HUGE SHIFT HAPPENING FOR BALTIMORE RAVENS!

I don't think this comment from Zay Flowers is getting enough attention because if you really pay attention and listen to what he's saying, it shows something much bigger happening from within the Baltimore Ravens organization. >> What was the reaction like in the wide receiver room? Obviously, you could relate to all those guys. >> Everybody was happy for me. Everybody was excited cuz you know the motto here in Baltimore was receivers are not really valued and that changed yesterday. Okay. >> So, did you hear Z Flowers explain that shift that's happening with this team right now? He said it and we've said it before. Plenty of people have said it that Ravens don't value receivers. And so many people have said Baltimore is where receivers careers go to die. That was a narrative that has been with this team for such a long time. Uh you even look at DeAndre Hopkins for example. He was with us last year and now he's coaching. So that doesn't really help that narrative at all and that's recent. But with Zay Flowers getting his contract extension and especially the contract extension that he got being a top five contract in the NFL for his position, that's something unheard of with this football team because we've seen Ravens receivers get second contracts like a Rashad Baitman, even technically a Chris Moore, but we haven't seen a Ravens receiver get a second contract on the level of a Z Flower. So that makes such a big difference and I'm glad that it happened. A Flowers deserved it. He certainly did. Ever since 2023, his mark on this team, his impact on the Baltimore Ravens has been significant and we expect it to continue to go up. So I'm I'm glad that Eric Dcasta and Z Flowers in his camp, they were able to work this thing out. Now, Zay Flowers, he had somebody that was his running partner a couple of years ago in 2024, and they were the 1A and 1B receivers of the Ravens, and that is Rashad Baitman. Now, we know what Baitman, that's a very, very touchy subject for a lot of Ravens fans because a lot of Ravens fans all in on Baitman. Then there's a lot of Ravens fans that are all out on Baitman. But with this coaching staff, he has an opportunity to really shift his entire trajectory of his career. And what he said the other day in the presser, it spoke volumes. Um, like I said, I mean, I'm moving around, you know, all over the place. I feel like in the past, I've been a kind of a one-dimensional um, you know, receiver. You know, I feel like he seen my talent. You know, he sees everybody talent. A lot of guys moving around and u, you know, he's we're playing all strengths right now. So, I think it's a lot that we all get to show. You know, I'm excited to see that. As a receiver, you know, you want to you want somebody to believe in. You want somebody, you know, to to see your, you know, ability. And I think, you know, Dean is doing a good job of, you know, moving all of us around, not just myself. Um, Zay's been moving on a lot. Um, y'all see Jacobe Lane out making plays. TZ Walker. I think there's a lot in store for a lot of guys, you know, this season. I feel like the details of it and like I like I said, I moved around. Uh, I moved around a lot. I'm in the slot, you know, outside. Um, and I think that's a blessing for me. You know, I appreciate him for, you know, doing that, you know, so, you know, I get to show my talent, you know, more and more. >> You hear that excitement in Rashad Baitman's voice? I feel like we honestly have not heard that in such a long time. And notice what he said that he's not one-dimensional. And it seemed like he was referring to the previous coaching staff just sort of putting him in this box to where they weren't being creative with his usage. But he talked about how Declan Doyle like, "Oh, he got me moving around doing different things." Uh, he got Zay Flowers doing a lot of the same stuff, like moving around a lot, too. He brought up Jacobe Lane, he brought up Tez Walker, but Rashad Baitman, he just seems like he's in a much better place than he had been for the past couple of years. And he has a big opportunity to really just prove so many people wrong and in some cases prove so many people right who really believe in Rashad Baitman. But hopefully, like we've been saying all offseason, if Rashad Baitman is going to be with this football team, hopefully this can be where he truly bounces back. But how you feeling about the direction of the Baltimore Ravens specifically in the wide receiver room with both them paying Z Flowers the money that they paid him and with the expected usage of a Rashad Baitman. Are you feeling even more confident than ever in Declan Doyle to really get these receivers and push them to the max and truly reach that potential or are you still not sold on it? Let me know down below in the comments section. Now, we made it to my favorite part of the