offensive line. Obviously, Tyler

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Speaker 1: Linderbaum is secure there at that spot. Ronnie Stanley, if

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Speaker 1: he's healthy, is going to be the left tackle, and

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Speaker 1: I would think that Joe Noteboom, in the event that

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Speaker 1: Stanley camp play, is going to remain as a reserve

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Speaker 1: left tackle, and at right tackle Roger Roseengart, and I

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Speaker 1: think it's going to be there. So you're looking at

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Speaker 1: the guards. You know, you have two young guards there before.

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Speaker 1: He's in his first full season as a starter at

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Speaker 1: left guard and at right guard, Daniel foul Lele who's

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Speaker 1: in his second season as a starter, and it's been

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Speaker 1: an up and down ride for him so far.

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Speaker 4: And you know, so I think that.

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Speaker 1: Those are the two guys you would look at if

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Speaker 1: if the Ravens are considering any changes along the offensive line.

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Speaker 3: Andrew Vorhees right now ranks number forty eight out of

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Speaker 3: fifty six guards in the league with at least a

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Speaker 3: fifty percent snapshare according to Pro Football Focus, He's number

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Speaker 3: forty eight. Daniel fole Lele is number thirty three on

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Speaker 3: that list. So you know, the Ravens. I think it's

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Speaker 3: fair for them to say, like, we want to see

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Speaker 3: if we can get better guard play moving forward here,

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Speaker 3: the obvious solution or obvious possible solution would be Ben Cleveland.

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Speaker 3: You know who they re signed this past offseason, A

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Speaker 3: player who when he's gotten in in games, you know,

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Speaker 3: I think the Ravens have felt like, all right, this guy,

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Speaker 3: he's kind of a gamer, you know what I mean.

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Speaker 3: But he has He's just been beaten out for the

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Speaker 3: job in practice the past couple of years, and so

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Speaker 3: Hey has been has been practicing well enough and have

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Speaker 3: the other guys not progressed as fast enough to where

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Speaker 3: you want to give Ben a shot. You know that

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Speaker 3: he deserves a shot at starting and playing a full

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Speaker 3: game there. Maybe I think the other wild card in

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Speaker 3: this whole guard conversation is the rookie Emery Jones Junior.

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Speaker 3: So he just took the practice field for the first

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Speaker 3: time this past week following off season's shoulder surgery, which

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Speaker 3: the Ravens new that he had when they drafted him.

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Speaker 3: They knew he was going to be sidelined for at

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Speaker 3: least much of the summer. They thought he'd come back

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Speaker 3: during training camp. It took longer than that, as doctors

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Speaker 3: were I think, you know, very cautious to make sure

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Speaker 3: that they brought him back slowly. But he's back on

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Speaker 3: the practice field now, and the question is, you know,

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Speaker 3: here's a talented, big, physical, gritty blocker out of LSU

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Speaker 3: who the Ravens have high hopes for. But he missed

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Speaker 3: all of the summer practices, OTA's Mini camp, training camp,

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Speaker 3: all of it. I mean, the guys had three practices

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Speaker 3: under his belt now as a professional, and so the

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Speaker 3: question is how quickly can he get up to speed?

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Speaker 3: Now He's been in meetings, Like from a mental perspective,

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Speaker 3: he's taking the mental reps and should have a generally

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Speaker 3: a pretty good understanding of the offense. Now it's different

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Speaker 3: executing on the field than it is in the classroom,

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Speaker 3: but like it's not like he's starting from ground zero.

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Speaker 3: The question is on the field, how quickly can he

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Speaker 3: get up to speed? Because I think that he's definitely

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Speaker 3: part of that conversation and somebody you'd want to get

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Speaker 3: a look at potentially.

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Speaker 1: Well, I go back to actually at the end of

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Speaker 1: the summer, when Eric Tacosta met with reporters right after

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Speaker 1: the fifty three man roster was set, and he was

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Speaker 1: asked about Emory Jones and said that the Ravens knew

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Speaker 1: that he was dealing with his injury. It wasn't a

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Speaker 1: surprise and so they wanted to be cautious with it,

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Speaker 1: and there was an understanding that he would be on

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Speaker 1: the shelf for a little bit, but they still had

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Speaker 1: optimism around him getting on the field this year and

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Speaker 1: being an important player. So I think that that is definitely,

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Speaker 1: you know, something that the Ravens have considered. The other

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Speaker 1: guy too that I'll just mention quickly is Corey Bullock,

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Speaker 1: who's backup center but could play the interior you know,

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Speaker 1: the interior offensive line. So he's another guy that the

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Speaker 1: Ravens could consider in that mix as well.

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Speaker 2: Yep.

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Speaker 3: So you know, and where else do they have potential

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Speaker 3: lineup changes? I think, you know, you look in the

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Speaker 3: secondary and at safety. Obviously with Kyle Hamilton down, it

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Speaker 3: was it was kind of a struggle back there. You know.

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Speaker 2: Malachi Starks is.

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Speaker 3: I think playing ok, you know, I mean for a rookie,

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Speaker 3: he hasn't made really a splash play yet, and there's

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Speaker 3: plays that he could have done better on certainly, you know,

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Speaker 3: but they're gonna give him every opportunity. You know, a

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Speaker 3: talented first round pick. I think the question is if

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Speaker 3: Kyle Hamilton's sidelined, do they make a change that Ruben Lowry,

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Speaker 3: the undrafted rookie, was the Ravens starter, and I believe

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Speaker 3: played one hundred percent of the snaps this past week.

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Speaker 3: That's a tough assignment for undrafted guy out of Tennessee Chattanooga.

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Speaker 3: And John Harball was very clear in his press commerce

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Speaker 3: they had young player mistakes, young guy mistakes out.

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Speaker 2: There, and you know Ruben was part of that.

