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Speaker 1: Welcome into the Lounge presented by DraftKings. I'm Gary Downing

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Speaker 1: here with Clifton Brown, and it is officially combined week

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Speaker 1: the entire NFL world will all descend upon Indianapolis. Everybody

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Speaker 1: comes together here gets to take a look at a

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Speaker 1: few hundred prospects who are hoping to hear their name

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Speaker 1: called in the NFL Draft, and is also a time

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Speaker 1: and place for teams around the league, scouts, coaches, everybody

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Speaker 1: to get together all on one spot, and there's a

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Speaker 1: lot of NFL business that takes place behind the scenes

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Speaker 1: during this week in Indianapolis. Clifton Brown and I will

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Speaker 1: be there covering all of it throughout the week as

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Speaker 1: the Ravens look for their next group of draft picks,

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Speaker 1: very important draft class, as well as some other business

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Speaker 1: as well. So we want to give you a rundown

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Speaker 1: of what to expect over the course of this week

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Speaker 1: as well as just set the table for what the

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Speaker 1: next few days are going to look like.

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Speaker 2: So, Cliff, you've been.

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Speaker 1: To a bunch of combines, you and I have been

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Speaker 1: to a bunch of them together outside to spend an

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Speaker 1: extra time with me, What's what's your favorite part of

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Speaker 1: the Combine week.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, that in Saint Elmos.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, yes, really, just this is a deep dive into

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Speaker 4: the draft prospects for you know, the upcoming season. We're

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Speaker 4: so focused on the NFL season during the season that

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Speaker 4: leaves myself, you know, you hear about the top guys,

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Speaker 4: but some of the people who may be drafted second day,

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Speaker 4: third day, you're not as up on them, at least

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Speaker 4: I'm not before I get to the combine. Once you know,

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Speaker 4: you get there and see these athletes up close, you

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Speaker 4: always leave with your own impression of who impressed you,

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Speaker 4: Who do you think might fit for the Ravens, who

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Speaker 4: maybe looked a little different than you thought they would

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Speaker 4: be in person. So yeah, it's just a very interesting week.

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Speaker 4: And then of course everybody in the league is there,

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Speaker 4: so there's just a lot of talk about you know,

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Speaker 4: potential trades, free agents, all types of things. So it's

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Speaker 4: just a very interesting time of year.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it is.

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Speaker 1: It's unique because like just to set the stage for

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Speaker 1: listeners out there. The thing that I always kind of

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Speaker 1: compare it to like whatever your line of work is,

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Speaker 1: it's basically, if everybody in your profession went to a

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Speaker 1: convention in the same city, pick a city, it doesn't matter.

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Speaker 1: But if everybody in your in your line of work

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Speaker 1: is in this one specific place, and you have a

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Speaker 1: bunch of friends at different different companies who have been there,

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Speaker 1: people you've worked with previously, some are there looking for

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Speaker 1: their next job and the next opportunity. Then you have

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Speaker 1: people who are looking to work their way into the business.

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Speaker 1: Like that's what the combine is. Everybody's all in one place.

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Speaker 1: And somebody explained it to me somewhere along the way.

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Speaker 1: Like in a lot, it's generally the same group of

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Speaker 1: people who are all in the room.

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Speaker 2: They just keep switching hats.

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Speaker 1: And the Ravens have a whole new coaching staff this year,

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Speaker 1: so there's a bunch of guys who are now wearing

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Speaker 1: Ravens hats that weren't previously and that's a big change, which.

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Speaker 2: We're going to talk about.

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Speaker 1: But it's everybody all in one place, and so that's

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Speaker 1: like that has a huge impact on the business side

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Speaker 1: of things, the social side of things. There's a lot

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Speaker 1: of conversations taking place in between workouts, at happy hours,

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Speaker 1: at dinners, all that stuff. At coffee there's a lot

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Speaker 1: of conversations that are taking place that really shape the

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Speaker 1: rest of the off season in the upcoming year of

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Speaker 1: four teams.

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Speaker 2: And I also think it's just it's interesting.

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Speaker 1: I remember my first time that I ever went like

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Speaker 1: you look around and you're just like, oh, you know,

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Speaker 1: that's a coach of this team, that's a GM of

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Speaker 1: that team, that's a media person like it truly is

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Speaker 1: everybody there inaccessible and going through the process of building

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Speaker 1: their upcoming team.

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Speaker 4: Right when you leave your hotel room and go down

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Speaker 4: to whether you go into the workouts or whether you

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Speaker 4: go in the media center, you never know who you're

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Speaker 4: going to run into when you're making that walk back

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Speaker 4: and forth, and so there are so many conversations that

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Speaker 4: are planned and some that aren't planned, between whether it

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Speaker 4: be a team, personnel, media agents. It is really fascinating,

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Speaker 4: as you mentioned, to see everybody in one place. It's

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Speaker 4: often the starter for trade talk, it can be the

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Speaker 4: progression as far as contract talks with teams. These now

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Speaker 4: you know almost everybody has their coaching staff either fully

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Speaker 4: in place or just about in place. But now this

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Speaker 4: will be the first time with ten new coaching changes

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Speaker 4: around the league and head coaches where a lot of

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Speaker 4: these staffs are going to the Combine for the first

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Speaker 4: time as a unit, and so from the Ravens perspective,

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Speaker 4: it'll be interesting to see if you know, any of

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Speaker 4: the things they look for, particular positions, whether the size

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Speaker 4: and speed of certain players now changes under jesse mentor

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Speaker 4: that might be different than it was under John Arball.

