April 1, 2025 • 26 mins
NFL Network's Judy Battista and Mike Garafolo join team insiders Garrett Downing and Clifton Brown to talk about what they expect from the Ravens in 2025, John Harbaugh's contract extension, Lamar Jackson's next step (and contract), the DeAndre Hopkins addition, and much more.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome into the Lounge podcast presented by DraftKings. I'm Garrett Downey,
joined by Clifton Brown, and today we're so excited today
to be joined by Judy Watista from the NFL Network
and an NFL insider here in Judy. I'm just we're
at the owners meetings and as we said, the stage
here for the Ravens going into this season. Cliff and
I wanted to get your perspective from a national view.
You have such a good feel for the league as
(00:25):
a whole when you look at the Ravens. What stands out?
What do you think about this team?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Lamar Jackson, It's a good answer. The first thing that
pops into my head. I feel like, I mean, I
feel like they're right there. Every year. I always think
like every year I'm going to be at a playoff game,
probably in Baltimore, and it's just a question of can
they get the final you know, that final little step.
But I just feel like, listen, I remember when I
(00:53):
was at the New York Times a long time ago,
but like I remember writing a story about the organization
and like how consists didn't it was? It was mostly
about Ozzie Newsome at the time, and obviously it has
continued with Eric, but it's just continually uh top level
and always right there. And I think, like for most organizations,
like you probably can't ask for anythingmore.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
You mentioned Lamar right off the top. You know, he
almost won his third MVPs. I've been in Baltimore the
precinct came in for Lamary. Just wanted to get your
opinion on what you thought about the MVP bas and
who you would have voted for in last.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Year, right, So I don't have a vote, I listen.
I think I thought you could have made arguments for
several Lamar, Josh Allen. I think Choe Burrow had an
insane season. If the defensive played better, you could have
made a really strong argument for him. I was surprised
it was not Lamar, mostly because if you're the first
(01:54):
team All Pro, you are almost always the MVP is
the quarterback. So I was surprised by the split of
the vote there, don't I don't really know. I didn't
really talk to people who were voters and asked, like,
what why just split the vote? Like what happened there? Listen?
I mean, Josh Allen is obviously deserving. He had a
great season. I think probably why people veered toward Josh
(02:19):
Allen here. I think there's probably some of the like, well,
Lamar's already gotten too, he'll probably win more. He's almost
certainly gonna win again, at least one more, maybe more
than that. So that's one thing Josh had never won one.
And I think there was also a perception last season
in particular that the Bills had less around him than
(02:39):
Ravens had around Lamar, Right, I mean, Lamar had Derrick Henry,
but he's insane. So I think there was sort of that, well,
you should reward Josh Allen for, you know, doing it
with less than Lamar. Yeah, I'm as I was explaining
to you on the lookover. I'm glad I don't have
(03:00):
about it. I've been in a level park.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Yes, it's it's a tough assignment. You know when when
you mention, you mentioned stability with the organization, and that's
stability has been in place with John Harbaugh. I mean
Ozz he knws him of course, and then Eric and
and now and now John finished his seventeenth season, just
got a contract extension to three more years on top
of the year that he already had and so it's
(03:25):
going to take it past twenty years his contract, which
is almost never happened crazy in the NFL. Well, what
stands out to you about the way that he's been
able to lead this team and the consistency that he's brought.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
What I think he does so well is he keeps
things steady, right, Like he is a really steady personality
through ups and downs. Obviously there have been controversies, there
are quite a few years ago now, but like they
you know, he's he keeps things steady, and I think
he does a really good job of sort of probably
(03:59):
for him, but certainly for the organization, like keeping the
noise on the edges and focusing on the football. Look
and I mean obviously he's got very good players to
work with, but I mean that, you know, to be
able to perform at a top level in the NFL
year after year after year. And I know fans look
at Super Bowls, right and you want the title, but
(04:21):
to be able to be in it year after year
after year is is really difficult. I mean to go
to the just to look at the Patriots, Like obviously
the Patriots won a lot of Super Bowls, but to me,
one of the things that the Patriots was so amazing
about them is that, like they were in the AFC
Championship game like every year, so to be in the playoffs,
(04:42):
to have so many wins, to host playoff games year
after year after year, it's really hard, and I think
John makes it look effortless. It's certainly not effortless. But
what I've always admired about him is that he's just
really steady, really flatling.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
You mentioned that Derek and we had a pretty.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
Go for good.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
I mean, he we're right, we were all talking about
could he be the MVP early in the first half
of the season.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Right right, and now this off season the Raids there
DeAndre Hopkins. Yeah, I'm just curious about your perception of
the Ravens being able to be a contender but seemingly
able to add pieces.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
That they need along the way.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
How difficult is an hour and propress on you by
the fact that even though they already know they're a
good team, they never stop trying to make pieces.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
So we uh. I sat down with John harpa earlier
in this meeting for some future reporting, but we talked
aboutd hop and he said, like, finally he said this
feels like finally they you know, they've been looking at
him for a long time, He's been looking at them
for a long time. Finally they're going to get to
work together, which was sort of the same thing about
Derrek Henry, right, like, finally this marriage we all thought
(05:50):
should happen is happening. Listen, That's what good organizations do, right.
The Kansas City Chiefs seemed to do that too, like
the if you look at the reef Ands Rouster like
they don't have This has not been a very active
free agency, which is and I know that may drive
some people nuts, but like that means you don't have
any glaring holes you have to fill. Like that's a
good thing, right. You kept Ronnie Stanley, that was the
(06:12):
big one. D Hop is a piece. I think he's
an important piece, even though he's older. First of all,
he brings some veteran experience to what is an otherwise
pretty young receiver room. And he's obviously a reliable weapon.
And to me, when you have a quarterback like Lamar Jacks,
any of these top top quarterbacks, like your whole job
(06:35):
as an organization is to put as much as you
can around him whatever he needs to keep adding pieces,
whether it's on the offensive line, the receivers are running
back who can take some of the load off. That's
your organization's job. And I think to do that two
years in a row with Derrick Henry and now de
Hop and we'll see what they do in the draft.
