December 5, 2025 • 30 mins
Ravens DE Dre'Mont Jones talks about where his physicality comes from, his position flexibility, why he's fit in so well in Baltimore, his Ohio background with a boxer as a father, and more. Plus, team insiders Ryan Mink and Garrett Downing preview Sunday's huge Ravens-Steelers tilt.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome into lounge presented by DraftKings. I'm Ryan Mink here
with Garrett Downing and we are thrilled to sit down
with Ravens linebacker Draymont Jones and Draymond I'll start here.
So super nice guy, Like, just since you've come here,
I've been I've been impressed. I'm not gonna lie like
nice guy, very chatty, easy to chat with in the
locker room. But you know, after the Jets game, you
(00:26):
said this, you said, contrary to what some may believe,
I'm a pretty angry person.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I fit the mold right.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
So it's this nice balance of nice gttlefield but on
the field, like you are a Raven Where does the
angry guy come from?
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Explain that to us?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
I think just growing up, having like years worth of
older friends, Like I played like up and like everything
I played when I was younger.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
So I was always a younger person on the field
on the court.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Because you were big, so big.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
I was big.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Yeah, so you think I was older, but I had
to kind of just be like a little more like
be tough, more aggressive, just to you know, keep up
with the older kids. You know, they always want to
mess with the younger due, So it's kind of just
molded me into that.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Now, interesting is it?
Speaker 5 (01:06):
Is it a light switch kind of thing? Like to
Ryan's point, you can have a conversation and nice guy,
but then like, man, you do play angry like you
play violent, and so do you look at it as
I get on the field and I flipped the switch
and I go into kind of that mode.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Yeah, it has to be that way because when you're
out there playing football, it's kind of like survival to
fittest and that in that aspect because you're competing, you know,
guys are trying to, like especially as a D lineman,
like you're my job is to literally move somebody against
their will, right and I gotta do that for forty
eight minutes. So kind of had a kind of to
type into that a little bit.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Yeah, I'm actually interesting because you know, I kind of interest.
You're like an outside linebacker slash defensive end slash D lineman.
Like I I called you a linebacker, but you're like,
how do you view yourself?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I guess, yeah, I don't know anymore.
Speaker 5 (01:50):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
I've done literally every I played every spot since it's
been in the league. I've been a one technique. I've
been zero rookie year when I was with the Broncos,
I'm thirty downs and whatnot. I've done nine to five
to six of any technique within regards of D line,
I've done it.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
So me just D lineman is the best way to
put me.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah, how do you think you were able to develop
that versatility.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
So over time? Like even in college?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Our first came as a D N and then I
put on some way to be a D tackle and
then it just kind of helped me be I get
a variety of things early on in college, and then
I was just strictly D tackle. But I've had experience
at DN, so I've just been doing everything.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
Basketball helps too, Yeah, so I think that's where my
variety comes from. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (02:33):
You Kyle Hamilton does the same thing on the back end.
You know, he moves all over the place. Do you
think that this is a function of the way that
the Ravens like to play defense and positionless football? Is
this a function of the way that the game has
moved in players playing a variety of different spots. What's
your view of that.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
I think it's both.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
The game is like forever changing and having guys just
played one spot is coming almost an anomaly to not
do like it.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Just you can just put guys.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Anywhere they fifth the mold, like someone like Kyle who
you know, he's about six or Ford, I don't know,
like two hundred.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Maybe give me take a few pounds. Yeah, you can
play inside at like a backer can play safety where.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
He naturally was, and someone like me I played detak,
I can play with my hand down in the dirt,
and sometimes I can stand up back and drop the coverage.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
A little bit in his zone not man and guard
some of those those tight ends or receivers if I
need to be.
Speaker 5 (03:25):
Well, Michael Pierce had the interception last year for the Ravens.
He was I mean, he's straight up nosed a.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Little bit of a different body.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
He dropped back, So maybe some of those those zone
whatever past coverage wraps off those hands.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
He show you athletic. I saw it.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
He got down immediately too. When I quick that clip enviral,
I was definitely weak laughing at it. I remember seeing
that last year.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
So so even though you arrived at the trade deadline,
it just feels like you've been here for years. Can
you talk about why you feel so comfortable in this
defense and in this franchise and kind of what that
feeling is like for you.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
From like the comatic standpoint, I've been dealing with this
defense basically since I got in the league, and not
as different like terms. It's different way it's used, but
it's all kind of under the same umbrella that I
kind of like started with.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
So it's been easy to like just kind of pick.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Apart different plays, like, oh, I remembering that play back
when I was younger, all I'm ready to play last year.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Oh, it's the same play as my last team just did.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
So like I'm able to like pick apart different plays
that I've that have heard throughout the years, and I
can just help me remember the play back here now
and then like the locker room and the coaches, like
everybody's making it easy. Everybody's super welcoming, chill, but it's
about work at the end of the day, and football
is football, So I kind of just adjust with everything.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
You came from the Titans here and then we go
on a five game winning streak. I mean, no coincidence here,
But what is that experience been like for you?
Speaker 3 (04:53):
It's been huge, man, Like I haven't I don't recall
the time in the NFL that I've won that many times, that.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
Many games in a row I've been. I've definitely been
on the losing.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Spectrum the majority of my career up until now, to
be honest. So it's cool to feel that it's cool
to get those victory those victory trucks. It felt like
every week it felt damn near mandatory to get them.
It's because you know, I've been getting the business I've
been here, so it's cool to have that. And then
you know, have an opportunity to go to playoffs and
(05:23):
being uber one division that's something that's my mentioned to me.
I haven't experienced that either too much, so I mean
it's exciting.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
Yeah, to that point, how eager hungry I guess would
be maybe the word, are you to get that first place,
first taste of playoff football.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
I'm super hungry, Like it's crazy how much I'm like
feeding for the opportunity to be number one.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
Like I said, I've never done it before.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
You know, I've seen these battles throughout the year over
my childhood because growing up and watching AFC North football
for so long, and I get the rivalry, the seriousness
so it isn't better than me already.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
So I understand the mag too, but I just want
to go out there and do it.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Yeah, you talk about the rivalries and they have see North,
You're about to experience one raven Steelers.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
What do you expect it to be?
Speaker 5 (06:08):
Like?
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Dogfight?
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Has been a dog fight playing the Brown's been a
dogfight playing the Bengals. I explact the same with the
Pittsburgh Steeler, just because it's been a good team for years,
you know, Mike Mike Tomlin has been a well renowned
coach for years.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
So I'm expecting it to.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Be you know, ELOHI Gilman said that.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Uh, he's getting tired of hearing everybody say you're not
a Raven until you beat the Steelers.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Have you heard that?
Speaker 4 (06:31):
Never heard that one?
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yeah, well here we go. That's the same.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Hell, I'm tired of hearing it. I haven't heard it,
but I'm tired of he it already.
Speaker 5 (06:41):
I think that to the point of like, you fitting
in great here. You just seem like a guy. The
way you play the game, your attitude on the field,
It honestly feels like you were made to play in
this rivalry game. Like when you I know that they're
probably showing the old clips of Raven Steelers from over
the years, and you can see that. You can see
Terrell Suggs and Ben Roethlisberger and Ray Lewis and Troy Paul.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Mallow and all that breaking his name.
Speaker 5 (07:01):
I'm sure you've seen all that stuff, and you just
feel like a guy that was meant to play in
this rivalry game. How do you take that attitude and
that mentality that you play with into your first taste
of this game.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
I mean, that's that's mentality I have to have, regardless
of of I'm playing against the The Pittourgh Steelers are not
Like I want to go out there and have that
that dog and nasty mentality because just for being here
from the short time, I understand this place is about
work and that's what I want to do. I want
to come here, I want to work. I want to
be violent. I want to get a chance to be
on the field on Sunday.