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Speaker 4: All those type things will be going on too, so

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Speaker 4: it'll be interesting from that perspective with so many new

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Speaker 4: coaches around.

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Speaker 1: Well, just to give you a rundown of the calendar

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Speaker 1: in terms of what we're looking at.

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Speaker 2: You're listening this week. This is a Monday episode.

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Speaker 1: On Tuesday, we're going to get a chance to hear

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Speaker 1: from both Jess Menser and Eric to Cossa. They are

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Speaker 1: meeting with reporters in a podium setting at the Combine. Again,

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Speaker 1: just to give you the lay of the land. Pretty

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Speaker 1: much every coach in GM, not necessarily, but most all

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Speaker 1: talk to reporters over the course of the next few days.

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Speaker 1: So there's just so much news. It's honestly hard to

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Speaker 1: keep up with because there's you walk into a room

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Speaker 1: and you may have four head coaches who are all

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Speaker 1: talking at the same time. Obviously, we're focused on what

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Speaker 1: the Ravens have to say so again. Jesse Minzer and

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Speaker 1: Eric the Costs are scheduled to talk on Tuesday.

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Speaker 2: We're gonna be breaking down everything that they have to say.

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Speaker 1: What's at the top of the list for you that

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Speaker 1: you want to hear from either of them.

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Speaker 4: I'm sure Eric de Kas is going to be asked

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Speaker 4: about Lamar's contract situation. That's obviously no brainer. Tyler Linderbaum.

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Speaker 4: Obviously it will be another subject that comes up Jesse.

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Speaker 4: It'll be interesting that, you know, he had his press

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Speaker 4: conference here with the Ravens and Baltimore media, but a

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Speaker 4: lot of the national media hasn't talked to Jesse since

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Speaker 4: he came the Ravens head coach, So there'll be other

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Speaker 4: questions coming from that angle as far as how Jesse

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Speaker 4: plans to run the Ravens, and really with his being

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Speaker 4: the first new coach in Baltimore after eighteen years, it

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Speaker 4: is new for the national media to be looking at

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Speaker 4: Jesse mentor in this position. It's always been John Harball

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Speaker 4: for almost two decades. It was a familiar face Jesse.

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Speaker 4: This will be his first time as a head coach

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Speaker 4: taking questions in person from the national media, So yeah,

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Speaker 4: I mean it will be again interesting to see how

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Speaker 4: things change and how Jesse's viewing him now as the

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Speaker 4: Ravens head coach, hopefully for a very long time. This

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Speaker 4: will be his first combine in that position.

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Speaker 1: A lot of times the new coaches at any team,

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Speaker 1: especially if they have not been a head coach previously,

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Speaker 1: they can draw a big crowd because people are just interested.

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Speaker 2: Haven't heard from him? New guy on the block? What

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Speaker 2: do you have to say? What are you about? How

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Speaker 2: do you want to build your team?

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Speaker 1: And so I think that there will be an element

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Speaker 1: of that at the national level where people I don't

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Speaker 1: think that, like Harball was here for so long with

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Speaker 1: such a known commodity locally and nationally, and so now

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Speaker 1: it's it's a change, and I think there's gonna be

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Speaker 1: a lot of interested parties in hearing from Jesse mentor

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Speaker 1: what does he want this team to be, how does

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Speaker 1: he plan to approach things, what's going to be different, what's.

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Speaker 2: He like personality wise?

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Speaker 1: All of that is going to be what I think

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Speaker 1: the national media looks at in relation to him. The

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Speaker 1: other couple other points that I'm curious to hear from

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Speaker 1: from both of them, particularly Eric.

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Speaker 2: Tacosta is one of them.

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Speaker 1: Is you mentioned Lamar's contract, Yes, definitely, Tyler Linderbaum, Yes,

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Speaker 1: franchise tag, they have the ability to use it. The

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Speaker 1: window is now open. Are they interested in using that

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Speaker 1: in Tyler Linderbomb. I would be a little bit surprised

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Speaker 1: if that were the case, given the price tag that

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Speaker 1: franchise tag comes with, and the franchise tag is the

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Speaker 1: same for all offensive linemen, But still would be curious

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Speaker 1: to hear that. Eric has said in the past often

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Speaker 1: oftentimes I've already had conversations with such and such player.

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Speaker 1: I'm having conversations with his agent this week. So do

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Speaker 1: we hear any of that? The other one other point

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Speaker 1: that I will be wondering, I'm wondering if we're gonna.

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Speaker 2: Get an update on is Nomdi Matabike.

