Speaker 1: Welcome into the Ravens Press Pass Podcast. It's Monday, June ninth,
Speaker 1: and the Ravens wrapped up another day of organized team
Speaker 1: activities and after practice we had a chance to hear
Speaker 1: from a few players and coaches. First up, Malachi Starks.
Speaker 2: There's there's levels to football and just the knowledge and
Speaker 2: the accumulation that we have in our room, not just
Speaker 2: in the dB room, but in the linebackers room, in
Speaker 2: the D line room, even on the offense side of
Speaker 2: all the tight ends room receivers. Just being able to
Speaker 2: really get out here and watch guys and learn how
Speaker 2: they move and how they see the game of football
Speaker 2: from a different perspective than I do has been huge
Speaker 2: for me.
Speaker 3: Where do you feel like you've grown the most since
Speaker 3: arriving for rookie camp. I know it wasn't that long,
Speaker 3: you know, but there's been a lot of football between
Speaker 3: now and then.
Speaker 2: I think the biggest thing for me is the landmarks.
Speaker 2: So the field is completely different than college. And when
Speaker 2: I first got here, I could feel myself like they
Speaker 2: would say if my job was at the numbers, I
Speaker 2: was going to the college numbers, but I was missing
Speaker 2: the the league numbers. So just being able to work
Speaker 2: on that, you know, stay after practice and just watch
Speaker 2: a lot of tape and just kind of reprogram myself
Speaker 2: into this is where I'm supposed to be at has
Speaker 2: been the challenging thing, but it's it's getting a lot
Speaker 2: better with all the help and you know, all the
Speaker 2: reps that I'm getting is huge in my development.
Speaker 4: Okay, like you're playing more in a free safety role,
Speaker 4: I guess I would say, do you do you appreciate
Speaker 4: playing one position as opposed to being moved around a
Speaker 4: lot of love New Gildren.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I like being anywhere. From being honest, we talk
Speaker 2: about as a positionless defense, So just being able to
Speaker 2: move around. I've been playing a lot of free safety,
Speaker 2: but I've also been to other safety and I got
Speaker 2: some ups to dom as well. So just being able
Speaker 2: to move around. We have a lot of guys that
Speaker 2: move around, just the way our defense is set up,
Speaker 2: you know when you look at it, you know, you
Speaker 2: see Kyle everywhere, you see Marlin everywhere. Uh, you know,
Speaker 2: guys move around a lot here and there. So just
Speaker 2: really really being able to dive into one thing and
Speaker 2: expand my mind from that has been a great opportunity.
Speaker 4: Not the same position, but in the secondary it's Marlin
Speaker 4: Like for you as as a mentor guy who's been
Speaker 4: doing it for so long, it's such a high level.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Uh, Marlin's a great vat man.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: Just being able to we were just sitting over here talking,
Speaker 2: so just being able to like learn from him and
Speaker 2: just all the ball that he's seeing, all the people
Speaker 2: that he's played with, just for me to be able
Speaker 2: to sit in the same meeting room be like, hey,
Speaker 2: like when they do this, what do you think about this?
Speaker 2: Or whatever? And then just you know his character. I mean,
Speaker 2: he's a he's a funny, goofy guy. I mean, not
Speaker 2: what I expect him to be whatsoever. Uh, He's He's awesome, man.
Speaker 2: I'm blessed to be here with a vet like him
Speaker 2: and a lot of the guys in the room here.
Speaker 2: John talk a lot about what he's learning how to
Speaker 2: practice as a professional, like part have you?
Speaker 4: How do you feel like you've done with that? And
Speaker 4: is there anybody on the team that.
Speaker 5: You kind of watching and maybe taking some little practice happens.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not saying I had all figured out, but uh,
Speaker 2: I H I had pretty good practice. Coming from the
Speaker 2: University of Georgia, they always talked about practicing loc a
Speaker 2: pro so staying off the ground, being smart, taking care
Speaker 2: of your teammates, things like that. I mean, it's the
Speaker 2: same thing here. And I've been watching a lot of
Speaker 2: the older Vets as well, Like I said, not just
Speaker 2: from my room but everywhere, just to saying, you know,
Speaker 2: how they disengage from a block, how they handle the
Speaker 2: situation when it comes up, because you know, every place
Speaker 2: is a little different. So just being able to watch
Speaker 2: guys and take what I already know and figure it
Speaker 2: out as I go, That's what I've been doing.
Speaker 1: So you come down to.