Speaker 5 (07:29):
Coach Charbal has said before on certain guys like they've
always felt like a Raven, they just didn't know it yet.
Like Steve Smith is a guy who comes to mind
he played here late in his career when he got here,
just felt like it was the right fit, and there's
been other examples as well. Is that kind of how
you have felt since you've been here.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Yeah, so far, I feel like it's been just kind
of natural and building into it each and every week.
Hopefully I still have a Raven when the time comes,
but I definitely am. I'm feeling that that Baltimore Raven
vibe by of myself.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
That was my next question, is you're on a one
year deal. Is this a place you think after this
year that you could see yourself staying long term?
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:07):
I definitely, I definitely can, But you know, when legit,
when that time comes, it comes.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
But I do. I do love being a part of
this program. This is very unique.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
I talk about it with other guys all the time, like, man,
like this place is special and how I was handling
how it was ran and you know, how do you?
I mean, I've heard nothing but good things about it
before coming here and to seeing it and just being
a part of it is like I understand why guys
don't want to leave.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
What is different?
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Like, can you explain kind of what's different from here?
I mean your previous stops you're in Denver, Seattle, Tennessee.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Now here. What is different here.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
The details we place within the defense and how how
much we walk through and how much we will go
over the same thing a bunch of different times, just
so everybody understand it.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
It's not kind of like brushed over.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
The willingness to really be respiptive to the players and
what we believe in, what we think should could possibly work,
and if we have any problems, they have no problem
throwing it out. Kind of qotar Ball his style of
inviting guys to to talk. He makes team meetings more
engaged instead of us just like a lecture. And in
that aspect, you know, I practice set up like how
(09:15):
it's set up is super different. We don't even stretch
as the team, which is really different.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
But yeah, I've noticed that.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
That was that was crazy for me. But for some
reason it feels better like I don't I don't, I
don't know why. I don't kind of get a chance
to just to to stretch one with the guys and
just talk to ganically instead of being like in a
stretch like water fashion like we're in like militarying like that.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
Yeah, that's that's different.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
It's a bunch more so I can go on about
the stuff that's different, but its just a couple of
things interesting.
Speaker 5 (09:45):
I'm curious for you, Like, since you've been here, this
defense is playing great football and it wasn't like that
at the start of the season. But there's been a
couple of things that that have kind of sparked that
turn around a low. Gilman's arrival was a piece of that.
Your arrival was a piece of that. I think just
the group coming together and playing playing better with the
pieces who were already in place. What has stood out
to you about the way that the defense has placed
is you've been here and just kind of the ceiling
(10:07):
of this unit, the.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Attention to the detail, and Kwan and Kyle definitely leave
the charge with that because that there big communicators on
the field with being detailed and make sure everybody has
a call. They've they've done a good job of doing that,
and uh, I mean that's really.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Pretty much it.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Yeah, speaking of leadership, you know, even though you haven't
been here for super long, I see you leading some
of the younger guys and Mike Green comes to mind.
You just kind of talk about the mentorship that you've
been providing for the rookie.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
I mean, it's not necessarily a mentorship because me and
Mike were at the same web.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
I can't come in and tell them what to do.
I mean, I just got here. I'm only be here
a month.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
I can't come in, but Mike and need to do
this because moreer than you, I never want to be
like that. I like picking each other's brain and seeing
what he thinks and saying what kV thinks, or saying
with Trav or Big James or you know, seeing what
everybody thinks and how they want to go about certain
certain plays. Was against the aldlignment and then, uh, we're
just working together and me and Mike, you know, has
(11:05):
we're in the same road. We worked together a lot,
and we've been just picking up other's brains a lot
this past month.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
Dremon.
Speaker 5 (11:11):
One of the reasons that we were excited to have
you on the podcast, particularly me, we've talked about this.
I'm an Ohio guy. You're an Ohio guy. Big Week
for the Buckeyes, huge week, big Week, rivalry week, just
across the board here. So you're from Cleveland. You played
at Saint Nasi's High School, which is a powerhouse in Cleveland,
then went to Ohio State. As you just referenced, kind
(11:32):
of growing up in that part of you know, part
of the country and and football is big there. How
did that kind of shape your view towards football?
Speaker 3 (11:41):
It makes you tough because you know that's like the
main thing that's kind of going on round now growing
up in Cleveland, Like it was like the thing too,
all right, I'm from Cleveland, I'm gonna play football.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
I'm gonna go to Ohio State, and I'm gonna play
for the Browns.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
That was kind of like that was the path that
everybody like went on as kids. Yeah, I mean it's
been talking about so much along like so long. It's
just like Cleveland's just that.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
That rugged, tough place.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
You know, our skies are gray, like our lake is
kind of dirty, but it's but it's just it's just
rugged out there. So it kind of makes you you
kind of just adapt to your environment out there.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
Could be it from Cleveland.
Speaker 5 (12:18):
Yeah, was it big to go back and play there
a few weeks ago? It was.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
It was big for me.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
I always feel like a little bit of more juice
when I go back to and play in Cleveland, because
I just I'm just familiar with the area. It's like,
I don't get to go home that that much. So yeah,
it's cool when I do it. And then I look
into sayings, I see a cold people I know from
high school and whatnot.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
So it's cool.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
So did you envision yourself one day as a Cleveland
brown Did you grow up a Browns fan?
Speaker 4 (12:42):
I did? I did. Hell no now, but it's been
I've been a Browns fan and since I was like
in college.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
But when I was a little kid, that's me and
my dad, that's what we did. Yeah, watch and Saturdays
and Sundays is for for for the Browns.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
So your dad, uh was a professional boxer. I learned
about that and he had an eleven year career as
a middleweight boxer. So how much boxing did you do
in the basement with your dad?
Speaker 4 (13:10):
A little bit? My dad. My dad rocked me one
time and I was like, nah, that was it. I think.
I think.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
I think football and basketball and baseball my avenue. I'm
gonna stick over there. But my dad, it was. It
was always cool because my dad always give me the
freedom just to kind of do whatever I want in
the sports bram and he never pushed boxing onto me.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
I tried it though I had to. Yeah, but it
was me.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
How old were you when he rocked you?
Speaker 4 (13:35):
I was like eleven, you know you can. I'm eleven,
you know, physical year kid. I was a big kid.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
I was doing all the little basketball term and football stuff,
and I was the best.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
I'm like, no, I could beat my grown adult father.
I could beat with all these kids. Why could I
not beat my dad? It didn't work?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Story.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Do you think you inherited like the hands you know,
the hand fighting that you do?
Speaker 4 (13:59):
Think?
Speaker 3 (14:00):
I think I think I think he's given me some
some good forwork and good handspeed and that coordination.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
So shout out to Pops with that.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
You mentioned, uh, you mentioned a couple of times basketball,
you said baseball. Were you three sport athlete? Really good
athlete and all the sports I was?
Speaker 4 (14:14):
I was? I played.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
I saw playing baseball middle school because basketball and football
is the more popular thing to do.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
But yeah, I I was the sport up in high school.
I was still sport yep.
Speaker 5 (14:23):
And and did you have like was basketball? Was football
was your first love?
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Like?
Speaker 5 (14:27):
How did you look at those two?
Speaker 3 (14:28):
It was like football first and then basketball crept in
and took over and then I wanted to be a
Hooper for real, and then the.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Scholarships came from football. I was like, I love football
anyway still too, so I'm ride on.
Speaker 5 (14:40):
With the scholarships made that decision easy.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
Yeah, it definitely did.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
I understand.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
You also have two older brothers, Darren Deontae, and there's
kind of a big age gap there.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
From what I undered, a huge age gap. What's how much?
Speaker 4 (14:52):
Fourteen and fourteen and eleven?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (14:54):
All right, so so you had it rough kind of
growing up. Dad's a boxer. Older bros that are beating
up little bro.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
Older bro, grand okay, grand bros. Grand.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
But from what I understand, they didn't take it easy
on you though, even though you were the younger, not little,
but younger.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
One.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Yeah, my brothers to whoop me like we played a game.