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Speaker 1: And we have not had any clarity on that situation

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Speaker 1: really since the middle of last season. Every time previously

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Speaker 1: John Harball, then Eric DeCosta at the end of the

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Speaker 1: season press conference when asked about it, it's basically the

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Speaker 1: same answer, don't have any updates. Nabi's has some tweets

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Speaker 1: in recent weeks that make you wonder, is there any chance,

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Speaker 1: like what's going on here? He's tweeted things like good

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Speaker 1: news and vague enough, but it makes you wonder. So

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Speaker 1: I will be very curious to see if we get

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Speaker 1: any update on his status from Ericsa Costa.

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Speaker 4: Right, yeah, sooner or later. It has to come right

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Speaker 4: And yes, as you mentioned, this has been a lot

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Speaker 4: time and he's such a key piece for the Ravens

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Speaker 4: for how they play defense really on all three levels.

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Speaker 4: See you know, Zeric Dekason mentioned after the season not

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Speaker 4: having Namdi last year definitely impacted their pass rush, It

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Speaker 4: impacted their total line play, the rotation at all three

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Speaker 4: levels of defense.

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Speaker 3: He's that type of player.

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Speaker 4: He can occupy two blockers himself, still do damage himself

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Speaker 4: and free things up for other people. So he's a

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Speaker 4: young player in his prime. You know, you have to

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Speaker 4: keep your fingers crossed that he can come back. But

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Speaker 4: we don't know, so is this when we find out,

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Speaker 4: we'll see.

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Speaker 1: Right that, I'm guessing that's definitely going to be a conversation. Also,

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Speaker 1: like we've spent so much time talking about Linderbaum as

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Speaker 1: it relates to free agents, he's not the only free

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Speaker 1: agent on this team. He's the most notable and that

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Speaker 1: he's a multi time pro bowler Asaiah like he's a

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Speaker 1: free agent. Jordan Stout is a free agent coming off

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Speaker 1: a Pro Bowl season, the best season of his career.

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Speaker 1: Others as well. Who do the Ravens try to bring back.

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Speaker 1: We're not going to get a full rundown of every

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Speaker 1: single guy and what the Ravens intend for them, but

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Speaker 1: we can get some perspective in hearing from DaCosta about

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Speaker 1: what the Ravens want to do with these guys. And

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Speaker 1: I'm really interested how the Ravens plan to approach this

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Speaker 1: free agency class. Knowing they have got a little bit

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Speaker 1: of money to cost to talk about potentially spending in

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Speaker 1: free agency, so they have some capital if they want

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Speaker 1: to go that route, but they also want to keep

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Speaker 1: as many of their own guys as possible. How much

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Speaker 1: do they prioritize their own players versus giving themselves the

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Speaker 1: money and the ability to go out there and try

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Speaker 1: to get other free agents on the market.

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Speaker 4: Right, I mean the reality of free agency is that

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Speaker 4: you can't keep everybody you would like to keep. So

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Speaker 4: the combine based on what Eric says may give you

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Speaker 4: a better idea of their game plan, like who they're

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Speaker 4: leaning towards, really trying hard to keep and his chances

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Speaker 4: of what he thinks of their chances of doing so.

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Speaker 4: Is there anybody who he just flat out kind of

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Speaker 4: reading between the lines, you're thinking, well, that person is

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Speaker 4: probably going to sign elsewhere, that the price just might

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Speaker 4: be too high.

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Speaker 3: So, yes, he may not give you, he's not.

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Speaker 4: Going to give you details blow by blow, but you

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Speaker 4: may after this press conference get a better idea of

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Speaker 4: what their off season game plan is regarding their players

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Speaker 4: because this season, the off season, unlike others, so much

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Speaker 4: focus was on the head coach obviously who was going

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Speaker 4: to be then putting together his staff. We've gotten past

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Speaker 4: that stage. Now it goes back to the players right now.

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Speaker 1: Now it's kind of business as usual as all that

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Speaker 1: other stuff has been taken care of.

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Speaker 2: Right now. It's the similar topics that we're used to discussing.

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Speaker 1: One of those is, say Flowers, this is the first

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Speaker 1: year that he's eligible for a contract extension. Now he's

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Speaker 1: only played three seasons he's been a pro bowler, but

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Speaker 1: getting a deal done after three seasons is earlier. This

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Speaker 1: is the first time that he's eligible. However, the Ravens

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Speaker 1: just did it with Kyle Hamilton a year ago. They

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Speaker 1: extended him after three seasons, and so there's not It

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Speaker 1: doesn't happen a ton around the league, but it's not

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Speaker 1: unheard of, and so I wonder. And the other thing too,

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Speaker 1: is like Eric's Acosta and the Ravens have indicated that

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Speaker 1: they want to get deals done on the front end,

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Speaker 1: because you end up get the deal done, player gets

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Speaker 1: more money, gets more guaranteed money, and the team gets

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Speaker 1: that long term deal in place, and they get it

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Speaker 1: at a better price over the course of the entire

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Speaker 1: contract by getting it done early, because the price only

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Speaker 1: goes up as we know. So do they want to

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Speaker 1: enter into those negotiations with Zay Flowers at this point?

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Speaker 1: Do they want to allow him to continue playing out

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Speaker 1: that contract that's like, this is the first time again.