Speaker 6: Break up there in the short passing practice today. How
Speaker 6: much faster do you feel like you're playing now again?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think a lot. And I think that just
Speaker 2: comes with the knowledge of the defense. You know, the
Speaker 2: more you learn, the faster you can play. You can
Speaker 2: be free. And I think, you know, I just want
Speaker 2: to keep expanding my knowledge and keep diving into the system.
Speaker 4: In the past game against you're kind of like, man
Speaker 4: that I.
Speaker 5: Didn't know that guy had that.
Speaker 4: You're talking about here or here, who's been hard, who's
Speaker 4: been harder to come up?
Speaker 2: That's tough. Uh Isaiah I had a repp against Isaiah
Speaker 2: the other day and he he's a lot quicker than
Speaker 2: what he looks on TV and in person. So uh,
Speaker 2: like I said, you know, just being able to learn
Speaker 2: from him, you know, just the knowledge that he's had
Speaker 2: while he's been here. I mean, just the way he
Speaker 2: does things. You know, every tight end is a little different,
Speaker 2: but you know, he's very quick, he very knowledge about
Speaker 2: the game of ball. So just being able to go
Speaker 2: against him, it's only making me better.
Speaker 3: Pagano obviously stands out as a former NFL head coach.
Speaker 3: He worked with Ed Reid when Ed was at Miami,
Speaker 3: and he worked with the Mere Baltimore. What are your
Speaker 3: impressions of someone like that who has that kind of
Speaker 3: experience and what he can teach you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I told I told Chuck when I
Speaker 2: first got here. I was like, you remind me of
Speaker 2: Musshamp a lot. Will Muschamp. I was like, you know,
Speaker 2: its fiery, Uh must jamp is snap in a minute.
Speaker 2: But I was like, just just the way they go
Speaker 2: about their business, you know, and just like the knowledge
Speaker 2: of football that they both have. Just he texted me
Speaker 2: like at five this morning, Uh, with film from Thursday practice. Uh,
Speaker 2: and I woke up. I was like, okay, cool, Like
Speaker 2: that makes sense. So just being able to have somebody
Speaker 2: like that's how that's how I wanna be coach. I
Speaker 2: received that very well. So just being able to have
Speaker 2: somebody like that in my corner, I mean, it's a blessing.
Speaker 1: You were a leader.
Speaker 7: I'm at Georgia Defense, very active communicator. How do you
Speaker 7: balance that when you're coming to the pros and learning
Speaker 7: a new playbook with new teammates.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I think the first thing is, you know,
Speaker 2: don't don't bite off more than you can chew.
Speaker 8: Uh.
Speaker 2: So just really realizing, you know my place in this defense,
Speaker 2: in this organization, and you gotta know what to do
Speaker 2: before you can start demanding stuff from other people. I
Speaker 2: think as a leader, you know, you shouldn't ask somebody
Speaker 2: to do something that you wouldn't do with yourself. And
Speaker 2: it's also you know, when I got to University of Georgia,
Speaker 2: I had to learn how to follow the right people
Speaker 2: before I could lead, and that really taught me how
Speaker 2: to move around while watching people lead while becoming a
Speaker 2: leader myself. So it's nothing new. Uh, I think I'm
Speaker 2: still gonna lead in the same way that I've always led,
Speaker 2: and I think I'm gonna use that with the other
Speaker 2: guys that's also leading here as well, and just trying
Speaker 2: to you know, figure out my mode in the in
Speaker 2: the organization.
Speaker 6: Nothing you mentioned learning.
Speaker 8: From different guys can maybe have different perspectives from me.
Speaker 8: Where some of the guys that have help, do you
Speaker 8: see things and ways that you hadn't seen anything.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I think the biggest guy is Roquan Uh,
Speaker 2: just him being that, you know, the voice of the defense.
Speaker 2: But also I watched all of his tape when he
Speaker 2: was at Georgia. Uh so just it's a cool moment
Speaker 2: for me. But just to see the way that he
Speaker 2: handle his business and you know, he's he's super smart.
Speaker 2: Like I said, you gotta learn what to do before
Speaker 2: you can start telling people what to do. And uh
Speaker 2: he has that respect from everybody on the team. So
Speaker 2: just watching him and how he moves and you know,
Speaker 2: even the guys on the offense, you know, the guy's
Speaker 2: just moving different way and it works in different ways
Speaker 2: and everybody has to leave in the same way. So
Speaker 2: just really trying to figure out, you know, take pieces
Speaker 2: from everybody and put it into my own mold you
Speaker 2: ever watch any No, I didn't. I didn't go watch
Speaker 2: I didn't go to a Georgia game til I was
Speaker 2: a recruit and he was gone by then. But uh
Speaker 2: I did watch a lot of his tape for sure.