My brother would beat me one hundred to zero in
a football game. Remorse and mad, Yeah, no, remorse, I
cry And he keep doing it every week until I
got older.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
And then you know that changed and all that kind
of shape you and that that kind of that toughness
we were talking about it.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
Yeah, that definitely did.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Having older friends and then having way older brothers, it
definitely will strain you up a little bit.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
So I dug up this quote.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
This is from Deontay and this is when he was
watching you at your pro day and he said big
and aggressive. We watched him a lot when he was young.
Our parents' work nights, so we would watch him at night,
but he would be awake and aggressive at all times.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Explained we were.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
I don't I don't know, I don't remember, to be honest,
because my brother was My brother said that, and then
they would have their friends from like who are like
my brother said, they're all in their forties now, yeah,
and they will be like, man, when you're a little boy,
you're just be so tough and aggressive.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
You to do this and do that break this break
that I'm like, I don't remember, but I believe you
because I heard it.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Like every time I see one of my brother's friends
who I don't know, but they remember me, they always
said the same thing, Wow, wilding out lot kid, And
I remember being like like later elementary and while not
but I've been doing this as Tyler.
Speaker 5 (16:28):
H Well, I think that you'll bring some of that
aggression with you to a Sundays game against Steelers. I
will about that awesome. Well, thank you appreciate yoall you're
listening to the last podcast we're coming to you from
the Sea Geek Studio. We want to mention our partners
with Draft King Sportsbook. They are an official sports betting
partner of the Baltimore Ravens Draft King Sportsbook. The Crown
is yours well big thanks to Draymont. I think that
(16:50):
we talked about it with him. He's just fitting so
well here, both him and a Lohi Gilman, Like, those
are two trades that helped the team, like from a
schematic standpoint and by bringing good play. But I also
think fit wise, like there's something that's hard to quantify
when you're talking about bringing guys in from other teams,
and it's how they're gonna fit. It's how they're gonna
fit personality wise, how they're gonna fit schematically.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Yeah, and it doesn't always happen right like sometimes they
sometimes it's a bad fit.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
Sometimes you get someone here and for whatever reason, it
doesn't feel like the fit is right for these two players.
I think the fit has been perfect. And I made
this point before with Draymond Jones, Like I go back
to the trade deadline and everyone was saying, are you
gonna make a move, You're gonna make a move, You're
gonna make a move, and people kind of glossed over
his addition. I felt like, and it turned out to
be a great trade, great addition, And he's fit this
(17:35):
team in so many ways. And I think he's gonna
be a huge player down the stretch.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Absolutely, And he'll be a big player here Sunday in
against Pittsburgh. I mean, like we said, he's kind of
made for this rivalry, the physicality and all that stuff.
Being an Ohio guy, he's kind of used to it.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
He knows AFC North Football. Yeah, you grew up watching it.
I mean like he went to Ohio State. He knows
rivalry games Ohio State in Michigan, Like you're there're certainly
an understand of what goes into these types of matchups.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
Yep.
Speaker 5 (18:02):
And I think he's going to fit in perfectly in
this game.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
So it's a battle for first place, as we talked
about in our last episode, both teams six and six,
and I have gotten the vibe all week that everybody
knows the stakes. You don't have to remind anybody all
that stuff. You know, the struggles of both teams leading
up to this point, that all is in the rear
view year it's all about this Ravens Steelers rivalry and
(18:28):
winning on Sunday.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
Absolutely look like this. The Ravens have the opportunity to
put themselves in the driver's seat for the AFC North
And like, at the start of the season, what's the goal, Well,
the goal was to win the division first and foremost,
win the division and then go from there, like, of course,
you want to be undefeated, you want to win every game,
but like, realistically, the goal as a starting point is
(18:50):
to win the division. And the first twelve weeks of
the season haven't gone the way that the Ravens would
have preferred in an ideal scenario. But they still have
a really good shot to win the division. But that
shot looks a lot different if you don't win this game.
And that's one of the things that's most interesting about
that is that whoever wins this game really just has control.
(19:11):
They have the driver's seat, and the percentages change pretty dramatically.
Aaron Schatz had a pretty interesting tweet about that. Basically,
it goes from if you win this game, you got
like a seventy five percent chance of winning the division,
and whoever wins the game has basically a seventy five
percent chance of winning the division from here on out,
So the Ravens obviously want to be the one that
(19:31):
gets that victory.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Yeah, I think this is not a good matchup for
the Steelers. I think that you know, they've been struggling
all offensively. They throw more short passes than any team
in the league. The Ravens, with Kyle Hamilton and his
kind of revised role since the Loohi arrived, have really
been among the best defense in the league, cracking down
(19:53):
on short passes. You know, I think that the recipe
for the Ravens, and what this is really going to
key in on, is can they stop the Steelers rushing
attack that has been kind.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Of their strength.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Now they're twenty eighth in the league ninety three point
eight yards, but Jalen Warren is a tough runner gainwell
has been pretty good for them. Like, you got to
tackle those guys. You have to have a good tackling
game and of course play physical against the Steelers to
kind of slow up this offense.
Speaker 5 (20:19):
Well, our friend of londreymid Jones is gonna have a
huge role in slowing down that run game. I think
that like the Steelers also, it's part of their identity
good defense, run the football. Like that's like when you
think about the Pittsburgh Steelers, we're probably gonna be saying
those same two things about this team fifty years from now.
So that's part of who they are. They commit to
the ground game, and yeah, you have you have to
(20:41):
slow that down, like they're the other piece with their offense.
There's a big question obviously with their offense is like
what's the health and the status of Aaron Rodgers. She's
playing with the cast on his left hand. Couldn't really
take couldn't take snaps under center last game. John Hardball said,
the Ravens will be prepared either way whether he can
take snaps under center or not. But he couldn't do
it last game, and he's just taking He's gotten beat
(21:04):
up over the past month of the season, and so
what kind of impact does that have on his ability
to orchestrate their entire offense.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Yeah, they're down their left tackle, you know, Broderck Jones,
they have and just Pete is stepping in there veterans,
so they're pretty banged up beyond Aaron Rodgers, but it's
still Aaron Rodgers, right, And like when Aaron Rodgers gets hot,
he can carve you up. And you know he's three
and oh as a starter against the Ravens. Not that
(21:32):
that history has much of a bearing on Sunday, but
like the Ravens know and we all know when you
see Aaron Rodgers and he's clicking, and like that's watching
the Steelers even this season.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Sometimes they can start to kind of piece together.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
And if Metcalf gets loose on you, another player, you
have to tackle him really well, big physical guy. If
you don't tackle him, he's like Derrick henry S side
of a tackle.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
You can take it to the house.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
He can take it to the house.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Yeah, And so like they have this, you know, they
have playmakers that can beat you. And Aaron Rodgers spends
it as well as anybody. So the Ravens need to
get pressure on him, make things uncomfortable, shut down that
rushing attack like we talked about. And I think if
they do those things, they should be in pretty good
shape defensively.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Now.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
Of course, the other big injury point for the Ravens
is the status to quarterback Lamar Jackson. He practiced on Wednesday,
which everyone was excited about. He was a limited participant
with an ankle injury over the past month. Really, he
has not typically been practicing on Wednesdays, and he's dealt
with a variety of injuries, so getting him on the
practice field on Wednesday was a good thing. The flip
side of that is that he was not on the
practice field on Thursday. So not sure the exact severity
(22:38):
of that ankle injury or what the story is there,
but we know that he did not practice on Thursday,
and of course Friday will be pretty telling in terms
of his status and his availability at practice on Friday afternoon.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
It's now four straight weeks that Lamar Jackson has not
had a full week of practice, and you know what
influence does practice have on how ready you are to
play in the game, Like some you know, I mean,
they practice for a reason. So it's not good, Yeah,
missing this much practice one every week, and so don't
(23:10):
like the fact that he's not there on the practice
field on Thursday.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
But we'll see.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Obviously, if he doesn't play can't play, then Tyler Huntley
would be the Ravens starter against the Steelers.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
The other big note on the injury front for the
Ravens is Nate Wiggins. He went down with the injury,
missed the second half of a game against the Bengals.