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Speaker 1: It's possible that we can have that conversation. But I

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Speaker 1: wonder if that will be part of the conversation at

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Speaker 1: Eric's press conference this week right.

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Speaker 4: I think it could be. It's definitely a question to

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Speaker 4: ponder becausey is a young player who is obviously ascending.

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Speaker 4: He's already one of their biggest weapons. He's gotten better

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Speaker 4: every season, he's been durable, and then obviously now with

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Speaker 4: a new head coach Declan I'm sure Declan Doyle looks

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Speaker 4: at the safe of Jay Flowers, He's like, yeah, there's

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Speaker 4: a guy.

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Speaker 3: He's a playmaker. Yeah, so right.

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Speaker 4: But again, so many things in life come down to

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Speaker 4: money and this is no different. And yeah, it's it

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Speaker 4: would be great from the Raimns perspective if they decided

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Speaker 4: that they wanted to, you know, enter long term deal

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Speaker 4: with z to do it.

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Speaker 3: Earlier rather than later.

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Speaker 4: As as you mentioned, once guy's hit free agency, and

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Speaker 4: if he continues to keep stacking years the way he

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Speaker 4: has so far in his career, he's going to be

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Speaker 4: a guy. If he ever were to hit free agency,

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Speaker 4: certainly somebody would probably meet the price that he wants.

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Speaker 1: I mean, Zay Flowers is going to get a massive

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Speaker 1: contract whenever the extension happens, if that's here, if us elsewhere, Like,

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Speaker 1: he's going to get a massive payday, and it's a

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Speaker 1: question of how soon you want to get that done.

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Speaker 1: You would think that he's in the long term plans

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Speaker 1: here based on everything that he's been able to do

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Speaker 1: as a first homegrown Pro bowler, then runs it back

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Speaker 1: with another Pro Bowl season like he's delivered on his

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Speaker 1: first round pick status, and so it would not surprise

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Speaker 1: me at all if the Ravens want to enter into

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Speaker 1: those contract negotiations. But as we just talked about, they've

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Speaker 1: got a number of guys that they're trying to work

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Speaker 1: through and get done. Lamar Jackson at the top of

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Speaker 1: that list and so on.

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Speaker 2: Lamar.

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Speaker 1: One thing that's interesting about him, like a couple of

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Speaker 1: years ago, he was all to talk at the Combine.

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Speaker 1: That was one of the biggest talking points. What's different

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Speaker 1: about him is obviously he's his own agent, and so

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Speaker 1: oftentimes with the Combine you have agents there talking to

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Speaker 1: a bunch of different teams, talking to media, members of

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Speaker 1: the media, and so there's a lot of conversation that

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Speaker 1: comes out of all of that. But with Lamar as

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Speaker 1: his own agent, there isn't that that's not happening. He's

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Speaker 1: not going, you know, to the Combine and having conversations

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Speaker 1: with teams and media and that type of thing. You know, like,

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Speaker 1: that's not what's what's going on. And so like the

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Speaker 1: information that you get is it comes from Erics Costa

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Speaker 1: at the podium and I'm sure no doubt he's going

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Speaker 1: to be asked about it and he'll provide some level

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Speaker 1: of an update of where those negotiations stand. I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: guess he keeps it pretty tight to the vest, just

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Speaker 1: like he and he did the last time around. But

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Speaker 1: you know, that's going to be a huge focus for

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Speaker 1: this team this offseason, and as Steve Bushotti said that

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Speaker 1: at his press conference, the hope would be to get

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Speaker 1: something done with Lamar before they even get to free agency,

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Speaker 1: so that that gives them clarity and flexibility on how

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Speaker 1: they can spend the rest of their money under the

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Speaker 1: salary cap in free agency.

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Speaker 3: No question.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, I mean I would think that no matter

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Speaker 4: when you ask Eric, the answer is going to be

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Speaker 4: the same. He altreeny knows what he's going to say,

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Speaker 4: and it's probably not going to be a lot. You

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Speaker 4: mentioned about Lamar and not having an agent. I mean,

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Speaker 4: Lamar has made it clear himself when he's asked about

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Speaker 4: it during the season or whatever, that he doesn't like

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Speaker 4: talking about it publicly. So the Ravens have respected those wishes.

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Speaker 4: Nothing's leaguing from Lamar so right, But you know they'll

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Speaker 4: meet as often as they have to meet. They know

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Speaker 4: they have each other's phone number, they can be in contact,

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Speaker 4: you know, I just yeah, The bottom line is, if

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Speaker 4: it happens, it'll be great for the Ravens because they

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Speaker 4: will have more flexibility. If it doesn't happen, they have

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Speaker 4: a Plan B and they'll go to that. But as

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Speaker 4: you mentioned, you know the Ravens side, they've made it

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Speaker 4: clear that this is something they want to get done

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Speaker 4: that you know, we're trying to win a Super Bowl.

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Speaker 4: The more financial flexibility you have, the better opportunity you

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Speaker 4: have to improve the roster before next season starts.

