After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1

Goalie gummies get you so close to your goals, you can actually taste them.

The trick? Simply start with bite-sized steps, like Goalie's Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies with added B vitamins for daily health. Or Goalie Ashwagandha Gummies to help you relax, restore, and unwind.

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Learn more at Goalie.com today. I never do this, but it's a special day. I want to share my pregame snack with you, my pregame meal. That's kind of a cross between a snack and a meal.

Sometimes I eat it as a snack, sometimes I eat it as a meal. But I'm not going to tell you what it is. It was in honor of a special day on the calendar, on Thursday. You know how we get the national this day and national that day and national I've never heard of this before day.

Well, it was one of those, but it turned out to be one of my favorites. So if you want to check out Twitter, ALawRadio, I kind of feel like you should be prepared, though. The power of suggestion. Mm hmm. It is real. It is spectacular.

And it was delicious. So you can find me on Twitter. I'll put it up on Facebook. Just so you know how I was getting ready for this edition of After Hours. The last one of the week, the last one before the divisional round of the NFL postseason. And our last chance to gab about the games that were geeked up about because this is my favorite weekend. Of the NFL calendar.

Now, it's all downhill from here, right? Because we've only got three games left after we get through divisional weekend. So it starts to become mixed emotions, even though, yes, we want to see a Super Bowl champion championship Sunday is pretty spectacular as well. Maybe not as spectacular as my pregame snack, but, you know, and so there's a lot to be excited about. We're full of great anticipation at the same time. It also means it's coming to an end. But I got to say, if you're paying attention to what's happening around the NFL away from the playoffs. It is.

Wild. I'm not sure I've ever covered an NFL season in which so many coordinators were fired. Roughly a third of the NFL teams are looking for offensive coordinators. I'm almost speechless, except what comes to mind is about halfway through the season, it was probably a midway point thing, actually. I remember seeing the graphics about how the scoring was down to its lowest totals per game in decades. And there were fewer passing yards per game than there had been in some kind of crazy long stretch. And that rushing yards were up. And all season long, we've been talking to you about teams leaning more and more toward ball control by rushing the ball. 20 snaps, 20 plays in a scoring drive, even for a field goal, is no longer unheard of.

Seems to take place once a weekend, now. More ball control, more running the ball. Yes, we had guys like Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady and other quarterbacks rack up beaucoup yards through the air. But the trend in the league was away from passing, which meant fewer points.

Is that what's costing OCs their jobs? Man, I guess the good news is that if you're an offensive coordinator and you're looking for a gig, there are plenty available. We'll go over the latest in the NFL coaching carousel. Certainly takes a back seat to these four games we've got coming up this weekend. Love to hear from you. Can't wait to talk about these games with you.

So our phone number, 855-212-4227, that's 855-212-4CBS. Before this half hour is up, our game of the week poll, because we only have two of these left. So we're looking for you to pick the game of the week that you were most geeked up about. We had a whole conversation earlier this week, actually it was on social, about the fact that I still say geeked up.

And it means that I'm so unbelievably uncool and yet I can only do me. I can't do anything else, so yes geeked up. What is the after hours game of the week in your not so humble opinion? Twitter, Facebook, that's where you can connect with us. We've had so much traffic this week on our social media, it's fairly nutso. It's hectic, it's chaotic, it's nuts, it's wild, it's all consuming. And yet this has got to be one of the best months of the year, if not the number one month of the year, if you are really into sports radio and into, well the nuts and bolts like I am. I know not many people get really excited about the business of radio, but I do.

And this month, oh yeah, we live for this. But there's got to be a pregame snack and you need to see mine. It's so pretty, my snack is so pretty. I almost didn't want to eat it. Actually that's not even true, I had a hard time waiting long enough to arrange the photo.

That's how badly I wanted to eat it. And yes, I will put it up on Facebook when we have an opportunity. Okay, so we're going to dive into not just the coaching carousel, the latest with Lamar Jackson. We got a lot of comments, a lot of I would say revealing opinions and kind of a behind the scenes peak of what's driving the process with Lamar Jackson and why the Ravens are confident. And yet they also agree to part ways with their offensive coordinator. So we're going to hear from the Ravens brain trust because they went through their exit interviews. A lot about Lamar, no actual Lamar, but a lot about Lamar Jackson. And then the games themselves. We're really excited to travel to Kansas City.