Like I think that's why again they cheap. You can't
(06:58):
be static in the NFL, but you will. You're losing
ground if you're staying the same in the NFL. And
so I think to keep adding pieces. And look, de
Hoop is again, he's older. Now he's not going to
be you know, he's not a two thousand yard receiver,
but he will play a role and he will be
a reliable target.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
I'm curious when you look at the AFC North Ravens
have won two straight AFC North championships and.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Also really hard in a brutal division. Yeah, I mean
it's really hard division.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Yeah, no doubt what you what do you make the
division in the Ravens prospects of three pt in the division?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Yeah, I think their prospects are pretty good. So much
depends obviously on I mean, we don't even know who
the Stewlers quarterback is going to be so who knows.
And we don't know what the Cleveland Browns quarterback is
going to be, so who knows? Uh. I think their
prospects are really good. They are the most complete team
in the division. The Bengals are a very very good
(07:54):
offensive team, if they can get past their slow starts,
which so much of that has been because of Joe
Burrow's health. He's healthy now, assuming he stays healthy going
into the season. You but think they would not start
slow this year. If they don't start slowly, that's a
different team than what we've seen in the last few years.
They've made changes on the defense too. I mean, so
(08:15):
you don't know what that's going to look like. But
they I think as long as Burrow and Chase and
how Higgins are or unit that's going to they're going
to be a dangerous team. Again, you don't know what
the Steelers. The Steelers have a really good defense, but
you have no idea. Is it Aaron Rodgers, is it
somebody else? Who knows? We'll see If it's Aaron Rodgers,
what does he have left? You know, which Aaron Rodgers
(08:36):
are you getting? And I mean Cleveland, I you know,
you just don't know at all. What's going to happen there.
It's obviously not going to beat to Sean Watson. Jimmy
has One said that as much yesterday, so it's not
We're not going to see to Sean Watson ever again there.
So I think there's significant questions about the other teams anyway,
and the Ravens are I think, continuing to add pieces
(08:56):
and that's what they should be doing. So I would say, yeah,
answer is I said they have a pretty good chance
for Peter.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Yeah, you talked about you know, the rave is always
being there and in Baltimore.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
I think now that's all is what is the secret
to getting over the right?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
That seems to be the question everyone wants to know
asking you that question, What do you think?
Speaker 4 (09:18):
What do you think it is?
Speaker 3 (09:19):
There's something I'm just curious get someone else's point of
view who's kind of step.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
Away from him.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Man, I don't know. I mean, first of all, you've
all got to be healthy at the right time, which
they were, but that has been an issue in the past,
right that maybe they haven't been at peak health at
the end of the season. That's a big heck. I mean,
I don't know, you know, I mean the Chiefs are
the Chiefs, and you know, I think people think that
the Chiefs have regressed because of the way the season
(09:46):
ended against the Eagles, and it's like I would be
careful about writing off the Chiefs. They're still getting there.
Patrick Mahoons is still there, Andy Reid is still a coach.
Like they're not going anywhere.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
You know.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
I think part of this it is just just exactly
what happened when Tom Brady was in New England. Right,
you are in a conference with an all time, all
time great and you've got to get past that. And
we saw that, you know, the AFC struggle with that
for years with Brady and Belichick there, and you've just
(10:19):
got to break through. I do think that the one
thing if you're an AFC team and you watch the
Super Bowl, you know, you saw again the two Super
Bowls that the Chiefs have lost have been because they
have been able to get to Mahomes consistently. Right, the
offensive line has not held up, and you've got to
be able to get him down or carass him. That's
(10:39):
the formula figure out how to do it. But mostly
I think that there's just a lot of luck at involved.
Like it's there's an awful lot of skill involved in
the NFL, but like everything has to come together at
the right moment.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Well, last one for me, Judy, you go to games
all over the country, you watch every team in the league.
When you get your assignment for the week and you're
going to a Ravens game, and you know, you get
to watch Lamar Jackson play. Like, what is the first
thing you started the conversation of one.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Yes, I get to watch Lamar play. That's exactly what.
That's exactly. First of all, I should start by saying that,
like I grew up in South Florida, and so I've
been paying attention to Lamar's career because he's a South
Florida guy, and like he literally like played in a
park in pomp and Hoop each that's not that far
from where I grew up. And so I'm just I
sort of feel like, you know, we sort of joke
(11:27):
in the family like it's our cousin, Lamar Jackson. I
feel bonded to him. I mean, that's exactly. But I
think when I get that sound like awes it. I
got to watch Lamar great. And also it's a really
easy trip for New.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Organ short trip. It's perfect.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Two for two, hop on the train, everything's great.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
Yeah, two for two.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
That's one for me too. Kind of we late guess
coming to M and T Bank Stadium. In the atmosphere there,
particularly for night games, you've expected and you go everywhere.
What's it like they're going to a Raven's game.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
It's right. I love they've done that the Ravens walk thing,
because I if I can, I will stay in downtown
and walk to the gate. Sorry, and she just bank
the microphone and walk. And I think that's like just
a that's a fun atmosphere, right when the fans are
out there on the food trucks and music and like,
it's just a cool atmosphere. It's a great atmosphere for
a night game. It's a great atmosphere for a one
(12:19):
o'clock game too. It's just a cool atmosphere and obvious. Listen,
I love downtown stadiums anyway. I love stadiums that are
in the city. I love that it's next to Camden Yards.
I like that you can walk. I like the people
are around around town. You know, you see people that
night before out of the restaurants. It's just a cool setting.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
It's great, awesome, Well, we really appreciate the time.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Thank you so much. My pleasure sign here. Thanks you too.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Welcome back into the lounge. We are coming to you
from the sea Geek Cudio. We also want to mention
our partners at Draft King sports Book. They are an
official sports betting partner at the Baltimore Ravens Draft King
Sports Book. The crown is yours so big. Thanks to
Judy for joining us. You guys are old New York
Times college right.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Correct, work together for a long time there. Great writer,
great person and really has tremendous insight I think on
the entire NFL.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
Yeah, I enjoyed getting her kind of ten thousand foot
of view of where this team is. And it's clear
that she feels like and this is a common theme
here that there's just this model of consistency and stability
that the Ravens are and the expectation is to be
right back in the thick of.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
It, right, and that's where you want to be. I mean,
you don't want to be one of those teams. It
has all these questions marks. Even though it is early
a few months left before we even get the training camp,
the better, more questions you can answer early on the better.
