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New head coach, new vibes, a title for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens? · Go Long Podcast

• 0:00
  [music]
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: What's up everyone?
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another edition of the Go Long Pod.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: What a pleasure to be joined by a new guest, Brian Wacker of the Baltimore Sun.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Great to have one of the best of the very best covering those Ravens down
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: in Maryland here on the show.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: What's happening, Brian?
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: This is a nice little lull like we were talking.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: A little bit of a lull before the calm before the storm,
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: I should say, this week that they kind of have with the extended season.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: I am a little, but just get me to football.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: That is,
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: like you can only endure so much training camp and meaningless preseason games when,
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: you know, third and fourth stringers are playing.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's, you know, And this year, the NFL season's later, right?
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: We start the 13th,
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: which feels like super, I mean,
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: I know there's games before that,
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: obviously,
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: but the full slate on that Sunday is the 13th,
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: which is, you know, just feels like, can we just get there?
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's all by design,
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: I would think,
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: but it's even hard for the NFL to sell exhibition games as worth our time.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think they're fooling anybody at this point.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe some out there, but it's really hard to watch.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: That last week of games, we were grinding to the finish line.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think anybody really wanted to play those games,
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: but the stadiums are full with fans paying face value, so that's why we do it.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's, you know, they whacked the Pro Bowl, you know, finally shoveled dirt on that.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe they can do that with, like,
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: another, maybe we can do that, you know, winnow it down to two preseason games.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like, they used to have four, I'm sure you remember, and then cut it to three.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: It used to be six back in the 60s.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, oh, yeah, if you go way back, sure, yeah.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and maybe we can get down to two and then maybe one and then, you know, leave it at that.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: I will say for Roger Goodell and any owner to look at us square in the eyes and say
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: with a straight face that they can add another regular season game
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: because they're shaving an exhibition game.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the audacity, the gall, the balls to make that statement.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: I hope to have a fraction of that in life because it's impressive to say that.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Player safety.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: The name of player safety.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: As another CTE study makes its way to the headlines, of course.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: But hey, let's talk about these Baltimore Ravens.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: I was out there for a few days.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, what a castle, as they say out there.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's unbelievable.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: They've come a long way from the police barracks of 1996 that the Ravens had
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: as their headquarters when they were first in team.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: That place is unbelievable.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, man.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Like just kind of canvassing the entire league.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: I've got them penciled in as my Super Bowl team.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Am I crazy or am I out of something?
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Really?
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: You tell me.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: You're watching this team every day.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: Man, you know,
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to probably get some shit for this,
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: but I actually picked the Bengals to win the division.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: we did predictions in the Sun the other day,
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: and I think there were like five or six of us who made season predictions,
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: you know, who's making the playoffs, winning divisions, all that sort of stuff.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I actually had the Bengals winning the AFC North.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: I was the only one.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone else went Ravens.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone else went Coach of the Year, Jesse Minter.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: I went Bengals with that overhaul.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: That they've had, I expect Joe Burrow.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's always the question of Burrow, right?
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: If he can stay in the field, You know, that's a problem for other teams.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I actually have Brian Schottenheimer as my Coach of the Year candidate
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: because I think the Cowboys might win the NFC East,
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: but that's probably a subject for another day.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway, the Ravens, yes, look, I think they will be certainly better.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: I think they'll make the playoffs.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: I think I predicted them to go 11-6.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: I certainly wouldn't be shocked if they went like 12-5.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: I think their schedule is pretty favorable, especially out of the gate.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: You know, a lot of winnable games there.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: The Cowboys game,
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: Week 3 in Rio,
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: that could be potentially problematic,
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: I think, for them because, again, that's a team that's totally revamped its defense.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: We know about the offense, so that will be a fun one.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: I can't wait to get down to Rio, by the way.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: I have not been there before.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: If anybody has suggestions, I am all ears.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: I have some friends who did the Olympics down there,
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: so that helps, but I am very much,
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: very much looking
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: forward to that.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: But, yes, I think this Ravens team...