I feel like this is very strange. I don't know how you can overlook a team that's gone to four straight conference championships and has made two Super Bowl appearances with a ring. And yet the Chiefs appear to be flying under the radar. Are the Chiefs boring? Have we gotten to the point where the Chiefs are boring? You know what I say, winning is not boring. But at 14 and 3 with yet another division title and top seed hosting a game this weekend against the Jacksonville Jaguars, it seems to be a whole hum sort of attitude against the Kansas City Chiefs.

I like fresh blood as much as anyone, and I'm all about the upsets because they're great storylines. But I'm not sure anybody should be overlooking Kansas City. So we're going to talk to Cody Tapp, who is with our affiliate in KC 610 Sports Radio.

I'll ask him that question. Certainly in Kansas City, the Chiefs are not overlooked, neglected. Poor Chiefs.

But why is that, in his opinion? Also, for some reason, I had basketball on my screen in one of the two TVs here in my main studio at CBS Sports Radio headquarters. And now we're getting Nick at night instead. Someone's been screwing around with the remote, of course, because, I mean, who would want to watch basketball when you're doing a sports show? Instead, let's watch Friends because that is so helpful. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Mike, Mike is always watching Friends. I did watch the basketball game between the Warriors and the Celtics, so that isn't something I need to see again.

It's just that Friends is very distracting. This is a rematch of the NBA Finals. Two teams are completely different and yet oh so competitive.

A lot of fun. We will start with a scintillating, stiff moment right before the break in Boston. Tatum will get it with three. Tatum with two. Stripped by Curry. Curry the steal from half court. Good if it goes.

Got it! He hit it from half court. Number 30 doing that number 30 magic. And he stole the ball on half court and then buried the shot. Tim, they have a one point lead and that is the shot of the season thus far.

Curry! That's Tim Roy and Jim Barnett in Boston. This is so stiff. It was such a cool moment to see live. Nothing like a poked steal off the hottest player in the league. And then this shot at the buzzer, which actually was beyond half court by six or seven steps. And that's how the Warriors grabbed the lead on the road in Boston. And it's actually got a huge ovation from the crowd too.

Like a roar. Curry! Because it's Steph and we're dazzled by Steph Curry.

So alright Steph Curry. We see you. And he had one of his fun shimmy celebrations and you know all the fun. All the fun and games. It's all fun and games.

If you can shimmy on somebody else you gotta be alright getting shimmied on. Yeah it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Thankfully that did not happen in Boston on Thursday night. This was, as they say, a game in which the Warriors, as much as they're not the team that the Celtics are this season. Their body of work is nowhere near as impressive.

And we have heard cajoling. We've heard frustration from Steve Kerr, from the others. They've been without Steph. They've got other guys on and off the court. It's a lot of different Warriors who are trying to raise their level of play to a championship standard around the core. They're below.500 for heaven's sakes.

Now I wouldn't count them out if I were you. But this was a game in which it felt like a playoff atmosphere. It was a game in which the core group of Warriors is still just as good as the core group for the Celtics.

Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, and Draymond Green. Those five essentially powered them to the title over Boston a few months ago. A few months ago.

I guess it was nine, eight or nine months ago now. But in Boston, with the best team in the league, even facing what was a double-figure deficit for part of that second half, the Celtics find a way. 16 points, 9 rebounds, but it was his first game back from the adductor strain. He'd been out for a week or so trying to get back into the flow. Yeah, the Celtics were down by 11 in the second half, but they are a team that's... And they've been this way for their core. Jalen, Jason Tatum, Marcus Smart, now Al Horford is in the mix again. So this group also knows how to come back. They know how to fight and scratch and claw. Their hearts and smarts is what I say about this Celtics group. And even with the coaching change, going to Joe Mazzola right before training camp when Imeo Doka was suspended, this is the same spirited group that surprised a lot of people by getting to the NBA Finals a year ago. So they're able to force overtime, and in the OT, they're just a little bit deeper, a little bit tougher. Jalen, free-throw line, kicks in the corner, Al open, 3, got it!