And yeah, I think it's taken for granted sometimes that
the Ravens are one of those teams that in the
offseason seems to not have tremendous holes of fields. They
(13:46):
can target certain areas. They're obviously always trying to upgrade
a roster. But as John Harbaugh said a few days ago,
can we can play a game tomorrow if we had to?
Speaker 4 (13:56):
We feel pretty good about it.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
And yeah, the NFL divided to me the kind of
two countries, teams that have a quarterback they.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Know they can win with and teams that don't.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
And when you have a quarterback like Lamar Jackson that
you know you can win with, then that puts you
way ahead of the game and where you're like the
varying against teams that do not.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Well, Look, we're walking around here and you see owners
and you see gms, and you see coaches, and for
the owners and coaches and gms that have one of
those quarterbacks, I just think it's it's a much better feeling,
and everybody else it doesn't. There they're on the hunt,
they're looking for somebody, and you can be in the
wilderness for a long time if you don't have that.
And the Ravens have been so steady at quarterback and
(14:37):
I think that we, honestly co probably take it for
granted to go from Flacco to Lamar and have that
run that this team has been on with these quarterbacks.
So Ravens are in a really good place. And along
the same lines here are also caught up with Mike
gharrifollow from the NFL Network When did you do these
colleagues there? And wanted to get his perspective just on
this team as well, And so we're gonna go ahead
and roll that interview right here the Rayvers fans. I'm
(15:00):
here with Mike yarro Follo from the NFL Network and
we are here at the annual league meetings at West
Palm Beach. Mike's got the shades on, you know, in
the Florida vibes right here. So just for you, as
if you look at the Ravens, what's your big picture
view of this team this offseason?
Speaker 4 (15:14):
Look, it's a team.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
You know.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
I say this when I go to Ravens training camp.
It's because you go to training camp you're so positive
about every team because nobody's lost the game yet, right,
and nobody's injured, and you look across and as every
team's got talent. So it's always great to go to
Ravens camp though, because you can say those things and
know you're not gonna be made to look silly because
it's going to be a competitive team. It's going to
be most likely a playoff team. And the way that
John Harball has them ready every single year. You look
(15:38):
at the roster this year and it's like, well, why
would that not still be the case this upcoming season?
Being able to bring some talent back, add some other
pieces as well. That Dehandre Hopkins won obviously a big one.
It's always going to be a good mix of veteran
and young talent, and I think they've done a great
job of that again this year.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Well, you mentioned John Harball. Just before these meetings started,
the team announced extatch with him, three year kind extension.
How big is it to get that deal done? And
what does that say about him is for the ten
year that he's had in this league in Baltimore.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
Yeah, listen, you come to these events and it's combine
of the league meeting and I'll be frank with you,
the last extension he did Before this one, there were
rumblings of people saying, like you want watch hardball, like
that could be an opening. He could be headed elsewhere
and blah blah. And then he did an extension and
the same thing kind of came up recently. It's like
watch watch out for that one could be like you know,
(16:28):
Andy Reid was at in Philly and like needed a reset,
like you run, you run, your your your course and
once it and it's time to move another extension for
three years because it's a great working relationship.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (16:39):
It's a guy that, certainly, Steve Bushatti understands what he
has in a head coach, a guy that's done a
great job of hiring assistant coaches for the vision that
he wants on both sides of the football throughout his
entire tenure. He's just a terrific head coach. Why would
you not extend him? And the fact that he agreed
to it and wants to be around great sign there
as well.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Well.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
You talk about contract extensions, He's talked in his time
with the media, say about a potential contract extension for
Lamar Jackson. So there's been internal dialogue. So you're keeping
this core in place here the partnership here with the
head coach and the quarterback. You know, potential extension with
Lamar is what are you hearing on that? And the
potential there?
Speaker 4 (17:15):
Did me just do this?
Speaker 5 (17:17):
I can't believe we're back here already asking these questions before. Yeah,
but you know you do these deals. Look, Josh Allen
just did it, right. I mean, he did a deal.
It was a great deal at the time, and the
cap exploded and the quarterback market exploded, and it's hard
to sit there at a number and say, why are
these guys in the sixties now right? Why are these
(17:39):
guys all the way up there? And I understand if
Lamar feels that way, and I understand if Lamar fields,
he should be the highest paid quarterback in the league.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
And it's only gonna get higher.
Speaker 5 (17:47):
I mean, we're gonna get brock Purty coming up here
for this forty nine ers this offseason. And if you
look at where he slotted based on the percentage of
the way I like to do it is when the
quarterback did his deal, what percentage of the salary cap
did he eat up per year with his deal? It's
anywhere from twenty to twenty five percent Joe Burrow I
think was on the high end. Jared Goff was on
(18:09):
the low end of twenty percent. Twenty percent of the
salary cap right now is in the high fifties. That's
over all these guys, Jalen Hurts and Lamar and Trevor
Lawrence and Joe Burrow, like Brock, Perty's gonna be at both.
And I know what they're gonna say, that guy was
the last pick.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
In the draft. I gotta be up above him.
Speaker 5 (18:27):
I've you know, had more sustained success than him. It's
his time to get that, and he deserves it and
he will, and I think there's gonna be a chain reaction.
So a lot of times if you want to be
aggressive and get ahead of it right and say well,
let's do it now before that gets done, because that's
only going to raise the price as well as some
other ones that are being done as well. So you know,
Lamar deserves it, he's shown it. I think it'll get
(18:49):
done at some point. And the I said we just
did this. He doesn't have an agent, right, So that's
Alway's gonna make it a little bit tougher to read it, yeah,
because he's keeping everything to himself and its communication between
him and Eric da Costa.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
And that's good, that's fair.
Speaker 5 (19:03):
I think they did a great job of that the
first time around, of making sure that they had the
respect for Lamar. We're going to keep these conversations private.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
They did a great job of that.
Speaker 5 (19:11):
I expect that to happen again.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Harball talk today just about the belief that it's a
matter of when, not if, for Lamar to win a
Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
And obviously the Ravens have.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Been knocking on the door, have been right there. What
in your mind is, as you look at this team
and you have such a good feel for the league
as a whole, what does it take for the team
to make that next step to get to that Super
Bowl with Lamar and ultimately win that Lombardi.
Speaker 5 (19:33):
Look, a lot of people are going to tell you,
oh that the style of player, the style of offense
that can't win.