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Speaker 3: Kent Kean Martin another undrafted rookie out of Louisiana Lafayette

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Speaker 3: who's in the starting lineup and playing a bunch of snaps.

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Speaker 1: He stepped into the nickel role really with Marlin Humphrey

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Speaker 1: alt exactly.

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Speaker 3: You know, the Ravens had five rookie starters on the field,

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Speaker 3: which is which is crazy, that's a really high number.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, two of them are drafted fourth round pick at

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Speaker 1: middle linebacker wearing their green dot and Tedy Buchanan.

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Speaker 2: Exactly.

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Speaker 3: At the end of the day, as much as you

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Speaker 3: want these rookies to grow really fast, I just think

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Speaker 3: it's hard to win games when you have that much,

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Speaker 3: that inexperience of a defense on the field, honestly, and

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Speaker 3: and I know again the Ravens say all the right things,

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Speaker 3: and you can't use that as an excuse. And I

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Speaker 3: agree that, you know, they still shouldn't have gotten blown

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Speaker 3: out the way that they did, even given who they

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Speaker 3: had on the field, but to win games and make

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Speaker 3: it against it. Look, I know the Texans came in

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Speaker 3: one in three, but that's a playoff team from a

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Speaker 3: year ago, a team that has a good quarterback, good scheme,

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Speaker 3: you know, good really good Defensively, I think that it's

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Speaker 3: tough for the Ravens defense when you have that little

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Speaker 3: of experience and you have two undrafted rookies starting for you.

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Speaker 2: It's just tough.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that is a that is a it's an uphill

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Speaker 1: battle to a certain degree, and especially for a young

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Speaker 1: guy stepping into that big of a responsibility like key

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Speaker 1: On Martin and Ruben Lowry. I'd give them a lot

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Speaker 1: of credit for making the team out of training camp,

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Speaker 1: and there's like a lot of excitement around that and like,

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Speaker 1: job well done. But you don't expect them like a

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Speaker 1: month later to be starting, like you just don't. That's

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Speaker 1: not the expectation when those guys are like on the

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Speaker 1: roster bubble and they make it and they're one of

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Speaker 1: the field good stories end of the summer that you're like, oh,

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Speaker 1: a month from now, you're gonna be the starting lineup.

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Speaker 1: You expect them to play role on special teams and

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Speaker 1: maybe be game day and actives at times. And so

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Speaker 1: that that's that's a difficult role, uh, and and responsibility

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Speaker 1: and and you know, you got to grow up fast.

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Speaker 1: And so the other the other piece that actually has

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Speaker 1: a recording here, that is something that could also factor

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Speaker 1: into the equation here as the Ravens look at their roster.

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Speaker 1: We're recording this Tuesday afternoon here, and those reports uh

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Speaker 1: that the Ravens have signed safety veterans safety CJ. Gardner

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Speaker 1: Johnson uh to their practice squad. This is a guy

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Speaker 1: obviously who's been in the league for a while, has

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Speaker 1: been on some really good defenses, won a Super Bowl

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Speaker 1: last year with the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Speaker 3: So he then was traded yep to the Houston Texans

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Speaker 3: this past offseason.

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Speaker 4: YEP.

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Speaker 3: It's actually crazy the Ravens are going to have both

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Speaker 3: players that were part of that trade.

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Speaker 2: It was a swap.

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Speaker 3: Between the Texans and the Eagles. The Eagles got Kenyan

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Speaker 3: Green and the Texans got Gardner Johnson, and then both

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Speaker 3: were released by those teams as a late draft pick swap.

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Speaker 3: Now both are going to end up in Baltimore. The

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Speaker 3: Ravens signed Kenyan Green to the practice squad last week

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Speaker 3: and now Gardner CJ. Gardner Johnson. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

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Speaker 2: I mean, look, the guy can play. The guy can play.

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Speaker 1: He started every game for the Eagles last season, and

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Speaker 1: that was a really good defense that just won the

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Speaker 1: Super Bowl last season. Sixteen starts, he had twelve passes defense,

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Speaker 1: a force fumble, and six interceptions last season for the Eagles.

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Speaker 2: Six pigs.

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Speaker 1: Okay, so highly productive last year. In his career, he's

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Speaker 1: got eight interceptions. He's played for New Orleans, Philly, Detroit, Philly,

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Speaker 1: then Houston briefly only three games for Houston before they

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Speaker 1: released him this year. Yeah, and so now the Ravens

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Speaker 1: again at this time, according to reports, Adam to the

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Speaker 1: practice squad, and so he could be depending how quickly

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Speaker 1: he gets up to speed. As you know, there can

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Speaker 1: be three game day elevations. The Ravens have done that

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Speaker 1: plenty of times. But if he can come in here

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Speaker 1: and establish himself, then there's opportunities that are available in

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Speaker 1: this on this defense.

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Speaker 3: Look, I'm sure there are going to be questions about CJ.

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Speaker 3: Gardner Johnson's fit in the locker room. I mean, he

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Speaker 3: was cut by the Texans after just three games, and

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Speaker 3: you know, Damiko Ryans explained it saying he knows what's

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Speaker 3: best for his team a simple as that. I mean,

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Speaker 3: it's not like he was playing poorly there. He's widely

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Speaker 3: known for having a boisterous personality, letting his feelings be known,

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Speaker 3: both with teammates, coaches, you know, just generally speaking. So

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Speaker 3: this will likely be compared to the trade the Ravens

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Speaker 3: made last season with for Deontay Johnson, which was a

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Speaker 3: low stakes gamble didn't pay off. But these two things

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Speaker 3: are mutually exclusive. Just because Deyonty Johnson didn't work out

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Speaker 3: doesn't mean CJ. Gardner Johnson won't also certainly could and

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Speaker 3: he'll have a chance to craft his own reputation here.