Speaker 6: Even though you're in different rooms this group on ever
Speaker 6: look at the field with you and kind of go
Speaker 6: over stuff.
Speaker 2: No, we haven't. We haven't really got a chance to
Speaker 2: to connect. I think, you know, I'll go home and
Speaker 2: I'll watch the tape and I come in with questions
Speaker 2: and I ask uh here and there. But I think
Speaker 2: when things start to, you know, pick back up, we
Speaker 2: will get the opportunity and I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 3: And then one kind of warning what next week may
Speaker 3: look like when Lamar is here and more guys are
Speaker 3: here and it just increases with the management many camp.
Speaker 8: But what that's gonna be like?
Speaker 2: You yeah, I think, uh yes, And no, you know,
Speaker 2: he's he's a really big part his team, and you know,
Speaker 2: at the end of the day, ball is ball. And
Speaker 2: you know, when he was here, I got a chance
Speaker 2: to go on the field with him and just you know,
Speaker 2: see how he moves. Uh you know, you watch him
Speaker 2: on so all, you watch him on TV and it's like,
Speaker 2: I don't know, it's crazy to see it in person,
Speaker 2: but uh, just to be able to learn from him
Speaker 2: and just kind of watch how he moves and you know,
Speaker 2: it's only gonna bring the energy up more when he
Speaker 2: gets here, and you know some of the other guys
Speaker 2: as well. So I'm excited. All right, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1: Next up, Travis Jones.
Speaker 8: This year, what have you worked on to try to
Speaker 8: step into that?
Speaker 9: Just going to year four? Just be trying to be
Speaker 9: more vocal, trying to help gods on little details, techniques
Speaker 9: and stuff, those little things like that. Yeah, how hard
Speaker 9: is that?
Speaker 7: One?
Speaker 5: Er n It's just not your nature to be that
Speaker 5: vocal out on God.
Speaker 7: But you know, if you wanna be the leader, it's required.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 9: I gotta just gotta get used to doing the uncomfortable
Speaker 9: things like speaking up more. Like the other day, coach
Speaker 9: having me break down the huddle, I was a little uncomfortable.
Speaker 9: I'm getting more comfortable with it now.
Speaker 6: Is that something you were intentional.
Speaker 3: About the soft season or I thinking like that.
Speaker 9: Or is it kind of happen out for Uh? Nah,
Speaker 9: I wasn't n n on the front of my mind,
Speaker 9: but it just it started coming to more national I'm
Speaker 9: getting more comfortable with it now, Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 6: What's some of the mentality is if like the year's
Speaker 6: retired and I know you started taking a lot of
Speaker 6: it snaps last year, but you know, kind of filling
Speaker 6: that role to a degree. Yeah.
Speaker 9: Uh no, Mike p was a great player, so I
Speaker 9: got a lot of big shoes to feel. But I'm
Speaker 9: just gonna come out here, work my hardest and try
Speaker 9: my best, for sure.
Speaker 8: That's uh.
Speaker 4: In twenty three, the second half years, you really took
Speaker 4: over for Travis, just the pairing with Mell.
Speaker 9: You're gonna say that gain you.
Speaker 4: You took over the pairing with non passing games, and
Speaker 4: last year almost every stat to play you had Nomny
Speaker 4: Next year he talked about some of the synergies between
Speaker 4: the two of you.
Speaker 9: Oh yeah, me and Beats all the field were like
Speaker 9: best friends. So we got that chemistry off the field.
Speaker 9: So I just tried to play off him and just
Speaker 9: be out there having fun with him.
Speaker 3: You knew you played through it, but you got up
Speaker 3: to a really good start last year and you had
Speaker 3: that ankle injury around like week six, week seven.
Speaker 8: Huh.
Speaker 4: How challenging.
Speaker 6: Was it that?
Speaker 3: I mean, you were able to play through it, but
Speaker 3: did you feel maybe that that zaps some of your
Speaker 3: upside as a player?
Speaker 9: Maybe I'm saying that my injury last year was frustrating,
Speaker 9: No knowing well I could have done, but I put
Speaker 9: that beyond me. That's working forward. I have the best
Speaker 9: year this year for sure.
