November 7, 2025 • 28 mins
Team insiders Ryan Mink and Garrett Downing discuss what to expect from new addition Dre'Mont Jones, what Lamar Jackson needs to do versus an aggressive Vikings defense, the plan versus Justin Jefferson, how the Ravens will deal with U.S. Bank Stadium's rocking noise, and more.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome into the Lounge presented by DraftKings. I'm Ryan and
here with Garrett Downing and we are gonna get you
ready for the Ravens game against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday
afternoon at US Banks Stadium. The Ravens and are riding
a two game winning streak and then they sit at
three and five right now. The Vikings coming at four
and four and are coming off a big win against
their rival, the Detroit Lions.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
That was a big win for them.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
So this is gonna be a key game for the
Ravens on the road, tough environment against a good team
to kind of see if they can keep this momentum rolling.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Oh, it's really important. You look at it, and I
think in a lot of ways, this is a game
that as the Ravens are turning things around, they've won
two straight games, you look at where you can go
from here. If you get this win, at least on paper,
I think you feel really good about being able to
rattle off a bunch of them.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
And it's kind of like the is this the streak starter?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
It kind of feels like it could be a lynch
pin type game. It has that potential. Again, this is
on paper and you have to go out and play
the games. And so we'll be having different conversations in
the weeks moving forward. But I just feel like, if
you're able to win this game and you get three
straight and you're sitting there at that point at four
and five, it feels like you've at least dug yourself
out of the early season hole. Still more work to do,
(01:21):
but you're not staring up quite as high anymore if
you're able to win this game. And like the Vikings
on their side of things, they're sitting there kind of
having a similar conversation, feeling like, Okay, their division still
within reach. They can they come back from playing a
bunch of games without their starting quarterback and climb back
into their division race and still make the playoffs. Like
(01:43):
those are all conversations on the Vikings podcast this week.
I'm sure they're having the same talk. And so that's
what makes this game really interesting for both teams. It's
kind of a guy to have a game for both groups,
and it's going to be really important for the Ravens
and there's a lot of things that they're going to
need to do well in order to win this game.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Well. The big news of the week was the trade
deadline on Tuesday, and the Ravens made an addition ahead
of that deadline, trading for Draymont Jones. As we already
talked about the outside linebacker, and he got on the
field immediately Wednesday. John Harball was also very clear in saying, Yep,
he's going to be worked with the game plan and
he's going to play Sunday in Minnesota. We just got
to play exactly so you know, the Ravens were thinned
(02:24):
outside linebacker. Here's Draymont Jones who now leads the team
in sacks and they need his past rush ability to
get after JJ McCarthy.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
I liked what I heard from him. He just felt
like a veteran player who has the right mindset. I
think that he's when you look at him and the
type of player that he's been over the course of
his career, I really think that he fits a lot
of what the Ravens were looking for. He's a physical presence.
He's firstatile, can play either outside linebacker spot, has played
defensive line, like go back to Ohio State. You know
(02:54):
me watch these Ohio State games, like defensive tackle. Earlier
in his career, and so he can play all along
that defensive front. And I know we talked about it
right after the trade went down, like could there be
scenarios where they put him and Kyle van Noy and
Mike Green all on the field together. I think that
possibility exists. I think we may see some pass rush
situations where all those guys around the field and trying
(03:16):
to apply pressure on the quarterback. So I like him
and I like that, like he's a he's a tough dude.
And you got that sense in talking to him.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
You said you liked what you heard from Let's go
Let's run the clip when he was asked what he's
gonna bring to Baltimore.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Uh, somebody who physicals.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Hell, we're going to attack every play like he said
last and Uh, We're gonna go out there and just
try to kill.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
So obviously a fiery guy and he has he has
kind of this tough mindset.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
And I think versatility is key and you talked about
that earlier and ALOHI Gilman brought that in part because
of what he allowed Kyle Hamilton to do. He delivered
versatility for somebody else primarily Yeah, he like he unlocked
the versatile, versustility. Draymond Jones has the versatility himself, and
Mike Green I talked to in the locker room this
(04:05):
week and he said, Yeah, this guy has a diverse
set of of skills.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
And tools in his bag.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
And I think that it could kind of unlock the
front seven the way that Alohi Gilman unlocked the secondary.
And it's going to be a similar challenge for Draymond
Jones and Eloi Goman had and getting up to speed
quickly and understanding the scheme and making the kind of
instant splash that AlOH he did. But certainly I think
(04:32):
not an impossible task, especially for an edge rusher.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Go get the quarterback, go by pressure. Yeah, he's done this.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
He also has the advantage of he played in similar
schemes in Tennessee. Dinard Wilson, who was a defensive backs
coach here in Baltimore the year before, was his defensive
coordinator in Tennessee. Go back even two years he played
in Seattle in Mike McDonald's defense. And so I think
that there's a lot of crossover. There's a lot of crossover.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
I think, honestly, that's one thing that I didn't really
think about when the trade went down, just from like
a scheme fit and familiarity standpoint, but that is tangible.
He's basically been those teams run set and the Titans
they run the Ravens defense. Like we have seen this
permeate throughout the NFL. Mike McDonald out in Seattle, it's
(05:21):
virtually the same system that he ran here. And Dinard
Wilson in Tennessee is running a very similar system. And
so as more teams will running this Ravens defense that
has been highly successful, that helps the transition process similar
to a Lohi Gillman, same system overall that they're running
system Jesse Minter is running there. Who was he was
(05:44):
an assistant here and he also followed Mike McDonald at
Michigan and so like it's the same defensive scheme format
like that that exists. And so I think that helped
a Lohi Gillman make the transition. I think it's going
to help Draymont Jones make that same transition and just
make it kind of an easy process. And like if
(06:04):
you need if Jraymond Jones needs any tips on how
to like get acclimated quickly, just go ask a Lohi Gilman.
I mean that guy came in, jumped in right away
and helped change this defense. It took him like no
time at all to be able to do that.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Jaymont Jones is also going to keep everybody fresher. Mike
Green was explicit and saying, yeah, we needed somebody. It's
you know, he's a rookie, he's got those young legs,
and even he was saying, we need another body in there.
It's just a lot of snaps, and so I think
he also helps magnify everybody else and that's gonna be
(06:38):
a good thing for the Ravens defense. Another good thing
is that the Ravens are very healthy right now. The
Wednesday injury report comes out and it's a blank sheet,
no injuries to report. Everybody was a full participant. So
you love to see that. I can't remember the last
time I've ever seen the Ravens have no injuries to
(06:59):
report during the week.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
When you're at this point of the season and you're
able to be healthy, that's massive. And just go back
like a month of the game against the Rams where
you're ruling out like five Pro Bowlers. You're ruling out
Rokwan Smith and Marlon Humphrey and Lamar Jackson more key
players on this team. And so now you flash forward
(07:20):
to this point and your team is healthy, Like I'm
not going to sit here and act like that's a
permanent fixture like that can change, as we all know.