videos where we get to feature your questions. You already know how to take part in it. Let's get to this first question that came from my guy MJ. He said the truth needs to be spoken up. All right. Who been lying? Let's see what he got to say. He said, "What's going on in Graven? What's happening MJ?" He said, "There's a topic I want to talk more about that you might have touched on this topic before and this is unfairness on Lamar because of his skin color." Oh, yeah. We we definitely talked about that before a lot. Well, he said, "We are never the type to blame a situation just because of someone's skin color. I come from a strong Argentinian background and my wife comes from a strong Dominican background. But time and time again, situations keep happening and they keep putting Lamar down for no reason. Lamar can't throw. Then he has a season with only three interceptions. Well, it was only four, but still that that's that's crazy. That's crazy. Like a lot of times, um, like I forget how insane of a season that was. This man threw 41 touchdowns to only four inter. That's crazy. And none of the interceptions were his fault. Not a single one. Two were on Baitman, one was on Mark Andrews, one was on Justice Hill. That's crazy. Like one was a Baitman drop to turn into an interception. One was Baitman stopped running on a route that turned into an interception. One was Mark Andrews dropped to turn into an interception. One was with Justice Hill, he caught the ball but then had it ripped away by the Steelers linebacker. That's crazy. And then the interception that he threw in the playoffs that was on bait cuz he ran the wrong route. that that season was cra and then on top of that he ran for what like 900 something yards. It's crazy, man. Like that season was insane. It really like you, man. It's crazy. Anyway, uh but continuing cuz I done got thrown off guard. He said uh Lamar can't win. Uh almost got us to the big game. Lamar can't lead, but in my eyes, he was more of a coach than our past coaches. and he has two MVPs. What he said, the rumor that is going around is that Bo Nicks is better than Lamar. Why does everyone have to compare themselves to Lamar? If he's so bad, why don't they compare him to other quarterbacks like their Golden Boy Mahomes and Allen? That's a really good point right there because that happens a lot. Um, so many times, uh, Josh Allen is being posted up as the number one quarterback in the NFL right now. That's what all the media is saying, "Oh yeah, Josh Allen, he's the best. He's number one." You know what was crazy? I don't hear nothing, not a single thing about like Sam Donald and that man's a Super Bowl champion. He just won a Super Bowl just this past season. But anyway, um Josh Allen is being put as the number one quarterback in the league. Uh and then of course Patrick Mahomes usually right behind him. A lot of people will have uh Joe Burrow up next. Um, but when it comes to compare, like you said, the comparisons, people will always use Lamar Jackson as a comparison tool, like a stepping stone almost for other quarterbacks. So, they can use these other quarterbacks to be like, "All right, well, this quarterback is better than Lamar Jackson. That quarterback, he's better than Lamar Jackson because of X, Y, and Z. Oh, he's better than Lamar Jackson because of X, Y, and Z." Now, you going to compare quarterbacks to Lamar Jackson. Oh, he's better than because if you presenting valid reason, cool. But see the where the issue is there's such a lack of consistency cuz they'll compare the quarterbacks to Lamar Jackson but they won't compare the quarterbacks to Pat Mahomes. They won't compare the quarterbacks to a Josh Allen. They will only do it with Lamar. It's it's one of the craziest things and so many people see it. Not even just Ravens fan but so many people see it on a regular but that's just what it is. Uh he also said but then uh they continue to keep downplaying our quarterback. My wife watches the games with me. She brought up another valid point is that uh he is not a poster boy as in a light-skinned or white. He's darkkinned, color, and religious. If I'm reaching, please let me know. No, I mean, we we said it from jump that with Lamar, he's always going to be looked at differently. He's going to be judged differently and he is never going to be enough, good enough for some people, no matter what he does. One thing I always think about as a parent is making sure that my kids grow up understanding money a whole lot better than I ever did. because you want to give them independence, but at the same time, you also want to know that they're making good decisions. 