Speaker 4 (19:37):
They can win. They can win, and they.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Just haven't made some crucial plays. And sometimes we as
the media say, oh man, how long is the offseason?
You know how long this offseason must feel to Mark
Andrews and how much he wants to get back on
that field to show you what he is what he's
capable of, what he can do for this team, and
what he can do in clutch spots, what he has
done in clutch spots before. So I expect him to
(20:01):
come with a chip on the shoulder that helps. I'm
good with that. I'm good if Mike all pro tight
end throughout his career with US, has more to prove
this upcoming season. So I think it's gonna be a
little things like that DeAndre Hopkins coming in and say
I'm gonna help this team get over the hump as well.
I think those are the things that you need. You're
gonna need your veterans to kind of carry you at
that moment and continue to rely on your on your
(20:21):
youth to be the spark that keeps you moving in
the right direction as well. So it's just a matter
of making the plays at the right time. It hasn't happened.
It's not for lack of coaching and lack of preparation.
It's just tough to win in the playoffs in this league.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
And you talk about the offense, and this is the
team overall veteran leaders, Ronnie. The rate the Ravens typically
do business is they keep their own guys, and Royne
Stanley is a player, former first round pick. He's done
multiple deals with the Ravens. They work out the long
term extension with him to keep him in Baltimore, and
Hardball talked today about how he's a legacy type player
in Baltimore and he's one of those guys that's been
there for this, for this run. How big was this
(20:57):
to keep him in Baltimore and knowing that he obviously
could have had a lot of suitors out there.
Speaker 5 (21:01):
Oh, he had a ton of suitors. He was gonna
have a ton of interest, and who knows what he
could have wind up making, But it was more important
to him to get a fair deal and to be
with the team that he felt comfortable with it. He
feels like, probably the same way I can help, I
want to be here when this team gets over the
hump and finally wins that championship. So it was absolutely enormous,
not just from a schematic standpoint to get your left tackle.
(21:22):
We know the importance of having a left tackle you
can rely upon in this league, but also a guy
that has so much impact throughout the organization as well.
I thought them getting him. I was surprised I thought
I bought into the hype. I thought he was going
to hit the market and head elsewhere for big money
to get him done, even before the market open, if
I recall correctly, was just enormous.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Yeah, awesome. Well, we really appreciate the time. Enjoy the
rest of your week here in Florida. Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
We'll see you at training camp when I'll be talking
about the Ravens having a good twenty five season and feeling.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
Great about it.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
We'll remember this conversation there.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
Yeah, exactly, awesome, thanks man, Well.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Big thanks to Mike.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
And as you heard there, Cliff, I mean he talks
about the stability of the organization a lot of similar
themes to what we just had the conversation with Judy
there in terms of the stability of the organization, in
terms of horrball, and his leadership for this team in
terms of Lamar And I think that like the belief
and when you talk to different people around in the
media here, everyone's kind of saying the same thing. The
(22:18):
Ravens are expected to be a team that's right back
in the middle of this AFC playoff race, and the
question will be how you get over the hump and
how you define that and how you do that. No
one has like the magic answer for that, But the
Ravens are going to be in the mix. That's what
everyone thinks.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Right And also you know the fact that you can
keep doing that a year after year after year. I
think one thing to keep in mind is that you
cannot let whether you actually win the Super Bowl or
not carry over into the next year. It's a hard
thing to do, but I think the Ravens have been
very good at that that. Putting the last season behind them.
There's going to be a lot of talk about how
(22:53):
last season ended and how the Ravens are still on
that Super Bowl quest with Lamar. But every year is
so different and you have to approach it the same way.
And I was really impressed last year with the Ravens
after they started zero to two, how they responded that,
to me, showed a lot. How the defense responded late
in the season when it struggled early showed me a lot.
Speaker 4 (23:15):
That is resiliency.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
You have to have that if you're going to ultimately
win a championship. So the Ravens are going to come
into I believe, this season with just as much fire
and passion despite the disappoint any last year as they've
had any other year, and they obviously have the talent
to do it, so just a question to putting it together,
playing your foot best football when it matters most. But
(23:38):
you can't overlook the regular season first. I don't think
the Ravens are going to do.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
That now before we wrap today. Another big part of
these meetings are a business side of things, So of
course we focus on the football aspect of things, but
there's also the business side of things as well, and
one of the items that was announced this week is
that the Ravens have entered the NFL's Global Markets Program
for UK and so basically what that means is the
(24:02):
Ravens have marketing rights in the UK. It doesn't mean
that the Ravens are going to be playing there every
year or playing there more. But of course the NFL
is also talked about expanding the number of international games,
so there could be an expansion on that front overall
league wide. But basically this allows the Ravens to build
off what they've been able to do on those previous
two trips to the UK. I was on those trips.
(24:24):
I've seen the enthusiasm in the UK. We have a
great fan group over there, the UK Ravens, who are
passionate about this team and bring energy when we go
over there. We've actually done we've done live podcasts over there,
which has been really cool. It's one of my favorite
things we've actually ever done on the lounge. And I
can tell you from being over there, you just see
like this excitement in this enthusiasm and this hardcore fandom
(24:45):
and it's it's really really cool. So that's a big
thing that we're excited about.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
Yeah, I got to kick out of you know, the
trip to the lad trip to England that Lamar seemed
surprised that he had such a filew Yeah, internationally, but
he does the Ravens do. And it's clear clearly the
NFL fully intends to expand globally and this is just
part of that situation. I can envision a time not
too far in the future where you know, every team's
(25:11):
playing a game overseas at least, you know, once a year.
I can see that, you know, going to places they
haven't gone yet, and they're continuing to go to different places.
It's only going to expand the balls rolling in that direction.
It's great to the Ravens now being a team that
has star players and a consistent winner. That's the type
(25:31):
of team that's going to attract attention globally when these
trips are made. So yeah, it's just another indication that
the Ravens are going global.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Yeah, the game is growing, the NFL is growing, and
the Ravens are growing right there along with it. So
make sure you go ahead if you're if you're a
fan of the UK, make sure you follow us across
our new social media platforms and handles that we just
started up alongside part of this announcement on x on Instagram,
on Facebook. The handles are Ravens in UK, so make
(26:00):
sure you go ahead and check those out. We're gonna
have some fun content there that we're gonna be bringing
to you all throughout the year, so make sure you're
a gaining to follow those Ravens in UK. That's it
for us on the podcast here today. Thank you so
much for watching and listening. You can email us at
the lounge at Ravens dot NFL dot net and we
will be back with you again tomorrow
Welcome into the Lounge podcast presented by DraftKings. I'm Garrett Downey,
joined by Clifton Brown, and today we're so excited today
to be joined by Judy Watista from the NFL Network
and an NFL insider here in Judy. I'm just we're
at the owners meetings and as we said, the stage
here for the Ravens going into this season. Cliff and
I wanted to get your perspective from a national view.
