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Done. Review I ain't kicking nothing. I'm sitting my ass here in the studio. I stand up every now and then.
Okay, that's it. Anyway, We talked a lot about quarterbacks and wide receivers and Last hour, thank you so much to Mike Sando for joining us from the athletic. We got into the fact that I'm ready for the regular season to start. I'm ready for some Sunday night football. Opening up the season, we got the Buffalo Bills.
and the Baltimore. Ravens. Yesterday the Ravens made a little bit of news. Lamar Jackson. Hadn't to let everybody know that his foot is perfectly fine.
But the Ravens, they still got some other questions heading into the season. What about some of the guys that he has to throw the ball to? People like. Isaiah likely. What about Mark Andrews?
What about DeAndre Hopkins, does he still have it? And is this guy's foot okay? Harbaugh says his foot is fine. Like, it ain't no big deal. It's August 21st.
Joining us right now is someone who covers all things Ravens, so 1057, the fan, in Baltimore. You can also catch him hosting on the station as well. It's Cordell Woodland. Cordell, welcome back, man. How are you?
I'm good, man. Thanks for having me again. Absolutely.
So we heard from Harbaugh today. Apparently Lamar Jackson is also like All right, folks, my foot is fine. He's cool, right? There's nothing going on. I mean, that's what it seems like, you know, but as you can imagine.
Um the people here in Baltimore are still running around in a panic. Rightfully. I mean, how could you not? I mean, this is up there with. The Mahomes is going down, or Josh Island, any of those guys.
I mean, the Ravens. Please and Outlook looks drastically different if Lamar Jackson is not a part of that in the long run. But I never really got the sense that this was going to be something major watching it. But you do hold your breath because you just you never know. And until he's back on the practice field, people are going to continue to fail the way they do.
So I think Monday will be really important in terms of how people are feeling about this Lamar Jackson injury.
Well, speaking of feet, Isaiah likely had surgery on his foot a couple of weeks ago, about a month ago, and maybe more than that at this point in time. And we know he started to emerge as a top optionnaire. For Lamar Jackson. Is there any update on when we can expect to see him on the field?
Well, we asked John uh the other day if he was still On if he still felt like Isaiah likely was on page to return week one and You know, John, he gets in the regular season mode and we're getting close to that right now. Um and he doesn't like to talk a lot about injuries. He doesn't want to tip his hand or lose any competitive uh advantage that he feels like he may have. And so he didn't want to really offer too much in terms of likely even in terms of him potentially going to IR to start the year. Like he just Just didn't really want to talk a whole lot about that.
So, look, I mean. I've always felt like him playing week one is a long shot. I just is, I just don't see why the Ravens would want to risk that. They just seem to be a team that airs on the side of caution more so than being aggressive with those types of injuries, and even likely, like. Does he want to push it he's in a contract year right now all these tight ends are so I think they all understand what's at stake this season.
I would be a little surprised to see him out there week one. Cordell Woodland covers all things Ravens for 105.7, the fan in Baltimore. You talk about tight ends. The last time we saw Mark Andrews, he had his back to the end zone. He dropped the pass and.
Had to write an apology. People are beating him up for the whole week. Why didn't you come out and say something sooner? Is he on borrow time this season? He's been such a reliable option for Lamar Jackson since they both came into the league.
Is he got one foot out the door? I mean It's tough, you know. Mark has been so great for the Ravens. his entire time there on and off the field. He had a great year last year.
He led all tight ends and touchdown catches. He had 10 red zone touchdowns last year. I mean, he was fantastic last season, and that's despite him essentially doing nothing for the first month of the year.
So. I mean I I think the issue with Mark Is that you go throughout his career, and as great as he's been in the regular season, his numbers in the postseason. Have not looked the same. And really, That's just the Ravens. That's this version, this era of the Ravens.
That's been their issue. All of them. None of them have been at their best in the playoffs. And Mark Andrews is a part of that. You know, I think Isaiah likely is the future.
I think if you give Isaiah likely. Tight end one reps. If he got the same opportunities Mark Andrews got, I think he could do it. I think he could possibly even look better. um but mark is still a really good tight end in this league I think most likely, the most likely outcome is Mark isn't in Baltimore next year.
Um but I still I still think Mark has plenty to give and I Washing them throughout training camp. have no reason to think Mark Andrews isn't going to have a typical Mark Andrews year. But Cordell, you talk about still having something to give. DeAndre Hopkins is now in his first year here. With the Baltimore Ravens.
What can we expect from him? Does he still look like he got some juice in the tank? Oh, he's definitely still got some juice in the tank. I think it's more, you know. I wouldn't expect to see that on a regular basis.
I think Hawkins is a Situational guy at this point. I mean, really, you look at this roster, this Ravens offense. This was one of the best offenses in the league last year. This isn't the typical Ravens offense that you think of. in desperate need of a wide receiver and they typically go out and get these wide receivers that are on the back end of their careers and they're looking for them to produce at an at a big time level.