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Speaker 3: I mean, first of all, the guy can play ads, experience,

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Speaker 3: playmaking ability that alone, and I think you know he

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Speaker 3: has a chance here to make a difference. And I'll

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Speaker 3: also say it's a different situation because he has a

436
00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:33,600
Speaker 3: clearer path to playing time than what Deontay Johnson did

437
00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:38,040
Speaker 3: last year when he really was upset that he wasn't

438
00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:38,720
Speaker 3: seeing the field.

439
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, look, I think you at this point, you're everyone's

440
00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:45,199
Speaker 1: got questions like, how can you fix the defense?

441
00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:46,160
Speaker 2: Really?

442
00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:48,359
Speaker 4: How can you get the scene back on track? Just

443
00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:49,000
Speaker 4: in general?

444
00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:50,600
Speaker 1: And then you look at the defense and it's like

445
00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:52,679
Speaker 1: the defense has been given up way too many points

446
00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:55,439
Speaker 1: and there's a bunch of different stats that show that

447
00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:57,960
Speaker 1: this defense is not playing up to the level that

448
00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:02,040
Speaker 1: the Ravens have expectation here and the Ravens are well

449
00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:04,600
Speaker 1: aware of that, and giving up forty four points at

450
00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:07,400
Speaker 1: home is just not what this team is used to doing.

451
00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:09,520
Speaker 1: And so how do you fix the defense? How do

452
00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:11,280
Speaker 1: you get this thing? How do you write the ship?

453
00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:16,480
Speaker 1: And sometimes adding players from the outside is an answer

454
00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:20,080
Speaker 1: and part of the part of the equation, and especially

455
00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:22,320
Speaker 1: a guy like one of the things that has been

456
00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:27,000
Speaker 1: really I think part of the big picture issue for

457
00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:29,119
Speaker 1: this defense is they're just not getting enough turnovers. And

458
00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:30,800
Speaker 1: this is a two year trend like this has been

459
00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,280
Speaker 1: the case for them going back to last season. They're

460
00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:35,720
Speaker 1: just not getting their hands on the football enough. And

461
00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:39,040
Speaker 1: they haven't got a turnover since Week two against the

462
00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:41,560
Speaker 1: Browns and they didn't get one in Buffalo.

463
00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:43,160
Speaker 4: Four of the five games.

464
00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:46,440
Speaker 3: Only one team has fewer takeaways than the Ravens. That's

465
00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:49,879
Speaker 3: the Jets, who have zero. Yeah, and so you know,

466
00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:54,000
Speaker 3: you look at the Ravens two takeaways, the Jags have fourteen,

467
00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:57,720
Speaker 3: Steelers have ten. Yeah, Like you know, you look at

468
00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:01,239
Speaker 3: yardage allowed and the Ravens are aren't that different from

469
00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:05,560
Speaker 3: Pittsburgh's defense. But the huge differentiator is takeaways. The other

470
00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:08,760
Speaker 3: huge differentiator is sacks. They Ravens have six this year.

471
00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:11,600
Speaker 3: Only two teams have fewer, the Panthers and the Bears

472
00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:16,320
Speaker 3: they have five. And so, like, I think that the

473
00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:19,320
Speaker 3: defense has to improve, no if sans or butts about it.

474
00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:22,119
Speaker 3: They they right now are kind of and and the

475
00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:26,800
Speaker 3: offense isn't really doing them many favors either because the

476
00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:30,520
Speaker 3: offense is leaving them on the field for too many.

477
00:22:30,359 --> 00:22:32,320
Speaker 2: Plays, like the offensive drives when.

478
00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:35,199
Speaker 3: They've scored have been too quick or they've been the

479
00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:37,359
Speaker 3: offense is not possessing the ball because they're having trouble

480
00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:39,119
Speaker 3: running the ball, and so the defense is just right

481
00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:41,439
Speaker 3: back on the field and they're tired and they're banged

482
00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:43,440
Speaker 3: up on top of that, so that's not helping. But

483
00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:47,440
Speaker 3: the defense is also hurting itself because it's not making

484
00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:50,720
Speaker 3: any splash plays to get itself off the field, which

485
00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,520
Speaker 3: also hurts the offense right because they're the offense and.

486
00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:55,080
Speaker 1: They don't have enough plays like we need them all

487
00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:56,600
Speaker 1: more because defense has been on the field and so

488
00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:59,040
Speaker 1: there's like this lack of complimentary football.

489
00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:01,760
Speaker 3: It exists with this exactly exactly, and the offense has

490
00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:04,000
Speaker 3: longer fields because they're not getting them all with you know,

491
00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:09,200
Speaker 3: any takeaways. And then the defense is kind of allowing

492
00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:12,600
Speaker 3: you know, it's not been like, you know, big plays

493
00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:16,520
Speaker 3: galore against the Ravens defense, but they're allowing teams to

494
00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:19,120
Speaker 3: have too much success on first and second down, keep

495
00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,399
Speaker 3: themselves in magical downs and distances, and have these long

496
00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:25,159
Speaker 3: time killing drives that keeps the defense on the field

497
00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:30,560
Speaker 3: for forever, and so they're not really challenging people at

498
00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:31,080
Speaker 3: a high rate.

499
00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:31,520
Speaker 2: Right now.

500
00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,560
Speaker 3: The Ravens have the ninth highest in off coverage percentage.