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: can't be any worse than it was the first month of last season.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: You go back and you look at those numbers, they just bleed off the screen.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: We forget how terrible they were on defense.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: The hole that they dug themselves.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's crazy that they were in game 272 and won...
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Chidabay Uesier slip from maybe winning that game.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Tyler Luke field goal from winning that game.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: Getting into the playoffs.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they win a game or two.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe John Harbaugh isn't fired.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's why it's the NFL.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, they were really bad on defense.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: I suppose they turned it around throughout the course of the regular season.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: But they made some big changes in the offseason.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: What has you optimistic about the defense being better?
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I don't think you can underestimate Jesse Minter's impact.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: You look at everywhere he's been,
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: going back to college,
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: going to the NFL and the Chargers,
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: and, you know, they had kind of an old roster last year.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: And everywhere he goes, he turns around defenses.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: So I would expect that on a defense that,
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: even with some, like,
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: murkiness around Nambi Matabike and whether he's You know, when he'll be available.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: They didn't put him on IR,
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: so the expectation is somewhere in those first four games he would be on the field.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: But what kind of player is he going to be also?
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: You know, is he going to be sort of the pre-injury, pre-neck injury Nnamdi Matabike?
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: That would be a huge boost if he is.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, Trey Hendrickson, you know, as a top-tier pass rusher, is the kind of player...
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: At that position, they really have not had in a few years.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I know they led the league in sacks back in 2023.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: Guys like Jadavian Clowney and, you know, so forth.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: Kyle Van Nooy had a big year.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: But I think that was a lot to do with certainly those players,
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: but also Mike McDonald, of course.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: Which is a huge influence.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I think Jesse will have a similar impact because I think he will raise
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: the floor significantly.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: And when you do that, I think that will take a good deal of pressure off of this offense.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: To your point,
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: you look at last year,
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: as bad as things were,
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: as much as they were spiraling,
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: and we wrote about this after their one and five start,
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: how things were spiraling out of control at that point and what was behind it.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, when your defense is a lot better, you don't need to score 30 a game.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: And they still scored a lot of points last year.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: Lamar missed the four games with injuries.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, obviously wasn't his best, probably his worst season in the league.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: Just disjointedness.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know,
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think the offensive benefit from a much,
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: much better defense in what Jesse is doing scheme wise,
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: where he's putting players,
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: how he's utilizing guys like Kyle Hamilton,
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: Malachi Starks, Roquan Smith, Trey Hendricks, and certainly Mike Green.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think it will be a much, much different story.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: And man,
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: just talking to some players down there during training camp,
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: it felt like being here in Western New York when you hear a lot of
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: the same buzzwords kind of like tiptoeing around how guys really feel about going
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: from one coach who was there forever.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, in Baltimore's case, it's double the amount of time.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: John Harbaugh was there 18 years.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Did win a Super Bowl, so that will buy you a few more years than Sean McDermott here in Buffalo.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: But it just seems like what a breath of fresh air.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: They love having a 42-year-old Jesse Minner leading these meetings,
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: leading these practices, being the voice of the team.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: He steps into a room that's going to have a different feel than
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: when John Harbaugh steps into a room.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: But you're covering this team every day.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: How would you kind of quantify that?