Send him in the corner, Old Man River! Celtics by 4, minute 55 to go in the overtime. Jack Black at 9, possession, Tatum on the break, Tatum going to shoot a 3, and drill it!

Man, could be a sandwich, somebody! Celtics by 7, 1.24 to go in the overtime. Headlines getting rewritten as we speak. Golden State is to go the length of the floor, down by 3 with 3 seconds to go. Inbound, pull, half court, it's in the air, it's wide left, off the glass, and the ball game is over. Grandy and Max on Celtics Radio, yeah the Warriors were able to get a late 3, and this is a team, you know, is very resilient, everything they've been through, they are always up for this stage, and I love that about the Warriors, they enjoy it, they enjoy being in the spotlight, they enjoy being on this stage, they really do enjoy the process when they're playing from behind, or when they're not the team that is being hunted, or they're the dominant team, and I would still say teams get up to face the Warriors, but this is not the championship caliber that we saw from them at the end of last season, but I kind of feel like because this group has been together, the core group has been together for so long with Steve Kerr, that they like the new challenge, it's something new, remember how much they talked about appreciating the process last season, when everybody was finally getting healthy, Klay was returning, and they were able to make it to the NBA Finals, it was a surprise for the Warriors last season too, as much as they've got some of the best players in the league, it took an entire season for them to be ready to win a title, and I think because of everything they've been through, they don't mind a little higher degree of difficulty, or when the deck is stacked against them so to speak, and they've got work to do, very terrible team away from home, they have dug themselves this crazy hole in road games, in fact they're 5-18 away from the Chase Center, so you think about their 23 losses, the 23rd coming in Boston a few hours ago, 18 of those have come on the road, you maybe cut that in half, and all of a sudden your record looks a whole lot different, so there's plenty of time for them to become a team that will challenge in the postseason, challenge in the spring, the Celtics have been that way all the way through, regardless of the adversity, it was a fun game, I hope you enjoyed it, if you didn't, they're going to re-air it on TNT though right now, I've lost my TNT and I'm getting Nick at night, but still, don't let that stop you from finding it, Joe Mazula, he's had a front row seat to these Celtics. Just felt like a high level basketball game with two really really good teams, throwing haymakers at each other, and I think once you get into that situation, you might as well do it.

Yeah it's a big game, I wanted to come out here and I wanted to win, I wanted to win really bad, so absolutely, it's a regular season game, it's just one game, it's over, but it's an important game. So Al Horford, part of the mix as well, and he brings a different element, it's just so much grit there, it's toughness, and the leadership, he's not flashy, he'll do whatever it takes to win the game, he'll do whatever it takes to pitch in, in the game, whatever they ask of him, he can score, but that's not necessarily what he needs to, but in games like these, where the Warriors are going small, he does give the Celtics an advantage on the inside. As for Jason Tatum, 34 points, 19 rebounds, a career high 19 rebounds for Tatum, to go along with 6 assists and 3 steals.

Yes there were 7 turnovers, the guards, actually late first half you saw a bunch of those, the guards for the Warriors were trying to harass him, and we gave you the example with the poked steal, but this is not the same team that lost in the NBA Finals according to Jason. I think that just shows the depth of our team that on a below average night for us, we can still find a way to win, and you know, that's all that matters at the end of the night, did you win or did you lose? Flexing their muscles, and yes for sure, they are racking up the wins, best record in the NBA. As for the Warriors, like I said, long way to go, you don't want to lose another game on the road and fall below.500, but if you know anything, it's to not count out the Warriors. All in all, I love the level of competition, the way the guys played together, you know, we looked like what we are, which is a championship team, but we didn't close the game, and better now than in the playoffs. In the case of Steph, Draymond Clay, you've been at it for a decade, you know, playing deep into the playoffs, it's not easy, but I have no doubt we've got enough, and those guys know how to get it done.

Now see, it's big picture perspective, which is what I was talking about. The Warriors don't love being below.500, they put themselves in a position where they need to climb, you can still climb, but it's also not something that they're afraid of. There's no fear or intimidation here, no, oh crap, we're not as good as last year, nah. They have been through almost everything you can possibly imagine. They've been the top of the top, remember they set a record for most regular season wins. They've been the best on the planet, and they've been the worst in the NBA. Remember during the COVID year they lost Clay, Kevin Durant departed, they had the worst record in the league going into the, actually they didn't even go into the bubble, but that season they had the worst record in the league. Then they had another year in which Steph was out for four months, Clay had his second big injury and was still not there.