501
00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:37,200
Speaker 3: The Ravens are playing a lot of man coverage. They're

502
00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:40,560
Speaker 3: six highest in the league at thirty nine percent. But

503
00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:43,879
Speaker 3: they're playing in a lot of off man coverage sixth

504
00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:46,320
Speaker 3: or ninth highest in the league, so they're not really

505
00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:50,840
Speaker 3: pressing a whole lot. So they're they're giving up too

506
00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:55,359
Speaker 3: many kind of easier, softer completions underneath there's just two

507
00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:59,000
Speaker 3: many seven eight yard chunks. We're now like, it's too

508
00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:01,280
Speaker 3: easy for the offense is to keep the chains going,

509
00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:03,480
Speaker 3: and so that's just keeping the defense on the field

510
00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:06,520
Speaker 3: longer and longer longer. And if you're not getting sacks

511
00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:09,240
Speaker 3: and you're not getting takeaways, then you have to play

512
00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:14,160
Speaker 3: a perfect game. And the Ravens are too injury decimated

513
00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:15,760
Speaker 3: right now to play a perfect game when you have

514
00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:18,560
Speaker 3: a couple of undrafted rookies and other rookies out there.

515
00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:21,560
Speaker 3: As starting the news flash, the rookies aren't going to

516
00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:22,480
Speaker 3: play a perfect game.

517
00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:23,560
Speaker 2: That's just not gonna happen.

518
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:28,440
Speaker 3: And so they're in a tough situation right now unless

519
00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:31,880
Speaker 3: they can start getting more pressure, more takeaways to help

520
00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:32,640
Speaker 3: themselves out.

521
00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:36,120
Speaker 1: On the scheme front, as they're Ravens talk about everything's

522
00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:38,760
Speaker 1: on the table, and you can adjust scheme as part

523
00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:38,920
Speaker 1: of it.

524
00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:39,720
Speaker 4: You can just play calling.

525
00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:41,480
Speaker 1: You can just scheme, you can just line up, like,

526
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:44,440
Speaker 1: all those things are part of the change. And John

527
00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:47,159
Speaker 1: Harbo was asked about the coverage and it seems he

528
00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:50,000
Speaker 1: seemed to indicate that they could play even more man

529
00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:52,040
Speaker 1: coverage moving forward.

530
00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:55,199
Speaker 3: Which, yeah, is which is interesting because they're already playing

531
00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:59,040
Speaker 3: playing at a fairly high rate. Yeah, and you know,

532
00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:01,840
Speaker 3: John Ball also said they need to improve in their

533
00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:05,199
Speaker 3: zone coverage, which they're playing sixty one percent of the

534
00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:08,119
Speaker 3: time now. They play much more zone than they do man.

535
00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:12,040
Speaker 3: But the league generally is a zone coverage league, right,

536
00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:15,280
Speaker 3: So like, yes, they're playing way more snaps than zone coverage,

537
00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:18,840
Speaker 3: but it's the sixth lowest rate, right. But like if

538
00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:20,840
Speaker 3: two thirds of your snaps are in zone coverage and

539
00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,719
Speaker 3: you're not playing zone coverage very well, yeah, now you're

540
00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:24,160
Speaker 3: in trouble.

541
00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:24,639
Speaker 2: Yeah.

542
00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:27,919
Speaker 3: Right, So I think that's also part of the problem

543
00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:33,280
Speaker 3: is in zone coverage, a lot of it is feel

544
00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:37,520
Speaker 3: and experience and being able to see things and react quickly.

545
00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:41,680
Speaker 3: And again, when you have inexperienced players out there, they're

546
00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:43,680
Speaker 3: not going to react as quickly as a veteran.

547
00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:45,560
Speaker 2: You know, they just haven't seen it.

548
00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:49,199
Speaker 3: And so I think that's also part of what I

549
00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:51,479
Speaker 3: was alluding to before, there's been too many seven eight

550
00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:56,399
Speaker 3: yard easier completions that aren't tightly contested that teams are

551
00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:59,040
Speaker 3: hitting on the ravens right now. And so once you

552
00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:01,640
Speaker 3: get players back on the field, more experienced players, that's

553
00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,440
Speaker 3: certainly going to help. But you bring in somebody like CJ.

554
00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:07,840
Speaker 3: Gardner Johnson who's seen it a lot of football, that helps, sue.

555
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,960
Speaker 1: Yeah, And with the man coverage, you just part of

556
00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:12,960
Speaker 1: the equation. They are determining whether you want to play

557
00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:15,080
Speaker 1: man coverages. You need the guys that you can trust

558
00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:17,200
Speaker 1: to be out there on the island, and when you're

559
00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:19,640
Speaker 1: dealing with a ton of injuries in your secondary, it's

560
00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:20,800
Speaker 1: a little tougher to.

561
00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:22,520
Speaker 4: Go that route.

562
00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:24,359
Speaker 3: Well, and if you're not getting a lot of pressure

563
00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:27,840
Speaker 3: up front, you know it's man coverage is tough for

564
00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:30,960
Speaker 3: an extended period of time. You know, if you have

565
00:26:31,119 --> 00:26:34,840
Speaker 3: really tight man coverage and then can can get home

566
00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:37,520
Speaker 3: to the quarterback pretty fast, that's a good combination, right

567
00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:40,800
Speaker 3: because the quarterback's holding the ball a little bit. And

568
00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:45,959
Speaker 3: so I think that pass rush and coverage are always married,

569
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:50,080
Speaker 3: and generally speaking, if you're not getting a great pass rush,

570
00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:53,480
Speaker 3: zone coverage is kind of the way to go right.

571
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:56,760
Speaker 3: You have all your bases covered here, But the Ravens

572
00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,160
Speaker 3: are also not getting to the quarterback at a high

573
00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:03,119
Speaker 3: enough rate right now now, the Ravens rank ninth worst

574
00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:06,200
Speaker 3: in the league and quarterback pressure with four or fewer

575
00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:08,840
Speaker 3: pass rushers at twenty seven point three percent. This is

576
00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:11,240
Speaker 3: all according to the next Gen stats. They're in the

577
00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:13,159
Speaker 3: middle of the pack in blitz percentage, so it's not

578
00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:15,359
Speaker 3: like they're they're not blitzing or there blitzing too much.

579
00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:18,159
Speaker 3: The middle of the pack and maybe they tweak that some.