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Speaker 1: The other point that's worth making here, it's a very

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Speaker 1: different situation back to when you compare it to twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty three. He's not headed towards free agency. This is

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Speaker 1: really a salary cap maneuvering correct dynamic and an extension

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Speaker 1: of course, so he gets more money over the course

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Speaker 1: of the contract. But it's not like you have this

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Speaker 1: the clock ticking in the same way with free agency

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Speaker 1: where he's going to hit the market. That's not what

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Speaker 1: we're talking about here. We're talking about extending the contract

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Speaker 1: and giving yourself more flexibility in the here and now,

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Speaker 1: all of which is important. I'm not trying to downplay it,

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Speaker 1: but I just think it's important to consider the difference

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Speaker 1: compared to where we were a couple of years ago.

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Speaker 1: The one other point that I have before we take

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Speaker 1: a break is you hear a lot of league wide chatter,

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Speaker 1: and so this is I don't know what the story

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Speaker 1: is going to be, but we're gonna wake up Monday, Tuesday,

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Speaker 1: Wednesday this week and there's gonna be some league wide

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Speaker 1: story that somebody is reporting that everybody's talking about.

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Speaker 2: And it happened.

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Speaker 1: It's without fail every year, and it's hard to predict

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Speaker 1: what it's going to be. I remember one year it

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Speaker 1: was Kyler Murray demanding a new contract. Like there's been

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Speaker 1: all sorts of them. Every time I turn on the

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Speaker 1: TV or walk by the TVs and the cafeteria, they're

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Speaker 1: talking about trade possibilities and who's going to try to

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Speaker 1: trade for Max Crosby. Is that going to be a

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Speaker 1: topic of conversation. Would not surprise me. But there's going

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Speaker 1: to be a league wide story that everybody is talking

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Speaker 1: about that comes over the course of the next.

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Speaker 3: Few days, right, And no question.

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Speaker 4: I mean I figured Max Crosby's name would come up

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Speaker 4: because it seems like he's been linked with like twenty

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Speaker 4: five teams. He can only play for one but yeah,

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Speaker 4: coveted edge rushers, proven rushers like that, who plays a

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Speaker 4: guy who plays that hard in that? Well, yes, I mean,

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Speaker 4: may we have a better indication of where he might

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Speaker 4: be going, If he's going anywhere, maybe you start hearing

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Speaker 4: more tangible talk about which teams he most likely is

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Speaker 4: headed to rather than just right now. To me, it's

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Speaker 4: just been again every day when I read something, he's

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Speaker 4: going somewhere else. The Raiders are saying they want to

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Speaker 4: keep him, but sure, going in he's the clubhouse favorite

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Speaker 4: to be one of the bigger stories of the week.

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Speaker 4: But there's always surprises because again there's some things that

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Speaker 4: will happen over the course at all season they haven't

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Speaker 4: even been talked about yetet And sometimes the Combine is

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Speaker 4: the starting point for those conversations for sure.

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Speaker 1: So again we're going to be breaking that all down

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Speaker 1: over the course of the week, and we're excited for that.

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Speaker 2: We're gonna take a quick break, we come.

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Speaker 1: Back, we'll share some of our favorite stories and highlights

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Speaker 1: from the Combine over the years. You're listening to the

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Speaker 1: Lounge podcast, We're coming to you from the Sea Geek Studio.

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Speaker 1: We want to mention our partners with Draftking at Sportsbook.

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Speaker 1: They are an official sports betting partner of the Baltimore

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Speaker 1: Ravens Drafting sportsbook. The Crown is Yours. So a programming note,

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Speaker 1: Cliff and I are going to have episodes all throughout

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Speaker 1: this week from Indianapolis. So there's a lot of content

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Speaker 1: that we're gonna be bringing your way, and so make

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Speaker 1: sure that you tune in. Video episodes are going to

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Speaker 1: be posted on the Ravens app website YouTube channel. Also

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Speaker 1: be able to listen to every podcast that we do

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Speaker 1: as well. The audio format available wherever you get your podcasts,

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Speaker 1: to stay tuned for a lot of us over the

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Speaker 1: course of this week and Indianapolis.

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Speaker 2: UH.

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Speaker 1: In terms of the schedule, media interviews began on Wednesday,

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Speaker 1: with players, the coaches and gms to start on Tuesday,

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Speaker 1: So we're running through those uh starting on Tuesday, Wednesday,

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Speaker 1: and then the player interviews start on Wednesday. The on

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Speaker 1: field workouts start on Thursday and those extend through the weekend.

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Speaker 2: Now, the on.

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Speaker 1: Field workouts like those are really important for the scouts

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Speaker 1: the coaches to get a feel for what's happening. From

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Speaker 1: our standpoint, a lot of our stuff happens earlier in

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Speaker 1: the week when we're talking with all the different uh

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Speaker 1: you know, media pundits, draft experts, draft prospects, and then

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Speaker 1: as well all the all the coaches and the gms

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Speaker 1: around the league. The other thing too, and this is

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Speaker 1: something that we don't actually see happening at the combine,

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Speaker 1: but it's really really important is what happens in meeting

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Speaker 1: rooms between the players and the teams not publicized. Sometimes

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Speaker 1: we get a chance to see after the fact, but

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Speaker 1: that time teams have a fifteen minute window and it's

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Speaker 1: like speed dating you run through. These guys are running

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Speaker 1: through all these different teams, and they're pretty coached up

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Speaker 1: and at this point and they're prepared for it. But

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Speaker 1: like that fifteen minute window of the official interviews, in

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Speaker 1: addition to any conversations they have walk in the halls

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Speaker 1: before workouts, any of that, like that is critical time

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Speaker 1: where these teams form an opinion on who these players

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Speaker 1: are and it has a drastic effect at shaping the

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Speaker 1: board for the Ravens and for teams around the league.

