 Contenders, pretenders, chicken tenders, going tender. What are these Baltimore Ravens? You know how to throw a little dad joke in it. Anyway, first question came from my guy Jay Fire. He said, yo, what's up in gravy? And it's your boy Jay Fire again. Glad to have you back stateside and hope that vacation was amazing. Yes, it was great. I appreciate you, though. He said, Emmanuel Acho said on his show recently that he does not see Ravens as contenders because the people they beat were weak. And when they played strong teams, they lost. What you think about that? Are the Ravens contenders this year in your eyes? Ooh, that is a great question, a great way to start us off on this episode. So the Ravens, they lost to the Beals. A lot of people see them as contenders. They lost to the Dolphins. They are seeming to emerge themselves as contenders. And they also lost to the Giants. And Giants are on a roll right now looking like, looking like they could be contenders as well. I'm like, I'm not fully sold on it. Hey, but they went in. They went in, so you can't say nothing about that. But I'm not fully sold on the Giants right now. But we'll see how it goes. We'll see how it goes. But anyway, the Ravens, they are they contenders? They can be. They certainly can be. And it's all just gonna depend on what they do in the playoffs. Like, I don't think any Ravens, and again, not in a cocky way, but I don't think any Ravens fan is extra concerned about the rest of the regular season. Ravens seem to be finding their identity and really rolling with it. Their defense just got that much stronger. And they're gonna be getting some more players back healthy as the season goes along. So I don't think regular season is going to be an issue for the Ravens. Even if they lose another game, if they lose another two games, I think that they'll win out for the most part. But playoffs, playoffs is my biggest concern. They had an issue with closing against those really good teams. Now, but playoffs are really gonna test it. Playoffs are really gonna test whether the Ravens closing issues are completely fixed. Like completely fixed. And I mean, hopefully the Ravens do get in a position to show us that, hey, we can close it out. Because again, like it's been brought up every single game. Ravens have built up double-digit leads against every single opponent, good opponents, bad opponents and everybody in between. They've done that. So the fact that they can do that, it's like, hey, okay, hey, we can rock with these guys. But playoffs is the biggest concern. That's where, that's what everybody's like waiting on right now for the Ravens in my eyes. I think that's what everybody's like, regular season's like, all right, hey, we'll try this out, we'll try that out. We'll get by, okay, cool. Cause Ravens have been here before. Ravens have been in this position before where the regular season, they had some little shaky moments or whatnot, but then it's like, oh, okay, whoa, they looking a lot better. And then playoffs, they end up falling flat. So if they are truly contenders, which I think they can be, but they certainly gonna get tested because come playoffs, that's where everybody, they try to take away what you do the best. They try to take away what you do best. Ravens, they, right now, the way that they built it, philosophy and all that is run game, run game, run game, efficiency with the passing game, not volume, but they bank on efficiency and then great defense. So teams are really, on offense, they're gonna try to take away that run game. So my concern is, all right, I just don't wanna see Ravens put in the same position that they've been put in year after year after year, where it's like, all right, team sell out, they stopped the run game. The passing game is looking like, oh, what do we do now? Who steps up? Who shows out? Cause Hollywood ain't there no more. You know, Hollywood come play off time. Hey, Hollywood was good for it, man. Come play like that, that boy just, he don't know nothing but showing out in the playoffs, but he's gone. So I'm just, that's my fear. And Mark Andrews in the playoffs, he's been really quiet. He's been really, really quiet. And it's like, ooh, okay. Mark Andrews doesn't have a great track record in the playoffs. Hollywood is gone. Rashad Bateman's out for the season and he never played in the playoffs anyway, but what's it gonna be? That's my big thing moving forward. What's it gonna be when teams are like, all right, Ravens, y'all ain't running on us. Y'all ain't running on us. What's it gonna be? So it's funny because I was having a conversation with my guy, Kevin, Kevin Red. Shout out to him, by the way. Shout out to you and your family too. Your wife, your kids, they super cool, super cool family, I loved them. And we were talking and we were talking about the offense. And I was saying like, man, with the way that the Ravens they run things like with the passing game, it like has to be perfect. There is so, there's like no room for error with the Ravens passing game because the volume is super low. And I told him like, that worries me. But he was like, hey, but as far as Ravens defense, he said opposing teams, their offense, it has little room for error because the Ravens, their defense is so strong. Oh, that is a good point. That's a very good point. So Ravens like, they strengthened what was their strength as far as, again, adding Roquan Smith. And hey, could Marcus Williams be back for the Panthers game? I wouldn't care. Oh, they did, they said December anyway. So no. But yeah, it's just interesting to think about. So I think they can be contenders. They can, but throughout the rest of the regular, we won't find out. I don't think we'll really find out for the rest of the regular season because they play, they play a