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: It just seems like,
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: for the New York Giants and everything that they've been through as an organization,
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: they probably could use a John Harbaugh to come in and Lay down the law,
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: for the lack of a better term, and have some discipline.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: Have some rules that they haven't had before.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Structure.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: But Baltimore, the culture's the culture.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's been set a long time ago with Ozzie Newsome.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: I know Harbaugh's been there forever.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't really worry about the culture changing post-Harbaugh.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like they need a Jesse Minner,
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: a fresh voice, if they're going to get over the hump and win a Super Bowl.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, 100%.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: And to your point, like,
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: when they were going through the coaching search,
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: one thing I tried to keep in mind,
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: first of all, Jesse Minner's name percolated immediately.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: And there's a lot of connective tissue there,
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: obviously had been here before,
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: been an assistant,
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: well thought of,
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: well thought of at the Chargers,
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: where of course,
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: I sort of call I mean,
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: you look at like the front office down to the coaching staff,
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: down to the roster,
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: like there's a lot of, you know, connectivity between those two organizations.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm not surprised.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know,
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: they weren't going to,
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: to your point, this culture has been like, been here for decades.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: They weren't just going to say,
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: let's rip that up and go like over this,
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: let's go this direction, you know, that just wasn't going to happen.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: And you're right.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's,
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: first of all,
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: anytime you bring in a regime change,
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: there's always going to be sort of that breath of fresh air,
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: especially in the spring and the summer where everyone's kind of optimistic.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: But I think,
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: having to your point, like,
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: and we He wrote about this in The Sun,
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: sort of how Jesse Minter has kind of changed the rhythm of the Ravens' days.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that's everything from sort of how meetings are run.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: under John Harbaugh,
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: one player kind of described him kind of as like a CEO type of coach.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas Jesse will often get up and run the defensive meetings because he's calling
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: the plays on defense.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: Certainly Anthony Weaver is a part of that in terms of a presence and a guy
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: who can kind of lead a room and be a leader of men.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: But Jesse is the guy who's calling the plays ultimately.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's been a refreshing breath for them.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Marla Humphrey talked about this,
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: how He will be point blank and tell you how it is and then,
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: you know, address the issue, move on.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you learn from it and then move on.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: And he brought that up where he brought up an example of some coverages last year
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: and some plays where Jesse basically said, yeah, that was kind of trash.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know,
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: to a veteran like Marlon Humphrey to hear that was like,
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: oh, OK. And then he sort of pointed out why and they worked through it.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: And And so, yeah,
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think everybody from,
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: we heard it from guys like Rashad Bateman and Ronnie Stanley,
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_01: Marla Humphrey, kind of across the board.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: I know you were there talking to John Simpson,
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: and I'm sure he obviously wasn't here last year,
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: but he'd been here before back in 2023.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: Came over and spent 2024 with the Ravens.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: So he was familiar with Harbaugh, familiar with the culture.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, it is a different way of going about it.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's a more youthful approach,
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: more hands on, more technical, perhaps in some ways, and just a change.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: So.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a tough balance because I think here the pushback to Joe Brady,
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: 36-year-old,
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: quarterbacks coach for Josh Allen,
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: OC for Josh Allen,
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: Josh Allen sitting in a nine head coach interviews,
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: the contrarian point of view would be,
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: well, you don't want to just hire his buddy and it's just an in-house hire.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean,
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: I guess it's a little different there,
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: but it sounds like Lamar Jackson and Jesse Manner were close.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: They knew each other and he is a familiar face.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: But just because a coach is young doesn't mean he's not going to be a hard ass,
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: you know?
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I feel like here in Buffalo with Brady and Allen, they're close.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: And when you're close with somebody, you can be honest with that person.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Think about all of us and all of our lives.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like my brother's my best friend.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: If he steps out of line,
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: if he does something,
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to call his ass out and he's going to do the same to me.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: And we'll still love each other at the end of the day
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: where there are some head coach quarterback combinations out there
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: where you don't have that.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: Connection.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: There'll be some passive aggressiveness sprinkled in there.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: Some generational differences sprinkled in there.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, messages can get lost in translation.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not really familiar with how the John Harbaugh-Lamar Jackson relationship was.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: I know McDermott and Josh Allen, it was never that great.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: McDermott,
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: I was told, viewed his quarterback as a quote-unquote burden, which is bizarre.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: And all those snow angels we saw in primetime were more of a red herring than anything.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: But what was that relationship like Between Harbaugh and Lamar because
