 Who are we getting in 2022? Which version of these Baltimore Ravens will show up to play this season? I know based off of the draft and free agency it seemed like 2019, but then based off of some coaching hires and then last year it could be a mix of that in 2021. So we'll see exactly where these Ravens are headed, but to help us navigate there, to help us see some things that we may not have even been thinking about when it comes to the Ravens, their philosophy, their strategy, the way that they built this roster, we brought on a very, very special guest to help us take a deep dive into it. Yeah, this feels like a dream. Oh, jazz, what a man. You too, team, can you see my boy? He like, out of made it, out of made it. What an engraving. All right, so team, keep it clean. We got a very, very, very special guest in the building. Hendo from Ravens Online, Un Gatekeepers. And you know what, before we get into it, what made you choose that name? Cause I love it, man. What made you choose that name, Un Gatekeepers? Well, I guess I had to take it back to the beginning. So when the pandemic first started, I was watching TV, you know, after a while you pretty much watch everything that's on. So I started getting into YouTube. And once I did, ironically, you were the first person that I started watching. From there, it went to Purple Rain Podcast. And then it led me to Lunch Break Hot Take. And dealing with them guys, I kept hearing people saying, yeah, you know, the Ravens Gatekeepers. So I started, you know, going on Twitter, going in spaces and everything. And I was hearing what they were saying. And I'm like, they really are gatekeeping. Even the worst situations, they try to make the best of it. So I was like, you know what? Let me give the people something a little bit different to listen to. So that's where I came up with the name. Okay. And I see you jumped into YouTube about four months ago. So yeah, it's fresh. So how you been liking it so far? It's nerve-wracking. And quite honestly, when I first started doing it, I thought that maybe I could get 50 subs. And I was gonna be happy. I was complacent with that. I was like, nobody wants to hear what I got to say. And even after all this time and people actually listening to me, it's still nerve-wracking. Yeah, yeah. It can be a lot sometimes, man. But it's cool to be able to not only hear other people's point of view, but be able to present your own too. And different things that you like and what you don't like about what the team is doing and be able to present it honestly too. Before we get into it, where can everybody find you at? Of course, everything will be linked down below in the description. But as far as Twitter and anything else you want them to find you on, let everybody know. Okay, you can find me at Ravens Online on Gatekeeper on YouTube. And you can find me at our Gatekeepers on Twitter and Instagram. All right, perfect. And again, like I said, everything, it's gonna be linked below down in the description. So the Ravens. The date that we were recording this is June 2nd, 2022. How are you feeling about the state of the Ravens right here, right now? So post-free agency, post-the-draft, middle of OTAs, how you feeling about the Ravens right here, right now? Whew, you starting off tough in the beginning. Got to. I feel like any other season. Like I know everybody is like, oh, you know, we're Super Bowl contenders. We have this going on. I don't feel that way. I feel like, yes, Art DeCosta has finally had a strong draft, but I just feel like we are some pieces away from getting where we need to be. Wide receiver, of course, is the most prominent issue that we have right now. No, right. And how do you feel the Ravens? Well, first, how do you feel about how the Ravens have done at Wide Receiver this off-season as far as not really getting anybody in free agency, getting some undrafted free agents and trading away Hollywood and about their core right now? Oh, I feel horrible about it. They've known for well over a year that Hollywood wanted to leave the organization. So that gave you a year plus to plan for an exit strategy and they have not done that. They traded him away. They haven't brought anybody in and we're relying on third, four, fifth, six round picks and undrafted free agents to kind of fill that void. I feel like Lamar by far is our best player. And we should surround him with the best talent that we can. Other quarterbacks throughout the league, you know, they get these talented wide receivers, but we are ones that are deficient in providing him with that talent. Yeah, and that's pretty powerful. Now, we'll see what the Ravens do, but because they haven't done anything yet, but what do you think, what would be the avenue that you would take at the Wide Receiver position right here right now? Because I know we could go back and be like, what we could have done, but with everything as it stands right now, what would you do moving forward at Wide Receiver? A blockbuster tree. Like that is the only real avenue that I see. Now, I know that everyone is waiting for the June 