580
00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:20,720
Speaker 3: I think getting Kyle Hountson back on the field could

581
00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:23,399
Speaker 3: help with that, you know, especially adding another safety to

582
00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:25,800
Speaker 3: the mix. I think if you can get Kyle Hountson

583
00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:27,640
Speaker 3: closer to the line of scrimmage where he can be

584
00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:30,000
Speaker 3: more effective as a blitzer, he can be more effective

585
00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:34,159
Speaker 3: as a slot defender, be more just physical and around

586
00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:36,200
Speaker 3: the ball, and help with your run defense as well.

587
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:39,640
Speaker 3: You know, I think the run defense hasn't been as

588
00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:42,399
Speaker 3: bad as some people have made it out to be,

589
00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:45,919
Speaker 3: but it hasn't been good. You get Kyle helping in

590
00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:47,400
Speaker 3: that regard, I think that can help.

591
00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:50,320
Speaker 1: Yeah. The other thing too, just with man, is that

592
00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:53,320
Speaker 1: when you're playing as many snaps as the Ravens defense

593
00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:54,760
Speaker 1: is playing right now.

594
00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:55,359
Speaker 2: It's tiring.

595
00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:56,640
Speaker 4: It's it's exhausting to.

596
00:27:56,560 --> 00:27:58,920
Speaker 1: Play man coverage to that level, Like if you're playing

597
00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:01,919
Speaker 1: eighty snaps a game, running cardio up and down the field,

598
00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:05,560
Speaker 1: like that's a tough assignment for these for these corners yep.

599
00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:08,960
Speaker 1: And so that's like, I don't think the Ravens No

600
00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:11,639
Speaker 1: team is ever one hundred percent in one direction, but

601
00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:14,040
Speaker 1: I think that that's also part of it. And so

602
00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:16,440
Speaker 1: if you get to be playing more complimentary football where

603
00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:19,119
Speaker 1: the offense is holding the ball longer, maybe defense is

604
00:28:19,119 --> 00:28:20,960
Speaker 1: coming with some more takeaways, then you can play a

605
00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:22,960
Speaker 1: little bit more man. But that's something I do want

606
00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:25,000
Speaker 1: it if they're gonna if we're gonna see more of that, yeah,

607
00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:26,200
Speaker 1: in the coming weeks.

608
00:28:26,359 --> 00:28:30,720
Speaker 3: I think the complimentary football is it's just like it's

609
00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:33,000
Speaker 3: all been a little bit off, and then it has

610
00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:35,560
Speaker 3: this ripple effect on everything else. You know, when the

611
00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,640
Speaker 3: offense isn't sustaining drives, that's making tougher on defense, and

612
00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:41,720
Speaker 3: defense isn't getting takes as we said, and then you

613
00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:45,320
Speaker 3: know when you have sprinkle on top of that, a

614
00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:49,280
Speaker 3: injuries be some just bad luck, bad breaks, tip balls,

615
00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:53,560
Speaker 3: you know, to a degree, takeaways and and all that

616
00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:57,840
Speaker 3: stuff is there's a little bit of a luck element

617
00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:00,440
Speaker 3: to it to a degree. All the tip asses have

618
00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,200
Speaker 3: gone against the Ravens, you know, Buffalo week one tip

619
00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:04,640
Speaker 3: pass caught in the back of the end zone for

620
00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:07,400
Speaker 3: a touchdown, ridiculous. Kyle Hamilton gets his ball on a

621
00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:10,120
Speaker 3: field goal. If he had blocked that field goal, the

622
00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:12,360
Speaker 3: Ravens win the game. At the end of the game

623
00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:16,560
Speaker 3: away right, Mark Andrews juggling interceptions. Somehow they come up

624
00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:18,760
Speaker 3: with it. The Texans. I'm not saying that's why they

625
00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:19,840
Speaker 3: lost the game necessarily.

626
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:23,000
Speaker 1: I felt that from Mark in that situation, like he's

627
00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:25,600
Speaker 1: playing hard, honestly and trying to make a play and

628
00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:28,720
Speaker 1: like it just he bats it up into the defender's hands.

629
00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:30,640
Speaker 1: The guy's standing right there. Just a tough break.

630
00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:36,040
Speaker 3: There's just been this kind of onslaught of like bad

631
00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:38,400
Speaker 3: things that are just a little bit off. And I

632
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:42,400
Speaker 3: think that's why John Harball genuinely feels like we're we're

633
00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:44,680
Speaker 3: not that far away from turning it around.

634
00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:47,120
Speaker 2: And I still go back. I think the health is

635
00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:48,440
Speaker 2: a major part of that.

636
00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:53,480
Speaker 3: But you know, if some things can start going the Ravens'

637
00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:55,520
Speaker 3: way and and you got to make them go your way.

638
00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,640
Speaker 3: You can't just also shrug your shoulder and say it's

639
00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:01,880
Speaker 3: gonna eventually turn around. And and certainly with the actions

640
00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:04,040
Speaker 3: that we're seeing the Ravens take, and John Harball saying

641
00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:08,120
Speaker 3: lineup changes, you're adding players, you're replacing players. They're not

642
00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:11,040
Speaker 3: just shrugging their shoulders to say I think luck's gonna

643
00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:13,200
Speaker 3: turn our way. Yeah, it's not what's happening.

644
00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:15,680
Speaker 2: But like you also just get at the end of

645
00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:17,600
Speaker 2: the day, also just have to get better. You just

646
00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:19,440
Speaker 2: have to get better. And I think that the.

647
00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:23,800
Speaker 3: Ravens, as John Harball said, high urgency, and I think

648
00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:26,480
Speaker 3: that the buy in is still there to get.

649
00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:27,960
Speaker 2: Better and that they're working hard to do So.

650
00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:29,520
Speaker 4: Hold that thought. We'll take a quick break.