Draymond was missing a lot of time. Two years, the Warriors team almost disappeared from view, only to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. Not Phoenix the city, but you know Phoenix the bird. The mythical bird? It's a mythical bird, right? Not a real bird.

Don't Google it. So big game for the Boston Celtics and for the Warriors of course, fun night for the NBA. Did you have any idea that the league was sending two teams to Paris?

Oh Paris. So we'll get to that at some point as well. We are off and running. We'll have your poll up, the Game of the Week poll. Uber fast because that's what we do around here. Also the pregame snack.

When is the pregame snack more like a meal? Well, tonight. So check that out on Twitter, ALOL Radio, and then also on our Facebook page, I'll put it up very quickly. Full service operation around here, this is going to be fun.

Last show of the week, thanks for hanging out with us. After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. Learn more at goalie.com today. Goalie gummies get you so close to your goals you can actually taste them. The trick?

Simply start with bite-sized steps. Like Goalie's apple cider vinegar gummies with added B vitamins for daily health. Or Goalie Ashwagandha gummies to help you relax, restore, and unwind.

Mmm, tastes like wellness just got a whole lot better. And when goals taste this good, it's easy to achieve them. Goalie, taste your goals. Learn more at goalie.com today. Goalie gummies get you so close to your goals you can actually taste them. The trick?

Simply start with bite-sized steps. Like Goalie's apple cider vinegar gummies with added B vitamins for daily health. Or Goalie Ashwagandha gummies to help you relax, restore, and unwind.

Mmm, tastes like wellness just got a whole lot better. And when goals taste this good, it's easy to achieve them. Goalie, taste your goals. Learn more at goalie.com today.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. The 20, 10, 5, and he's in for the touchdown for Cincinnati. An unbelievable reversal. Obviously a hard-fought game. Really, really proud of our players.

I thought we played a winning football game in many, many ways. Ran the ball well. Threw the ball well. Played outstanding defense. Got the turnover. Difference was the two turnovers, obviously. That hurt us one really big one. But both led to scores. And that was probably the story of the game at the end.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The Baltimore Ravens made the playoffs. That was big, especially since it was the second straight season in which they finish without their star quarterback, Lamar Jackson. Tyler Huntley with a turnover early. It was an interception against the Bengals. And then, of course, reaching over the top or attempting to. Not crossing the plane from two yards out. Knocked away by Logan Wilson. Returned 98 yards for Sam Hubbard. As you hear with Jerry Sandusky on Ravens radio.

And then John Harbaugh explaining. You don't have that kind of a margin for error. Not in the playoffs. Not against a divisional opponent.

And certainly not on the road. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. The Bengals are moving on and they've got one of these four intriguing matchups this weekend. So excited for this weekend. Coming up.

Actually, kind of funny. I've had multiple requests to do this or do that. To go here, to go there this weekend.

My answer is no. I am. My schedule is full. I do have the coffee appointment coming up on Friday afternoon. And I also am going to visit, well, one of my favorite places in New York City on Saturday morning. So that'll give me a little bit of social time. A little bit of personal time. But once football starts, that's it.

All in. So Saturday afternoon and evening. Sunday afternoon and evening. We've put our poll up.

What is the game of the week for the divisional round? So now check it out on Twitter. After Hours, CBS. Or on my Twitter.

And on our Facebook page as well. Can't wait to hear what you come up with. I actually don't know which game is going to win.

Most weekends I have a pretty good bead on it. And then I vote for the opposite. Just because I like to be a contrarian. I have no idea which game you all are going to pick. I was surprised to find out that Giants Vikings was the most viewed playoff game last weekend. Followed closely by Cowboys and Buccaneers. And then Bills and Dolphins.

I don't know about this. Giants-Eagles is an awesome rivalry. And it's under the lights. And it's two very passionate fan bases. But it's also a Saturday night.

And those games don't generally rate the highest. Bengals-Bills maybe because of everything that happened with DeMar Hamlin. And now of course DeMar is expected to be at the stadium.