1st cuts, but it's a crap shoot. We don't know who's going to get cut. And if they do get cut, are they really of that caliber of somebody that's gonna help bring us over the top? And I'm not sure that it's gonna happen. Yeah, I feel you. Now, do you have any particular names that you would have in mind as far as the trade? No, because all the big name ones are already gone. The ones that I would prefer like the Devonte Adams, the Tyree Kills. I would have even taken Devonte Parker. Now, I know he hasn't been reliable as far as health is concerned, but it wouldn't hurt to bring them in, especially for the price that they gave up for him. Yeah, I think it was, what was it, a third round? A third round fake. Okay, well, a third round fake, okay. Oh, it might have been a fifth. It was something crazy low. It was something crazy low. I forgot what it was though. But how would you feel about Debo or DK Metcalf? I would love it personally. I'm not sure that DK would fit our system because he's kind of limited in his route tree, but he would be an upgrade over what we have as second, third wire receiver. Sure. I'll take anybody. Anybody that can actually do some damage. Debo would work well in our system, I think, but I think they may try to run him a little bit too much. But that would take less carries off Lamar. So I'd be all for it. I just want us to bring in a certain caliber of wide receiver so that we can take away all the excuses from Roman. Yeah, and it seems as if the way that the Ravens have been building this roster, this off season, they really don't want there to be any excuses for Greg Roman because it seems like they are catering to Greg Roman and his style of offense. They built up the offensive line. They have about 12 running backs on a squad, probably about 22 tight ends. So they really building it to Greg Roman. So they let them know like 80 is all or nothing. Now, right now, the big talk of the town has been Lamar Jackson missing from OTAs. Do you think it's a big deal, a little deal? How do you feel about not only Lamar Jackson not being at OTAs, but the response? Even if you feel any type of way about the response from John Harbaugh and Greg Roman when they talked about Lamar missing OTAs. I don't think that it's a big deal. A lot of quarterbacks are missing. You know, Kyle Murray, he has a new wide receiver. He's not there. Other quarterbacks out the league are doing the same. I just think he's just taking his time, perfecting his craft and just going about his business. Now, as far as the team, I don't think that they're kind of supporting him the way that they should in the media. Like they've been trying to push this narrative of it's all on Lamar. Like they don't have his back and it may play some factor in it because we all want to be wanted. We all want that desire to be appreciated. And I'm not really sure that they're giving him that at this point in time. And as far as the media, you know, it's clickbait. Lamar is the topic everybody talks about. You can talk about Josh Allen. You can talk about any of these other quarterbacks and it's region specific. But when you talk about Lamar, it's worldwide. So, yeah, you ain't lying about that. Lamar is a headline. It's crazy how this guy, there could be nothing going on with football for a day, couple of days, whatever day, a random day. And Lamar Jackson's name will continue to trend. Like every day you go to trending, you always see Lamar Jackson pop up for one reason or another, he doesn't even have to be doing anything. He ain't got to tweet anything. He ain't got to be in the news, anything like that. But his name is always trending. Now, the defense. Defense this year. The Ravens, of course, first round pick Kyle Hamilton. And this draft, they did a little mix of offense and defense, but as far as free agency, the bigger money was spending on defense like a Marcus Williams. They bring in Morgan Moses, but they also brought back Patrick Ricard. Made the attempt for Bobby Wagner, we know how that went. Made the attempt for Zidaria Smith, we know how that went. Brought in Kyle Fuller recently, so I might say. So it's been a little mix of both offense and defense, but as far as the quality of the free agents brought in on the defense, how you feeling about that? And just really the defense as a whole as we move forward. I think they made some really good acquisitions as far as the defense is concerned. We're still lacking in pass rush. And if you know football, you can have the best secondary in the world. But if you're not getting pressure on a quarterback, they can only cover, but for so long. And I think that that's going to be an issue. Marcus Williams signing, I like him. I just wish that they would have allocated some of that money over to the offensive side. Yeah, I feel you. And back to the pass rush. They have a doubt fail way. He'll be coming back. Hopefully he'll be healthy this whole season. He's healthy now, so that's a good thing. Tyus Bowser, I'm sure he'll be ease back in because he got that Achilles injury on the last game of the season. And what made