You have such a good feel for the league as
(00:25):
a whole when you look at the Ravens. What stands out?
What do you think about this team?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Lamar Jackson, It's a good answer. The first thing that
pops into my head. I feel like, I mean, I
feel like they're right there. Every year. I always think
like every year I'm going to be at a playoff game,
probably in Baltimore, and it's just a question of can
they get the final you know, that final little step.
But I just feel like, listen, I remember when I
(00:53):
was at the New York Times a long time ago,
but like I remember writing a story about the organization
and like how consists didn't it was? It was mostly
about Ozzie Newsome at the time, and obviously it has
continued with Eric, but it's just continually uh top level
and always right there. And I think, like for most organizations,
like you probably can't ask for anythingmore.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
You mentioned Lamar right off the top. You know, he
almost won his third MVPs. I've been in Baltimore the
precinct came in for Lamary. Just wanted to get your
opinion on what you thought about the MVP bas and
who you would have voted for in last.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Year, right, So I don't have a vote, I listen.
I think I thought you could have made arguments for
several Lamar, Josh Allen. I think Choe Burrow had an
insane season. If the defensive played better, you could have
made a really strong argument for him. I was surprised
it was not Lamar, mostly because if you're the first
(01:54):
team All Pro, you are almost always the MVP is
the quarterback. So I was surprised by the split of
the vote there, don't I don't really know. I didn't
really talk to people who were voters and asked, like,
what why just split the vote? Like what happened there? Listen?
I mean, Josh Allen is obviously deserving. He had a
great season. I think probably why people veered toward Josh
(02:19):
Allen here. I think there's probably some of the like, well,
Lamar's already gotten too, he'll probably win more. He's almost
certainly gonna win again, at least one more, maybe more
than that. So that's one thing Josh had never won one.
And I think there was also a perception last season
in particular that the Bills had less around him than
(02:39):
Ravens had around Lamar, Right, I mean, Lamar had Derrick Henry,
but he's insane. So I think there was sort of that, well,
you should reward Josh Allen for, you know, doing it
with less than Lamar. Yeah, I'm as I was explaining
to you on the lookover. I'm glad I don't have
(03:00):
about it. I've been in a level park.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Yes, it's it's a tough assignment. You know when when
you mention, you mentioned stability with the organization, and that's
stability has been in place with John Harbaugh. I mean
Ozz he knws him of course, and then Eric and
and now and now John finished his seventeenth season, just
got a contract extension to three more years on top
of the year that he already had and so it's
(03:25):
going to take it past twenty years his contract, which
is almost never happened crazy in the NFL. Well, what
stands out to you about the way that he's been
able to lead this team and the consistency that he's brought.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
What I think he does so well is he keeps
things steady, right, Like he is a really steady personality
through ups and downs. Obviously there have been controversies, there
are quite a few years ago now, but like they
you know, he's he keeps things steady, and I think
he does a really good job of sort of probably
(03:59):
for him, but certainly for the organization, like keeping the
noise on the edges and focusing on the football. Look
and I mean obviously he's got very good players to
work with, but I mean that, you know, to be
able to perform at a top level in the NFL
year after year after year. And I know fans look
at Super Bowls, right and you want the title, but
(04:21):
to be able to be in it year after year
after year is is really difficult. I mean to go
to the just to look at the Patriots, Like obviously
the Patriots won a lot of Super Bowls, but to me,
one of the things that the Patriots was so amazing
about them is that, like they were in the AFC
Championship game like every year, so to be in the playoffs,
(04:42):
to have so many wins, to host playoff games year
after year after year, it's really hard, and I think
John makes it look effortless. It's certainly not effortless. But
what I've always admired about him is that he's just
really steady, really flatling.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
You mentioned that Derek and we had a pretty.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
Go for good.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
I mean, he we're right, we were all talking about
could he be the MVP early in the first half
of the season.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Right right, and now this off season the Raids there
DeAndre Hopkins. Yeah, I'm just curious about your perception of
the Ravens being able to be a contender but seemingly
able to add pieces.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
That they need along the way.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
How difficult is an hour and propress on you by
the fact that even though they already know they're a
good team, they never stop trying to make pieces.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
So we uh. I sat down with John harpa earlier
in this meeting for some future reporting, but we talked
aboutd hop and he said, like, finally he said this
feels like finally they you know, they've been looking at
him for a long time, He's been looking at them
for a long time. Finally they're going to get to
work together, which was sort of the same thing about
Derrek Henry, right, like, finally this marriage we all thought
(05:50):
should happen is happening. Listen, That's what good organizations do, right.
The Kansas City Chiefs seemed to do that too, like
the if you look at the reef Ands Rouster like
they don't have This has not been a very active
free agency, which is and I know that may drive
some people nuts, but like that means you don't have
any glaring holes you have to fill. Like that's a
good thing, right. You kept Ronnie Stanley, that was the
(06:12):
big one. D Hop is a piece. I think he's
an important piece, even though he's older. First of all,
he brings some veteran experience to what is an otherwise
pretty young receiver room. And he's obviously a reliable weapon.
And to me, when you have a quarterback like Lamar Jacks,
any of these top top quarterbacks, like your whole job
(06:35):
as an organization is to put as much as you
can around him whatever he needs to keep adding pieces,
whether it's on the offensive line, the receivers are running
back who can take some of the load off. That's
your organization's job. And I think to do that two
years in a row with Derrick Henry and now de
Hop and we'll see what they do in the draft.
Like I think that's why again they cheap. You can't
(06:58):
be static in the NFL, but you will. You're losing
ground if you're staying the same in the NFL. And
so I think to keep adding pieces. And look, de
Hoop is again, he's older. Now he's not going to
be you know, he's not a two thousand yard receiver,
but he will play a role and he will be
a reliable target.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
I'm curious when you look at the AFC North Ravens
have won two straight AFC North championships and.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Also really hard in a brutal division. Yeah, I mean
it's really hard division.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Yeah, no doubt what you what do you make the
division in the Ravens prospects of three pt in the division?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Yeah, I think their prospects are pretty good. So much
depends obviously on I mean, we don't even know who
the Stewlers quarterback is going to be so who knows.