Speaker 3: What do you think what does the next step look
Speaker 3: like for you? I mean, obviously become a starter, you
Speaker 3: played a lot more.
Speaker 4: What's next for you in your mind?
Speaker 9: For me this year, just being more consistent with the passioners,
Speaker 9: no beats most of the time, was getting most of
Speaker 9: the slides. So just got win my one on ones
Speaker 9: this year mm hm.
Speaker 3: And of the season last year with all of Bubble
Speaker 3: success and kind of short yards and rest of.
Speaker 6: Stuff, playing with the.
Speaker 4: Guys, how did did at the end of last season
Speaker 4: playing with you guys with with Buffalo having as much success,
Speaker 4: you know, the short yards and the reds.
Speaker 9: Yeah, you know, Buffalo, that's a great team. We just got.
Speaker 9: It's not it's stuff we did. We just gotta get
Speaker 9: better from that for for the first game this year.
Speaker 6: Yeah, h physically this off season, you gotta even stronger.
Speaker 9: Yeah, I said I got stronger. Uh, I've been. I've
Speaker 9: been working out here the whole whole year. So I'm
Speaker 9: gonna give a shot at the keV run and him
Speaker 9: that's gotten the uh strange stuff for taking cure of
Speaker 9: me this year.
Speaker 3: Brus, you've been all mentioned.
Speaker 4: As the contential contact and stuff. Is that something that
Speaker 4: you thought any about or have you got any discussions
Speaker 4: to the decision bapers.
Speaker 6: New or the base.
Speaker 9: Yeah, nah, that's not that's not That's the last thing
Speaker 9: on my mind this year. This year, I just want
Speaker 9: to put the the best tape out there as possible
Speaker 9: and whatever happens happens.
Speaker 8: Mm hm all right.
Speaker 1: Last, but not least, defensive line coach Dennis Johnson.
Speaker 7: Very defensive linemen on the roster last two years. Sometimes
Speaker 7: you only have four active due to injuries. Do you
Speaker 7: think that took a toll the defensive line by the
Speaker 7: end of the year. There'shigh snap counts. If you have
Speaker 7: any plans to manage any things.
Speaker 5: That will differently this year at times probably so obviously
Speaker 5: you have like injuries and different stuff, and you have
Speaker 5: different team needs and you know how many we take
Speaker 5: out there. Anytime you're not you know, getting off the field.
Speaker 5: You know, after the first three plays, are your drives
Speaker 5: going along, the numbers gonna go up regardless, you know,
Speaker 5: And I think we're doing a good job right now
Speaker 5: training for that in case that happens with you know,
Speaker 5: with the tempos and different piers that we're doing right now.
Speaker 5: But again, anytime you don't get off the field, that
Speaker 5: number is gonna go up. So whether it's four or five,
Speaker 5: we have to do a good job, you know, early
Speaker 5: in the series making sure that numbers stays.
Speaker 4: Down through less risk of having five instead of four
Speaker 4: on a weekly basis, or do you ever say, yeah,
Speaker 4: we could do it four this week.
Speaker 5: I mean I'm always gonna be a proponent for however
Speaker 5: the most I could carry, you know, And again like
Speaker 5: just based off the team needs and like who's up
Speaker 5: and what we need if we have to carry for
Speaker 5: we we cared for, you know, nobody like blinks an eye.
Speaker 5: I mean I would love to have five sixt seven
Speaker 5: if possible, But whatever the team needs is what we
Speaker 5: roll with.
Speaker 6: Travis Jones took some big strikes last year. Where do
Speaker 6: you see him even this offseason kind of aggressing in
Speaker 6: his game?
Speaker 5: You know, getting here around this time last year. Well,
Speaker 5: you know, my first like ota is getting to know
Speaker 5: him as an individual and as a player. I would
Speaker 5: say right now at this point, he's better than he
Speaker 5: was at this time last year, but still got some
Speaker 5: strides to make, you know, still got some consistent things
Speaker 5: that he's continuously work on. But he's done an amazing job,
Speaker 5: an incredible job of coming out here, stepping up, taking
Speaker 5: more of a leadership role, being a little bit more vocal.
Speaker 5: But you know, the play has run stopping ability. His
Speaker 5: ability to pass rush at that size continues to flourish
Speaker 5: out here, and so we have to just continue to
Speaker 5: make sure that he keeps moving in that right direction
Speaker 5: in this time of the year.
Speaker 9: And there's short questions of John Jenkins and his leadership
Speaker 9: I think you can bring to this group, especially after
Speaker 9: Michael retired.