He practiced on Wednesday, practice again on Thursday, So it's
encouraging to see him stacking practices and again we'll see
what his final injury destination is. He's dealing with the
foot injury. But when he went down, I think you
just start worrying big time your number one corner leaves
(23:42):
the game, doesn't return, You're you're you're concerned.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Ye.
Speaker 5 (23:45):
So the fact that he was back on the practice
field right away this week, I think is encouraging, and
again we'll see what his status is for Sunday.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Travis Jones is not also did not practice on Thursday,
so that's another one to monitor.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Ye.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
You look at like the big picture of this game,
and Kyle Brant from Good Morning for Ball kind of
had a monologue about that this week, and a lot
of the things that you could say about the Ravens
you could also say about the Steelers. I think that
both teams are really good when their backs are against
the wall. They come out swinging and they and they
and they tend to play some of their best football
when the pressure's on.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Both coming off pretty rough losses.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
Right, and so Kyle Kyle Brandt's monologue was basically, everything
looks to be going wrong. The boo Boods were out
in Pittsburgh on Sunday against Buffalo. They're booing renegade. There's
all this conversation amongst you know, former players weighing in
on the on the state of the team and all
this stuff. But Kyle Brandt's point was, despite all that,
I think they're going to go win.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Now.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
I hope Kyle's wrong, don't get me wrong here, but
I think that the point is is the point has
merit and that I think the Steelers are a team
that when their backs are against the wall, they come
out swinging, and the Ravens have to be prepared for that.
And I think you can't.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Count the Steelers that you just can't count You can
never Yeah, you can never count them out.
Speaker 5 (24:52):
And I think that's the same thing for the Ravens.
The Ravens feel like their backs are against the wall
and they need to come out swinging. So like both
of these teams are are I think.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Both came into the season with higher expectations. The Steelers
made a lot of offseason moves. They kind of shook
things up and got aggressive this offseason to try to
get over the hump of what has been really they've
been hovering around five hundred for the past several years.
They've been kind of, you know, mediocre in terms of
final results.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
They shook it up.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
They went and got Aaron Rodgers, They made the big
you know, they traded George Pickens, who's been awesome in Dallas,
and brought in DK Metcalf. You know, they traded Minka
Fitzpatrick out, got Jalen Ramsey and so like, they they
made some moves to try to say, all right, we
got to get over the hump. And quite frankly, like
they got ran over by the Ravens and knocked out
(25:40):
of the playoffs last year. And that resonated with Mike Tomlin.
He was very clear about that that, like he lost
sleep this offseason because of that game. Well and how
the Ravens just bullied him in the playoffs. So they're
going to come in here with a point to prove.
Now the Ravens do too. The Ravens have not met
expectations of what we all thought coming into the season.
They're feeling very much the same way of like we
(26:02):
got to put it all together in all three phases
for the first time this season, and so like both
of these teams are kind of in similar positions in
my eye.
Speaker 5 (26:11):
You mentioned that playoff loss in Mike Thomlins comments that
extended to what they did in the draft. They went
and they got Derek Harmon, big defensive tackle out of Oregon,
and Mike Tomlins said on draft weekend they basically started
thinking on the bus on the way to the airport
after the game, how do we need to change this team?
And what they came up with was they needed to
get bigger upfront on the defensive side so that they
(26:34):
could prevent that on.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
The problem is Derek Krmon's not playing exactly now.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
Derek Carmon's not playing in that in this game because
he's been hurt from match of the season.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Patrick Queen is also banged up, like the Steelers are
much more banged up than the Ravens are entering this game.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
But my point is that game really did shape their
approach this offseason and the identity of their team. And
even though again. Derek Carmon is not going to play
in this game. The Steelers went down the path of
reshaping the roster to try to compete with the Ravens
based off what happened in that game.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Well, I can take you into the Steelers meeting rooms
this week. Mike Tomlin is reminding them, I am sure
of that playoff loss and this is Raven Steelers always
comes down to, and you hear it from both sides,
who is more physical, And I am sure Mike Tomlin
has been beating that drum this week of they came
(27:22):
out here and ran us over in the playoffs, they
ran us out of their stadium. We're gonna let that
happen again, right, you know? So, like both these teams
are going to and the Ravens are going to match
that physicality and and honestly like it's it's gonna be
a hard hitting game.
Speaker 5 (27:36):
Out there, oh what it always is. And the my
take on that is, yes, it is a super physical game.
And whoever ends up winning the battle of the trenches
and who out physicals the other like that goes a
long way in determining it. I actually think the biggest
thing in determining who ends up winning this game is
going to be who can make the least mistakes and protect.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
The football well.
Speaker 5 (27:55):
And that's that's what costs the Ravens against the against
the Bengals last week with five turnovers.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
I said, this is I think the Ravens are a
tough matchup for the Steelers on paper in many ways,
and when you throw in the health factor and all that,
I think that the Ravens are in good position. However,
the way the Steelers win football games is by getting
you to make mistakes. They drag you into the mud, right,
and they get you to make mistakes. They play clean football,
(28:23):
and that's how they win a lot of games ugly
and they don't whatever. They'll win ugly whatever. They don't care, right,
that's like been the Steelers mo. And so they're looking
at the Ravens saying, this team just turned the ball
over five times. How many times are we gonna rip
it away from Yeah?
Speaker 5 (28:37):
Oh, you know they're gonna be punching at that football
and them.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Oh goodness, yes. And so the Ravens ball security. I
was happy to see individual drills this week start with
ball security drills.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
But the tight ends, that's what they were doing.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
And so the Ravens have to protect the football and
play clean football against the Steelers because that's what they
want to do. That's what they live and thrive off of,
is getting that ball away from you to with TJ.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Watt and all those guys, and.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
So the Ravens, I think if the Ravens can take
care of the football and not be dragged into the
mud that way in a sloppy game, then I think
they have a pretty good chance of winning.
Speaker 5 (29:12):
You go back and look at the Ravens Steelers games
over the last five years. In situations where the Ravens
have lost, it's it's generally coincided with turnovers and mistakes
and just not protecting the football and key moments. And
so I think that that same that same dialogue is
going to apply this game. And one of the ways
that the Steelers have been so good a forcing turnovers
(29:33):
is t J. Watt coming around the edge. Herbig's really
good coming around the edge. But you don't you need
to avoid third and eight situations and making it a
just clear drop back passing game. The Ravens need to
get the run game rolling in this game. They were
able to do it in that playoff game. I'm sure
that's going to be just like it's on the forefront
of Steelers' minds. I'm sure that that approach is going
(29:55):
to be on the forefront of the Ravens coaches minds
about how do you attack the Steelers and they need
to get that running game established with Derrick Henry and
then sprinkling in Keith Mitchell and Rashin a Li.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Absolutely, I think it's gonna be a fun game at
MPT Banks Tnium. We honestly cannot wait.
Speaker 5 (30:10):
Well, it's also fitting that this game is going to
be well, we're recognizing members of the Super Bowl thirty
five team coming back for a Super Bowl reunion. They're
going to be recognized this game, and it's going to
be really exciting to have those guys in the building
celebrated pregame festivities. Make sure you're out on Ravens Walk
before the game around eleven forty five, because that's the
Super Bowl team is going to march down Ravens Walk
(30:32):
into the stadium, so it's going to be really cool
to see those guys. There's also going to be pregame
reconditions as well as a halftime ceremony, so we cannot
wait for all the fun this weekend. Again, it's one
o'clock Sunday, Raven Steelers, thank you so much for watching
and for listening, and we will see you after that
game on Sunday against Pittsburgh
Welcome into lounge presented by DraftKings. I'm Ryan Mink here
with Garrett Downing and we are thrilled to sit down
with Ravens linebacker Draymont Jones and Draymond I'll start here.