They're not in that spot anymore. I mean, Zay Flowers was a thousand-yard receiver last year. Rashad Bateman had a career year. He was one of the best deep threats in football. We talked about Mark Andrews leading all tight ends and touchdowns.
Isaiah Likely was great last year. Justice Hill was great out of the backfield. I think they're looking for D-Hop to just come here and just be that safety net for Lamar that he doesn't have. Lamar has had it to where a lot of these guys are. They generate so much separation that it's a lot of open windows to throw to him.
Lamar's legs help that as well because he can extend the plays better than anybody. But D-Hop is that guy that can win even when he is covered. He's that guy that has that wide catch radius, and he's shown it in practice. He's made the one-handed catches. He's mossed guys.
You know, I think that's what he'll be. He'll be great for them on third downs. He'll be great for them in red zones. And when they need a jump ball here and there, and nothing else is open. I think he'll be a guy that Lamar looks to to bail him out sometimes.
Well, Cordell, I want to flip from the offense to the defense. Last year, the Ravens, especially in the secondary, they took a little bit of a step back. The offense, or excuse me, the defense in general used to be in top one, two, or three. And then they they fell down, so just being one of the the top third of the league.
Now they got all these defensive backs bringing in Jair Alexander, hoping as he's healthy. Malachi Starks coming from here out of Georgia. Kyle Hamilton, I'd say one of the best safeties in the game. Nate Wiggins also from here, the state of Georgia. What are your thoughts on how this defense can improve?
I mean, they finished, you know, as bad as they were in the first half of the year last year, they were just as good. in the second half.
So I think it's really about Building on that. And last year was a lot of new. You know, Zach Orr takes over his first time as a defensive coordinator. He had never even called plays at this level. And he took over for what was probably the best defensive coordinator in football in Mike McDonald, who went to Seattle.
So And a lot of coaches overturning, a lot of player overturning. Patrick Queen leaves for Pittsburgh. Marcus Williams wasn't as good last year. I mean, he was he was terrible for them. He ended up getting benched for our Darius Washington.
And he's still and Marcus Williams is still on the free agent market. Right now.
So I look at this defense this year, and turnovers seem to be the huge point of emphasis for them. They talked about it all all season. And to their credit, they showed it a lot throughout camp. More turnovers in this camp than I can remember during my time covering this team. You add in Malachi Starks, like you mentioned.
He's looked really good. He's fit like a glove. Jaya Alexander, he's working his way back. But when he was out there, he looked really good for them. Marlon still looked good.
Roquan looks like he's in better shape. Mike Green, I think Mike Green is really. the the the the wild card for this Ravens defense. He could Be a guy that you're talking about for the rookie defensive player of the year this year. He's going to make their pass rush look different than it has, I think, in recent time because he is a bona fide pass rusher and he has an element to this defense that I think they'll need.
So I'm expecting this defense to. Be an elite defense, assuming health. And that's the big question mark when you look at this secondary. Because guys like Jair and Awoozier, who are dealing with injuries right now, they have a history of that. And if they're not on the field, then you do start to have some questions about some of those back end corners.
Cordell Woodland is joining us here on the JR Sport Reef Show covers all things. Baltimore Ravens, it's not often that people talk about special teams at all. Unless a guy is missing a kick or we get something blocked that has a major effect on the game. We know Justin Tucker is gone. All the allegations against him, no longer the kicker for the Ravens, despite his Hall of Fame career incomes.
Tyler Luke. As good as he was in Arizona, as good as he's been here so far in the preseason. Are people still kind of on edge as to what they're now getting into? Sure, Justin Tucker started to fall off a little bit. But for a while you knew what you were gonna get.
Oh, definitely. I mean, I think you, you know, it's been a mixed bag. Yeah. people You know when they look at Justin Tucker and they compare him to Tyler Loop and unfairly You're comparing this rookie version of Tyler Loop to not last year's version of Justin Tucker, which was one of honestly one of the worst kickers in football, but you're talking about. They're comparing them to the legacy.
Of Justin Tucker. And if you're looking at it that way, sure, it's going to be a tough pill to swallow. It's tough. Moving on from The greatest kicker of all time to now, a rookie. There is gonna be a learning curve for Tyler Luke.
There's gonna be some challenges. But look, the Ravens lost five games last year. And in all five of those games, Justin Tucker had a miss.
So I don't think he'll be any worse than what Justin Tucker was last year, but I do think they'll have to work out some kinks. He's missed a field goal in each of the first two preseason games, but also to his credit, he's bounced back. He's had a make after each of his misses, and each one of his makes have been longer than his misses were. What they like with Tyler Loop is he has a cannon of a leg. They think his process is in-depth.
Um repeatable and consistent. And he has confidence, and they feel like he's a guy that, even if he does start to struggle a little bit, his foundation of his process allows him to. Be able to kind of get back in a rhythm and fix those issues maybe quicker than some other kickers would. You know, he's the only kicker on the roster as of now. He's the guy that they're definitely going to go with.