651
00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:31,520
Speaker 1: When we come back, we'll have some more conversation around

652
00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:34,760
Speaker 1: that and also discuss some other moves taking place around

653
00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:38,560
Speaker 1: the AFC North. Familiar Face on the Move. You're listening

654
00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:40,440
Speaker 1: to lounge podcasts. We're coming to you from the sea, Keeksud.

655
00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:41,680
Speaker 1: You want to give a shout out to our partners

656
00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:44,160
Speaker 1: at DraftKings Sportsbook. They are an official sports betting partner

657
00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:46,400
Speaker 1: of the Baltimore Ravens Draftking sportsbook.

658
00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:48,240
Speaker 4: The Crown is yours, So.

659
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:50,280
Speaker 1: As always, you can email us at the lounge at

660
00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:54,160
Speaker 1: Ravens dot NFL dot net. We did get a handful

661
00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:58,080
Speaker 1: of emails coming into this week, and so a couple

662
00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:01,560
Speaker 1: of them here. One of them is from Eli, who

663
00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:03,600
Speaker 1: makes the point it's more of a statement than a question.

664
00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:05,840
Speaker 1: He says, if we can get healthy after the bye,

665
00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:08,160
Speaker 1: we can, and we can make some defensive adjustments like

666
00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:10,440
Speaker 1: last year. There's no reason we cannot go on a

667
00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:13,960
Speaker 1: run and end the season ten and six or dare

668
00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:17,280
Speaker 1: I say eleven and five? Remember we won twelve straight

669
00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:21,200
Speaker 1: back in twenty nineteen. Okay, so that's again Ravens started

670
00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:22,520
Speaker 1: twenty nineteen season two and two.

671
00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:25,320
Speaker 3: Well, I do want to interject here, and I know

672
00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:28,480
Speaker 3: you're gonna based off the last pot after Sunday's game,

673
00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:31,920
Speaker 3: you're gonna say, don't even say that we're playoffs because

674
00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:35,920
Speaker 3: it's when the next game, which I agree to a degree.

675
00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:37,680
Speaker 1: And then one other email, this one comes to us

676
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:41,760
Speaker 1: from John Stremble, says, this season's been really bumpy so far.

677
00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:43,360
Speaker 1: I can't wrap my head around the fact that the

678
00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:48,680
Speaker 1: Ravens are one and four right there with the Titans, Saints, Giants, Dolphins, Raiders,

679
00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:49,520
Speaker 1: and Browns.

680
00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:50,360
Speaker 4: If you told me.

681
00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:52,840
Speaker 1: Coming into the season we'd be amongst the bottom eight

682
00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:55,880
Speaker 1: teams and we're talking about a top five picks next year,

683
00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:58,520
Speaker 1: I would have said that you've never seen an NFL

684
00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:02,040
Speaker 1: game before. So my question is, besides Lamar Jackson getting

685
00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:06,000
Speaker 1: healthy and returning, what gives you the most reason for

686
00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:09,560
Speaker 1: optimism moving forward? Is there a realistic path for this

687
00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:12,080
Speaker 1: team to find some rhythm and turn things around at

688
00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:13,920
Speaker 1: this point or are we just hoping to see some

689
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,400
Speaker 1: growth and momentum heading into next season. So what's the

690
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:17,840
Speaker 1: reason for optimism on this team?

691
00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:22,200
Speaker 3: Well, I think the reason for optimism is you still,

692
00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:24,400
Speaker 3: once you get players back on the field, have a

693
00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:28,360
Speaker 3: very good roster that hasn't changed. Nom the Matta Bk

694
00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:30,480
Speaker 3: is not coming back, but a lot of these other

695
00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:31,960
Speaker 3: guys who we all said this is one of the

696
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:36,120
Speaker 3: best rosters in the league, they are going to come back.

697
00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:40,200
Speaker 3: So that gives me optimism. What gives me optimism is

698
00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:44,160
Speaker 3: that the Ravens have been through these tough moments before

699
00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:45,840
Speaker 3: and they've come out the other side. This is an

700
00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:49,800
Speaker 3: experienced coaching staff. I have, you know, belief that John Harball.

701
00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:52,320
Speaker 3: You know, he's been in tough times before and has

702
00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:55,000
Speaker 3: helped the Ravens come out of that, and I think

703
00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:57,480
Speaker 3: that they can do that once again. What also gives

704
00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,280
Speaker 3: me optimism is that there's a legitimate path to the

705
00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:03,400
Speaker 3: playoffs for the Ravens. Still, the door has not closed.

706
00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:06,400
Speaker 3: You look around the AFC North and every team in

707
00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:09,000
Speaker 3: this division has a negative point differential.

708
00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:12,360
Speaker 2: Through Week five, they've given up more points than they've

709
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:13,520
Speaker 2: scored all of them.

710
00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:17,120
Speaker 3: Right. We've often talked about how is the AFC North

711
00:33:17,160 --> 00:33:20,240
Speaker 3: the best division in football? The answer this year is no, right,

712
00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:23,960
Speaker 3: and it's a very winnable division. The Bengals have the

713
00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:27,200
Speaker 3: worst point differential negative seventy one in the NFL. The Steelers,

714
00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:29,160
Speaker 3: the only team at five hundred, are better at three

715
00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:29,560
Speaker 3: to one.

716
00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:30,960
Speaker 2: Now they're coming off of bye, But.

717
00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:34,200
Speaker 3: Anybody that's watched the Steelers games this season, nobody's come

718
00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:36,840
Speaker 3: away from that saying they're absolutely gangbusters and you know

719
00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:39,600
Speaker 3: they're going to the super Bowl this year. Even Steelers

720
00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:41,920
Speaker 3: fans probably wouldn't say that right now. Good team, They're

721
00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:45,400
Speaker 3: just the Steelers. They are what they always are. They're

722
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:49,200
Speaker 3: a plucky team that wins games in the fourth quarter,

723
00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:52,920
Speaker 3: gets turnovers, defensively, makes you make mistakes, they minimize their

724
00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:56,400
Speaker 3: own mistakes. High takeaways, low turnovers. It's a recipe for

725
00:33:56,440 --> 00:33:58,440
Speaker 3: winning football. And they make clutch plays in the fourth quarter.