So super nice guy, Like, just since you've come here,
I've been I've been impressed. I'm not gonna lie like
nice guy, very chatty, easy to chat with in the
locker room. But you know, after the Jets game, you
(00:26):
said this, you said, contrary to what some may believe,
I'm a pretty angry person.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I fit the mold right.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
So it's this nice balance of nice gttlefield but on
the field, like you are a Raven Where does the
angry guy come from?
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Explain that to us?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
I think just growing up, having like years worth of
older friends, Like I played like up and like everything
I played when I was younger.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
So I was always a younger person on the field
on the court.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Because you were big, so big.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
I was big.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Yeah, so you think I was older, but I had
to kind of just be like a little more like
be tough, more aggressive, just to you know, keep up
with the older kids. You know, they always want to
mess with the younger due, So it's kind of just
molded me into that.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Now, interesting is it?
Speaker 5 (01:06):
Is it a light switch kind of thing? Like to
Ryan's point, you can have a conversation and nice guy,
but then like, man, you do play angry like you
play violent, and so do you look at it as
I get on the field and I flipped the switch
and I go into kind of that mode.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Yeah, it has to be that way because when you're
out there playing football, it's kind of like survival to
fittest and that in that aspect because you're competing, you know,
guys are trying to, like especially as a D lineman,
like you're my job is to literally move somebody against
their will, right and I gotta do that for forty
eight minutes. So kind of had a kind of to
type into that a little bit.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Yeah, I'm actually interesting because you know, I kind of interest.
You're like an outside linebacker slash defensive end slash D lineman.
Like I I called you a linebacker, but you're like,
how do you view yourself?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I guess, yeah, I don't know anymore.
Speaker 5 (01:50):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
I've done literally every I played every spot since it's
been in the league. I've been a one technique. I've
been zero rookie year when I was with the Broncos,
I'm thirty downs and whatnot. I've done nine to five
to six of any technique within regards of D line,
I've done it.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
So me just D lineman is the best way to
put me.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah, how do you think you were able to develop
that versatility.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
So over time? Like even in college?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Our first came as a D N and then I
put on some way to be a D tackle and
then it just kind of helped me be I get
a variety of things early on in college, and then
I was just strictly D tackle. But I've had experience
at DN, so I've just been doing everything.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
Basketball helps too, Yeah, so I think that's where my
variety comes from. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (02:33):
You Kyle Hamilton does the same thing on the back end.
You know, he moves all over the place. Do you
think that this is a function of the way that
the Ravens like to play defense and positionless football? Is
this a function of the way that the game has
moved in players playing a variety of different spots. What's
your view of that.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
I think it's both.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
The game is like forever changing and having guys just
played one spot is coming almost an anomaly to not
do like it.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Just you can just put guys.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Anywhere they fifth the mold, like someone like Kyle who
you know, he's about six or Ford, I don't know,
like two hundred.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Maybe give me take a few pounds. Yeah, you can
play inside at like a backer can play safety where.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
He naturally was, and someone like me I played detak,
I can play with my hand down in the dirt,
and sometimes I can stand up back and drop the coverage.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
A little bit in his zone not man and guard
some of those those tight ends or receivers if I
need to be.
Speaker 5 (03:25):
Well, Michael Pierce had the interception last year for the Ravens.
He was I mean, he's straight up nosed a.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Little bit of a different body.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
He dropped back, So maybe some of those those zone
whatever past coverage wraps off those hands.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
He show you athletic. I saw it.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
He got down immediately too. When I quick that clip enviral,
I was definitely weak laughing at it. I remember seeing
that last year.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
So so even though you arrived at the trade deadline,
it just feels like you've been here for years. Can
you talk about why you feel so comfortable in this
defense and in this franchise and kind of what that
feeling is like for you.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
From like the comatic standpoint, I've been dealing with this
defense basically since I got in the league, and not
as different like terms. It's different way it's used, but
it's all kind of under the same umbrella that I
kind of like started with.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
So it's been easy to like just kind of pick.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Apart different plays, like, oh, I remembering that play back
when I was younger, all I'm ready to play last year.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Oh, it's the same play as my last team just did.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
So like I'm able to like pick apart different plays
that I've that have heard throughout the years, and I
can just help me remember the play back here now
and then like the locker room and the coaches, like
everybody's making it easy. Everybody's super welcoming, chill, but it's
about work at the end of the day, and football
is football, So I kind of just adjust with everything.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
You came from the Titans here and then we go
on a five game winning streak. I mean, no coincidence here,
But what is that experience been like for you?
Speaker 3 (04:53):
It's been huge, man, Like I haven't I don't recall
the time in the NFL that I've won that many times, that.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
Many games in a row I've been. I've definitely been
on the losing.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Spectrum the majority of my career up until now, to
be honest. So it's cool to feel that it's cool
to get those victory those victory trucks. It felt like
every week it felt damn near mandatory to get them.
It's because you know, I've been getting the business I've
been here, so it's cool to have that. And then
you know, have an opportunity to go to playoffs and
(05:23):
being uber one division that's something that's my mentioned to me.
I haven't experienced that either too much, so I mean
it's exciting.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
Yeah, to that point, how eager hungry I guess would
be maybe the word, are you to get that first place,
first taste of playoff football.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
I'm super hungry, Like it's crazy how much I'm like
feeding for the opportunity to be number one.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
Like I said, I've never done it before.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
You know, I've seen these battles throughout the year over
my childhood because growing up and watching AFC North football
for so long, and I get the rivalry, the seriousness
so it isn't better than me already.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
So I understand the mag too, but I just want
to go out there and do it.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Yeah, you talk about the rivalries and they have see North,
You're about to experience one raven Steelers.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
What do you expect it to be?
Speaker 5 (06:08):
Like?
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Dogfight?
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Has been a dog fight playing the Brown's been a
dogfight playing the Bengals. I explact the same with the
Pittsburgh Steeler, just because it's been a good team for years,
you know, Mike Mike Tomlin has been a well renowned
coach for years.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
So I'm expecting it to.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Be you know, ELOHI Gilman said that.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Uh, he's getting tired of hearing everybody say you're not
a Raven until you beat the Steelers.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Have you heard that?
Speaker 4 (06:31):
Never heard that one?
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yeah, well here we go. That's the same.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Hell, I'm tired of hearing it. I haven't heard it,
but I'm tired of he it already.
Speaker 5 (06:41):
I think that to the point of like, you fitting
in great here. You just seem like a guy. The
way you play the game, your attitude on the field,
It honestly feels like you were made to play in
this rivalry game. Like when you I know that they're
probably showing the old clips of Raven Steelers from over
the years, and you can see that. You can see
Terrell Suggs and Ben Roethlisberger and Ray Lewis and Troy Paul.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Mallow and all that breaking his name.
Speaker 5 (07:01):
I'm sure you've seen all that stuff, and you just
feel like a guy that was meant to play in
this rivalry game. How do you take that attitude and
that mentality that you play with into your first taste
of this game.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
I mean, that's that's mentality I have to have, regardless
of of I'm playing against the The Pittourgh Steelers are not
Like I want to go out there and have that
that dog and nasty mentality because just for being here
from the short time, I understand this place is about
work and that's what I want to do. I want
to come here, I want to work. I want to
be violent. I want to get a chance to be
on the field on Sunday.
Speaker 5 (07:29):
Coach Charbal has said before on certain guys like they've
always felt like a Raven, they just didn't know it yet.