it even worse is that the Ravens lost. But anyway, Tyus Bowser coming off of Achilles injury. Jaylen Ferguson, he's going into his fourth year. Yeah, and he slimmed down a lot. So we'll see what happens with him. Penelope McPhee going, Derek Wolf. I mean, he ain't really a pass rusher, but we'll see what happens. Justin Houston, he's expected to be back with the unrestricted free agent. So we'll see what happens with that. But I want to get your thoughts on, because when they initially made this pick, because you know, when teams draft, they obviously draft for the future, but you also want to get some immediate return on the investment. But this was sort of a red shirt draft pick, so to speak. Because I feel like anything that the Ravens will get out of him this year will definitely be a bonus. And my expectations, they can't be high on him this year. I'll be moving forward, but this year they can't be because he's coming off of Achilles' injury too. David Ajabo, who of course played with the Ravens New Defensive coordinator, Mike McDonald last year, but he suffered that Achilles' injury at his pro day. How do you feel about that draft pick? I hate it. Oh. Well, not the player. I hate the pick in general, because what's going to end up happening possibly is, he may end up playing into this year, maybe not, he may come in next year. So we kind of have to temper expectations toward that. Now he'll play decent next year, then going into his third year, he's probably going to start to get a little better. Now in his fourth year, he may explode. We don't know. And when it happens, he's going to price himself out of Baltimore. So essentially we wasted three years and a player that's going to go elsewhere for no reason when we could have picked up somebody else. See, and I wonder how that's going to go, because if you think about it, he's a, I think a third round pick. So he signed to a four year deal. Adafi Aue last year was the first round pick. So he signed to a four year deal with the 50 option. So assuming they pick up Adafi Aue's 50 option, both of their contracts will be expiring at the same time. So that should be fun, to have two very, very motivated past rushes, both playing for that big money, hopefully down the road. So we'll see how they handle it. But overall, we know that the Ravens, they are a team that's been built on defense over the years. They're a team that's prided themselves on defense. And of course, we know the Ray Lewises, a Reeves, Terrell Suggs, the Lody Nottas, Chris McAllister, the Bart Scots, but Daniel Lerby, it's a long list. But this is a new NFL. NFL is changing. I know you always hit them say, oh, it's a passing league, because it is. And teams that throw that football, they are usually the ones that make some noise. And I know in one of your older videos, talking about the playoffs, it was, I think, the Bills and Chiefs game. We talked about, man, see the number one defense, they just gave up 42 points, I think it was. And then, of course, we know the last touchdown that got scored in like, was it 17 seconds? Something crazy like that. I forgot what it was. 13 seconds. Oh, 13. Oh, even better. So as far as the Ravens, their philosophy was sort of having the preferential treatment with defense over offense. How do you feel about that? And do you feel like it's a strategy that they can be successful with moving forward? I don't like that philosophy, because also to that point, if you look, the number one defense had 47 points hung on it. In the playoffs, it's a different thing. It's just like the NBA. You can play a certain style, running gun throughout the regular season, but when you get to the playoffs, it slows down and things shift. And that's what happens to us. This defense first philosophy, it's all well and good, but we still have to score points. It's not been working for us year in and year out. First round exits, it's just not happening. If you look at the Buffalo, our last playoff game against Buffalo, we scored three points. And since Lamar's been here, we've averaged 13 points a game in the playoffs. The defense has done its job, whether people have been in or out, they have shut these teams down. We just have an inability to score during the playoffs. Yeah, it's been pretty ugly. I remember 2019 MVP year, historical Russian offense, they just, they went crazy, led the league and touched down passes, the efficiency from the offense was crazy. But then come playoffs, what killed them the most was turnovers. It was turnovers and obviously not scoring, but the turnover going for them fourth down, not getting it, the interceptions, of course the drop passes, those help too. And it's just, yeah, the offense just was not producing points. And then, yeah, you mentioned that Buffalo game, ooh, that was nasty because there were times where they were moving, but when it came down to crunch time, it just, it wasn't getting it done. So as far as philosophy, how do you feel the philosophy could change in a good way to where this team could really get over that hump and get to that next level? I just think we