lot of bad teams. And of course, like with the records, they don't show like the context of the games that a lot of these teams played in. And these teams, a lot of times, like stuff just doesn't go their way. It could be a tip and exception. It could be a drop pass. It could be a bad call. It could be this, that and a third. But hey, these teams, they lost a lot more games than they won. But come playoff time, you have to be ready to adjust. You have to be on point. And this Ravens team like, defense I ain't worried about. I ain't worried about the Ravens defense and the playoffs. I mean, we've seen that their defense and the playoffs, they usually show up for the most part, but it's the offense that's my concern. How is this offense gonna be? What's gonna be playing B if teams take away plan A? How are they gonna react to those pressure situations? Who's gonna be that clutch person for them that really shows up on offense? And gotta be Lamar too, but it can't just be Lamar. Who else is it gonna be too? Now Lamar, Lamar, again, he is not faultless from things that have happened in this season. He's not faultless. Of course, he's missed some throws for sure. He's missed some throws. There have been some times, I remember the Bills game where he's thrown it a little bit late. Twice in that game, actually, both times got picked off by what? Was it Jordan Poyer thing? But either way, and he's certainly missed, he's missed some layup throws too. So he gotta tighten up. But then again, that's what scares me about the offense moving forward because it's like, if Lamar misses a throw, Ravens, the volume is so low. So again, those throws are emphasized just like with people's drops. We receive his drops on this team. Everything gets emphasized that much more because the volume is so low. What's gonna happen when the volume only gets pushed up, come play off time? Cause I don't really, I don't expect them to be like, all right, hey guys, let's really start airing it out now for the rest of the regular season. I don't expect them to do that. I don't think anybody should expect them to do that. I don't expect them to change their identity and be like, all right, we're gonna go pads heavy, da, da, da, da, da, no. But I just, again, I'm just wondering how is it gonna be come play off time? That's my biggest thing. So again, just to go back to the original question, God, no, we went on a tangent. We could talk about this all day. But do I think the Ravens are contenders or pretenders? I will put them a little more on the side of contenders, but it's one of those things where we really won't know till we know. But something that goes in their favor is the fact that, me, I'm not one of them people that's like, oh, well, hey, I'm glad that they lost. Kind of, so it's funny with some fans, they'll be like, if the Ravens would be undefeated right now, there'd be a lot of fans that'd be very happy. I'd be very happy. But with the Ravens' losses, some fans that'd be like, well, the Ravens, they needed those losses. They needed those losses. At me, I'm like, I don't really feel like you need a loss. I know what you're saying, I'm like, okay, better to lose in a regular season than a playoffs, obviously. But I feel like even in wins, you should still be looking for things to correct. It shouldn't take a loss for you to be like, all right, we need to correct this, that, and the third. But yeah, man, we'll just see how this thing plays out. But in those losses, you can look back and look at little things that the Ravens could fix and should fix where it's like, oh, okay, yeah, oh, all right, yeah. They can make that happen. Oh, okay, all right, yeah, yeah, they can fix that. There's little things here and there. But they certainly, like, they were tested early on. They were tested early on this season, like literally from Chump from the beginning of the season, they got tested early on. But, and of course, like, just because these teams got bad records that the Ravens are gonna be going up against, it don't mean that the Ravens won't have their struggles and they won't have their issues and they won't have things that, or times where they just may not look as good. It's gonna happen. Well, hopefully it doesn't happen, but it's most likely gonna happen sometimes. But yeah, playoffs, man, playoffs is a different animal. And that has been an animal that the Ravens just, they have not been able to tame for the most part thus far. So regular season is cool, but playoffs, that will really answer the question on if the Ravens are really for real. But for now, like, they seem like they can be. But again, it's regular season is regular season. We know, like, going into the sea, we said it so many times. We said it so many times that, hey, if Lamar Jackson's healthy, the majority of the team healthy and whatnot, Ravens will get into the playoffs. They'll get there. Regular season has, for years, regular season has not been an issue. That's not what anybody should be worried about. But playoffs, man, playoffs. So that's when we'll really be able to answer the question. But I would say, based off of this regular season, though, thus far, I would put them in the contender category, again, simply because of the double-digit lead part, simply because of that part. And that, like, again, against the Bills, they did it. Against the Dolphins, they did it. Against the Giants, they did it. Like, all these teams, like, these are against Dolphins 7-3, Giants, I think 7-2, Bills 6-3. Like, these are teams with good records and Ravens were up on them. Ravens had opportunities. But I know the Dolphins game, I think they only scored, like, three points in the second half. The Bills game, I think they only scored three points in the second half. The Giants game, the turnovers just got