But for this moment in time to be as healthy
as the Ravens are, that changes things.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Yeah, going into Week ten, it's extremely rare. And the
Ravens obviously were massive beneficiaries of the bye, and then
they had a mini buy after the Miami game. They
were healthy going into Miami and then they had extra
time off after that game. It makes a huge difference.
The health of a team makes a massive difference. And
you look at the Vikings injury report and it's a
(07:55):
very different story. Running Back Aaron Jones Junior this time
did not practice on Wednesday with shoulder and tow injuries.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
We'll see if he suits up.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Josh Oliver, former Ravens tight end. He's really good blocking
ten end, key part of their team. He's dealing with
a foot injury right now. It's doubtful that he's gonna play.
Harrison Smith he mispracticed on Wednesday. I no, he should
probably be back. That was not injury related, but he
should be back. They have offensive linemen Will Fries dealing
with a calf injury. You know, you go down the list,
(08:25):
Christian Darrisol. Their offensive line has been very banged up.
Christian Darisol has been kind of maging reps. He's got
a knee injury. He's gonna play, but we'll see.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Yeah, And so.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
It's a tale of two different stories with these two
teams health wise.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yeah. Again, can't say enough about the value of it
and being healthy at the time of the year. And
the Ravens have been on the other side of it.
The Vikings have honestly been on the other side of
it too. Like you look at them, they played a
month without the sharding quarterback JJ McCarthy. He returned last week. Yeah,
I don't know, those injuries are notable, but I think
(09:02):
probably you talk to a Vikings fan, they probably feel like, hey,
we're getting healthier simply for the fact that you get
your quarterback back in the lineup, you get your starting
quarterback healthy. That just feels like it. That's like getting
ten players back. And it looked that way last week
for them. When they go into Detroit play their arrival,
win that game twenty seven to twenty four, and McCarthy
(09:24):
like he seems to have given that team some juice.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Yeah, he's provided a spark.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
And you know he didn't put up huge numbers, but
he's a guy who can can scramble, picked up, scored
a rushing touchdown, he threw a couple other touchdowns, and
so you know, this is a rookie. He's getting ready
to play his fourth NFL game against the Ravens, and obviously,
anytime you go against a rookie, he's not a rookie.
He's in his second year. He missed his first year
(09:49):
with an injury, but.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
A semi rookie.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
He's a semi rookie. Anytime you play such a young quarterback,
you want to flummoxam. As a defense, you want to
throw them different looks, make him guess, keep him guessing,
keep him on his toes. You want a ratt him,
You want to pressure him, all those different things. The
Ravens have had a lot of success against rookie and
air quote quarterbacks over the years, and that's what you
want to replicate. But John Harball, when asked about JJ McCarthy,
(10:11):
who you.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Know it's pretty darn well.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
John Harball spent a fair amount of time around that
Michigan program. He's talked to his brother a lot. And
JJ McCarthy was Jim Harball's guy at Michigan.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
He was a quarterback under Jim Harball when Michigan won
the National chang exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
So Jim Harball is a huge fanage of JJ McCarthy
and I'm sure that John's heard a lot about him
over the years. And when John Harball was asked about him,
he said this, He's a fighter.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
He is just fighter.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Doesn't give up on a play, doesn't give up in
the games, doesn't give up in a season.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
He's a fighter.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
That was the word that John Harball used. And so
the Ravens are going to have a tough time kind
of knocking this rookie, you know, around or off his game,
but they're gonna try.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Yeah. Well, John Harball was at that National championship game
when Michigan won it, and JJ McCarthy led the Wolverines
to a national championship, So he's seen it and of
course he's heard it from his brother, and he gives
he gives the vikings like he plays with it.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Edge and the spark. I think that he like he's
kind of.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Fiery, Like you look at some of their you look
at their videos of their postgame locker room speeches, like
he's firing up that group, and like he doesn't carry
himself what I've seen from the outside looking in, Like
he doesn't seem to carry himself as a young player,
as a rookie. That's just kind of trying to find
his way. Like he's like a rally around type guy,
which is saying something for a guy who has only
(11:30):
played three NFL games, But he kind of has that
magnetic force around him, it seems, and guys seem to
be responding to it, and so like, and then you
talk about just like what he brings to the table
the running. He's not putting up huge numbers, like last
game he had nine carries for twelve yards, but he
also had a touchdown. He's had two rushing touchdowns and
(11:50):
three games this year only sixty two yards on the ground.
But seems to scramble and keep plays alive. He's not
a guy that like is putting up monster numbers. No,
but he's efficient and they've got excellent skill players and
he plays with that fire and that spark, and I
think that just elevates the offense.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yep. Absolutely, So we're gonna take a break. When we
come back, we're going to talk about more keys to
this game, what the Ravens need to do to beat
the Vikings.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
You're listening to the Ravens Lounge podcast. We are coming
to you from the Sea Geek Studio. We also want
to mention our partners at DraftKings Sportsbook. They are an
official sports betting partner of the Baltimore Ravens DraftKings Sportsbook.
The Crown is yours now before we continue the conversation
about what the Ravens need to do to get a
win this weekend against the Vikings. Also want to mention
big event that's happening at Mt. Bak Stadium this weekend,
(12:39):
the Girls Flag Championships. We've got the semi finals on
Friday and then the finals coming up on Saturday. This
has been a big initiative for the Ravens over the
last several years, expanding the game a flag football game
in high schools and it's been a multi year effort
and it's been awesome to see the game grow the
way that it has, getting more and more high schools
(13:00):
across the state, and then this weekend every year is
kind of the celebration of those efforts that you have
the chance for these girls and these teams to come
out and play at the Bank in that environment. It's
just really cool and it's been awesome to see the
game grow and get to the point where it is
today and these girls have a chance to play and
step on the field inside M ANDTBC Stadium. It's pretty awesome.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Our last episode, we talked about the Purple the Purple
Evening event and the Ravens Female fan Club, and this
is kind of an extension of that, right. This is
the minor leagues yea, all right, and getting more girls
playing the sport. It's an amazing sport, and flag football
just generally speaking, girls end boys is becoming a bigger
(13:44):
and bigger thing and you love to see it. So
it's just you feel great for these girls and everybody,
the coaches and parents and all that, and you just
want to bring more people into football.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Yeah, for sure. And the games again, the semi finals
are on Friday to thirty is when the first game is,
and then there's the finals on Saturday. You can get
tickets to that on seat geek or Baltimore Ravens dot com.