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Speaker 3: Right.

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Speaker 4: I mean, we've heard conversations Malachi starts just popping in

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Speaker 4: my mind about you know, Ravens saying it was one

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Speaker 4: of the best interviews they've ever had at a combine.

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Speaker 4: Obviously that helped his impression with the Ravens. And yeah,

438
00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:52,919
Speaker 4: I mean, as you mentioned, guys are coached up. But

439
00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,400
Speaker 4: you want to get an idea of how much football

440
00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:59,520
Speaker 4: does this guy know as far as ex's and o's,

441
00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:02,880
Speaker 4: How quickly the scheme you run if you put them

442
00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,560
Speaker 4: at the chalkboard. Can he identify where he should be

443
00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:08,639
Speaker 4: on this play quickly? Or does he seem like he

444
00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:11,399
Speaker 4: might struggle more learning.

445
00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:12,119
Speaker 3: Your style of play?

446
00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:17,360
Speaker 4: His comfort level just with being interviewed under a pressure situation,

447
00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:19,240
Speaker 4: How does he handle himself?

448
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:20,200
Speaker 3: Yeah?

449
00:22:20,359 --> 00:22:23,720
Speaker 4: So yes, and then I too. Even though we don't

450
00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:27,199
Speaker 4: see the behind the scenes, we do see them in

451
00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:30,040
Speaker 4: front of all the media and all the topics. There's

452
00:22:30,119 --> 00:22:35,399
Speaker 4: like a crush around them to answer questions, there's fifty

453
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:38,359
Speaker 4: hundred people just throw on firing one after another. It

454
00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:41,840
Speaker 4: gives you a little window into their personality. May not

455
00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:44,879
Speaker 4: be the tipping point of whether you draft someone or not,

456
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,680
Speaker 4: but again it's just more information for your file.

457
00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:48,600
Speaker 2: I agree.

458
00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:51,480
Speaker 1: I think that I actually come away from those press

459
00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:55,639
Speaker 1: conferences having a sense of who these guys are personality wise,

460
00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:59,160
Speaker 1: Like are they comfortable in the spotlight. Do they have

461
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:05,719
Speaker 1: a big are they somebody that like is hesitant in

462
00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:08,520
Speaker 1: that forum? Do they or are they.

463
00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:10,680
Speaker 2: Putting on a show? Like I've seen it all.

464
00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:13,879
Speaker 1: I've seen all these different types of approaches when it

465
00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:16,560
Speaker 1: comes to those press conferences, and I'm not sure like

466
00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:19,200
Speaker 1: which way is necessarily the right way. I think it

467
00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:22,200
Speaker 1: depends on the player, but I think you'd at least

468
00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:24,480
Speaker 1: get a feel for who they are personality wise. You

469
00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:26,920
Speaker 1: mentioned Malachi Starks, like I came out of his press

470
00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:30,040
Speaker 1: conference setting last year thinking, this dude is super smart,

471
00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:35,040
Speaker 1: He's saying all the right things, He's impressive, he seems humble,

472
00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:39,719
Speaker 1: like his story is captivating. I just felt like this

473
00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:42,439
Speaker 1: guy could be a Raven It really did. Like I

474
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:45,800
Speaker 1: felt like this is a player who I could envision

475
00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:49,240
Speaker 1: talking to on draft weekend, and that came to fruition.

476
00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:54,560
Speaker 1: Malachi Starks is honestly probably like the most signed, sealed,

477
00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,040
Speaker 1: delivered pick I've ever seen for the Ravens, where like

478
00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:01,159
Speaker 1: position of need felt like he was the type of

479
00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:04,120
Speaker 1: player that the Ravens would want. It just felt the

480
00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:07,119
Speaker 1: entire way that he was maybe going to be the

481
00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:12,240
Speaker 1: guy and the combine both the interview session with reporters

482
00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:15,960
Speaker 1: in the interview that he had with the team, I

483
00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:18,760
Speaker 1: think play a huge part in ultimately getting him here

484
00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:21,159
Speaker 1: in Baltimore. The team interview more so than the media interview.

485
00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:23,159
Speaker 1: But like all of it was a piece of the puzzle.

486
00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:23,879
Speaker 3: It was.

487
00:24:24,119 --> 00:24:27,080
Speaker 4: I mean again, it's funny too when you're taught to

488
00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:31,439
Speaker 4: guys like Tyler Linnerbaum when he came out, he was

489
00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:34,879
Speaker 4: linked to the Ravens right from the beginning as a

490
00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:38,080
Speaker 4: favor to be drafted. But you know, would the Ravens

491
00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:41,800
Speaker 4: really draft the center in the first round? Would they

492
00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,920
Speaker 4: draft a quote unquote undersized center in the first round.