Like Steve Smith is a guy who comes to mind
he played here late in his career when he got here,
just felt like it was the right fit, and there's
been other examples as well. Is that kind of how
you have felt since you've been here.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Yeah, so far, I feel like it's been just kind
of natural and building into it each and every week.
Hopefully I still have a Raven when the time comes,
but I definitely am. I'm feeling that that Baltimore Raven
vibe by of myself.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
That was my next question, is you're on a one
year deal. Is this a place you think after this
year that you could see yourself staying long term?
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:07):
I definitely, I definitely can, But you know, when legit,
when that time comes, it comes.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
But I do. I do love being a part of
this program. This is very unique.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
I talk about it with other guys all the time, like, man,
like this place is special and how I was handling
how it was ran and you know, how do you?
I mean, I've heard nothing but good things about it
before coming here and to seeing it and just being
a part of it is like I understand why guys
don't want to leave.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
What is different?
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Like, can you explain kind of what's different from here?
I mean your previous stops you're in Denver, Seattle, Tennessee.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Now here. What is different here.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
The details we place within the defense and how how
much we walk through and how much we will go
over the same thing a bunch of different times, just
so everybody understand it.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
It's not kind of like brushed over.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
The willingness to really be respiptive to the players and
what we believe in, what we think should could possibly work,
and if we have any problems, they have no problem
throwing it out. Kind of qotar Ball his style of
inviting guys to to talk. He makes team meetings more
engaged instead of us just like a lecture. And in
that aspect, you know, I practice set up like how
(09:15):
it's set up is super different. We don't even stretch
as the team, which is really different.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
But yeah, I've noticed that.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
That was that was crazy for me. But for some
reason it feels better like I don't I don't, I
don't know why. I don't kind of get a chance
to just to to stretch one with the guys and
just talk to ganically instead of being like in a
stretch like water fashion like we're in like militarying like that.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
Yeah, that's that's different.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
It's a bunch more so I can go on about
the stuff that's different, but its just a couple of
things interesting.
Speaker 5 (09:45):
I'm curious for you, Like, since you've been here, this
defense is playing great football and it wasn't like that
at the start of the season. But there's been a
couple of things that that have kind of sparked that
turn around a low. Gilman's arrival was a piece of that.
Your arrival was a piece of that. I think just
the group coming together and playing playing better with the
pieces who were already in place. What has stood out
to you about the way that the defense has placed
is you've been here and just kind of the ceiling
(10:07):
of this unit, the.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Attention to the detail, and Kwan and Kyle definitely leave
the charge with that because that there big communicators on
the field with being detailed and make sure everybody has
a call. They've they've done a good job of doing that,
and uh, I mean that's really.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Pretty much it.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Yeah, speaking of leadership, you know, even though you haven't
been here for super long, I see you leading some
of the younger guys and Mike Green comes to mind.
You just kind of talk about the mentorship that you've
been providing for the rookie.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
I mean, it's not necessarily a mentorship because me and
Mike were at the same web.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
I can't come in and tell them what to do.
I mean, I just got here. I'm only be here
a month.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
I can't come in, but Mike and need to do
this because moreer than you, I never want to be
like that. I like picking each other's brain and seeing
what he thinks and saying what kV thinks, or saying
with Trav or Big James or you know, seeing what
everybody thinks and how they want to go about certain
certain plays. Was against the aldlignment and then, uh, we're
just working together and me and Mike, you know, has
(11:05):
we're in the same road. We worked together a lot,
and we've been just picking up other's brains a lot
this past month.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
Dremon.
Speaker 5 (11:11):
One of the reasons that we were excited to have
you on the podcast, particularly me, we've talked about this.
I'm an Ohio guy. You're an Ohio guy. Big Week
for the Buckeyes, huge week, big Week, rivalry week, just
across the board here. So you're from Cleveland. You played
at Saint Nasi's High School, which is a powerhouse in Cleveland,
then went to Ohio State. As you just referenced, kind
(11:32):
of growing up in that part of you know, part
of the country and and football is big there. How
did that kind of shape your view towards football?
Speaker 3 (11:41):
It makes you tough because you know that's like the
main thing that's kind of going on round now growing
up in Cleveland, Like it was like the thing too,
all right, I'm from Cleveland, I'm gonna play football.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
I'm gonna go to Ohio State, and I'm gonna play
for the Browns.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
That was kind of like that was the path that
everybody like went on as kids. Yeah, I mean it's
been talking about so much along like so long. It's
just like Cleveland's just that.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
That rugged, tough place.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
You know, our skies are gray, like our lake is
kind of dirty, but it's but it's just it's just
rugged out there. So it kind of makes you you
kind of just adapt to your environment out there.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
Could be it from Cleveland.
Speaker 5 (12:18):
Yeah, was it big to go back and play there
a few weeks ago? It was.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
It was big for me.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
I always feel like a little bit of more juice
when I go back to and play in Cleveland, because
I just I'm just familiar with the area. It's like,
I don't get to go home that that much. So yeah,
it's cool when I do it. And then I look
into sayings, I see a cold people I know from
high school and whatnot.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
So it's cool.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
So did you envision yourself one day as a Cleveland
brown Did you grow up a Browns fan?
Speaker 4 (12:42):
I did? I did. Hell no now, but it's been
I've been a Browns fan and since I was like
in college.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
But when I was a little kid, that's me and
my dad, that's what we did. Yeah, watch and Saturdays
and Sundays is for for for the Browns.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
So your dad, uh was a professional boxer. I learned
about that and he had an eleven year career as
a middleweight boxer. So how much boxing did you do
in the basement with your dad?
Speaker 4 (13:10):
A little bit? My dad. My dad rocked me one
time and I was like, nah, that was it. I think.
I think.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
I think football and basketball and baseball my avenue. I'm
gonna stick over there. But my dad, it was. It
was always cool because my dad always give me the
freedom just to kind of do whatever I want in
the sports bram and he never pushed boxing onto me.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
I tried it though I had to. Yeah, but it
was me.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
How old were you when he rocked you?
Speaker 4 (13:35):
I was like eleven, you know you can. I'm eleven,
you know, physical year kid. I was a big kid.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
I was doing all the little basketball term and football stuff,
and I was the best.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
I'm like, no, I could beat my grown adult father.
I could beat with all these kids. Why could I
not beat my dad? It didn't work?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Story.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Do you think you inherited like the hands you know,
the hand fighting that you do?
Speaker 4 (13:59):
Think?
Speaker 3 (14:00):
I think I think I think he's given me some
some good forwork and good handspeed and that coordination.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
So shout out to Pops with that.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
You mentioned, uh, you mentioned a couple of times basketball,
you said baseball. Were you three sport athlete? Really good
athlete and all the sports I was?
Speaker 4 (14:14):
I was? I played.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
I saw playing baseball middle school because basketball and football
is the more popular thing to do.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
But yeah, I I was the sport up in high school.
I was still sport yep.
Speaker 5 (14:23):
And and did you have like was basketball? Was football
was your first love?
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Like?
Speaker 5 (14:27):
How did you look at those two?
Speaker 3 (14:28):
It was like football first and then basketball crept in
and took over and then I wanted to be a
Hooper for real, and then the.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Scholarships came from football. I was like, I love football
anyway still too, so I'm ride on.
Speaker 5 (14:40):
With the scholarships made that decision easy.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
Yeah, it definitely did.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
I understand.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
You also have two older brothers, Darren Deontae, and there's
kind of a big age gap there.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
From what I undered, a huge age gap. What's how much?
Speaker 4 (14:52):
Fourteen and fourteen and eleven?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (14:54):
All right, so so you had it rough kind of
growing up. Dad's a boxer. Older bros that are beating
up little bro.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
Older bro, grand okay, grand bros. Grand.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
But from what I understand, they didn't take it easy
on you though, even though you were the younger, not little,
but younger.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
One.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Yeah, my brothers to whoop me like we played a game.