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: where there's smoke there's usually fire and it was kind of weird the last few years
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: with the injuries and the messaging and is he going to play is he not going to play
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: from your reporting what were you able to glean there.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, 100%.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: I think one thing you said there really kind of captures it is generational differences.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: I think, you know, I think John did a great job of adapting over the years in Baltimore.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's one of the things that makes him such a successful coach.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I agree.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: I think he'll do the same in New York.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I think you'll see that team be immediately better.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: And he'll provide some things that they need structure-wise, discipline, so forth.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: But with Lamar, look, Lamar can be a little tricky to understand.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's hard to sometimes get in his head.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think anybody views him
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: difficult as a person.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: But I think sometimes he can be difficult to read.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I think to your point,
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: like those generational differences
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: between somebody like John Harbaugh is almost mid 60s now,
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: and Lamar Jackson, who is yet to turn 30.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that's a big difference.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I think john adapted along the way.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: But I think certainly, the last few years when you sort of keep losing in the same way, and
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: there's not really a change in how you maybe address it as a head coach
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: or how you handle it or respond to it.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, a lot of frustration builds up.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I think there was a lot of mutual respect between those two guys.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: You know, Lamar, believe, texted John when he got the Giants job and congratulated him.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know,
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think they left on Relatively good terms as much as you can anyway
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: in these situations
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: but there was clearly frustration I think there was clearly frustration with
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: the injuries last year and whether you know when Lamar was going to be available
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: at practice when he wasn't if he could come out to practice and you know
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: because that's one of the things with Lamar is that he is such
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: a vibrant personality people gravitate toward him in the locker room on
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: the practice field He is a really likable guy.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: And so when you take that out of a team environment,
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: particularly when they're struggling and fighting for their playoff lives,
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: that has an impact.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I think there was frustration from Harbaugh, from Todd Munkin.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: Over that and,
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: sort of not really knowing if Lamar would be available, if he wouldn't be available.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_01: Injuries are what they are.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: But I think it just soured after eight seasons together.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: You know, particularly when you don't win.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: Look,
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: you go back to that 2023 team and even though they fell short of the Super Bowl,
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: sort of the vibes and the Feelings around that locker room,
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: at least right up until the way they lost that game,
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: which again was in familiar fashion,
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: sort of this self-inflicted wound with the Zay Flowers fumble at the goal line and
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: so forth.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I just think that there was, you know, the vibes then were great.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I think they just soured every year since then,
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: because obviously the success was a little bit less each year from there.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I think both sides just got frustrated with each other.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's this game.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: I guess the ball is shaped funny for a reason,
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: but I was there,
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: old high mark in the divisional round the very next year where
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: the Ravens come storming back in the frigid cold, the snow.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: That being Lamar Jackson is putting together a signature drive of all drives.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: who was it like Tyvon Wallace,
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: that receiver he threw to when he's running around making that play?
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, Mark Andrews has the fourth quarter from tight end hell.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: They lose that game.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's just,
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: I don't,
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: you can play this all day,
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: but the counterfactuals with the Baltimore Ravens,
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: they can blow your brain from 2023, Zay Flowers at the goal line to 2024.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: Mark Andrews,
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: the way to drop earlier in the game,
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: and then the fumble,
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Terrell Bernard punches that out,
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: and then the two-point play,
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: which I don't,
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: you look back, Lamar probably could have led him a little better, right?
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: A hundred percent.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: Look, Andrews has to catch that ball.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: Lamar probably could have thrown that ball a little bit better.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's one of the things when,
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: not to jump ahead here, but you look at Declan Doyle and they bring him in.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I wrote about him on the Baltimore Sun and end up piece on him and sort
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: of how detailed and sort of.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know, just dialed in.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: He is at like all hours of the night, even at like three in the morning.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: His wife told me this great story about how she'll often wake up
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: and Declan will tell her first thing in the morning, hey,
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: look at all the stuff I,
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: had to write down in my notes app on my phone at three o'clock in the morning
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: because this came to my mind.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know,
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: he'll go for a run every day and in the morning or end of work and,
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: often talks out loud to himself because he has to like talk through Either plays
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: or designs or how he's going to approach something with the players anyway.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: So like to that point,
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: if you look at Lamar's footwork on the throw,
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: not the best,
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: you know, some of the mechanics can get a little, you know, maybe sloppy.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, look, he's so gifted.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: He's one of those guys where it's like,
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: I sort of liken him to like Matt Damon and Goodwill Hunting, right?