ugly. But this Ravens team now, like, if they were playing the football that they're playing right now against those teams, especially with the added Roquan Smith, those games could be flipped. They could be flipped. And especially if Gus Edwards was a big difference too. He was a big difference maker. He didn't play and not one of those games. Gus Edwards did not play and not one of those games. So, Ronnie Stanley, he didn't play in the Dolphins game. He didn't play in the Bills game. No, he didn't play in the Bills game. Did he play in the Giants game? I don't think he did, but I don't remember if he played in that one or not. Or if that's when his snap count started. I don't remember. But, you know what? I don't think he did, but I don't remember, don't call me on that because y'all know I got a bad memory. But Gus Edwards and Ronnie Stanley, big impact makers, man. Big impact maker. They have made such a big difference for these Baltimore Ravens. So, with those two back alone, the offense has just changed a lot, a whole lot. And yeah, man. So now it's just about stacking, building wins, building consistency, and just keeping this thing rolling, man. If Ravens can do that, then they can certainly be contenders in this league. Man, this feels like a dream. Oh, just what I mean. What I mean. You too, team, keep it clean. You see my boy, he like automated. Automated. Boy, that's my homie. Ain't that right engraving? Right engraving. Wow, who knew we could spend like 13, 14 minutes on one question? I did, because y'all know I'd be running my mouth. Anyway, next question came from my god, Nazarene. I appreciate you being a patron, Nazarene. You say, what's up, big bro? Hope all is well. Everything is great by me. You said, I'm watching a video about Roquan Smith being like Ray Lewis now, um, no. Roquan is nowhere near Ray Lewis. The only thing he could probably surpass Ray is the most tackled by a middle linebacker in the first five years. Other than that, Ray Lewis is literally just better. Roquan is more like Bobby Wagner, which is not a bad thing. It's not a bad thing at all. But anyway, back to this question. He said, Ray was a better pass rusher, better tackler, better run stuff or a better pass cover. And guess what? Ray Lewis weakness was literally pass rushing. His pass rushing is pretty high for an inside linebacker. Man, I think people should get a PFF account. It's amazing information on there. Hey, everybody, they probably don't want to pay for that, man. Everybody want, and PFF is so weird, man. This is why I think it's so important to actually, like for people to look with their own eyes at like to see what they see. Cause if you like, I think last, in the same game for example, I think Justin Houston had like this super low grade on PFF, but he bald. You watched the game, like this dude was bald and he got what, two and a half sex, got the pic in there. And he had a low grade and it was like, what? So PFF, they can be very funny sometimes. But anyway, he said they still have some of the greatest, they still have some of the greatest to ever play ratings on there. Ray is basically the perfect linebacker. Like I said in the previous message, Ray is the Peyton Manning of defense, straight captain, straight animal and was feared like Lawrence Taylor, Reggie, White, Ronnie Lott, Ed Reed, et cetera. He is the middle linebacker. God, no cap. Roquan is definitely, oh, definitely perfect for the pieces we have on defense, but he's no Ray Lewis. He's a younger Bobby Wagner. That's all I got to say. Enjoy your weekend, you enjoy yours too. Even though the weekend has already passed when I'm making this video. And the last question on this episode came from my guy, DJ Gloves. He said, team keep it clean. Hey fam, I'm a new follower who is a special education teacher. Hey, I appreciate you doing that. I appreciate the fact that you teach a special education because, and I told you this before, that's something that's gonna stick with them forever in a positive way. You, and I mean, this is just teachers in general really too, but certainly for special education teachers. That's special right there. So we appreciate you doing that, man. He said, I love the videos and perspectives. You are almost always positive. And when you have a negative comment, it's always fair. Now, don't get disagreeing with something that the Ravens are doing or whatever we're talking about, mixed with negativity. Cause it's a big difference. But anyway, he said, keep making great videos. Yeah, they okay, but I appreciate it. My 22 and 14 year old sons, they love the videos. Tell them I said I appreciate it. Shout out to both of them. I got two questions. This looks like the easiest schedule we have had in a long time. What do you think our chances are that we can make the number one seeds and have the AFC championship games go through Baltimore? I know Kansas City and Buffalo are the favorites, but I don't think they will have the easy schedule that we do. Yeah, we was talking about it earlier. Ravens got a bigger opportunity here that they could take advantage of a huge opportunity. And if you can come away with home field advantage, if you obviously, first and foremost, you got to try to win a division. Then of course you got to try to, yeah, get that number one seed. If you can get it, hey, great. I know there's some people that's like, no, we don't want no number one seed. We don't, we don't want it. Cause we remember Ravens last time they had number one seed. Don't worry about last time. I know 20, let 2019 go. Let it go. Let it go. And I know they look back at 2012 to be like, oh, Ravens didn't have number one seed back. Let it go. They get number one seed, great. If they don't, okay, cool, whatever. But number one seed will be great. Of course, especially