Again their free tickets. You just have to go ahead
and claim your passes. So if you want to see that,
celebrate these girls and the accomplishments that they have over
(14:15):
the course of this year, make sure you get tickets
to that. So as that's happening, the Ravens are gonna
be heading out to Minnesota to take on the Vikings.
And just to continue that conversation in your mind, like,
as we're talking about keys of this game, what is
it gonna take for the Ravens to have success on offense.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Well, they're gonna have to deal with the Vikings blitz
and Brian Flora as their defensive coordinator.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
He likes to dial it up.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
He blitzes at the second highest rate in the league
according to Next Gen Stats at forty three point seven percent,
and the Ravens have some history with this. Lamar Jackson
the last time he dealt with Brian Flores was down
in Miami in twenty twenty one in a game that
we referenced last week.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
It was the Thursday night football.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Game down in Miami in which Flora is just blitzed
the living snot out of the Ravens and really stemied
Lamar Jackson in that offense, and that games stuck in
the Ravens memory and since then, they've come up with
a lot more answers to the blitz and Lamar Jackson
has been absolutely roasting it. The Miami Dolphins, by the way,
have blitz at the third highest percentage in the league
(15:19):
this year. How'd that work out from last week?
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Yeah, Lamar Jackson threw.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Four touchdown passes, and so this game is kind of
an inflection point on just how far Lamar Jackson has
come against the blitz in his career. He's one of
the best in the league among many categories, or he's
the best in the league. Yeah, but the blitz has
really been one of the most impressive career advancements for
(15:43):
Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Ye. John Harbaugh said that week this week that the
game of twenty twenty one against the Dolphins was a
key game the evolution of our offense. And so at
that point the Ravens didn't handle the blitz well. They
went to work on figuring out what they needed to
do to change and handle it better. It's kind of
funny I will make, I will say, and I understand
why we're talking about it same. I mean, Brian Flores
(16:06):
was the head coach there at Miami at that point,
but it was a defensive play caller, so I understand
the connections. But like even Lamar made the point like
this four years ago, how long are we going to
talk about that game against Miami from two thousand and
one or twenty twenty one, that Thursday night game? It
just keeps coming up. It came up last week. I
feel like we've been talking about it NonStop over the
past ten days, and so well.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
It's the same guy I get.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
So that's that's why this week it's Brian Flores and
it's he's gonna call it again. It's coming and it
might not be as heavy as it was that night
in Miami that was a crazy outlier, but they're gonna
blitz a lot and the Ravens need to be able
to handle it, and it's gonna be loud, and they
need to get have their communication and there you know,
they have to have everything their protections, sort it out
(16:54):
up front and handle that pressure because there's gonna be
an immense amount of pressure on the Ravens off.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
There's pressure and there's noise and the Ravens that's part
of it. Yeah, they've been preparing for that. I'll just
tell you this week the practice, the sounds have been
coming from the practice field over the past few days.
It's about as loud as I've ever heard it out
there at practice. They've got crowd noise, they've got the
horn of Minnesota plays like a classic horn, and key
(17:20):
situations on third downs and big moments of the game.
That's been blaring non sop out on the practice field
and literally in this building you can hear the crowd
noise and that horn horn throughout practice, Like if you're
getting going to your car getting something at lunch, you're like,
you can hear the horn, and it's the Ravens have
been preparing for that. They know it's a loud environment.
(17:42):
I've been I've been there. The Ravens haven't played there,
you know, in eight years, but like and so most
of the guys on this team have not played there
in Minnesota, yep. And it's one of the louder, tougher
places in my mind to experience. Now. The Ravens have
played and play a lot of places Kansas City.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
I love the way that Lamar Jackson talks about it.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
He's just like, yeah, I mean I played football for
a while now it's my eights NFL season, played big
time college games up.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
It's been loud before.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Yeah, exactly, he's now playball.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Exactly now In Minnesota, they're probably thinking, all right, you know,
you'll see what level it is here.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Yeah, like it's one of the louder stadiums. But again,
Kansas City is loud, uh Vegas really loud, Buffalo is loud,
Pittsburgh is loud, and key moments like the Ravens have
played in tough loud environments and Lamar Jackson has won
a lot of games on the road.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Yep, I'll pay you five bucks right now, Okay if
I get if you can say the name of the horn, Okay,
so I'm gonna spell it for you, okay.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
GJ A L l A R H O R N.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Give I don't know, give me the give me the
scoop on the horn.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
I don't know. I just said, you know, I get
five bucks.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
I say you can give yourself five bucks.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Yallo horn, Well that's the Yalla horn.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
I mean it's Norwegian I think Norwegian, because you know
the big Norwegian presence up there in Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Galla horn, gollahorn, gonna I'm gonna go.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
With that, Okay. Well, they they often bring back, you know,
like legend players to blow the horn, and it's like
a big moment in there, and it's cool, like like
it's a it's a cool game day experience up there.
And and one thing I think the Ravens actually do
a really good job of and and this is something
that I think that John Harbaugh has kind of instilled,
is like they they seem to like relish those types
(19:32):
of moments that like they're not looked at as intimidating
moments because they've heard it at practice. We've seen this
with Renegade going all the way back, like all throughout
the week when the Ravens are getting ready to play
the Steelers, they're playing Renegade, and so like when they
hear it in that game, they're like, all right, this
is great. We've been waiting for this. And it's kind
of a similar thing with with items like the horn,
(19:52):
where you just you've heard it all week, you've prepared
for it, you do the.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
So US reporters as are watching practice on the side
and we started doing the skull cup.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
You can do that. You can do that today.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
I don't think of good on that, but yeah, it'll
be it'll be a fun environment. I think the Ravens
are excited to be in that kind of setting, in
this kind of game. And but it's a challenge. Like
Charlie Kohler friend and Lounge talked about, you got to
be on your p's and keys, and you have to
be very detail oriented and it's going to be a
(20:26):
test of what Todd Munkin talked about all summer was
we have to be elite at the at the operational
side of our offense, the pre snap adjustments, all of that.
This is the game where it gets put to the test.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Totally agree. Now, on the defensive side, a guy who
I've got starred as a huge player in this game
is second year cornerback Nate Wiggins, and I don't know
if he's going to travel with Justin Jefferson as he's
done in some recent games, But whether he travels or not,
I think he's going to be matched up against Justin
(21:00):
Jefferson plenty of times in this game, and Jefferson might
be the best receiver in football. If you don't keep
a lid on him, then it's going to be a
long day. And Nate Wiggins is going to have that
assignment plenty of times on Sunday. And I think there's
a lot of pressure on his shoulders. I think he's come.