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_01: He's just like so gifted.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: He must get this feeling that he's sort of bored with the fundamentals sometimes.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: And Declan Doyle is really like honed in on some of those,
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: everything from how to huddle,
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: To where Lamar's toes are pointed,
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: he even switched his feet in his stance to being a left foot forward quarterback.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: Lamar for his entire career has been right foot forward.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_01: The left foot forward allows him to get off quicker throws and not tip off those throws as much.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: Super detailed.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_01: And Lamar, look, to his credit, he's been receptive.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: We've seen this in the past.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: The first year under Greg Roman wins MVP.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: First year under Todd Munkin wins MVP.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: So maybe there's a reason you have them going to Super Bowl.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: Man, how was Lamar Jackson receptive to this nuanced coaching?
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: He's got a couple MVPs.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: Easily could have won a third.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: Probably should have won a third, by the way.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: Don't you think he was better than Josh Allen that year?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: I did.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: I did.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: Man, we've got a lot of Bills fans listening.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's a toss.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: I really thought Lamar Jackson was going to win it like most people.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that was Lamar Jackson's Best season ever, statistically.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: With his arm, with his legs, what he was able to do.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: But also here in Buffalo, like, I mean, Josh Allen played so disciplined.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: And, I mean,
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: his numbers,
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: it seemed like it was a step back,
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: but when you really watch it week in and week out,
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: you could grasp his value to the team.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it was post-Stefan Diggs.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: It was the Everyone Eats, and they're putting up 30-plus in eight straight games.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: Gosh, it's a toss-up.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: I know that's a cop-out answer.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: But if Lamar Jackson would have won it, you would have gotten no argument from me.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: It is fascinating, though,
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: a quarterback at this stage of his career with his pelts on
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: the wall breaking his game down to that degree.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: I guess if you're interested in winning the Super Bowl, you're going to embrace it, right?
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, and Declan Doyle's a 30-year-old bringing in enthusiasm,
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: waking up in the middle of the night to put those notes into the phone.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they are connecting on a frequency that Lamar Jackson hasn't had in a coach
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: in quite some time.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and look,
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think the age is something that actually works in Declan's favor,
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: because again,
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: Lamar had been a guy who'd been under older coaches his whole career here
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: in Baltimore, where there was Harbaugh, Monk, and Greg Roman, etc.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: those are You know,
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: Declan has a lot of the same experiences,
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: if you will, in a lot of ways, culturally as Lamar would being a 30 year old.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: So I think he's 10 months older than Lamar and Lamar is receptive to it.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: He has been.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know,
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: he seems even receptive to the idea that Jesse Minner,
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: you know, being a defensive coordinator, obviously schemed against Jackson.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: When he was at the Chargers, they played each other.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: But also, Jesse talks to other coaches around the league.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: And so he basically came to Lamar at one point this summer and said, look,
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_01: have you ever thought about how other coaches are kind of scheming against you?
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: And he was able to provide a perspective that was new to Lamar.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: It wasn't something Lamar really thought about.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know,
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: it sounds like they're going to carry through these conversations into
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_01: the regular season where maybe they'll kind of talk about it from week to week.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and that's an approach that Lamar has not taken.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: So it is new and he does seem receptive to it.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that,
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: as one AFC coach told me,
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: and I have this in the Doyle story,
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: is that Declan is a, quote, flat-out stud, this rival coach told me.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: He was very high on him.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: And everybody you talk to seems to think this guy will be a head coach in one to two years.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's hard to disagree.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, certainly if they have success,
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: he will be a guy that's in that conversation immediately, probably next offseason.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody out there,
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: do yourselves a favor and read this story that Brian wrote at the Baltimore Sun
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: on Declan Doyle.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: Because you're right.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: You hear that about him around the league.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: He's 30 years old.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: And he's the offensive coordinator for Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry and
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: a Super Bowl contender.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: What is that balance, though?
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: And again, it's a conversation that we have here with the Buffalo Bills in letting Josh be Josh.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to just put...
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: All these construction cones over the field
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: and have him seeing all this caution tape and red flags.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: No, you got to let him be himself if you're going to get to a Super Bowl and win it.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want a neutered, overly cautious version of a quarterback we haven't seen.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: We haven't seen a Lamar before.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: We haven't seen a Josh Allen before in their own ways.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yet, it seems like he'll be under center more.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they're working on these fundamentals.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: They might run the ball more than any team in the NFL, too.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_00: But what is that happy medium that they can find with Lamar Jackson,
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: that Declan Doyle can find,
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: while still letting him be himself and not holding him back?