And we don't know what the Cleveland Browns quarterback is
going to be, so who knows? Uh. I think their
prospects are really good. They are the most complete team
in the division. The Bengals are a very very good
(07:54):
offensive team, if they can get past their slow starts,
which so much of that has been because of Joe
Burrow's health. He's healthy now, assuming he stays healthy going
into the season. You but think they would not start
slow this year. If they don't start slowly, that's a
different team than what we've seen in the last few years.
They've made changes on the defense too. I mean, so
(08:15):
you don't know what that's going to look like. But
they I think as long as Burrow and Chase and
how Higgins are or unit that's going to they're going
to be a dangerous team. Again, you don't know what
the Steelers. The Steelers have a really good defense, but
you have no idea. Is it Aaron Rodgers, is it
somebody else? Who knows? We'll see If it's Aaron Rodgers,
what does he have left? You know, which Aaron Rodgers
(08:36):
are you getting? And I mean Cleveland, I you know,
you just don't know at all. What's going to happen there.
It's obviously not going to beat to Sean Watson. Jimmy
has One said that as much yesterday, so it's not
We're not going to see to Sean Watson ever again there.
So I think there's significant questions about the other teams anyway,
and the Ravens are I think, continuing to add pieces
(08:56):
and that's what they should be doing. So I would say, yeah,
answer is I said they have a pretty good chance
for Peter.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Yeah, you talked about you know, the rave is always
being there and in Baltimore.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
I think now that's all is what is the secret
to getting over the right?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
That seems to be the question everyone wants to know
asking you that question, What do you think?
Speaker 4 (09:18):
What do you think it is?
Speaker 3 (09:19):
There's something I'm just curious get someone else's point of
view who's kind of step.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
Away from him.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Man, I don't know. I mean, first of all, you've
all got to be healthy at the right time, which
they were, but that has been an issue in the past,
right that maybe they haven't been at peak health at
the end of the season. That's a big heck. I mean,
I don't know, you know, I mean the Chiefs are
the Chiefs, and you know, I think people think that
the Chiefs have regressed because of the way the season
(09:46):
ended against the Eagles, and it's like I would be
careful about writing off the Chiefs. They're still getting there.
Patrick Mahoons is still there, Andy Reid is still a coach.
Like they're not going anywhere.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
You know.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
I think part of this it is just just exactly
what happened when Tom Brady was in New England. Right,
you are in a conference with an all time, all
time great and you've got to get past that. And
we saw that, you know, the AFC struggle with that
for years with Brady and Belichick there, and you've just
(10:19):
got to break through. I do think that the one
thing if you're an AFC team and you watch the
Super Bowl, you know, you saw again the two Super
Bowls that the Chiefs have lost have been because they
have been able to get to Mahomes consistently. Right, the
offensive line has not held up, and you've got to
be able to get him down or carass him. That's
(10:39):
the formula figure out how to do it. But mostly
I think that there's just a lot of luck at involved.
Like it's there's an awful lot of skill involved in
the NFL, but like everything has to come together at
the right moment.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Well, last one for me, Judy, you go to games
all over the country, you watch every team in the league.
When you get your assignment for the week and you're
going to a Ravens game, and you know, you get
to watch Lamar Jackson play. Like, what is the first
thing you started the conversation of one.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Yes, I get to watch Lamar play. That's exactly what.
That's exactly. First of all, I should start by saying that,
like I grew up in South Florida, and so I've
been paying attention to Lamar's career because he's a South
Florida guy, and like he literally like played in a
park in pomp and Hoop each that's not that far
from where I grew up. And so I'm just I
sort of feel like, you know, we sort of joke
(11:27):
in the family like it's our cousin, Lamar Jackson. I
feel bonded to him. I mean, that's exactly. But I
think when I get that sound like awes it. I
got to watch Lamar great. And also it's a really
easy trip for New.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Organ short trip. It's perfect.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Two for two, hop on the train, everything's great.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
Yeah, two for two.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
That's one for me too. Kind of we late guess
coming to M and T Bank Stadium. In the atmosphere there,
particularly for night games, you've expected and you go everywhere.
What's it like they're going to a Raven's game.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
It's right. I love they've done that the Ravens walk thing,
because I if I can, I will stay in downtown
and walk to the gate. Sorry, and she just bank
the microphone and walk. And I think that's like just
a that's a fun atmosphere, right when the fans are
out there on the food trucks and music and like,
it's just a cool atmosphere. It's a great atmosphere for
a night game. It's a great atmosphere for a one
(12:19):
o'clock game too. It's just a cool atmosphere and obvious. Listen,
I love downtown stadiums anyway. I love stadiums that are
in the city. I love that it's next to Camden Yards.
I like that you can walk. I like the people
are around around town. You know, you see people that
night before out of the restaurants. It's just a cool setting.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
It's great, awesome, Well, we really appreciate the time.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Thank you so much. My pleasure sign here. Thanks you too.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Welcome back into the lounge. We are coming to you
from the sea Geek Cudio. We also want to mention
our partners at Draft King sports Book. They are an
official sports betting partner at the Baltimore Ravens Draft King
Sports Book. The crown is yours so big. Thanks to
Judy for joining us. You guys are old New York
Times college right.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Correct, work together for a long time there. Great writer,
great person and really has tremendous insight I think on
the entire NFL.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
Yeah, I enjoyed getting her kind of ten thousand foot
of view of where this team is. And it's clear
that she feels like and this is a common theme
here that there's just this model of consistency and stability
that the Ravens are and the expectation is to be
right back in the thick of.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
It, right, and that's where you want to be. I mean,
you don't want to be one of those teams. It
has all these questions marks. Even though it is early
a few months left before we even get the training camp,
the better, more questions you can answer early on the better.
And yeah, I think it's taken for granted sometimes that
the Ravens are one of those teams that in the
offseason seems to not have tremendous holes of fields. They
(13:46):
can target certain areas. They're obviously always trying to upgrade
a roster. But as John Harbaugh said a few days ago,
can we can play a game tomorrow if we had to?