need to pass more. Now, it doesn't have to be anything outrageous, like we don't have to be a pass first team, but the ratio has to balance out a little bit more. Teams know what's coming, Lamar said it, Hollywood said it, it's predictable. Everybody knows what's happening and this non-existent vault that Greg Roman has, we haven't seen anything out of it. We just need to scheme up more plays, but I think this year may be a little bit different because if you look around, they're bringing in more and more people to help Greg Roman with his job. That's true, they have been, they brought in T. Martin and Keith Williams last year. This year they brought in Kerry Dixon. He was the only one that can remember his name. Everyone always forgets. Yeah, I felt like I forgot it just now too, but yeah, so they brought him in to be assistant QB coach, I believe. So it's almost like the writing's on the wall, like, hey, because, and I've said this before a lot, I feel like if they're bringing in people to help you at your job, especially at an area where you are known to struggle at, then it's almost like, hey, if you don't tighten up, even if you do tighten up almost, it feels like this is a big season for Greg Roman and it's a lot of pressure and it feels weird to say that when it comes to Greg Roman, but I do feel like there is a legitimate amount of pressure on him and it's weird because I know a lot of people would want Greg Roman gone, but it's so tricky because for me, if Greg Roman's gonna be the guy this year, which he obviously is, hey, I want that offense to take off, but I still feel like the offense, I still feel like this will be Greg Roman's last year, whether he's last the whole year, if he doesn't last the whole year, because I think the Ravens have continued to give all of these signs, like, hey, we getting ready to go in another direction. So how do you feel about what you mentioned about them bringing in all these different cultures and stuff to help Greg Roman where he struggles at? I love the acquisitions. Anything, any offense of mine that they bring in can obviously help, but I don't think that anything is gonna change. I used to be on that fire Greg Roman bus, but I got off. I don't think that it's really going to make a difference. As long as hardball is the coach, he's gonna bring in Roman type coaches. Like he's gonna bring in people that are kinda, I don't wanna say pass their prime, but they aren't as up on a new NFL as some of the younger coaches are. And we're just gonna continue the same philosophy no matter what face we bring in. Yeah, that's a very interesting one because I feel you because it starts from the top. Cause yeah, there've been a lot of complaints about Greg Roman. There were also a lot of complaints about Cam Cameron, Mark Tressman, Marty Morninweg. A lot of the past offensive coordinators that have been here, but then I've said the same thing too. I feel like there won't be true change unless it comes from the top. Comes from Steven Shaddy. Comes from Steven Shaddy and trickle down to Eric DeCosta and of course, hardballer. And then not even, nobody, I feel like nobody even has to get fired, but they would just have to really be willing to make a significant change in philosophy. Would they be willing to do that? Eh, I don't know is to be determined. So yeah, this year we're gonna see exactly how this thing goes. But for Ravens, we talked about the playoffs and stuff. We talked about philosophy, talked about the roster, how they assembled it. What do you feel is missing for them to get over that hump? And to really get this thing done this year, what do the Ravens need moving forward? To really get it done this year, to make it happen. Cool, a new coach, head coach. Oh, we'd listen. Hardball's been here, what, 14 years and approximately. And we still have the same issues on offense. We still get to the line of scrimmage late, but the play clock running down. So even if Lamar was to audible, he has no time to scan the defense and see what's going on. We still have undisciplined players. It seems like our game plans, we don't have in-game adjustments. That is my biggest issue with Hardball. We have no in-game adjustments. And it seems like a lot of big games were ill-prepared. So I just think that his message is stale. Now don't get me wrong, he is a great motivator for men. I give him that much, but some coaches, once they win a Super Bowl, they believe that their word is law and they don't need to change. And I have yet to see that man change. That's something right there, especially about not being willing to change. I know in the press of the other day, Greg Roman, he talked about just needing to adapt, needing to evolve, adapt and adjust and not be stuck in your ways. So I just, I'm really hoping that this year, we'll see, but I'm hoping that this year the Ravens, they can do those things. And not just on offense, but on defense too. Cause I know like last year, I felt like there was a just, there could be a level of being a little bit stubborn when it came to Wink. Cause I like Wink as a coach, he's