So that's going to be awesome if he's able to be with his teammates. That's a Sunday afternoon. That primetime winter. Not primetime. But primetime for the NFL. That Sunday afternoon choice time I should say for the NFL. But Cowboys 49ers?

Humongous. So I don't know which one you will choose as the game of the week. Because I don't even know which one I will choose as the game of the week. As for the Ravens. Now the focus turns to not just finding a new offensive coordinator. Because Greg Roman agreed or mutually agreed to part ways with the Ravens.

I would say not as mutual as they would like you to think. But there was a lot of pressure on him. Even internally. So people who played with the Ravens or worked with the Ravens.

And then obviously the fans making him the object of their ire. But without your star quarterback it's challenging to win. To keep moving forward. To maintain your momentum. To keep up the offensive production. A lot of that dropped off obviously when the Ravens lost Lamar. So now they got to figure out what to do with the quarterback spot. And there's been a ton of talk about them trading Lamar. And not wanting to invest the amount of money it will take to sign a top flight quarterback. Now Lamar believes that he's worthy of a contract.

Similar to say Deshaun Watson. He wants a fully guaranteed deal. And that has been the reported hang up.

So the general manager Eric Takasta answering questions on Thursday about his confidence. And about how they get a deal done with Lamar. Well it certainly takes two to tango. But I think Lamar and I have a great relationship. I think we communicate quite often.

We spent some time together today as a matter of fact. We've spoken throughout the season multiple times. And you know these negotiations Jamison they all happen differently. You know Ronnie Stanley's contract took about a year and a half. Mark Andrews contract took probably three or four days. You know we did Roquan's contract over the span of six days. Over the course of one month basically is what we did.

So they happen in different ways. I wouldn't characterize the percentages of getting any deal done. Or how long it's going to take. Except to say that we'll communicate effectively. We'll be as fair as we can be.

And we'll try to hammer out a deal and hopefully we can get to that point. He sounds confident. He's got a process. Not freaking out. At least not publicly because some of these deals do take time.

We know that to be sure. Have they considered a trade though? Haven't gotten to an impasse at this point. But is it an option if they don't get a deal done?

It becomes a hindrance to them moving forward. You know that's something that we're not going to talk about at this point. And our focus right now is really to get a long term deal done.

That's our singular focus at this point. It's going to take some time. It's going to take some effort. It's going to take great communication.

Give and take. But I'm confident that we'll be on the right path to get that done. Lamar Jackson is our quarterback. He's been our quarterback. Everything we've done in terms of building our offense and building our team.

How we think in terms of people and put people around him. Is based on this incredible young man and his talent and his ability and his competitiveness. And the things about Lamar that to me stands out. He's an incredible competitor. I mean Lamar Jackson.

All he wants to do is win. Both Eric DaCosta and John Harbaugh indicated that they had spoken with Lamar on Thursday. I'm assuming that's because, well he's probably still getting treatment too on his ankle.

And also because it was the day where they clean out their lockers and people speak. I didn't see any quotes from Lamar. I didn't see any audio with Lamar.

You're not required to speak when you're injured. Although you can imagine that he has a lot to say. Kind of feeling like, at least if you judge by his cryptic tweets.

The fact that he wasn't with the team in Cincinnati for the game last weekend. It seems as though there's some friction. Maybe not animosity. Maybe we haven't gotten to that point yet. But there's definitely some hurt feelings or emotions that are now part of the process.

And yet DaCosta doesn't seem to blink. I truly believe Lamar wants to finish his career in Baltimore. I just believe that in my conversations with him and just watching him and talking with him and communicating. I think John feels that way too. So all of those things kind of work together for me that tell me that we still have a chance. And that I should be as optimistic as possible. I've loved Lamar.

Eric loves Lamar. And it's not going to change in the future. So I don't know anything about the details of the whole thing. But I know one thing. I'm like all the fans out there and everybody else. I'll have my fingers crossed and my toes crossed and I'll be saying prayers. And I have every faith that it's going to get done. And we've got the best people in the world doing it. Eric DaCosta and John Harbaugh saying all the right things.