He's made a big jump in year two. And the
thing that I really like about him is that he
(21:21):
wants that assignment, like he wants the pressure.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Wouldn't surprise me if he asked the coaches for that
assignment this week.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
We don't know, but wouldn't surprise me.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Would not surprise me. He's done that over the course
of his of his time. He did it in college
and then he's done it here.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
Chuck Bacano talked about at the bye like Nate Wiggins
went to the coaches basically earlier this season. It was like,
give me the number one guy, Like I'm ready, I'm
this is why you drafted me?
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Yeah, and so like, no bigger number one guy justin Jefferson.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
So like, I won't be surprised at all if he's
covering him from the majority of the game and following
him all around the field, and that's going to be
a test for Nate and I like, I think he's
playing great football and I think he's up to the challenge.
But that's no easy assignment.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Yeah, absolutely agree. I think it goes beyond Justin Jefferson.
Jordan Addison is another really good wide receiver for them.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
They have some t J.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Hockinson at tight end. They have some weapons on that
offense that you have to contend with. Their head coach
Kevin O'Connell was complimentary of the Ravens secondary, saying it's
one of the best cornerback groups in the league. And
then you add on top of that Kyle Hamilton and
a Loe Gilmot at safety and Malachi Starks, and you
know they feel like they have their hands full with
the Ravens secondary too. So certainly this is a good
(22:34):
battle of skill skill position players wideouts versus secondary and
this is the game why where you see why the
Ravens invest so much in their secondary when you look
at their salary cap.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Yeah. Well, an interesting thing of Jordan Addison, he came
out in the same draft class as say Flowers, so
they're always going to be connected a little bit. Vikings
took him right before the Ravens ended up taking save flowers.
But those two guys are always going to be connected
just because they were both first round picks and selected
just a few spots apart from each other. So it's
not like they're matching up against each other or anything
(23:09):
like that. But an interesting little note in this game
with those two guys.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Yep. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
The Ravens also have an interesting note in terms of
tight end Mark Andrews, who is on the precipice of
becoming the franchise leader in receiving yards. He needs eighteen
yards in this game to take the title away from
Derek Mason for most receiving yards in Ravens history. Gonna
I'm gonna say Mark Andrews gets that done.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
You think it happens this week?
Speaker 1 (23:35):
He also eighteen yards I think he's got He might
get that on the first series.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
This one catch could do that. He also is only
ten catches away from breaking the record for all time
receptions leaders, so Mark already has the touchmost receiving touchdowns
in franchise history. He's now eighteen yards away from the
most receiving yards in franchise history, and he's ten catches
away from the most catches, no.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Ten catches history a lot that would be.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
A lot may not happen in this week, but in
the next couple of games, I think that's gonna happen.
And Mark, he talked this week about it. He made
the point that like, look, this is a testament to
playing with the god of great players and give credit
around and talked about kind of the pride that he
has and in the longevity and the consistency and being
(24:19):
here and being a valued member of the organization. Also
made the point that it's it's not like the focus.
He's such a locked in guy that wants He even said, like,
I hope this isn't the biggest record that I said,
the biggest accomplishment that I have. He wants, he wants
a championship here, but I just I'm happy for Mark
to be able to get to this point. I think
(24:40):
that there's been far too much conversation, in my mind,
especially over the last year, of do the Ravens trademark
Andrews and move on and all this stuff, and players
have consistently said, leading with Lamar Jackson, like let's stop
that chatter right in its tracks. And I think that
there's probably not even enough appreciation for how good of
a player Mark Andrews is currently and how he has
(25:03):
been over the course of his entire career here like
he's been he has been the marked man on this
Ravens passing a game. Yeah hold on, yeah, I didn't
even plan for that, but he's been. He's been the
marked man for this Ravens passing attack really since twenty nineteen,
and he's had a lot of eyes on him and
just consistently he goes out there and puts up production
(25:23):
and makes tough catches and shows up in big moments.
And these records that he's on the precipice of breaking
are just a further indication of that. And I just
think he's he's an all time great raven and.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
He might go down is the greatest Ravens pass catcher ever.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Well, he's gonna have basically all's gonna have.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
You got the trifecta of records, you got the title.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Because it he's gonna be there.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
And it's so funny that it's a tight end, you know.
Todd Heap was kind of held that for I mean,
Mason had a great run or whatever, but like he
wasn't a career, Raven wasn't drafted by the Ravens, Like
wasn't a homegrown Raven great player, awesome, but it was
a little bit different from homegrown guys. And Todd Heap
was that dude. And now Mark Andrews is going to
become that and so that's that's pretty cool. And the
(26:11):
thing about Mark that I respect the most is that
this dude is just as professional as you could ever
ask for the way he and he talked about it,
I asked him about what did he envision for his
career when he first was drafted by the Ravens in
the third round in twenty eighteen.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
What did he see coming?
Speaker 1 (26:30):
And he was like, man, I just knew I was
always going to be hungry, Like I was just going
to be hungry, hungry, hungry, And that's never changed, that hunger.
And that's what that's honestly what you see. Nobody's ever
more diut in than Mark Andrews. And you know, even
through the turmoil that he had in the playoffs last
year to come back the way he has this year,
(26:51):
been the same exact.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Guy, no difference in Mark Andrews.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
And also I thought Charlie Kohler made a good point
on this podcast that he's had to deal a little
bit with his an evolving role. You know.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
I mean, he used to be the guy.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
He was the guy five years ago, and now he's
not the guy in this ravings pass catching group.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
There's a lot of guys.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
This Hay Flowers Bateman, you know, even in his own
room isaa likely. So you know, he's had to adjust
to that to a degree, which can be tough for
a player who's going to be your franchise leader all time. Yeah,
and he has without batting an eye and that's just
speaks to Mark. He's a pro who's about the team,
(27:37):
the team, the team, and he just wants to win.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Yeah, And he's done a lot of winning in his career.
And I really do think that these records that he's
about to break, I think that he it's nice. I
think that he's he totally understands the history of it.
But I think that he is far more focused right
now and in the game on Sunday, on helping this
team try to get back to the playoffs and make
a and that's really where his mind is in and end.
(28:02):
But we will give him credit, We'll give him his
flowers and props because they are well deserved.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
I think Mark Andrews getting that record on Sunday is
more likely than you pronouncing the horn.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
Probably fair, that's correct, not you either, You didn't do
any better.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Hey, hey, I got closed and give it. I'm gonna
ask why Norwegian relatives how close it was?