Speaker 4 (13:56):
We feel pretty good about it.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
And yeah, the NFL divided to me the kind of
two countries, teams that have a quarterback they.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Know they can win with and teams that don't.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
And when you have a quarterback like Lamar Jackson that
you know you can win with, then that puts you
way ahead of the game and where you're like the
varying against teams that do not.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Well, Look, we're walking around here and you see owners
and you see gms, and you see coaches, and for
the owners and coaches and gms that have one of
those quarterbacks, I just think it's it's a much better feeling,
and everybody else it doesn't. There they're on the hunt,
they're looking for somebody, and you can be in the
wilderness for a long time if you don't have that.
And the Ravens have been so steady at quarterback and
(14:37):
I think that we, honestly co probably take it for
granted to go from Flacco to Lamar and have that
run that this team has been on with these quarterbacks.
So Ravens are in a really good place. And along
the same lines here are also caught up with Mike
gharrifollow from the NFL Network When did you do these
colleagues there? And wanted to get his perspective just on
this team as well, And so we're gonna go ahead
and roll that interview right here the Rayvers fans. I'm
(15:00):
here with Mike yarro Follo from the NFL Network and
we are here at the annual league meetings at West
Palm Beach. Mike's got the shades on, you know, in
the Florida vibes right here. So just for you, as
if you look at the Ravens, what's your big picture
view of this team this offseason?
Speaker 4 (15:14):
Look, it's a team.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
You know.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
I say this when I go to Ravens training camp.
It's because you go to training camp you're so positive
about every team because nobody's lost the game yet, right,
and nobody's injured, and you look across and as every
team's got talent. So it's always great to go to
Ravens camp though, because you can say those things and
know you're not gonna be made to look silly because
it's going to be a competitive team. It's going to
be most likely a playoff team. And the way that
John Harball has them ready every single year. You look
(15:38):
at the roster this year and it's like, well, why
would that not still be the case this upcoming season?
Being able to bring some talent back, add some other
pieces as well. That Dehandre Hopkins won obviously a big one.
It's always going to be a good mix of veteran
and young talent, and I think they've done a great
job of that again this year.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Well, you mentioned John Harball. Just before these meetings started,
the team announced extatch with him, three year kind extension.
How big is it to get that deal done? And
what does that say about him is for the ten
year that he's had in this league in Baltimore.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
Yeah, listen, you come to these events and it's combine
of the league meeting and I'll be frank with you,
the last extension he did Before this one, there were
rumblings of people saying, like you want watch hardball, like
that could be an opening. He could be headed elsewhere
and blah blah. And then he did an extension and
the same thing kind of came up recently. It's like
watch watch out for that one could be like you know,
(16:28):
Andy Reid was at in Philly and like needed a reset,
like you run, you run, your your your course and
once it and it's time to move another extension for
three years because it's a great working relationship.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (16:39):
It's a guy that, certainly, Steve Bushatti understands what he
has in a head coach, a guy that's done a
great job of hiring assistant coaches for the vision that
he wants on both sides of the football throughout his
entire tenure. He's just a terrific head coach. Why would
you not extend him? And the fact that he agreed
to it and wants to be around great sign there
as well.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Well.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
You talk about contract extensions, He's talked in his time
with the media, say about a potential contract extension for
Lamar Jackson. So there's been internal dialogue. So you're keeping
this core in place here the partnership here with the
head coach and the quarterback. You know, potential extension with
Lamar is what are you hearing on that? And the
potential there?
Speaker 4 (17:15):
Did me just do this?
Speaker 5 (17:17):
I can't believe we're back here already asking these questions before. Yeah,
but you know you do these deals. Look, Josh Allen
just did it, right. I mean, he did a deal.
It was a great deal at the time, and the
cap exploded and the quarterback market exploded, and it's hard
to sit there at a number and say, why are
these guys in the sixties now right? Why are these
(17:39):
guys all the way up there? And I understand if
Lamar feels that way, and I understand if Lamar fields,
he should be the highest paid quarterback in the league.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
And it's only gonna get higher.
Speaker 5 (17:47):
I mean, we're gonna get brock Purty coming up here
for this forty nine ers this offseason. And if you
look at where he slotted based on the percentage of
the way I like to do it is when the
quarterback did his deal, what percentage of the salary cap
did he eat up per year with his deal? It's
anywhere from twenty to twenty five percent Joe Burrow I
think was on the high end. Jared Goff was on
(18:09):
the low end of twenty percent. Twenty percent of the
salary cap right now is in the high fifties. That's
over all these guys, Jalen Hurts and Lamar and Trevor
Lawrence and Joe Burrow, like Brock, Perty's gonna be at both.
And I know what they're gonna say, that guy was
the last pick.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
In the draft. I gotta be up above him.
Speaker 5 (18:27):
I've you know, had more sustained success than him. It's
his time to get that, and he deserves it and
he will, and I think there's gonna be a chain reaction.
So a lot of times if you want to be
aggressive and get ahead of it right and say well,
let's do it now before that gets done, because that's
only going to raise the price as well as some
other ones that are being done as well. So you know,
Lamar deserves it, he's shown it. I think it'll get
(18:49):
done at some point. And the I said we just
did this. He doesn't have an agent, right, So that's
Alway's gonna make it a little bit tougher to read it, yeah,
because he's keeping everything to himself and its communication between
him and Eric da Costa.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
And that's good, that's fair.
Speaker 5 (19:03):
I think they did a great job of that the
first time around, of making sure that they had the
respect for Lamar. We're going to keep these conversations private.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
They did a great job of that.
Speaker 5 (19:11):
I expect that to happen again.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Harball talk today just about the belief that it's a
matter of when, not if, for Lamar to win a
Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
And obviously the Ravens have.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Been knocking on the door, have been right there. What
in your mind is, as you look at this team
and you have such a good feel for the league
as a whole, what does it take for the team
to make that next step to get to that Super
Bowl with Lamar and ultimately win that Lombardi.
Speaker 5 (19:33):
Look, a lot of people are going to tell you,
oh that the style of player, the style of offense
that can't win.
Speaker 4 (19:37):
They can win. They can win, and they.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Just haven't made some crucial plays. And sometimes we as
the media say, oh man, how long is the offseason?