Well okay then. So why let Greg Roman go? He was responsible in many ways for unlocking the potential of Lamar. For redesigning the offense around Lamar Jackson. He won an NFL MVP.

He set incredible records here and there. If they want to keep their offense that is designed around Lamar. And they want to bring him back for the long term potentially for his entire career. Then why get rid of the offensive coordinator that made it possible and made it productive?

We'll attempt to answer that question coming up. And I'm not sure if you know this but about a third of the teams in the NFL need new offensive coordinators. What is happening right now? More head coaches are keeping their jobs and no one's been hired yet.

But man it's musical chairs for the OCs. We've got our Game of the Week poll up on Twitter. ALawRadio also on our Facebook page. Top of the hour. We're going to spend some time in Kansas City.

It's been a while. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Once again Jerry Sandusky on Ravens Radio. It's this strange dichotomy in the NFL this time of the year. You've got eight teams left with a shot at a Super Bowl.

So a one in eight chance. And three of them are from the NFC Beast which is kind of cool. New storylines abound. Maybe that's why Kansas City's not getting as much attention.

Because same old, same old. We're going to talk much more about playoffs as we head through the bulk of the show. But want to talk a little bit about the other weird developments in the NFL. Obviously all the other teams, those who are eliminated, are on to the business of football. And more than seeing head coaching jobs filled, which I expected we'd have a couple filled by now. I get that the top candidates, the hot candidates, the ones that everyone is talking about.

The trending candidates if you will. I get that many of those guys are still working. D'Amico Ryans, the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers.

Dan Quinn, the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. You've got these guys still very much involved in attempting to win a championship. And that's just two examples. I assume we would have at least one or two of the head coaching hires filled by now.

But that's not the case. And I think, yes, there are teams that are waiting for both those guys and hoping that they will get selected or that it's a good fit. Also a lot of teams waiting for Sean Payton. And I believe, I understand he's interviewed for every single job except for the Colts. But what else is happening, even as that plays out and those interviews get wrapped up and the deliberations begin. Offensive coordinators, and some defensive as well, but offensive coordinators, they're biting the dust. Right now it's toxic. You don't want to be an offensive coordinator in the NFL right now.

Holy cow. We had heard the Buccaneers were likely to fire their OC Byron Leftwich. Remember a couple of years ago he was one of the hottest coaching candidates out there. Coming off of their Super Bowl in which of course they had Tom Brady and that incredible offense.

That's not the case anymore. The Dolphins have fired their defensive coordinator Josh Boyer. He spent four seasons in Miami. The Vikings, now this is not a big surprise, but they fired their defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. Even after they won 13 games, their defense, especially past defense, was really porous. It's actually one of the worst defense in the league was the Vikings. Points allowed, 28th out of 32 teams. Second from the bottom in yards allowed. And the Giants were the last straw for Ed Donatell, the way they were able to rack up 31 points in over 430 yards. So the Vikings and the Dolphins make defensive coordinator moves.

Meanwhile, the Buccaneers and the Rams and the Chargers, they're making offensive moves, the Ravens included. And the terminology for this is that Greg Roman has decided to step down. They've agreed to part ways.

He's agreed to resign. But I'm wondering if you're so all in on Lamar Jackson, which is very clear. The Ravens are with Eric to Costa John Harbaugh speaking on Thursday. Why allow Greg Roman to walk? Ryan Lee, former NFL QB, is actually much more impressive as an analyst and a podcast and talk show host.

Now we've had him on the show multiple times. He's got the straight line podcast and he believes this will be a spark for Baltimore. This is a compliment as well as maybe a backhanded compliment to Greg Roman is that he is one of the most genius offensive coordinators when it comes to the running game aspect of things. What they were able to do in Lamar Jackson's first few years here in the NFL and how they ran the football has been unparalleled. Unfortunately, free agent wide receivers and wide receivers, elite wide receivers don't catch a lot of balls in this offense.

And therefore, Baltimore was not an interesting place for them to land. This will change now that Roman is out. John Harbaugh, head coach for the Baltimore Ravens, said that Lamar Jackson will be instrumental in deciding who the next offensive coordinator is. So this offense is going to look different. Hopefully they'll be able to attract some more elite wide receivers to help out Lamar Jackson, but he also stated that 200 percent Lamar Jackson will be playing for the Ravens moving forward. OK, so again, the brain trust for the Ravens is really confident that Lamar stays there.