Speaker 3 (28:23):
All right, we'll see, we'll see. So as always, you
can email us at the lounge at Ravens dot NFL
dot net. Kickoff Sunday is one o'clock, so we can't
wait for that game. We'll be back with you after
the game of breaking it all down for you. So
thank you so much for listening, and we'll be back
with you again on Sunday
Welcome into the Lounge presented by DraftKings. I'm Ryan and
here with Garrett Downing and we are gonna get you
ready for the Ravens game against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday
afternoon at US Banks Stadium. The Ravens and are riding
a two game winning streak and then they sit at
three and five right now. The Vikings coming at four
and four and are coming off a big win against
their rival, the Detroit Lions.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
That was a big win for them.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
So this is gonna be a key game for the
Ravens on the road, tough environment against a good team
to kind of see if they can keep this momentum rolling.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Oh, it's really important. You look at it, and I
think in a lot of ways, this is a game
that as the Ravens are turning things around, they've won
two straight games, you look at where you can go
from here. If you get this win, at least on paper,
I think you feel really good about being able to
rattle off a bunch of them.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
And it's kind of like the is this the streak starter?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
It kind of feels like it could be a lynch
pin type game. It has that potential. Again, this is
on paper and you have to go out and play
the games. And so we'll be having different conversations in
the weeks moving forward. But I just feel like, if
you're able to win this game and you get three
straight and you're sitting there at that point at four
and five, it feels like you've at least dug yourself
out of the early season hole. Still more work to do,
(01:21):
but you're not staring up quite as high anymore if
you're able to win this game. And like the Vikings
on their side of things, they're sitting there kind of
having a similar conversation, feeling like, Okay, their division still
within reach. They can they come back from playing a
bunch of games without their starting quarterback and climb back
into their division race and still make the playoffs. Like
(01:43):
those are all conversations on the Vikings podcast this week.
I'm sure they're having the same talk. And so that's
what makes this game really interesting for both teams. It's
kind of a guy to have a game for both groups,
and it's going to be really important for the Ravens
and there's a lot of things that they're going to
need to do well in order to win this game.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Well. The big news of the week was the trade
deadline on Tuesday, and the Ravens made an addition ahead
of that deadline, trading for Draymont Jones. As we already
talked about the outside linebacker, and he got on the
field immediately Wednesday. John Harball was also very clear in saying, Yep,
he's going to be worked with the game plan and
he's going to play Sunday in Minnesota. We just got
to play exactly so you know, the Ravens were thinned
(02:24):
outside linebacker. Here's Draymont Jones who now leads the team
in sacks and they need his past rush ability to
get after JJ McCarthy.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
I liked what I heard from him. He just felt
like a veteran player who has the right mindset. I
think that he's when you look at him and the
type of player that he's been over the course of
his career, I really think that he fits a lot
of what the Ravens were looking for. He's a physical presence.
He's firstatile, can play either outside linebacker spot, has played
defensive line, like go back to Ohio State. You know
(02:54):
me watch these Ohio State games, like defensive tackle. Earlier
in his career, and so he can play all along
that defensive front. And I know we talked about it
right after the trade went down, like could there be
scenarios where they put him and Kyle van Noy and
Mike Green all on the field together. I think that
possibility exists. I think we may see some pass rush
situations where all those guys around the field and trying
(03:16):
to apply pressure on the quarterback. So I like him
and I like that, like he's a he's a tough dude.
And you got that sense in talking to him.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
You said you liked what you heard from Let's go
Let's run the clip when he was asked what he's
gonna bring to Baltimore.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Uh, somebody who physicals.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Hell, we're going to attack every play like he said
last and Uh, We're gonna go out there and just
try to kill.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
So obviously a fiery guy and he has he has
kind of this tough mindset.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
And I think versatility is key and you talked about
that earlier and ALOHI Gilman brought that in part because
of what he allowed Kyle Hamilton to do. He delivered
versatility for somebody else primarily Yeah, he like he unlocked
the versatile, versustility. Draymond Jones has the versatility himself, and
Mike Green I talked to in the locker room this
(04:05):
week and he said, Yeah, this guy has a diverse
set of of skills.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
And tools in his bag.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
And I think that it could kind of unlock the
front seven the way that Alohi Gilman unlocked the secondary.
And it's going to be a similar challenge for Draymond
Jones and Eloi Goman had and getting up to speed
quickly and understanding the scheme and making the kind of
instant splash that AlOH he did. But certainly I think
(04:32):
not an impossible task, especially for an edge rusher.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Go get the quarterback, go by pressure. Yeah, he's done this.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
He also has the advantage of he played in similar
schemes in Tennessee. Dinard Wilson, who was a defensive backs
coach here in Baltimore the year before, was his defensive
coordinator in Tennessee. Go back even two years he played
in Seattle in Mike McDonald's defense. And so I think
that there's a lot of crossover. There's a lot of crossover.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
I think, honestly, that's one thing that I didn't really
think about when the trade went down, just from like
a scheme fit and familiarity standpoint, but that is tangible.
He's basically been those teams run set and the Titans
they run the Ravens defense. Like we have seen this
permeate throughout the NFL. Mike McDonald out in Seattle, it's
(05:21):
virtually the same system that he ran here. And Dinard
Wilson in Tennessee is running a very similar system. And
so as more teams will running this Ravens defense that
has been highly successful, that helps the transition process similar
to a Lohi Gillman, same system overall that they're running
system Jesse Minter is running there. Who was he was
(05:44):
an assistant here and he also followed Mike McDonald at
Michigan and so like it's the same defensive scheme format
like that that exists. And so I think that helped
a Lohi Gillman make the transition. I think it's going
to help Draymont Jones make that same transition and just
make it kind of an easy process. And like if
(06:04):
you need if Jraymond Jones needs any tips on how
to like get acclimated quickly, just go ask a Lohi Gilman.
I mean that guy came in, jumped in right away
and helped change this defense. It took him like no
time at all to be able to do that.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Jaymont Jones is also going to keep everybody fresher. Mike
Green was explicit and saying, yeah, we needed somebody. It's
you know, he's a rookie, he's got those young legs,
and even he was saying, we need another body in there.
It's just a lot of snaps, and so I think
he also helps magnify everybody else and that's gonna be
(06:38):
a good thing for the Ravens defense. Another good thing
is that the Ravens are very healthy right now. The
Wednesday injury report comes out and it's a blank sheet,
no injuries to report. Everybody was a full participant. So
you love to see that. I can't remember the last
time I've ever seen the Ravens have no injuries to
(06:59):
report during the week.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
When you're at this point of the season and you're
able to be healthy, that's massive. And just go back
like a month of the game against the Rams where
you're ruling out like five Pro Bowlers. You're ruling out
Rokwan Smith and Marlon Humphrey and Lamar Jackson more key
players on this team. And so now you flash forward
(07:20):
to this point and your team is healthy, Like I'm
not going to sit here and act like that's a
permanent fixture like that can change, as we all know.