726
00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:00,560
Speaker 3: That's what they've done for the past, no, for X

727
00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:05,400
Speaker 3: number of years, and so they are that again. But

728
00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:08,479
Speaker 3: do I think the Ravens can beat them?

729
00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:12,120
Speaker 2: Absolutely? Can they beat them twice? Yeah? Tough, tough.

730
00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:13,560
Speaker 3: The Raves haven't done it a whole lot written in

731
00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:19,960
Speaker 3: recent years. Can they absolutely? And to me, when I

732
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:22,520
Speaker 3: look around right now at the playoff picture in the AFC,

733
00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:25,800
Speaker 3: the Ravens got to win the division. I mean, I

734
00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:27,920
Speaker 3: don't think that the wild Cards out of reach, but

735
00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:31,640
Speaker 3: it's it's you've got a lot of contenders because there's

736
00:34:31,640 --> 00:34:33,680
Speaker 3: a lot of parody right now in the league. I mean,

737
00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:36,920
Speaker 3: you look at the Colts are have been really good.

738
00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:40,320
Speaker 3: They look legit in the AFC South as the leader

739
00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:44,200
Speaker 3: in that division potentially. But the Jaguars, Jaguars are nipping

740
00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:47,240
Speaker 3: at their heels. Just beat the Chiefs four to one exactly.

741
00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:50,520
Speaker 3: So the Colts and the Jaguars are both impressive. So

742
00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:53,160
Speaker 3: far this year, Well, that remained the case. They look

743
00:34:53,239 --> 00:34:57,040
Speaker 3: pretty good. The Bills and now the Patriots. I think

744
00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:01,520
Speaker 3: they are entering the conversation. They've entered the chat coming

745
00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:04,480
Speaker 3: off a big win for them in Buffalo where the

746
00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:09,279
Speaker 3: Ravens lost. And so you know what you began the

747
00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:11,760
Speaker 3: season when the schedule comes out and you say Patriots

748
00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:13,200
Speaker 3: at home, Yeah, that should definitely be a win.

749
00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:15,200
Speaker 2: Well, Patriots just beat the Bills.

750
00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:19,920
Speaker 3: Yeah, Okay, they look like rabel Drake may is a

751
00:35:19,960 --> 00:35:22,839
Speaker 3: young second year quarterback who looks like he's coming into

752
00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:27,319
Speaker 3: his own already, and they're going to be a tough team.

753
00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:31,080
Speaker 3: You look in the AFC West, three teams that are contending

754
00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:33,040
Speaker 3: for it. I mean, I'm not counting out the Chiefs yet.

755
00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:34,680
Speaker 3: I know it's been a tough start for them, but hey,

756
00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:36,120
Speaker 3: they have a head start on the Ravens.

757
00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:37,200
Speaker 2: They already beat them.

758
00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:42,800
Speaker 3: And then the Chargers have played really good ball already

759
00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:45,000
Speaker 3: this year. They're coming off the loss to the Commanders,

760
00:35:45,080 --> 00:35:48,400
Speaker 3: but they've played good ball. And then the Broncos just

761
00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:52,799
Speaker 3: beat the Super Bowl champions. So you could be looking

762
00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:55,719
Speaker 3: at three teams from the West getting in potentially the

763
00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:59,880
Speaker 3: Raven's easiest path right now to me, clearest path maybe

764
00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:02,160
Speaker 3: easiest this is the right word, but definitely the clearest

765
00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:05,480
Speaker 3: win the FC North for a third straight year. You

766
00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:08,080
Speaker 3: got to chase down the Steelers for a second straight year.

767
00:36:08,239 --> 00:36:10,239
Speaker 3: The Ravens did it last year. Pittsburgh got off to

768
00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:14,320
Speaker 3: a hot start, Ravens hawked them and passed them. Yeah

769
00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:15,360
Speaker 3: that's the mission again.

770
00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:19,840
Speaker 1: Well, also just for the record, according to to the

771
00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:22,200
Speaker 1: betting sites out there, our friends at Drafting sports Book,

772
00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:24,960
Speaker 1: the Ravens are still favored to win the division. Which

773
00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:27,439
Speaker 1: I know that's not the sentiment and if you turn

774
00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:29,560
Speaker 1: on the radio or read the comments on social media

775
00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:32,640
Speaker 1: right now, but the sports books feel like the Ravens

776
00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:36,080
Speaker 1: are favored still to win the AFC North. So house

777
00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:39,640
Speaker 1: usually wins, the house often wins, That's how it typically works,

778
00:36:39,680 --> 00:36:41,719
Speaker 1: and so I like that they are thinking that the

779
00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:44,719
Speaker 1: Ravens are going to win, still win this division even

780
00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:47,759
Speaker 1: though it's a tough situation right now. One point that

781
00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:50,040
Speaker 1: we all I want to mention here is there's been

782
00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:52,239
Speaker 1: a big shake up in the division, which is that

783
00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:54,759
Speaker 1: our old friend Joe Flacco has been on the move.

784
00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:57,799
Speaker 1: He has been traded. According to multiple reports from the

785
00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:01,319
Speaker 1: Browns to the Bengals in division trade. Don't see that

786
00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:03,680
Speaker 1: very often, see it even less when we're talking about

787
00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:06,080
Speaker 1: a quarterback on the move. But they Browns of course

788
00:37:06,120 --> 00:37:08,440
Speaker 1: made the transition last week to Dylan Gabriel as a

789
00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:11,719
Speaker 1: starting quarterbacking pretty well, and they start Shore Sanders, as

790
00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:14,600
Speaker 1: we all know, and so they make they trade Joe Flacco.