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_01: That is one of the more fascinating,
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: maybe the most fascinating point, overview to this whole dynamic and relationship.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: And the story I'm actually working on as we speak about that nuance,
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_01: that fine line,
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: because to your point,
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: There's probably no better,
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_01: there are no better quarterbacks that's the second play quarterbacks than Lamar
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_01: and Josh Allen in the NFL.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: And so you don't want to just put them in a straight jacket and force them
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: to just take the check down,
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_01: take the check down, take the check down, take the open receiver short.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you do not want to completely Just handcuff them that way.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_01: You want to give them some limitations.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_01: So I think Declan has made a point to try to go after explosive plays this season.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: We've seen it a few times.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe the best example of that, there was a play in the commencement.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: You can see the commander's joint practice,
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: whatever that was last week,
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: where Lamar drops back,
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: he gets some good time,
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: I believe it was play action,
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: and he hits Devontae Walker on this really nice layered throw over the linebacker,
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: under the safety,
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: and right in that sweet spot of Washington's zone,
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: hits him in stride coming across the field, turns into like a 60-yard touchdown.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the kind of stuff that Declan Doyle absolutely wants to hunt for.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_01: We've seen him take a number of deep shots throughout training camp, which, look,
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you're going to see that from every quarterback, I think, to some degree.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, I think they really want to lean on the running game, as you point out.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, Derrick Henry,
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: there's,
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: I would not be shocked for him to get 300 carries for this season and utilize that
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: to open up Lamar Jackson,
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_01: your point about the center being under center 100%,
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: that's a way to clear up some of the passing game and create some openings
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: with play action.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: So to me,
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_01: it'll be really fascinating to see how they manage that to get Lamar to play
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: a little more boring football, if you will, as people like to call it.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes take that open receiver that's five yards down the field,
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_01: And then finding those moments where you can attack and have those,
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: you know, field flipping, game flipping plays down the field.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: So that to me is kind of the key to their success offensively.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: There was a play at the practice I saw too,
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: where he just pulled the ball, torqued right around the left edge of the defense.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they'll hunt for explosives that way too, I feel like.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: On the ground.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: He has not lost a step.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: No, in fact,
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_01: Kyle Hamilton brought it up,
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think,
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_01: a few weeks ago where like he said Lamar, you know, and Kyle's very thoughtful.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: He's not one to sort of hype a guy up or say unnecessary words.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: And he said he thinks Lamar is faster than he has been.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: And there was a play.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: That came to mind,
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: this probably happened a month ago or thereabouts,
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_01: where to that point, like it was basically a rollout play action from under center.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: And he just torched Mike Green and I forget who the other defender chasing him was,
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_01: but he beat them around the edge with ease.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: And it didn't even seem like he was going full go, honestly.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: It seemed like he had another gear still to go.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think the speed there,
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: the hamstring issue he dealt with last year,
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: the back contusion, those injuries seem to be behind him.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: If he can stay healthy,
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: I think you're probably gonna see a Lamar that's much closer to
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: that MVP caliber player that we've seen in the past.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: And that'll obviously be a huge boost to, again,
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: when you have a defense that will probably be,
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: even if it's just sort of middle of the pack,
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: Would be significantly better than last year.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: I suppose, I mean, you mentioned Cincinnati, Buffalo, Denver.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the AFC is loaded.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: Is that what gives you a little trepidation?
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: Or is there something with the Ravens roster that concerns you?
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's both.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think to your point, I mean,
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: New England,
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: Denver, the Chargers, the Jaguars, Kansas City, what are they going to look like?
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: Are they going to get back to what they were,
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: but maybe doing it a different way with the running game?
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_01: So many teams to have to kind of navigate your way through Cincinnati,
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: even Pittsburgh to a degree.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_01: So what does that look like for a first year head coach?