But for this moment in time to be as healthy
as the Ravens are, that changes things.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Yeah, going into Week ten, it's extremely rare. And the
Ravens obviously were massive beneficiaries of the bye, and then
they had a mini buy after the Miami game. They
were healthy going into Miami and then they had extra
time off after that game. It makes a huge difference.
The health of a team makes a massive difference. And
you look at the Vikings injury report and it's a
(07:55):
very different story. Running Back Aaron Jones Junior this time
did not practice on Wednesday with shoulder and tow injuries.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
We'll see if he suits up.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Josh Oliver, former Ravens tight end. He's really good blocking
ten end, key part of their team. He's dealing with
a foot injury right now. It's doubtful that he's gonna play.
Harrison Smith he mispracticed on Wednesday. I no, he should
probably be back. That was not injury related, but he
should be back. They have offensive linemen Will Fries dealing
with a calf injury. You know, you go down the list,
(08:25):
Christian Darrisol. Their offensive line has been very banged up.
Christian Darisol has been kind of maging reps. He's got
a knee injury. He's gonna play, but we'll see.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Yeah, And so.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
It's a tale of two different stories with these two
teams health wise.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yeah. Again, can't say enough about the value of it
and being healthy at the time of the year. And
the Ravens have been on the other side of it.
The Vikings have honestly been on the other side of
it too. Like you look at them, they played a
month without the sharding quarterback JJ McCarthy. He returned last week. Yeah,
I don't know, those injuries are notable, but I think
(09:02):
probably you talk to a Vikings fan, they probably feel like, hey,
we're getting healthier simply for the fact that you get
your quarterback back in the lineup, you get your starting
quarterback healthy. That just feels like it. That's like getting
ten players back. And it looked that way last week
for them. When they go into Detroit play their arrival,
win that game twenty seven to twenty four, and McCarthy
(09:24):
like he seems to have given that team some juice.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Yeah, he's provided a spark.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
And you know he didn't put up huge numbers, but
he's a guy who can can scramble, picked up, scored
a rushing touchdown, he threw a couple other touchdowns, and
so you know, this is a rookie. He's getting ready
to play his fourth NFL game against the Ravens, and obviously,
anytime you go against a rookie, he's not a rookie.
He's in his second year. He missed his first year
(09:49):
with an injury, but.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
A semi rookie.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
He's a semi rookie. Anytime you play such a young quarterback,
you want to flummoxam. As a defense, you want to
throw them different looks, make him guess, keep him guessing,
keep him on his toes. You want a ratt him,
You want to pressure him, all those different things. The
Ravens have had a lot of success against rookie and
air quote quarterbacks over the years, and that's what you
want to replicate. But John Harball, when asked about JJ McCarthy,
(10:11):
who you.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Know it's pretty darn well.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
John Harball spent a fair amount of time around that
Michigan program. He's talked to his brother a lot. And
JJ McCarthy was Jim Harball's guy at Michigan.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
He was a quarterback under Jim Harball when Michigan won
the National chang exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
So Jim Harball is a huge fanage of JJ McCarthy
and I'm sure that John's heard a lot about him
over the years. And when John Harball was asked about him,
he said this, He's a fighter.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
He is just fighter.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Doesn't give up on a play, doesn't give up in
the games, doesn't give up in a season.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
He's a fighter.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
That was the word that John Harball used. And so
the Ravens are going to have a tough time kind
of knocking this rookie, you know, around or off his game,
but they're gonna try.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Yeah. Well, John Harball was at that National championship game
when Michigan won it, and JJ McCarthy led the Wolverines
to a national championship, So he's seen it and of
course he's heard it from his brother, and he gives
he gives the vikings like he plays with it.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Edge and the spark. I think that he like he's
kind of.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Fiery, Like you look at some of their you look
at their videos of their postgame locker room speeches, like
he's firing up that group, and like he doesn't carry
himself what I've seen from the outside looking in, Like
he doesn't seem to carry himself as a young player,
as a rookie. That's just kind of trying to find
his way. Like he's like a rally around type guy,
which is saying something for a guy who has only
(11:30):
played three NFL games, But he kind of has that
magnetic force around him, it seems, and guys seem to
be responding to it, and so like, and then you
talk about just like what he brings to the table
the running. He's not putting up huge numbers, like last
game he had nine carries for twelve yards, but he
also had a touchdown. He's had two rushing touchdowns and
(11:50):
three games this year only sixty two yards on the ground.
But seems to scramble and keep plays alive. He's not
a guy that like is putting up monster numbers. No,
but he's efficient and they've got excellent skill players and
he plays with that fire and that spark, and I
think that just elevates the offense.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yep. Absolutely, So we're gonna take a break. When we
come back, we're going to talk about more keys to
this game, what the Ravens need to do to beat
the Vikings.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
You're listening to the Ravens Lounge podcast. We are coming
to you from the Sea Geek Studio. We also want
to mention our partners at DraftKings Sportsbook. They are an
official sports betting partner of the Baltimore Ravens DraftKings Sportsbook.
The Crown is yours now before we continue the conversation
about what the Ravens need to do to get a
win this weekend against the Vikings. Also want to mention
big event that's happening at Mt. Bak Stadium this weekend,
(12:39):
the Girls Flag Championships. We've got the semi finals on
Friday and then the finals coming up on Saturday. This
has been a big initiative for the Ravens over the
last several years, expanding the game a flag football game
in high schools and it's been a multi year effort
and it's been awesome to see the game grow the
way that it has, getting more and more high schools
(13:00):
across the state, and then this weekend every year is
kind of the celebration of those efforts that you have
the chance for these girls and these teams to come
out and play at the Bank in that environment. It's
just really cool and it's been awesome to see the
game grow and get to the point where it is
today and these girls have a chance to play and
step on the field inside M ANDTBC Stadium. It's pretty awesome.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Our last episode, we talked about the Purple the Purple
Evening event and the Ravens Female fan Club, and this
is kind of an extension of that, right. This is
the minor leagues yea, all right, and getting more girls
playing the sport. It's an amazing sport, and flag football
just generally speaking, girls end boys is becoming a bigger
(13:44):
and bigger thing and you love to see it. So
it's just you feel great for these girls and everybody,
the coaches and parents and all that, and you just
want to bring more people into football.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Yeah, for sure. And the games again, the semi finals
are on Friday to thirty is when the first game is,
and then there's the finals on Saturday. You can get
tickets to that on seat geek or Baltimore Ravens dot com.