791
00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:21,200
Speaker 1: The Bengals have basically been they've been since Joe Burrow

792
00:37:21,239 --> 00:37:23,200
Speaker 1: has gone down with an injury which is gonna knock

793
00:37:23,239 --> 00:37:24,880
Speaker 1: him out for the majority of the season, if not

794
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:27,560
Speaker 1: all of the season. They've been getting blown out.

795
00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:29,520
Speaker 3: They just have Mike Brownings turn the ball over at

796
00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:31,440
Speaker 3: a very i rate for them. I think they had

797
00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:35,400
Speaker 3: a lot more confidence with Jake Browning at the start

798
00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:39,600
Speaker 3: here immediately after Joe Burrow's injury. But now they're three

799
00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:42,239
Speaker 3: games in into that and it has not gone well

800
00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:46,360
Speaker 3: for them offensively, way too many turnovers, and so they're

801
00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:48,480
Speaker 3: gonna give Flacco a shot.

802
00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:51,480
Speaker 2: It seems like maybe not maybe this week. I don't know.

803
00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:55,600
Speaker 3: He's got to learn another offense, but seems to be

804
00:37:55,600 --> 00:37:58,719
Speaker 3: coming sooner rather than later. Certainly, Ravens might be playing

805
00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:03,120
Speaker 3: Joe Flacco three times this year season and twice at

806
00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:04,040
Speaker 3: empty Bank.

807
00:38:03,920 --> 00:38:07,000
Speaker 1: Stadium Thanksgiving Night. Joe Flacco back in Baltimore.

808
00:38:06,719 --> 00:38:09,719
Speaker 2: Should Thanksgiving Night? You're absolutely right? Yeah, should we call

809
00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:10,640
Speaker 2: it Dennis Pitt again?

810
00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:13,560
Speaker 4: Should get pit on the horn. Pitt is going to

811
00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:15,279
Speaker 4: be spending Thanksgiving of Baltimore now, I think.

812
00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:18,640
Speaker 3: Now, so what does this do for the Bengals? You know,

813
00:38:18,719 --> 00:38:21,400
Speaker 3: I mean Joe Joe Flacco also is not playing at

814
00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:24,480
Speaker 3: a very high level in Cleveland. That's why he got benched.

815
00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:27,319
Speaker 3: And he also was turning the ball over at too

816
00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:30,759
Speaker 3: higher rate. But you put a guy in Joe Flacco

817
00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:35,759
Speaker 3: together with T Higgins and Jamar Chase, those are some

818
00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:37,799
Speaker 3: pretty darn good wide receivers. He has a throw to

819
00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:39,719
Speaker 3: and Joe ain't afraid to sling the ball around right,

820
00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:43,840
Speaker 3: and so can he do some damage with those weapons.

821
00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:45,440
Speaker 3: He still got an offensive line in front of him

822
00:38:45,480 --> 00:38:46,279
Speaker 3: that's gonna put a lot.

823
00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:51,560
Speaker 2: Of heat on him. But yeah, it's interesting.

824
00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:53,040
Speaker 1: He can push the ball down the field and those

825
00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:54,640
Speaker 1: guys can go make plays. And that may just be

826
00:38:54,719 --> 00:38:57,880
Speaker 1: the Bengals recipe and say, hey, we're gonna get Flacco,

827
00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:00,399
Speaker 1: allow him to take some shots down the field, and

828
00:39:01,040 --> 00:39:03,520
Speaker 1: we invested all this money in these wide receivers. We're

829
00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:05,040
Speaker 1: just gonna try to get a guy who can throw

830
00:39:05,040 --> 00:39:07,279
Speaker 1: a D to them and see what happens. And that

831
00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:11,120
Speaker 1: may be their recipe while Burrow is sidelined for a

832
00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:12,200
Speaker 1: good portion of this season.

833
00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:14,160
Speaker 4: But that's definitely a shakeup. That's a that's a shakeup.

834
00:39:14,200 --> 00:39:14,840
Speaker 2: And this is the Bengals.

835
00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:16,760
Speaker 3: They're not waving the white flag yet, they're just saying,

836
00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:19,520
Speaker 3: they're saying, all right, it's not going well with Jake Browning.

837
00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:21,960
Speaker 3: We're gonna give this other guy a shot, Joe flag

838
00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:23,840
Speaker 3: if he I swear, if Joe ever suits up for

839
00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:24,920
Speaker 3: the Steelers.

840
00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:28,320
Speaker 2: Like I'm I'm cool with Joe right now. We're still

841
00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:31,879
Speaker 2: cool thee Bengals. I draw the line if you try

842
00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:33,480
Speaker 2: to put on the black and gold.

843
00:39:34,280 --> 00:39:35,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, that would be that would be a little too weird.

844
00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:39,520
Speaker 1: That'd be a bridge too far, too far. So as always,

845
00:39:39,560 --> 00:39:41,240
Speaker 1: we love hearing from you. Email us at the lounge

846
00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:43,879
Speaker 1: at Ravens dot NFL dot net. Thank you so much

847
00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:46,759
Speaker 1: for those emails every single week. And the Ravens are

848
00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:48,880
Speaker 1: really going to pick up the pace in terms of

849
00:39:48,920 --> 00:39:51,520
Speaker 1: preparing for this game against the Rams on Wednesday. We're

850
00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:54,040
Speaker 1: gonna be breaking down all the conversation, what we see

851
00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:55,759
Speaker 1: out on the practice field, who's back at practice, all

852
00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:58,040
Speaker 1: that stuff over the course of this week, so stay

853
00:39:58,040 --> 00:39:59,000
Speaker 1: tuned for more to come.