if you, like, hey, these referees, they be changing stuff, man. Especially if you get a little home cooking or whatnot. I know you ain't gonna play, but anyway. Yeah, they got a big opportunity, man. Cause their schedule is, yeah, they literally got the easiest schedule for the rest of the year. So they sitting pretty right now. So hopefully they bank on that. Oh, get it, M&T Bank on. Anyway, he said, my next question is more of a statement. I like Greg Roman, but I feel like he listens to the media too much and gets in his own head. When we play Ravens football, we win. When he tries to get cute, we end up losing like with Miami and the Giants. Lamar is Lamar. He isn't Brady, which is fine with me. I love Lamar for being himself. I think he can throw the ball and I never doubt that. But I want to know if you agree or not, does Greg Roman get in his own head and why do you think he does that? It's not always when we are down either. In Tampa, he tried to get cute in the first half and we took the game over when we finally started playing Ravens football. Our line is built to run the ball. I'm not saying they can't pass block, but even Stanley was one of the best run blockers in his draft. We have an athletic O-line built to run. What's your thoughts also? Thanks again for answering. Hope you're doing great and keep making videos. Give the city something to come together for. Thanks for all you do. Hey, appreciate you. Be more buried 52. Much love, man. With Greg Roman, he's a, I mean, he's Greg Roman. He again, not a bad offensive coordinator, but yeah, sometimes it, sometimes he can sort of over complicate things. And I mean, the way I feel about Greg Roman, I feel like he is great for a young quarterback, maybe even a rookie quarterback, their first like couple of years in the league. But I feel like that quarterback will be capped as far as what they do, their growth. I feel like after those first couple of years, and it's like, okay, it's really time to move on. It's time to expand. It's time to grow. And I just feel like we haven't seen it with this offense. So I feel like we haven't seen it as much as we should have with Lamar. So yeah, but as far as Greg Roman getting in his own head, does he listen to the media? I know the Ravens, they listen to the media. So, hey, it could be Greg Roman. That stuff could trickle down in him, obviously, with him being an offensive coordinator. We know John Hallbaugh listens to the media. Because he's made several comments over the years, letting us know that he listens to the media. Lamar, he hears all that stuff too. A lot of Ravens players they hear. I mean, they own social media, so they see what's going on. They watch the TV. Marlon Humphrey brought it up how they'll be at practicing stuff and after practice, and they'll be having ESPN and whatever on and they're here themselves being talked about and whatnot. So they see everything. They see everything. I mean, in fact, Ronnie Stanley, tonight, I had tweeted that Ravens need to change from the Seven Nation Army song, because everybody in like every stadium sings their song. Everybody, everybody, oh, oh, oh, oh. And it's lovely, you know, that was Ravens' thing for a long time, but I feel like they need to change it. Because everybody's doing it. So it's not the same that it used to be. And Ronnie Stanley, he had liked that tweet. Oh, okay, I see you, Ronnie, but anyway. Anyway, with Greg Roman, yeah, if he's listening to the media whatnot, listening to people talk, okay, whatever, you gonna hear what they say, but it's up to you to actually, to feed off of it. You can still do your own thing. And I mean, this offense, they are built to play to Greg Roman's strengths as a coordinator. That it's built for him and it's built for Ravens' philosophy. So he just really doesn't have an excuse for anything, because it's for him. It's literally for him. It's literally gift wrapped with a big picture, Greg Roman on that smile and Greg, this is your gift, this is for you. So yeah, man, sometimes Ravens, they can overthink some stuff, but again, it seems like, we'll see, it's all about consistency. Cause again, my thing, like with Devon Duvenay, one game he'll be hot, he'll be getting the ball, but getting all these carries, he'll be getting these catches and whatnot. Then the next game is like, oh, silence, nothing. You don't hear nothing from him. It's like, what's going on? What's up with Devon Duvenay? What happened? And there'll be a lot of inconsistency. And it's like, man, he's a playmaker when the ball in his hands, good stuff happens. It'll happen with the run game. The run game will be working and then they'll come out, like pass heavy and stuff. They'll be up and they'll be passing heavy. Like the game, the game will be, Ravens will be like two scores up. They'll still be running LeMau and what, and it's like, oh, what, what are you doing? So I just, I don't know. And that could be some of LeMau's decision too. Cause you know, he be decided sometimes, like, hey, look, I'm just about to take off, man. I'm gonna put the game in my hand. I ain't giving it to Drake. I ain't giving it to Gus. I ain't giving it to JK. I ain't giving it to Justice. I ain't giving it to Micah, or even though Micah don't get no hands off, hands off anyway. But anyway, LeMau could be like, look, I ain't giving it to nobody. I'm taking over myself. But yeah, man, they just, just got to really just, not even necessarily simplify stuff, but sometimes you just got to, you got to get out your own head. And you just, you really just got to settle down. Yeah, this feels like a dream. That's what I mean. What I mean. You two team keep it clean. You see my boy, he like automated. Boy, that's my homie. Ain't that right engraving? Right engraving. Shout out to engraving.