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of praise for Jesse Minner and Declan Doyle and rightfully so,
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: but there's a big difference when you're the guy in the seat making the call and
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_01: so forth.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: Curious to see how that plays out.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_01: And the other thing to your point is I do think there are some question marks
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_01: on this Ravens roster, particularly the offensive line on the interior.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_01: They still don't have a center.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, starting center kind of identified.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_01: It'll come down to Jovan Gwyn and Ethan Posich.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I think Posich will eventually be the center here probably in maybe week two
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_01: or something because, you know, he's coming off that Achilles injury in December.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: So I think he's just been slow to kind of get back to full speed and where he needs to be.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I think there's some concern about the interior, even the tackles.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_01: We saw Rosengarten on the right side kind of struggle a bit last year, Ronnie Stanley.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's been okay, but certainly not the Pro Bowl or any Stanley we've seen in the past.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_01: I think the running game will probably be fine.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_01: This team, I think, is a good run blocking team.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think that will change really a whole lot.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_01: Receiver depth is a question.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_01: Zay Flowers, fourth highest paid receiver in the league now.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: Will he perform like the fourth highest paid receiver in the league?
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_01: Particularly in the red zone where size kind of matters.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it'll be interesting.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: I think Jacoby Lane will be a really nice addition as a rookie.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: But again,
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: hard for,
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: you don't really see that rookie receivers come in and have like a huge impact.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_01: Rashad Bateman, we don't, you know, he had a terrible year last year.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously has some off the field stuff going on with domestic incidents
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_01: that could potentially impact his availability.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: We don't know yet.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: That matter is being investigated still by the NFL.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_01: So, and then after those three,
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_01: Devontae Walker,
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_01: I mentioned him earlier, but He's more of like a fourth, fifth kind of receiver.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_01: Lajonte Wester, the punt returner, again, more of like your fifth kind of receiver.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_01: Not really a guy you can count on to put up big numbers.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: So I do wonder about that.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_01: I wonder You're about the tight ends.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: Mark Andrews has kind of been in a little bit of decline in production the last couple of years.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_01: Durham Smythe is a very solid tight end,
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_01: played under Doyle in Chicago, but more of a blocking guy.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_01: The two rookies,
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: you don't really know,
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_01: Cuevas and Hibner, what you're going to get out of them when the games count.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_01: So I do think there are some questions.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: And again, Matt Abike, you know, like if he's...
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_01: He's fully available.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_01: OK, that changes the calculus, I think, a bit on the defense.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_01: But if he's not or if he has a setback or,
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_01: you know, anything to that degree like that will have an impact on the defense.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I think there are question marks.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, the kicker.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_01: I should bring up the kicker.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_01: Tyler Loop.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_01: They've already brought in.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_01: Jake Moody to be the competition, I guess.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: Jesse Minner thinks or has expressed confidence that Boop will be the kicker week one.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: Struggled in the preseason, had three misses, went two for four in the last Commanders game.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_01: of course,
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_01: missed that game winning kick against Pittsburgh that ended their season last year.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_01: So the kicking game could be, you know, something to keep an eye on too.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: And how does that last kick not just loiter at the forefront of your brain when
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: that moment comes up again?
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: Inevitably, it will come up again.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: How do you not think of that?
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's every kicker.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_01: It literally came up in his first attempt in a preseason game.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_01: He missed.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_01: He missed from 49 yards.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: So five yards farther than he was on the 44-yarder.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: And he literally misses.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_01: So immediately that comes rushing back.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_01: How does it not?
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I don't care.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they talk about these guys having goldfish memories.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I don't see how that could not linger in your head.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_01: And look, Tyler Loop just doesn't look as confident as maybe you'd want him to look.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's not a good headspace to be in before you've even played a game either.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: So those were some legitimate red flags for Brian Wacker there, laying it out.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: Although Jacoby Lane is basically Jerry Rice.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, my guy, I've never...