You know how long this offseason must feel to Mark
Andrews and how much he wants to get back on
that field to show you what he is what he's
capable of, what he can do for this team, and
what he can do in clutch spots, what he has
done in clutch spots before. So I expect him to
(20:01):
come with a chip on the shoulder that helps. I'm
good with that. I'm good if Mike all pro tight
end throughout his career with US, has more to prove
this upcoming season. So I think it's gonna be a
little things like that DeAndre Hopkins coming in and say
I'm gonna help this team get over the hump as well.
I think those are the things that you need. You're
gonna need your veterans to kind of carry you at
that moment and continue to rely on your on your
(20:21):
youth to be the spark that keeps you moving in
the right direction as well. So it's just a matter
of making the plays at the right time. It hasn't happened.
It's not for lack of coaching and lack of preparation.
It's just tough to win in the playoffs in this league.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
And you talk about the offense, and this is the
team overall veteran leaders, Ronnie. The rate the Ravens typically
do business is they keep their own guys, and Royne
Stanley is a player, former first round pick. He's done
multiple deals with the Ravens. They work out the long
term extension with him to keep him in Baltimore, and
Hardball talked today about how he's a legacy type player
in Baltimore and he's one of those guys that's been
there for this, for this run. How big was this
(20:57):
to keep him in Baltimore and knowing that he obviously
could have had a lot of suitors out there.
Speaker 5 (21:01):
Oh, he had a ton of suitors. He was gonna
have a ton of interest, and who knows what he
could have wind up making, But it was more important
to him to get a fair deal and to be
with the team that he felt comfortable with it. He
feels like, probably the same way I can help, I
want to be here when this team gets over the
hump and finally wins that championship. So it was absolutely enormous,
not just from a schematic standpoint to get your left tackle.
(21:22):
We know the importance of having a left tackle you
can rely upon in this league, but also a guy
that has so much impact throughout the organization as well.
I thought them getting him. I was surprised I thought
I bought into the hype. I thought he was going
to hit the market and head elsewhere for big money
to get him done, even before the market open, if
I recall correctly, was just enormous.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Yeah, awesome. Well, we really appreciate the time. Enjoy the
rest of your week here in Florida. Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
We'll see you at training camp when I'll be talking
about the Ravens having a good twenty five season and feeling.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
Great about it.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
We'll remember this conversation there.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
Yeah, exactly, awesome, thanks man, Well.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Big thanks to Mike.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
And as you heard there, Cliff, I mean he talks
about the stability of the organization a lot of similar
themes to what we just had the conversation with Judy
there in terms of the stability of the organization, in
terms of horrball, and his leadership for this team in
terms of Lamar And I think that like the belief
and when you talk to different people around in the
media here, everyone's kind of saying the same thing. The
(22:18):
Ravens are expected to be a team that's right back
in the middle of this AFC playoff race, and the
question will be how you get over the hump and
how you define that and how you do that. No
one has like the magic answer for that, But the
Ravens are going to be in the mix. That's what
everyone thinks.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Right And also you know the fact that you can
keep doing that a year after year after year. I
think one thing to keep in mind is that you
cannot let whether you actually win the Super Bowl or
not carry over into the next year. It's a hard
thing to do, but I think the Ravens have been
very good at that that. Putting the last season behind them.
There's going to be a lot of talk about how
(22:53):
last season ended and how the Ravens are still on
that Super Bowl quest with Lamar. But every year is
so different and you have to approach it the same way.
And I was really impressed last year with the Ravens
after they started zero to two, how they responded that,
to me, showed a lot. How the defense responded late
in the season when it struggled early showed me a lot.
Speaker 4 (23:15):
That is resiliency.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
You have to have that if you're going to ultimately
win a championship. So the Ravens are going to come
into I believe, this season with just as much fire
and passion despite the disappoint any last year as they've
had any other year, and they obviously have the talent
to do it, so just a question to putting it together,
playing your foot best football when it matters most. But
(23:38):
you can't overlook the regular season first. I don't think
the Ravens are going to do.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
That now before we wrap today. Another big part of
these meetings are a business side of things, So of
course we focus on the football aspect of things, but
there's also the business side of things as well, and
one of the items that was announced this week is
that the Ravens have entered the NFL's Global Markets Program
for UK and so basically what that means is the
(24:02):
Ravens have marketing rights in the UK. It doesn't mean
that the Ravens are going to be playing there every
year or playing there more. But of course the NFL
is also talked about expanding the number of international games,
so there could be an expansion on that front overall
league wide. But basically this allows the Ravens to build
off what they've been able to do on those previous
two trips to the UK. I was on those trips.
(24:24):
I've seen the enthusiasm in the UK. We have a
great fan group over there, the UK Ravens, who are
passionate about this team and bring energy when we go
over there. We've actually done we've done live podcasts over there,
which has been really cool. It's one of my favorite
things we've actually ever done on the lounge. And I
can tell you from being over there, you just see
like this excitement in this enthusiasm and this hardcore fandom
(24:45):
and it's it's really really cool. So that's a big
thing that we're excited about.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
Yeah, I got to kick out of you know, the
trip to the lad trip to England that Lamar seemed
surprised that he had such a filew Yeah, internationally, but
he does the Ravens do. And it's clear clearly the
NFL fully intends to expand globally and this is just
part of that situation. I can envision a time not
too far in the future where you know, every team's
(25:11):
playing a game overseas at least, you know, once a year.
I can see that, you know, going to places they
haven't gone yet, and they're continuing to go to different places.
It's only going to expand the balls rolling in that direction.
It's great to the Ravens now being a team that
has star players and a consistent winner. That's the type
(25:31):
of team that's going to attract attention globally when these
trips are made. So yeah, it's just another indication that
the Ravens are going global.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Yeah, the game is growing, the NFL is growing, and
the Ravens are growing right there along with it. So
make sure you go ahead if you're if you're a
fan of the UK, make sure you follow us across
our new social media platforms and handles that we just
started up alongside part of this announcement on x on Instagram,
on Facebook. The handles are Ravens in UK, so make
(26:00):
sure you go ahead and check those out. We're gonna
have some fun content there that we're gonna be bringing
to you all throughout the year, so make sure you're
a gaining to follow those Ravens in UK. That's it
for us on the podcast here today. Thank you so
much for watching and listening. You can email us at
the lounge at Ravens dot NFL dot net and we
will be back with you again tomorrow
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