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Well, guess who is back to support this team. [laughter] Welcome back, my friend. And that that game was egregious. That was one of the worst last year. One of the worst because there were no excuses as to why the Ravens lost and how the Ravens lost. Um, Ravens just literally they lost that game themselves. Patriots ain't even had to work for it because that's when Derrick Henry was running all over the Patriots in the first half just destroying them. Lamar end up getting hurt. So now you at your backup quarterback and that Ravens decide, you know what, we're going to stop running the ball. That's why a lot of people think that Vegas made that call. Anyway, uh, he said, "I'm excited for this new era of Ravens football. I'm glad we got a defensive minded head coach to help bring this defense back into elite status and hopefully achieve the triple crown again this season. points allowed per game, sacks, and takeaways, just like the 2023 season. That'd be nice, but that that's a lot to ask for. I I wouldn't be mad at it if they got it. Just Just give me a great defense, man. Give me a great defense where you're causing turnovers, where you're making stops, you're getting sacks, where you see, I mean, you got a great defense, all that stuff is going to happen. If it's number one in all categories, great. Amazing. But if it's not, okay, but just give me a great defense because we need it. We deserve it's been a it's been a while. I mean, it's it's been two years, three or two seasons ago or three seasons ago technically because it's 2023, but um it's been too long because what we've been through these past two years on defense, o yikes. He said, "I genuinely believe Jesse Mentor is going to elevate this defense. The players who struggled last season finally have a coach who can help them reset, refine their technique, and revive their careers." You could have ended it right there. You could have actually sent in your question with that one sentence alone, and we would have all understood exactly where you were coming from. All right. He said, "Especially with Mike Green, Roan, and Humphrey, wish he would convert to safety, but I cannot complain. I'm confident this defensive line is about to take a major leap. With Mabik coming back at full strength and Trey Hendrickson added to the mix, this Dline has the potential to be a top three unit right up there with the Rams and the Texans. That's some that's some high praise right there. If they can achieve that. Oh, even if if even if we were right behind them because Rams, they're gonna have Aaron Donald and Miles. Nasty, man. Nasty. And the Texans, man. Denil Hunter, they got Will Anderson, they got Javian Clowney. They were already nasty. And then they just added Clowny a couple days ago. They were already nasty, [sighs] man. But if even if we right behind him at three, I ain't gonna be mad at all. I would love that. Anyway, he said, "All offense will be solid with Declan." Solid. We need better than solid. But let me let continue. He said, "All offense will be solid with Declan Doyle calling the plays. I hope that we can retain him for at least two years because you know how it goes. Once the bottom tier teams see our offense thriving, they'll start panicking and firing their head coaches just to take a shot at hiring Declan Doyle." It's the same kind of move we saw when the Dolphins fired Mike McDaniel, hoping to get Harball. I'm really glad we invested in offensive line. It's exactly what Lamar needs to get back to the MVP form and probably win another one this season. I'm glad we stuck with the wide receiver group and not bringing in a veteran wide receiver except for Chris Moore. I wanted the Ravens to let those guys get a real shot instead of bringing in a veteran who would eat up their snaps. From everything coming out of training camp, it sounds like we might have a potential breakout star in a few years from the rookies. And I would assume you're talking about Jacobe. [snorts] Um yeah, with the veteran wide receiver part that's again that's been so tricky all offseason, but the Ravens said, "Nope, we ain't doing it. We ain't going to do it." And they haven't done it. And this preseason is next week. Uh, and they still haven't done it. So, yeah, Stefon Diggs is a commander now, so he's out of the equation. You still got guys like Kenan Allen, Tyreek Hill. See when he gets healthy, but yeah, they they might be sticking to their guns with that. He said, "I know I sound overly optimistic." No, you you really don't. You know what I'm saying? Overly optimistic because think about it like Ravens, they've been a good team for a while, but they just needed some finetuning in some different areas. Now they got a new coaching staff and this coaching staff is handling things a lot differently than the previous coaching staff. Um, so hopefully that that that's that finetuning that they needed and they'll be able to get it done. [snorts] He said, "I know I sound overly optimistic, but honestly, this feels like a breath of fresh air we've been waiting for. But no more getting hyped early on uh only to