493
00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:48,360
Speaker 4: And sometimes you can get faked out by you.

494
00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:49,720
Speaker 3: Know, it just looks too good to be.

495
00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:52,440
Speaker 4: Well, everyone's saying it's going to be an inderbomb, I'm

496
00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:54,919
Speaker 4: going to be somebody else. Well, it turned out that

497
00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:56,840
Speaker 4: it was him, and you know, that's been a great

498
00:24:57,119 --> 00:24:58,040
Speaker 4: pick for the Ravens.

499
00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:00,960
Speaker 3: Though. One thing we haven't talked about too is the medical.

500
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,679
Speaker 4: Information that will we'll find out some things about some

501
00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:08,879
Speaker 4: players this week. Certainly, you know, some injuries. You'll hear

502
00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:13,200
Speaker 4: about guys maybe needing surgery, guys who've had surgery since

503
00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:16,000
Speaker 4: the college season ended with that we don't know about,

504
00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:20,480
Speaker 4: and that obviously can really impact someone's draft stock.

505
00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:22,639
Speaker 3: So you don't know who it's going to be.

506
00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:27,000
Speaker 4: But with all these guys being examined, unfortunately, you know

507
00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:29,159
Speaker 4: that there's gonna be a red flag or two that

508
00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:33,040
Speaker 4: comes up. So that's something that we don't know now

509
00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:36,480
Speaker 4: that we'll know more about next week after the combine's over.

510
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:39,160
Speaker 1: Yeah, Honestly, the Ravens have been a team that has

511
00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:42,720
Speaker 1: not shied away from drafting players with injury history under

512
00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:44,879
Speaker 1: Eric Tacosta. In some ways, I think they feel like

513
00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:48,159
Speaker 1: you can get more value because if a guy was

514
00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:49,399
Speaker 1: going to be a first round pick and now is

515
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:51,560
Speaker 1: a second round pick because of an injury, like David

516
00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:53,439
Speaker 1: Ajabo was going to be a first round pick ends

517
00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:54,520
Speaker 1: up following the second round.

518
00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:58,120
Speaker 2: And there's other examples you know as well. Andrew Vorhees

519
00:25:58,200 --> 00:25:58,640
Speaker 2: got hurt.

520
00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,200
Speaker 1: Of the combine right up getting him in the seventh

521
00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:05,520
Speaker 1: rounds Emry Jones last year third round pick who missed

522
00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:07,480
Speaker 1: a good portion of his rookie season coming off that

523
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:10,879
Speaker 1: shoulder injury. But those are things that you learn at

524
00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:14,040
Speaker 1: the combine. You can get the medical checks to determine

525
00:26:14,119 --> 00:26:16,240
Speaker 1: is this going to be a long term thing. Most

526
00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:19,080
Speaker 1: likely yes, most likely no, and then you can build

527
00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:21,320
Speaker 1: out your you take guys off the boarder keep them

528
00:26:21,359 --> 00:26:23,919
Speaker 1: on based on what you learn in those settings. The

529
00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:26,399
Speaker 1: workouts to also go a long way. I think in

530
00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:31,600
Speaker 1: determining just the athletic profile of players. There's so much

531
00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,440
Speaker 1: information available now. Guys are wearing the trackers during games,

532
00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:36,600
Speaker 1: and I think that to some degree what happens at

533
00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:41,840
Speaker 1: the Combine is maybe a touch diminished, but at the

534
00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:44,679
Speaker 1: same time it gets everybody on level footing and you

535
00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:48,880
Speaker 1: get a true sense of how big, fast, strong these

536
00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:54,400
Speaker 1: guys really are in a specific environment. And the Ravens

537
00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:57,639
Speaker 1: have found over the course of their history some great

538
00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:01,200
Speaker 1: examples of players who may not have had the best

539
00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:05,040
Speaker 1: week in Indianapolis at the Combine, but they're great players

540
00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:08,320
Speaker 1: and they and the Ravens aren't scared off by what

541
00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:10,040
Speaker 1: happens in shorts and a T shirt and they end

542
00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:13,040
Speaker 1: up getting a great player. Kyle Hamilton's a pretty good example.

543
00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:16,000
Speaker 1: I remember at the Combine that year when the Ravens

544
00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:19,720
Speaker 1: had the fourteen pick, just like this year, talking to people,

545
00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:22,520
Speaker 1: and remember doing an interview with Bucky Brooks at the

546
00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:26,320
Speaker 1: time from NFL Network and he talked about the possibility

547
00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:29,720
Speaker 1: of Kyle Hamilton coming to Baltimore, and at the time

548
00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:31,679
Speaker 1: I was like, you know, he seems to be a

549
00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:34,320
Speaker 1: top five pick and all these mocks he can make it.