Again their free tickets. You just have to go ahead
and claim your passes. So if you want to see that,
celebrate these girls and the accomplishments that they have over
(14:15):
the course of this year, make sure you get tickets
to that. So as that's happening, the Ravens are gonna
be heading out to Minnesota to take on the Vikings.
And just to continue that conversation in your mind, like,
as we're talking about keys of this game, what is
it gonna take for the Ravens to have success on offense.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Well, they're gonna have to deal with the Vikings blitz
and Brian Flora as their defensive coordinator.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
He likes to dial it up.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
He blitzes at the second highest rate in the league
according to Next Gen Stats at forty three point seven percent,
and the Ravens have some history with this. Lamar Jackson
the last time he dealt with Brian Flores was down
in Miami in twenty twenty one in a game that
we referenced last week.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
It was the Thursday night football.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Game down in Miami in which Flora is just blitzed
the living snot out of the Ravens and really stemied
Lamar Jackson in that offense, and that games stuck in
the Ravens memory and since then, they've come up with
a lot more answers to the blitz and Lamar Jackson
has been absolutely roasting it. The Miami Dolphins, by the way,
have blitz at the third highest percentage in the league
(15:19):
this year. How'd that work out from last week?
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Yeah, Lamar Jackson threw.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Four touchdown passes, and so this game is kind of
an inflection point on just how far Lamar Jackson has
come against the blitz in his career. He's one of
the best in the league among many categories, or he's
the best in the league. Yeah, but the blitz has
really been one of the most impressive career advancements for
(15:43):
Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Ye. John Harbaugh said that week this week that the
game of twenty twenty one against the Dolphins was a
key game the evolution of our offense. And so at
that point the Ravens didn't handle the blitz well. They
went to work on figuring out what they needed to
do to change and handle it better. It's kind of
funny I will make, I will say, and I understand
why we're talking about it same. I mean, Brian Flores
(16:06):
was the head coach there at Miami at that point,
but it was a defensive play caller, so I understand
the connections. But like even Lamar made the point like
this four years ago, how long are we going to
talk about that game against Miami from two thousand and
one or twenty twenty one, that Thursday night game? It
just keeps coming up. It came up last week. I
feel like we've been talking about it NonStop over the
past ten days, and so well.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
It's the same guy I get.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
So that's that's why this week it's Brian Flores and
it's he's gonna call it again. It's coming and it
might not be as heavy as it was that night
in Miami that was a crazy outlier, but they're gonna
blitz a lot and the Ravens need to be able
to handle it, and it's gonna be loud, and they
need to get have their communication and there you know,
they have to have everything their protections, sort it out
(16:54):
up front and handle that pressure because there's gonna be
an immense amount of pressure on the Ravens off.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
There's pressure and there's noise and the Ravens that's part
of it. Yeah, they've been preparing for that. I'll just
tell you this week the practice, the sounds have been
coming from the practice field over the past few days.
It's about as loud as I've ever heard it out
there at practice. They've got crowd noise, they've got the
horn of Minnesota plays like a classic horn, and key
(17:20):
situations on third downs and big moments of the game.
That's been blaring non sop out on the practice field
and literally in this building you can hear the crowd
noise and that horn horn throughout practice, Like if you're
getting going to your car getting something at lunch, you're like,
you can hear the horn, and it's the Ravens have
been preparing for that. They know it's a loud environment.
(17:42):
I've been I've been there. The Ravens haven't played there,
you know, in eight years, but like and so most
of the guys on this team have not played there
in Minnesota, yep. And it's one of the louder, tougher
places in my mind to experience. Now. The Ravens have
played and play a lot of places Kansas City.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
I love the way that Lamar Jackson talks about it.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
He's just like, yeah, I mean I played football for
a while now it's my eights NFL season, played big
time college games up.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
It's been loud before.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Yeah, exactly, he's now playball.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Exactly now In Minnesota, they're probably thinking, all right, you know,
you'll see what level it is here.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Yeah, like it's one of the louder stadiums. But again,
Kansas City is loud, uh Vegas really loud, Buffalo is loud,
Pittsburgh is loud, and key moments like the Ravens have
played in tough loud environments and Lamar Jackson has won
a lot of games on the road.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Yep, I'll pay you five bucks right now, Okay if
I get if you can say the name of the horn, Okay,
so I'm gonna spell it for you, okay.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
GJ A L l A R H O R N.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Give I don't know, give me the give me the
scoop on the horn.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
I don't know. I just said, you know, I get
five bucks.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
I say you can give yourself five bucks.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Yallo horn, Well that's the Yalla horn.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
I mean it's Norwegian I think Norwegian, because you know
the big Norwegian presence up there in Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Galla horn, gollahorn, gonna I'm gonna go.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
With that, Okay. Well, they they often bring back, you know,
like legend players to blow the horn, and it's like
a big moment in there, and it's cool, like like
it's a it's a cool game day experience up there.
And and one thing I think the Ravens actually do
a really good job of and and this is something
that I think that John Harbaugh has kind of instilled,
is like they they seem to like relish those types
(19:32):
of moments that like they're not looked at as intimidating
moments because they've heard it at practice. We've seen this
with Renegade going all the way back, like all throughout
the week when the Ravens are getting ready to play
the Steelers, they're playing Renegade, and so like when they
hear it in that game, they're like, all right, this
is great. We've been waiting for this. And it's kind
of a similar thing with with items like the horn,
(19:52):
where you just you've heard it all week, you've prepared
for it, you do the.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
So US reporters as are watching practice on the side
and we started doing the skull cup.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
You can do that. You can do that today.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
I don't think of good on that, but yeah, it'll
be it'll be a fun environment. I think the Ravens
are excited to be in that kind of setting, in
this kind of game. And but it's a challenge. Like
Charlie Kohler friend and Lounge talked about, you got to
be on your p's and keys, and you have to
be very detail oriented and it's going to be a
(20:26):
test of what Todd Munkin talked about all summer was
we have to be elite at the at the operational
side of our offense, the pre snap adjustments, all of that.
This is the game where it gets put to the test.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Totally agree. Now, on the defensive side, a guy who
I've got starred as a huge player in this game
is second year cornerback Nate Wiggins, and I don't know
if he's going to travel with Justin Jefferson as he's
done in some recent games, But whether he travels or not,
I think he's going to be matched up against Justin
(21:00):
Jefferson plenty of times in this game, and Jefferson might
be the best receiver in football. If you don't keep
a lid on him, then it's going to be a
long day. And Nate Wiggins is going to have that
assignment plenty of times on Sunday. And I think there's
a lot of pressure on his shoulders. I think he's come.