watch the offense become predictable by mid-season. Defense not creating a lot of turnovers and players not being disciplined. Uh not getting hyped up at the beginning and see the same thing all over again by becoming too predictable. I can't wait for the Ravens to remind the media of the league and every opponent that this Ravens team isn't done. The window isn't closed and nobody should be penciling in an easy win against us. You know what? For that last part, I agree. The window ain't closed. No, but I don't think anybody ever pencled in an easy win against the Ravens because Ravens, while they were so annoying for for for us. Um, they would take us through these heartbreaks, but they were not no team that would just lay down. Again, we can say a lot of stuff about our ball, but the team just never laid down. Well, unless it was like the fourth quarter and they had a big lead, then they lay down. But they like Ravens were never a team that was like getting whooped like that consistently. They were having a game every now and then where they might really like get beat up. But like last year the Chiefs game, that game wasn't close, but I feel like unless I'm missing some. Oh, the Texans game. Well, that's the Texans game. Leam didn't even play that game. But um they they really never have blowout. So they never really get blown out of me. Ravens always like right there win or lose. So I don't I don't think there was like a such thing as a easy oh we playing the Ravens this week. Oh easy win. No if Lamar wasn't playing and your team then but [laughter] anyway continuing. Uh he said I'll be traveling to New Zealand for the first four weeks of the season to visit family. So I'm hoping I get to watch the Raven Star 4 and 0 from across the world. That would be one incredible way to kick off the year. Uh, stay safe and have a great day. You have an even better day and you have an amazing trip, too. Next question came from my guy Robbie. He said, "Hey, hope the fan is good. Sorry if this is a long email, but I got a few questions." Um, he said, uh, number one, how will the Ravens perform in close games after last season's disappointment? That's to be determined. like we're hoping that um one of the big things that the Ravens struggle with uh last season, last couple seasons really, were closing games out was the defense where the offense they they could do their thing, but the defense they were just they would keep falling short. They would end up giving up yards, giving up plays, giving up points, uh giving up clutch situations and it was like, man, what like what is happening? Like what why are we doing this? But so I think that's a big part of why they brought in Jesse Men just to be a closer. That's why they brought in Trey Hendrickson to be a closer man. The BK is back. he can help close out games. His defense can help close out games. Now, while it's still going to be a lot on the offense, too. So, hopefully just that mentality with Jesse Mentor uh and what his emphasis is going to be on the defense, it can impact the offense as well and help them be better closers, too. He said number two, who steps up as the primary pass rusher? Well, I think it's already going to be Trey Hendrickson because that's what he was brought in to do. Uh now, who could who else could step up as an additional pass rusher? That could be I think Mike Green could. I think Mike Green. The coaches have talked about how he was close a lot last season. So now you got a much better coaching staff that's going to have him a Mike Green and a trait. Yeah. And a better Dline. Yeah. He [snorts] said number three. How quickly will firstear head coach Jesse Mentor put his stamp on the team? He already did. He already did. Everything that he talked about in that opening press conference where he talked about relationships and communication. He's been showing that throughout this entire offseason. So his stamp is already there. He [snorts] said number four. Can the offensive line protect Lamar well enough against the elite pass rushers to be determined? We can hope so. We hope that they will, but that's to be determined. We got to see them in action. Number five, is this Lamar's most important season yet. No, every season is important for Lamar. Every single season is important. Um because every single season is another opportunity where the only thing you got left to do is get that Super Bowl, man. That's it. That's that's the only thing left, man. So hopefully this could be the year where he makes that happen. All right. So number six, will the secondary create more turnovers this season? I I think we should definitely expect them, realistically expect them to for sure. Uh because they should be put in much better position to do that. Next question came from my guy Stefon and he says, "Swing for the fences." Let's see what he talking about. As a fan, I do love what they did for