And as good as this team is, no doubt, you don't want to have the kicker be the thing that holds you back. You sure as hell do not want that.
Well, it seems like over the past several years, the Ravens, if they're healthy, they're good enough to go to the playoffs. They're not good enough to go past that. How are fans feeling between them and the Buffalo Bills? Eventually, somebody has to break down. Are the fans just like, all right, let's get to the postseason already?
I mean, that's how can you not, you know, unfairly, probably unfairly for the Ravens, the regular season doesn't matter. Unless they stink up the joint. Then everybody's talking about it now. All of a sudden, everybody cares. But the Ravens are a team.
And a soulmate health. You expect them to win double digit games. You expect them to win this division. You expect them to be a team that is competing. for the Super Bowl and unfairly their season doesn't start until January, but you still got to get through the regular season.
And with all these expectations on this team this year, I am. Kind of looking at them this year to make sure, you know, are they overlooking guys? And the way that their season starts out, they can't really afford to overlook anybody. They start out in Buffalo. You got Detroit week three.
You got Kansas City week four. You got some division games mixed there early in the season as well. And they're not. You know, they're not above losing to a Cleveland Browns team early in the year. They lost to the Raiders and the Colts.
At home over the last two seasons.
So I do think that this is a Ravens team that'll, if they are healthy, they'll sleepwalk themselves. Through the division, they'll win the division, make it to the playoff. But can they get over the hump? Can they beat the Buffaloes? Can they beat the Chiefs?
Can they just get there? I think anything short of making it to the AFC Championship game is an absolute failure of a season. Anything short of making it. to the Super Bowl. is just another disappointing year.
But I think the expectations are so high. And if they're not met, who knows what. Happen going into next year, yeah. But what else can they do?
Some what they're gonna fire hard bar, they can't. I feel like they're stuck. I mean, you're stuck with Lamar. You're Harbaugh's his biggest cheerleader. I mean, I think you could find, in fact, I think everybody like, I mean, no, let me not say that because you see some of these anonymous lists out there.
And apparently, there are people out there that don't think very highly of Lamar Jackson.
So let me not say everybody thinks that, but I would imagine. Anybody with a brain in any football, any real football knowledge understands. How great of a player Lamar Jackson is, and what you have in him. I don't anticipate Lamar Jackson playing for anybody. Other than the Baltimore Ravens for the foreseeable future.
But I, you know. John, he's gotten I'm in plenty of chances. And I'm not sitting here saying that John needs to lose his job or anything like that, but just realistically, just looking at it logically. He's gotten a lot of opportunities with a great player in Lamar Jackson, and they've had some great teams. They've had some great seasons, and they just haven't had the runs in the postseason that they should have had.
And if that happens again this year, any If they win the AFC and make it to the Super Bowl and lose, all right. You know, I could live with that. But if they don't make it to the conference championship game, I do think you're in danger zone if you're John Harbaugh, most likely. Yeah? Oh, listen, you can't keep doing the same thing over and over again.
Eventually, they go, somebody come do something different. Hey, Cordell, thank you so much for the insight, your expertise. Please tell everybody where they could follow you, all your work, on the fan, and elsewhere. Most people would rather attend a corporate team building workshop than search for auto and home insurance. Don't team, feel that synergy.
That's why the zebra searches for you, comparing over 100 insurance companies to find savings no one else can. Compare today at thezebra.com. Who's ready for the trust fall? Full asset. Yeah, appreciate you having me, man.
You can follow me at Cordell Woodland on Twitter and Instagram. You can check me out on 1057 The Fan. if you're in Baltimore, or you could download the Odyssey app if you're not. You can still hear me, my show, The Fresh Take with my co-host Ben Hall. We'll be on Fridays going forward.
And you can also hear me on all the other shows on our station all throughout the day as well. Hey, Cordell, always a pleasure, man. Let's talk soon. Hopefully, it's some good news, all right? Yeah, let's do it.
All right, shout outs to Cordell Woodland for joining us. You can catch him on 1057 The Fan. in Baltimore. Go ahead and check him out. Yeah, can you They can't keep running back the same thing.
Eventually and maybe you can, eventually they gotta break through, right? It's like the same Ravens team every year. Switch a different piece here or there.
Now they got a new kicker. And so, what happens now if Tyler Luke misses a kick in a big moment?
Now, you got to fire a hardbot. It's just. It's tough. It's tough watching a good team. Almost a great team.
Never get over the hump and be great. That part. Stinks. Especially you got an electric athlete, electric athlete, and Lamar Jackson. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network.
Most people would rather remove a nest of irate hornets than search for auto and home insurance. That's why The Zebra searches for you, comparing over 100 insurance companies to find savings no one else can. Compare today at thezebra.com. I think I'll wait inside.