Now they do have the option of the franchise tag should he balk at whatever latest contract offer they come up with. But these two guys seem to be projecting optimism, prayers for John Harbaugh. If Lamar Jackson is to be the man and they're going to they're going to continue to hitch their wagon to his star.

Now, let's hope the star becomes not one of those imploding stars, but instead he can actually be healthy and start to get back into the flow. They want to become more of a passing offense. And so in the opinion of Ryan Leaf on the Straight Line podcast, this is a compliment to Greg Roman because they need to get away from that run first and heavy run.

It wasn't that long ago. I remember John Harbaugh saying to us, this is what we do well. We're going to continue to do what works for us. We don't need to pass the ball because we can gash teams with the run. He didn't use gash, but that was essentially the meaning. Ryan's point, and I've heard this from other people around the NFL as well, and I do think it's true.

I even said it on last night's show. As we get set for another off season. Wide receivers are earning more and more money. We already know that wide receiver was a weakness for the Ravens this year. They didn't have any wide receivers with more than two years of experience in the league. So Mark Andrews was the go to. Now that that's bad, he's amazing at what he does, but you need guys who can stretch the field. You need other options besides Lamar and Mark Andrews in order to lure top flight wide receivers like Christian Kirk. Remember, he was the first big domino to drop and people were freaking out over the money he got in Jacksonville.

So funny. He's actually turned into a great option for Trevor Lawrence. They're kind of grown up together. But it wasn't just him. A.J. Brown, Tyreek Hill and a dada dada dada. There's so many different guys that got big deals. Cooper Cup got a huge deal.

We saw so much movement at that position. If that continues in the twenty three off season. The Ravens are going to be on the outside looking in unless they have an offensive coordinator who is committed to reestablishing the pass. Maybe you don't go balanced. Maybe that's not what you do. But I I understand where Ryan's coming from. Put yourself in the shoes of a wide receiver in the NFL right now. Would you want to go to Baltimore? Would that be a destination? If you want to catch the ball, would that be a destination where you feel like your career will.

Catch catch a major boost where you feel like you'll be there'll be a lot of people who are looking at you for. What you're able to accomplish on the field, or do you believe that you'll end up kind of being an appetizer or no door every now and then you'll get a ball thrown to you, but you're not the main course. So I don't know if Greg Roman takes it as a compliment, but I do know that we've seen their offensive numbers decline now that it's not all on Greg Roman. That is not fair to say he's definitely been the one most have pointed fingers at and said he's to blame. Honestly, if your star quarterback is injured. And I'd have to go back and look at how many games he missed at the end of last season. But this year you're talking about six weeks to the point where he never really was a viable option as much as they wanted to pretend like he was. If you don't have your starting quarterback, pretty much every team see a decline in offense. Every team sees a decline in production. I don't necessarily believe it's all on Greg Roman. Now there was a lot of grousing about his play calling, his usage, it got stale, it got old, teams know what to do against the Ravens offensively because they were so one dimensional.

So that part I understand. But to blame Greg Roman for the fact that their numbers are so far down and he's the only reason why. They were at 20.6 points per game in 2022, which is 19th in the league.

It's not the worst ever. They still made the playoffs. But there wasn't a complimentary pass game. All right, so there's got to be more of an emphasis on that. And yes, Lamar can throw the ball. He definitely can.

Kind of feel like you need to do it a little more often to stay in a rhythm. Also, a lot of question marks about the red zone. So there's those two elements, but it's fairly obvious, though. That what they want to do is be able to attract. Some bigger name wide receivers because that's such a high profile, high marquee position on the field, not just free agents, but think about the number of rookies. Brand new wide receivers that we've seen burst onto the scene in the last several years. More and more teams are investing in that position more and more. They want depth at that position. So this is a change moving forward, except Lamar is still your centerpiece.

And according to I guess it was it was it was Ryan Leaf. Lamar's expected to have a say in who the next OC is. Oh, man, you better hope this works out. You're you're putting all your eggs in Lamar's purple basket. Coming up next, the Kansas City Chiefs back in action. It's after hours.

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