He's made a big jump in year two. And the
thing that I really like about him is that he
(21:21):
wants that assignment, like he wants the pressure.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Wouldn't surprise me if he asked the coaches for that
assignment this week.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
We don't know, but wouldn't surprise me.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Would not surprise me. He's done that over the course
of his of his time. He did it in college
and then he's done it here.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
Chuck Bacano talked about at the bye like Nate Wiggins
went to the coaches basically earlier this season. It was like,
give me the number one guy, Like I'm ready, I'm
this is why you drafted me?
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Yeah, and so like, no bigger number one guy justin Jefferson.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
So like, I won't be surprised at all if he's
covering him from the majority of the game and following
him all around the field, and that's going to be
a test for Nate and I like, I think he's
playing great football and I think he's up to the challenge.
But that's no easy assignment.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Yeah, absolutely agree. I think it goes beyond Justin Jefferson.
Jordan Addison is another really good wide receiver for them.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
They have some t J.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Hockinson at tight end. They have some weapons on that
offense that you have to contend with. Their head coach
Kevin O'Connell was complimentary of the Ravens secondary, saying it's
one of the best cornerback groups in the league. And
then you add on top of that Kyle Hamilton and
a Loe Gilmot at safety and Malachi Starks, and you
know they feel like they have their hands full with
the Ravens secondary too. So certainly this is a good
(22:34):
battle of skill skill position players wideouts versus secondary and
this is the game why where you see why the
Ravens invest so much in their secondary when you look
at their salary cap.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Yeah. Well, an interesting thing of Jordan Addison, he came
out in the same draft class as say Flowers, so
they're always going to be connected a little bit. Vikings
took him right before the Ravens ended up taking save flowers.
But those two guys are always going to be connected
just because they were both first round picks and selected
just a few spots apart from each other. So it's
not like they're matching up against each other or anything
(23:09):
like that. But an interesting little note in this game
with those two guys.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Yep. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
The Ravens also have an interesting note in terms of
tight end Mark Andrews, who is on the precipice of
becoming the franchise leader in receiving yards. He needs eighteen
yards in this game to take the title away from
Derek Mason for most receiving yards in Ravens history. Gonna
I'm gonna say Mark Andrews gets that done.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
You think it happens this week?
Speaker 1 (23:35):
He also eighteen yards I think he's got He might
get that on the first series.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
This one catch could do that. He also is only
ten catches away from breaking the record for all time
receptions leaders, so Mark already has the touchmost receiving touchdowns
in franchise history. He's now eighteen yards away from the
most receiving yards in franchise history, and he's ten catches
away from the most catches, no.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Ten catches history a lot that would be.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
A lot may not happen in this week, but in
the next couple of games, I think that's gonna happen.
And Mark, he talked this week about it. He made
the point that like, look, this is a testament to
playing with the god of great players and give credit
around and talked about kind of the pride that he
has and in the longevity and the consistency and being
(24:19):
here and being a valued member of the organization. Also
made the point that it's it's not like the focus.
He's such a locked in guy that wants He even said, like,
I hope this isn't the biggest record that I said,
the biggest accomplishment that I have. He wants, he wants
a championship here, but I just I'm happy for Mark
to be able to get to this point. I think
(24:40):
that there's been far too much conversation, in my mind,
especially over the last year, of do the Ravens trademark
Andrews and move on and all this stuff, and players
have consistently said, leading with Lamar Jackson, like let's stop
that chatter right in its tracks. And I think that
there's probably not even enough appreciation for how good of
a player Mark Andrews is currently and how he has
(25:03):
been over the course of his entire career here like
he's been he has been the marked man on this
Ravens passing a game. Yeah hold on, yeah, I didn't
even plan for that, but he's been. He's been the
marked man for this Ravens passing attack really since twenty nineteen,
and he's had a lot of eyes on him and
just consistently he goes out there and puts up production
(25:23):
and makes tough catches and shows up in big moments.
And these records that he's on the precipice of breaking
are just a further indication of that. And I just
think he's he's an all time great raven and.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
He might go down is the greatest Ravens pass catcher ever.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Well, he's gonna have basically all's gonna have.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
You got the trifecta of records, you got the title.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Because it he's gonna be there.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
And it's so funny that it's a tight end, you know.
Todd Heap was kind of held that for I mean,
Mason had a great run or whatever, but like he
wasn't a career, Raven wasn't drafted by the Ravens, Like
wasn't a homegrown Raven great player, awesome, but it was
a little bit different from homegrown guys. And Todd Heap
was that dude. And now Mark Andrews is going to
become that and so that's that's pretty cool. And the
(26:11):
thing about Mark that I respect the most is that
this dude is just as professional as you could ever
ask for the way he and he talked about it,
I asked him about what did he envision for his
career when he first was drafted by the Ravens in
the third round in twenty eighteen.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
What did he see coming?
Speaker 1 (26:30):
And he was like, man, I just knew I was
always going to be hungry, Like I was just going
to be hungry, hungry, hungry, And that's never changed, that hunger.
And that's what that's honestly what you see. Nobody's ever
more diut in than Mark Andrews. And you know, even
through the turmoil that he had in the playoffs last
year to come back the way he has this year,
(26:51):
been the same exact.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Guy, no difference in Mark Andrews.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
And also I thought Charlie Kohler made a good point
on this podcast that he's had to deal a little
bit with his an evolving role. You know.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
I mean, he used to be the guy.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
He was the guy five years ago, and now he's
not the guy in this ravings pass catching group.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
There's a lot of guys.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
This Hay Flowers Bateman, you know, even in his own
room isaa likely. So you know, he's had to adjust
to that to a degree, which can be tough for
a player who's going to be your franchise leader all time. Yeah,
and he has without batting an eye and that's just
speaks to Mark. He's a pro who's about the team,
(27:37):
the team, the team, and he just wants to win.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Yeah, And he's done a lot of winning in his career.
And I really do think that these records that he's
about to break, I think that he it's nice. I
think that he's he totally understands the history of it.
But I think that he is far more focused right
now and in the game on Sunday, on helping this
team try to get back to the playoffs and make
a and that's really where his mind is in and end.
(28:02):
But we will give him credit, We'll give him his
flowers and props because they are well deserved.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
I think Mark Andrews getting that record on Sunday is
more likely than you pronouncing the horn.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
Probably fair, that's correct, not you either, You didn't do
any better.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Hey, hey, I got closed and give it. I'm gonna
ask why Norwegian relatives how close it was?
Speaker 3 (28:23):
All right, we'll see, we'll see. So as always, you
can email us at the lounge at Ravens dot NFL
dot net. Kickoff Sunday is one o'clock, so we can't
wait for that game. We'll be back with you after
the game of breaking it all down for you. So
thank you so much for listening, and we'll be back
with you again on Sunday
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