My brother would beat me one hundred to zero in
a football game. Remorse and mad, Yeah, no, remorse, I
cry And he keep doing it every week until I
got older.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
And then you know that changed and all that kind
of shape you and that that kind of that toughness
we were talking about it.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
Yeah, that definitely did.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Having older friends and then having way older brothers, it
definitely will strain you up a little bit.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
So I dug up this quote.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
This is from Deontay and this is when he was
watching you at your pro day and he said big
and aggressive. We watched him a lot when he was young.
Our parents' work nights, so we would watch him at night,
but he would be awake and aggressive at all times.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Explained we were.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
I don't I don't know, I don't remember, to be honest,
because my brother was My brother said that, and then
they would have their friends from like who are like
my brother said, they're all in their forties now, yeah,
and they will be like, man, when you're a little boy,
you're just be so tough and aggressive.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
You to do this and do that break this break
that I'm like, I don't remember, but I believe you
because I heard it.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Like every time I see one of my brother's friends
who I don't know, but they remember me, they always
said the same thing, Wow, wilding out lot kid, And
I remember being like like later elementary and while not
but I've been doing this as Tyler.
Speaker 5 (16:28):
H Well, I think that you'll bring some of that
aggression with you to a Sundays game against Steelers. I
will about that awesome. Well, thank you appreciate yoall you're
listening to the last podcast we're coming to you from
the Sea Geek Studio. We want to mention our partners
with Draft King Sportsbook. They are an official sports betting
partner of the Baltimore Ravens Draft King Sportsbook. The Crown
is yours well big thanks to Draymont. I think that
(16:50):
we talked about it with him. He's just fitting so
well here, both him and a Lohi Gilman, Like, those
are two trades that helped the team, like from a
schematic standpoint and by bringing good play. But I also
think fit wise, like there's something that's hard to quantify
when you're talking about bringing guys in from other teams,
and it's how they're gonna fit. It's how they're gonna
fit personality wise, how they're gonna fit schematically.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Yeah, and it doesn't always happen right like sometimes they
sometimes it's a bad fit.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
Sometimes you get someone here and for whatever reason, it
doesn't feel like the fit is right for these two players.
I think the fit has been perfect. And I made
this point before with Draymond Jones, Like I go back
to the trade deadline and everyone was saying, are you
gonna make a move, You're gonna make a move, You're
gonna make a move, and people kind of glossed over
his addition. I felt like, and it turned out to
be a great trade, great addition, And he's fit this
(17:35):
team in so many ways. And I think he's gonna
be a huge player down the stretch.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Absolutely, And he'll be a big player here Sunday in
against Pittsburgh. I mean, like we said, he's kind of
made for this rivalry, the physicality and all that stuff.
Being an Ohio guy, he's kind of used to it.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
He knows AFC North Football. Yeah, you grew up watching it.
I mean like he went to Ohio State. He knows
rivalry games Ohio State in Michigan, Like you're there're certainly
an understand of what goes into these types of matchups.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
Yep.
Speaker 5 (18:02):
And I think he's going to fit in perfectly in
this game.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
So it's a battle for first place, as we talked
about in our last episode, both teams six and six,
and I have gotten the vibe all week that everybody
knows the stakes. You don't have to remind anybody all
that stuff. You know, the struggles of both teams leading
up to this point, that all is in the rear
view year it's all about this Ravens Steelers rivalry and
(18:28):
winning on Sunday.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
Absolutely look like this. The Ravens have the opportunity to
put themselves in the driver's seat for the AFC North
And like, at the start of the season, what's the goal, Well,
the goal was to win the division first and foremost,
win the division and then go from there, like, of course,
you want to be undefeated, you want to win every game,
but like, realistically, the goal as a starting point is
(18:50):
to win the division. And the first twelve weeks of
the season haven't gone the way that the Ravens would
have preferred in an ideal scenario. But they still have
a really good shot to win the division. But that
shot looks a lot different if you don't win this game.
And that's one of the things that's most interesting about
that is that whoever wins this game really just has control.
(19:11):
They have the driver's seat, and the percentages change pretty dramatically.
Aaron Schatz had a pretty interesting tweet about that. Basically,
it goes from if you win this game, you got
like a seventy five percent chance of winning the division,
and whoever wins the game has basically a seventy five
percent chance of winning the division from here on out,
So the Ravens obviously want to be the one that
(19:31):
gets that victory.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Yeah, I think this is not a good matchup for
the Steelers. I think that you know, they've been struggling
all offensively. They throw more short passes than any team
in the league. The Ravens, with Kyle Hamilton and his
kind of revised role since the Loohi arrived, have really
been among the best defense in the league, cracking down
(19:53):
on short passes. You know, I think that the recipe
for the Ravens, and what this is really going to
key in on, is can they stop the Steelers rushing
attack that has been kind.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Of their strength.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Now they're twenty eighth in the league ninety three point
eight yards, but Jalen Warren is a tough runner gainwell
has been pretty good for them. Like, you got to
tackle those guys. You have to have a good tackling
game and of course play physical against the Steelers to
kind of slow up this offense.
Speaker 5 (20:19):
Well, our friend of londreymid Jones is gonna have a
huge role in slowing down that run game. I think
that like the Steelers also, it's part of their identity
good defense, run the football. Like that's like when you
think about the Pittsburgh Steelers, we're probably gonna be saying
those same two things about this team fifty years from now.
So that's part of who they are. They commit to
the ground game, and yeah, you have you have to
(20:41):
slow that down, like they're the other piece with their offense.
There's a big question obviously with their offense is like
what's the health and the status of Aaron Rodgers. She's
playing with the cast on his left hand. Couldn't really
take couldn't take snaps under center last game. John Hardball said,
the Ravens will be prepared either way whether he can
take snaps under center or not. But he couldn't do
it last game, and he's just taking He's gotten beat
(21:04):
up over the past month of the season, and so
what kind of impact does that have on his ability
to orchestrate their entire offense.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Yeah, they're down their left tackle, you know, Broderck Jones,
they have and just Pete is stepping in there veterans,
so they're pretty banged up beyond Aaron Rodgers, but it's
still Aaron Rodgers, right, And like when Aaron Rodgers gets hot,
he can carve you up. And you know he's three
and oh as a starter against the Ravens. Not that
(21:32):
that history has much of a bearing on Sunday, but
like the Ravens know and we all know when you
see Aaron Rodgers and he's clicking, and like that's watching
the Steelers even this season.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Sometimes they can start to kind of piece together.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
And if Metcalf gets loose on you, another player, you
have to tackle him really well, big physical guy. If
you don't tackle him, he's like Derrick henry S side
of a tackle.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
You can take it to the house.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
He can take it to the house.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Yeah, And so like they have this, you know, they
have playmakers that can beat you. And Aaron Rodgers spends
it as well as anybody. So the Ravens need to
get pressure on him, make things uncomfortable, shut down that
rushing attack like we talked about. And I think if
they do those things, they should be in pretty good
shape defensively.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Now.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
Of course, the other big injury point for the Ravens
is the status to quarterback Lamar Jackson. He practiced on Wednesday,
which everyone was excited about. He was a limited participant
with an ankle injury over the past month. Really, he
has not typically been practicing on Wednesdays, and he's dealt
with a variety of injuries, so getting him on the
practice field on Wednesday was a good thing. The flip
side of that is that he was not on the
practice field on Thursday. So not sure the exact severity
(22:38):
of that ankle injury or what the story is there,
but we know that he did not practice on Thursday,
and of course Friday will be pretty telling in terms
of his status and his availability at practice on Friday afternoon.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
It's now four straight weeks that Lamar Jackson has not
had a full week of practice, and you know what
influence does practice have on how ready you are to
play in the game, Like some you know, I mean,
they practice for a reason. So it's not good, Yeah,
missing this much practice one every week, and so don't
(23:10):
like the fact that he's not there on the practice
field on Thursday.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
But we'll see.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Obviously, if he doesn't play can't play, then Tyler Huntley
would be the Ravens starter against the Steelers.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
The other big note on the injury front for the
Ravens is Nate Wiggins. He went down with the injury,
missed the second half of a game against the Bengals.