cool whatnot, but the situational play calling and the situational awareness, I feel like a lot of times was lacking because if you have, you got Marcus Peters, Marlon Humphrey out there, Tavon Young, Jimmy Smith. All right, cool. You're gonna blitz a little more. But if you got a Robert Jackson, Kevon Seymour, Kevin Talva, then you guys to really dial it back. But I feel like he, it took him too long to make a lot of adjustments. So as far as the new defensive coordinator, Mike McDonald, how do you see this defense doing under him? What do you think he brings? He brings youth. And I think they said in one of their videos the other day that he brings a youthful side to it and maybe a degree that maybe his predecessors didn't bring cause he sees things a little bit differently. I honestly can't tell you cause I don't know what kind of defense he's gonna run. I don't know if it's gonna be a three, four, four, three, some kind of hybrid. So I'm temperate expectations, but us as a culture, we know we're gonna bring defense regardless. Yeah. And I think with Mike McDonald, I think one of the biggest things, even if Wink was still here, I think the defense would be much better just based off of health alone. Because, you know, we lost like literally everybody last year. But then as far as skiing, not saying, oh, don't ever blitz, but no, you know, you don't want to be this like timid defense, anything like that. But you have to blitz logically. You have to recognize who your players are because every player is not the same. Every player does not have the same traits, the same attributes, the same characteristics, even the same skill level. They are of course NFL players, so they do have a high level of skill because they're the 1% who make it. But still, you gotta be aware of exactly what the situation is. So hopefully Mike McDonald can make that happen. Go ahead. I'm sorry. And to that point with Wink, with him, with Wink and Roman last year, as you saw when the injuries piled up, they changed their philosophy. And we saw what the offense and defense could be because with the Rams, the Packers and everything, they did a good job with injured players because they changed what they usually do. Now if we could just do that with healthy players, there's no telling where this team can go. But once again, when you have Lamar in there, it's like, you know what? You go do your thing. I don't have to draw up anything. We got a healthy defense. I'm gonna just let y'all blitz and do y'all thing. If they could just kind of merge the two, the health and the philosophy together, I think we can go further than the playoffs. That's a really, really good point. Cause I, and I remember you brought up that Packers game. I remember that one specifically to where you're going up against guys who's probably the best receiving at league last year, Devonte Adams. And I had like never seen a defense played against him like they played cause they had a corner pressing them. Then they had another corner right behind that corner. And it was like, it was crazy looking. But it was, he did score a touchdown, but he ain't go off like that. So yeah, they, for the Ravens, I think to really sum it up, we hope that the adjustments that they don't wait until they're backers against the wall to make the adjustments and to make the changes and whatnot. Because I know, like I like how I got Brodney. One of the things that he, cause he got a lot of fire one liners. Yes, he does. One of the things that stuck with me with him, that he said, I think it was like a year and a half ago when we had them on, he said, one of John Harbaugh's best attributes is self-preservation. And I was like, ooh, yikes, that was a good one. So cause you know, when John Harbaugh, when his backs against the wall, that's when he'll bring it out, man. John Harbaugh turned into a whole nother animal. And then with Ravens last year, their backs were against the wall, of course, with all the injuries and whatnot. And like you mentioned, they changed up a lot of what they do. And especially because they couldn't do a lot of what they normally did, especially with the run game with Gus Edwards and JK, even Justice Hill, all them being out, the offensive line being banged up. So they were really like throwing their ball like crazy. So, but we just want a good mix of when their backs against the wall, but also what works for them too, and just to blend it all for a healthy recipe for success. So we'll see how it goes. Well, Hendo, appreciate you joining me today. Appreciate you coming on. Again, one more time before we get out of here, let everybody know what they can find you with. First of all, I'd like to thank you for having me on. It's been a pleasure. That's all good. Thank you. They can find me at Ravens Online on Gatekeeper on YouTube, or you can find me at RGatekeepers on Twitter and Instagram. All right, perfect. And again, like I said, everything will be down below in the description. Appreciate y'all watching. Make sure y'all subscribe to this YouTube channel and follow him on Twitter as well. And we out.