the defense and offensive line, but I feel we can be way more aggressive to help out Lamar that much more. And I have a crazy idea of how to make that happen. That idea would be trading a first two seconds and Rashad Baitman to the Vikings. for Jay Jettis. Um, [clears throat] if the Ravens put that out there like a first round pick, two second round picks and Baitman, I think for for Justin Jefferson, I think the Vikings would laugh in their face. They they would laugh in their face or they they wouldn't even pick up the phone call. just one first round pick in two seconds and bait. No, they they would turn that down so fast, like extremely fast. And that's nothing against bait. That's nothing against the draft capital. It's just that with Justin Jefferson, he would his value would be way more than that. Way more. But anyway, continuing. He said, uh, give Lamar true dynamic number one receiver and Z that much more time to grow while making it easy on him. And who better for a younger receiver to learn from than the best. What do you say to this proposal? I would say if the rate, excuse me, if the Vikings took that Yeah. cool. Yeah, go. Yeah, let's get it. Let's make it. Let's shake on. Okay, cool. But that we would need to give up a lot more. Another extension for Beak. Next question came from my guy Caesar. He said, "What's up in Raven? What's happening man?" He said, "Now that Nambdi is scheduled to return this season, if I'm not mistaken, he's a free agent after this season, and also he doesn't have guaranteed money for his final season as well." Let me just look that up right now. I don't believe so, but let me just double check. So, he Oh, he signed Okay, he signed a 4-year $98 million contract extension with the Ravens on March 8th, 2024. So, we got some time there. So, this is Yeah. So 2024 and 2025. So this would only be the third year that he's into his contract. So yeah, he he's he's still got some time. Um so yeah, we're yeah, he he ain't going away with that. Anyway, he said, um my question to you is do you think EDC will offer another extension if he ends up putting up a decent amount of sacks or how would the salary cap work in the regard that we need to pay Lamar and Z? Um no I right now they ain't even got to worry about that. They ain't even got to worry cuz they they got more time. I know you um like I guess had mistaken his contract getting ready to run out now, but yeah, they they got more time. So, that's something that [clears throat] I think first before they even worry about another contract with Mabke, they're going to want to see how he comes back, how he responds from his neck injury, how he looks, how he plays, just they're going to want to see all of that before they even think about, all right, we're going to sign him to a contract extension or anything like that. Uh, but continue. He said, "I know you don't work for the Ravens salary cap department, but I've been curious if Ravens would tag and trade Nomdi even if he returns to his old self." He said, "I personally wouldn't mind trading Nomi after the season for a for two second round picks or late first round pick if possible." Sooner or later, Marlo is going to be on his way out and Roan as well. Oh man, my my guy seems trying to get rid of everybody. He like, "Hey, oh, you back from your neck injury." Okay, bye. See you. Oh, you healthy now? Okay, bye. See you, Marlo. Okay, thanks for everything. See you, Roan. You out the door, too. man. But you know what? You will make a good GM because you ain't letting no feelings get involved and that's what GMs got to do. A lot of times they got to take the feelings out of it and be like, "No, this is just strictly business." Anyway, he said the main domino I'll be waiting for is Lamar's extension and that will let us know how the Ravens will be making decisions for the future. O that's what Zava Flowers waiting on too. They FL say, "Hey, I want Lamar to be here. I hope his contract extension can be done. I want to be catching passes from him for my entire career." Will he be? I hope so. [laughter] I hope so. Cuz woo boy that he's let me know what you think of Nomi Mabk's future and if it'll be a smart move uh with cash or picks or just let him play out the contract. Yeah, like like we said earlier, I think right now the contract will be the last thing on Ravens uh front office's mind when it comes to Nami Matabke. I think they he got to get through this season first and they just want to make sure he is truly back to form and then beyond that, we'll see. [music] The flock flies to [singing] the wise. It's a wonderful thing. Look what vision and commitment is and some discipline [music] brings. When a becomes one, the moon swings and the flock sing [singing] for another ring. Man, we tuning in to engraving vene [music] [music] when you run that north every year. That's just a [music] Oh yeah. [music] Oh yeah. >> [music]