Speaker 5: Yes, ma'am, a very polished vet already in the meet
Speaker 5: meeting rooms. You can tell his wisdom from being in
Speaker 5: the league for so long and just talking within the guys,
Speaker 5: his ability to pick up the playbook and are the
Speaker 5: way that we play our techniques fairly, quickly, honestly. And
Speaker 5: then you know, even coming out here today and executing
Speaker 5: some of those things. So just got to get them
Speaker 5: familiar with the system. But very impressed with him so far.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so how didn't you go think it through effect
Speaker 4: time last year?
Speaker 5: I you know, anytime you have a lower body injury
Speaker 5: at you know, really in position, but especially up front,
Speaker 5: I mean, it weighs on you. But you know, he's
Speaker 5: he's tough and went out there and was fighting his
Speaker 5: butt off regardless of you know, whether how many we
Speaker 5: d linemen we had or the injury. Just a very
Speaker 5: tough individual. Obviously slowed him down just a little bit.
Speaker 5: But but yeah, I was, I was proud of him
Speaker 5: during that time.
Speaker 4: The question that uh, non dematicic cases staff count way
Speaker 4: up there last year, I mean up there with some
Speaker 4: of the biggest ravens. Well tip me in a rotational team,
Speaker 4: do you see that as something that ideally would be
Speaker 4: cut or do you think it is fine at that level? Y?
Speaker 5: You you don't wanna get too high in general, you know,
Speaker 5: he he played it well. Obviously I wish I could
Speaker 5: take some of those snaps off. But I mean with
Speaker 5: the games on the line or you know it's close
Speaker 5: in the fourth quarter, I mean you're probably not gonna
Speaker 5: look at snap reps. You know, you're gonna make sure
Speaker 5: Numby's out there to help you close the game out.
Speaker 5: You know, you know, just again when y y, you
Speaker 5: gotta get off the field early to help you know,
Speaker 5: maneuver get those numbers down. But again, just over the season,
Speaker 5: you know, it adds up. But they come out here,
Speaker 5: they work, they get in really good shape, elite athletes,
Speaker 5: and I thought I was proud of them. I thought
Speaker 5: he did well towards the back end. It's a good question, ynis.
Speaker 8: What have you seen from the people so far? And
Speaker 8: look at you a little bit. He's a little bit undersized,
Speaker 8: so you can make up for the last.
Speaker 1: Size and part.
Speaker 7: Uh.
Speaker 5: You know, people's has an elite get off, like when
Speaker 5: you're one of the better ones just here right now,
Speaker 5: just walking in. Obviously he's gonna have to learn to
Speaker 5: play a little bit more, you know, technically sound the
Speaker 5: way that we play here as time goes. But he's
Speaker 5: taken to it and he's learning, and he cares and
Speaker 5: he wants to be out there, and so he spending
Speaker 5: you know, extra time, whether it's with the older guys
Speaker 5: or with the younger guys and making sure he getting
Speaker 5: the playbook down. So I have y big expectations for him.
Speaker 5: I think he's gonna you know, come in and compete
Speaker 5: and and do well as he continues to grow and learn.
Speaker 5: This early stage in his career got as.
Speaker 4: An ex traversy feel like more of a neger lately.
Speaker 4: When did you notice that? Or is it an example
Speaker 4: how that might have manifested goose kid?
Speaker 5: So you know, just like in in the meeting rooms
Speaker 5: and y a g a young guy who's inexperience can
Speaker 5: aks him you know, how how did he play that?
Speaker 5: And he and he could tell him Mark, he could
Speaker 5: see something to pull a guy over to the side,
Speaker 5: you know where there's like you know cj or you know,
Speaker 5: any of the other younger into your guys or Jason or
Speaker 5: somebody and be like, hey, you gotta get your eyes
Speaker 5: right here, you know, listen like coach you know, saying
Speaker 5: that this is you know exactly what he's saying, and
Speaker 5: like can walk him through it. Uh as we continue
Speaker 5: like prick like go through practice. And so just those
Speaker 5: little things, you know, or things I hadn't really seen,
Speaker 5: you know, in a great deal for.
Speaker 1: Him from him.
Speaker 5: But it's also he's more comfortable, you know, doing the
Speaker 5: things that we're exing to do and you know seeing
Speaker 5: it just you know, in a better position. So that's
Speaker 5: that's what it relates to.
Speaker 6: His his leadership.
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