He practiced on Wednesday, practice again on Thursday, So it's
encouraging to see him stacking practices and again we'll see
what his final injury destination is. He's dealing with the
foot injury. But when he went down, I think you
just start worrying big time your number one corner leaves
(23:42):
the game, doesn't return, You're you're you're concerned.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Ye.
Speaker 5 (23:45):
So the fact that he was back on the practice
field right away this week, I think is encouraging, and
again we'll see what his status is for Sunday.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Travis Jones is not also did not practice on Thursday,
so that's another one to monitor.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Ye.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
You look at like the big picture of this game,
and Kyle Brant from Good Morning for Ball kind of
had a monologue about that this week, and a lot
of the things that you could say about the Ravens
you could also say about the Steelers. I think that
both teams are really good when their backs are against
the wall. They come out swinging and they and they
and they tend to play some of their best football
when the pressure's on.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Both coming off pretty rough losses.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
Right, and so Kyle Kyle Brandt's monologue was basically, everything
looks to be going wrong. The boo Boods were out
in Pittsburgh on Sunday against Buffalo. They're booing renegade. There's
all this conversation amongst you know, former players weighing in
on the on the state of the team and all
this stuff. But Kyle Brandt's point was, despite all that,
I think they're going to go win.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Now.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
I hope Kyle's wrong, don't get me wrong here, but
I think that the point is is the point has
merit and that I think the Steelers are a team
that when their backs are against the wall, they come
out swinging, and the Ravens have to be prepared for that.
And I think you can't.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Count the Steelers that you just can't count You can
never Yeah, you can never count them out.
Speaker 5 (24:52):
And I think that's the same thing for the Ravens.
The Ravens feel like their backs are against the wall
and they need to come out swinging. So like both
of these teams are are I think.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Both came into the season with higher expectations. The Steelers
made a lot of offseason moves. They kind of shook
things up and got aggressive this offseason to try to
get over the hump of what has been really they've
been hovering around five hundred for the past several years.
They've been kind of, you know, mediocre in terms of
final results.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
They shook it up.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
They went and got Aaron Rodgers, They made the big
you know, they traded George Pickens, who's been awesome in Dallas,
and brought in DK Metcalf. You know, they traded Minka
Fitzpatrick out, got Jalen Ramsey and so like, they they
made some moves to try to say, all right, we
got to get over the hump. And quite frankly, like
they got ran over by the Ravens and knocked out
(25:40):
of the playoffs last year. And that resonated with Mike Tomlin.
He was very clear about that that, like he lost
sleep this offseason because of that game. Well and how
the Ravens just bullied him in the playoffs. So they're
going to come in here with a point to prove.
Now the Ravens do too. The Ravens have not met
expectations of what we all thought coming into the season.
They're feeling very much the same way of like we
(26:02):
got to put it all together in all three phases
for the first time this season, and so like both
of these teams are kind of in similar positions in
my eye.
Speaker 5 (26:11):
You mentioned that playoff loss in Mike Thomlins comments that
extended to what they did in the draft. They went
and they got Derek Harmon, big defensive tackle out of Oregon,
and Mike Tomlins said on draft weekend they basically started
thinking on the bus on the way to the airport
after the game, how do we need to change this team?
And what they came up with was they needed to
get bigger upfront on the defensive side so that they
(26:34):
could prevent that on.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
The problem is Derek Krmon's not playing exactly now.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
Derek Carmon's not playing in that in this game because
he's been hurt from match of the season.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Patrick Queen is also banged up, like the Steelers are
much more banged up than the Ravens are entering this game.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
But my point is that game really did shape their
approach this offseason and the identity of their team. And
even though again. Derek Carmon is not going to play
in this game. The Steelers went down the path of
reshaping the roster to try to compete with the Ravens
based off what happened in that game.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Well, I can take you into the Steelers meeting rooms
this week. Mike Tomlin is reminding them, I am sure
of that playoff loss and this is Raven Steelers always
comes down to, and you hear it from both sides,
who is more physical, And I am sure Mike Tomlin
has been beating that drum this week of they came
(27:22):
out here and ran us over in the playoffs, they
ran us out of their stadium. We're gonna let that
happen again, right, you know? So, like both these teams
are going to and the Ravens are going to match
that physicality and and honestly like it's it's gonna be
a hard hitting game.
Speaker 5 (27:36):
Out there, oh what it always is. And the my
take on that is, yes, it is a super physical game.
And whoever ends up winning the battle of the trenches
and who out physicals the other like that goes a
long way in determining it. I actually think the biggest
thing in determining who ends up winning this game is
going to be who can make the least mistakes and protect.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
The football well.
Speaker 5 (27:55):
And that's that's what costs the Ravens against the against
the Bengals last week with five turnovers.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
I said, this is I think the Ravens are a
tough matchup for the Steelers on paper in many ways,
and when you throw in the health factor and all that,
I think that the Ravens are in good position. However,
the way the Steelers win football games is by getting
you to make mistakes. They drag you into the mud, right,
and they get you to make mistakes. They play clean football,
(28:23):
and that's how they win a lot of games ugly
and they don't whatever. They'll win ugly whatever. They don't care, right,
that's like been the Steelers mo. And so they're looking
at the Ravens saying, this team just turned the ball
over five times. How many times are we gonna rip
it away from Yeah?
Speaker 5 (28:37):
Oh, you know they're gonna be punching at that football
and them.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Oh goodness, yes. And so the Ravens ball security. I
was happy to see individual drills this week start with
ball security drills.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
But the tight ends, that's what they were doing.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
And so the Ravens have to protect the football and
play clean football against the Steelers because that's what they
want to do. That's what they live and thrive off of,
is getting that ball away from you to with TJ.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Watt and all those guys, and.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
So the Ravens, I think if the Ravens can take
care of the football and not be dragged into the
mud that way in a sloppy game, then I think
they have a pretty good chance of winning.
Speaker 5 (29:12):
You go back and look at the Ravens Steelers games
over the last five years. In situations where the Ravens
have lost, it's it's generally coincided with turnovers and mistakes
and just not protecting the football and key moments. And
so I think that that same that same dialogue is
going to apply this game. And one of the ways
that the Steelers have been so good a forcing turnovers
(29:33):
is t J. Watt coming around the edge. Herbig's really
good coming around the edge. But you don't you need
to avoid third and eight situations and making it a
just clear drop back passing game. The Ravens need to
get the run game rolling in this game. They were
able to do it in that playoff game. I'm sure
that's going to be just like it's on the forefront
of Steelers' minds. I'm sure that that approach is going
(29:55):
to be on the forefront of the Ravens coaches minds
about how do you attack the Steelers and they need
to get that running game established with Derrick Henry and
then sprinkling in Keith Mitchell and Rashin a Li.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Absolutely, I think it's gonna be a fun game at
MPT Banks Tnium. We honestly cannot wait.
Speaker 5 (30:10):
Well, it's also fitting that this game is going to
be well, we're recognizing members of the Super Bowl thirty
five team coming back for a Super Bowl reunion. They're
going to be recognized this game, and it's going to
be really exciting to have those guys in the building
celebrated pregame festivities. Make sure you're out on Ravens Walk
before the game around eleven forty five, because that's the
Super Bowl team is going to march down Ravens Walk
(30:32):
into the stadium, so it's going to be really cool
to see those guys. There's also going to be pregame
reconditions as well as a halftime ceremony, so we cannot
wait for all the fun this weekend. Again, it's one
o'clock Sunday, Raven Steelers, thank you so much for watching
and for listening, and we will see you after that
game on Sunday against Pittsburgh
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