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: The fans go nuts over this guy, screaming his name.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: One kid,
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: he had to have been 10 years old,
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: yells his name out and says, I'm going to name my firstborn Jacoby.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_00: They love him.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: They look like the Hall of Fame bust is being carved as we speak.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_01: They're taking the measurements for the gold jacket.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, look,
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_01: Jacoby's played fantastic,
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_01: but I'm really fascinated to see him do this against,
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: you know, obviously top flight starting cornerbacks.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_01: I think he'll be fine.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_01: But the one thing that I would say that probably stood out in a negative way,
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_01: perhaps,
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_01: is, you know, I'm just not seeing the separation that you would maybe like to see.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_01: That said, like,
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: maybe he's just one of those guys who doesn't separate as well,
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_01: but can still make plays.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_01: So...
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of the day,
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: I have a hard time seeing Lamar Jackson,
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_00: Derek Henry,
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_00: still peak at their powers on the same team, not getting to a Super Bowl.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: I just feel like all those teams we mentioned,
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: all those quarterbacks,
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_00: any one of them could do it,
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: but the competitors that they are just willing their team to the big game
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: at some point, man, I'd be shocked if they didn't do it, but...
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: I would too.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: No, and look,
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'd be surprised too,
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_01: but you do think of it,
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_01: or at least I do,
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_01: and maybe this is the contrarian in me, been around too many losing teams.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: I grew up a Broncos fan, so I know all those Elway Super Bowls that they got blown out in.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_01: I know that pain.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_01: And eventually they got there, right?
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like you could think to yourself, how could Elway not get to it?
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: And it was the running game, the defense usually.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: And then once they sort of got, once they got that running game, that changed the equation.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_01: And of course they win the two Super Bowls.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_01: And so you do wonder,
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously a different era,
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_01: but you do,
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_01: it'd be shocking to sort of not see Lamar and Derrick Henry
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_01: at least get to
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_01: a Super Bowl,
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_01: particularly with a team that's got a good defense,
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_01: a defensive-minded head coach,
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_01: but you do also wonder, like,
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_01: will he end up being a,
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_01: Dan Marino or,
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_01: you know, Marino even got to the Super Bowl, so that's not even fair, I guess.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_01: Or Patrick Ewing or Karl Malone or these guys that just came up short
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_01: where they were in eras,
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: partly their own shortcomings,
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_01: but also in eras where you've got,
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_01: you know, Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady and so forth.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_01: So it's fascinating, but it would be...
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think it would be a failure, honestly.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_01: They can't get to the Super Bowl in the Lamar era in Baltimore.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's a failure.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, without a doubt.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_00: But this was incredible.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: Man, what a wealth of insight, information.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_00: Brian Wacker, the Baltimore son.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_00: Read his Declan Doyle story.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_00: Read all of his Ravens coverage.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I think you're on X at Brian Wacker 1.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: Is that where it goes?
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_00: Correct.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_01: Somebody had Brian Wacker,
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_01: so I had to go with the one very like FS1 of me,
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_01: unfortunately, but somebody had the Brian Wacker from years ago.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_01: I used to cover golf and somebody had Brian Wacker.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_01: Bastards.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_01: I think they're like a roofer or something.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_01: Somebody in construction,
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_01: I believe,
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_01: is in Midwest because there is a Wacker Drive in Chicago, I should point out.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_01: No correlation,
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_01: unfortunately,
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_01: where I'd be spending my days doing other things than being on podcasts.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_01: You know?
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I should say, read your John Simpson piece, which was incredible.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_01: Really well done.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_01: And John is a fascinating figure.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_01: He's got a great story.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_01: He provides insight to not just his own backstory,
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_01: which is amazing,
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_01: but as you so often do in these long form pieces,
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_01: but he also sheds light on sort of a little bit of that Raven's culture.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I love the quote about shit's going to be hard because I think
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_01: at times this year,
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_01: it It will be hard for the Ravens,
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_01: and it'll be interesting to see how Jesse Minter, Declan Doyle, etc.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_01: handle that.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_00: Oh man, really appreciate that, Brian.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I loved his mindset.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: People of all generations,
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_00: it's easy to just sit there and bitch and complain and moan
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_00: and say everything isn't fair,
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_00: everything's working against you,
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_00: but all you're doing is obliterating your own chances at success.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, John Simpson from...
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, wow, wow.