550
00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:37,080
Speaker 1: And you know, he made the point that safety not

551
00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:39,840
Speaker 1: necessarily the most highly valued position. We'll see how it

552
00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:41,720
Speaker 1: turns out. And of course he ends up being there

553
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,200
Speaker 1: for the Ravens in part because he didn't blow teams

554
00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:49,240
Speaker 1: away athletically at the combine. Terrell Suggs, another example, doesn't

555
00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:51,119
Speaker 1: run a great forty. The Ravens are high fiving each

556
00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:53,440
Speaker 1: other up up in the stands as Terrell Suggs runs

557
00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:55,439
Speaker 1: a slow forty. He ends up falling to them and

558
00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:59,520
Speaker 1: they get a great player at that spot. So I

559
00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:03,359
Speaker 1: think that that could definitely be the case. Again, people

560
00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:04,760
Speaker 1: are all looking for diamonds in the rough, and the

561
00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:06,080
Speaker 1: Ravens have a good track record of.

562
00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,480
Speaker 3: Doing it, no question. I mean, Orlando Brown Jr.

563
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:11,520
Speaker 4: Is another greatest example that you know, really had a

564
00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:16,160
Speaker 4: struggle at the combine. Mightily wasn't happy with his performance himself,

565
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:20,000
Speaker 4: people watching him weren't happy with it, but that did

566
00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:23,720
Speaker 4: not scare the Ravens away from drafting him. Got him

567
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:27,600
Speaker 4: at a bargain delivered as a player. And yeah, I

568
00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:31,359
Speaker 4: mean some of these guys who don't do well at

569
00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:34,160
Speaker 4: the combine don't do as well as you expect. That's

570
00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:37,439
Speaker 4: where the tape and you're scouting and what you think

571
00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:40,320
Speaker 4: of a player really comes into play. Will you stick

572
00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:43,880
Speaker 4: with the person who you believe in who didn't do

573
00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:46,480
Speaker 4: well at to combine or will that sway you to

574
00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:49,480
Speaker 4: get off of him? And which decision is right? Well,

575
00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:52,800
Speaker 4: those are the things that come up. The draft is

576
00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:56,720
Speaker 4: such an inexact science. Even now it's so many people

577
00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,000
Speaker 4: spending so much time and so many analytics, it will

578
00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:03,080
Speaker 4: always be in inexact science. And the Ravens have been

579
00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:07,120
Speaker 4: very good at figuring out which players should go and

580
00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:10,360
Speaker 4: which players won't. And yeah, having the fourteenth pick that's

581
00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:13,840
Speaker 4: higher than the Ravens usually have, they did really well

582
00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:18,280
Speaker 4: the last time. This sets up a situation where, Okay,

583
00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:20,760
Speaker 4: we don't want to be drafting this high next season,

584
00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,280
Speaker 4: but since we are, if we can come away with

585
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:27,240
Speaker 4: a player anywhere close to what Kyle Hamilton is, obviously

586
00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:28,120
Speaker 4: we'll be a better team.

587
00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:30,040
Speaker 1: For Yeah, I do think coming out of this week

588
00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:33,160
Speaker 1: you also get a little bit of consensus around the league. Now,

589
00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:35,239
Speaker 1: not to say that consensus is right or wrong, but

590
00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:36,960
Speaker 1: you get a little bit of consensus in the mock

591
00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:40,640
Speaker 1: draft because before the combline, it's it's really varied. And

592
00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:43,280
Speaker 1: then you come out of it, the draft expert start

593
00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:45,960
Speaker 1: talking to teams, they start talking to scouts, they start

594
00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:47,160
Speaker 1: talking to agents.

595
00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:48,840
Speaker 3: And players and to each other and to.

596
00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:50,880
Speaker 1: Each other, and so you get a little bit of

597
00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:53,360
Speaker 1: hive mind. I think that starts to develop and build

598
00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:57,360
Speaker 1: off of this week, and like that's all. It's all

599
00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:00,360
Speaker 1: part of the information profile that teams are building as

600
00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:02,840
Speaker 1: they project what this draft is going to look like.

601
00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:05,640
Speaker 1: And you and you see that come together this week.

602
00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:08,240
Speaker 1: So it's it's gonna be it's gonna be important. It's

603
00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:11,160
Speaker 1: gonna be a lot of fun. I know that, you know,

604
00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:13,280
Speaker 1: Cliff and I are gonna be enjoying some San Elmos

605
00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:18,520
Speaker 1: and uh, making sure we maximize our time out in Indianapolis. Uh.

606
00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:20,480
Speaker 1: And again, we got a lot of interviews lined up

607
00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,320
Speaker 1: internally externally, so make sure that you stay tuned for

608
00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:25,840
Speaker 1: everything coming your way. You can follow all of it

609
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:28,120
Speaker 1: on our website. Cliff's gonna be writing great stuff all

610
00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:30,600
Speaker 1: throughout the week. Uh, we're gonna have a podcast as

611
00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:32,840
Speaker 1: I mentioned, every day over the course of this week.

612
00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:34,840
Speaker 1: Uh so make sure that you check those out and

613
00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:36,640
Speaker 1: then send us your email so you can email us

614
00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,560
Speaker 1: at the Lounge at Ravens dot NFL dot net. Thank

615
00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:42,440
Speaker 1: you so much for listening, and we'll be back with

616
00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:43,840
Speaker 1: you again tomorrow