Baltimore Ravens: Preseason Updates & Super Bowl Hopes

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00:00Let's get to the very latest on the National Football League.

00:03The Baltimore Ravens open up training camp and then preseason next week.

00:06Great to have Melissa Kim here on the show to break it all down for us.

00:09You can hear, of course, on the radio, on the fan in Baltimore,

00:12and it's great to have you back.

00:14It's been a long time.

00:15Thanks for checking in.

00:17Yeah, of course.

00:18I mean, it's football season, right?

00:19We're getting amped up and ready to go.

00:21So it's been an offseason always feels so long.

00:24But I know it's the same amount of time every year,

00:27but it always just feels so long before we get to football season and training camp.

00:30So thanks for having me on.

00:31Yeah, it's great to see it again.

00:33And, you know, look, every year I feel like when we talk about the Ravens,

00:37it's sort of Super Bowl or bust,

00:38but it is kind of getting to that point where at some point it's got to happen.

00:42Is this the year that you think that potentially it happens?

00:46It feels like the regular season can be sleptwalk at this point for the Ravens

00:50because if they don't win several playoff games and at least get to the end,

00:54I feel like people are going to look at this as a failure.

00:57I mean, you're absolutely right about that, Craig.

01:00I'm going every year with such cautious optimism, right,

01:03watching this team now entering my fifth season watching this team

01:06and for their sixth season watching this team rather.

01:10And look, every year we come in saying exactly what you said,

01:14Super Bowl or bust, right,

01:16especially with how Lamar Jackson has developed throughout his career.

01:19He's only gotten better, you know,

01:20and I think he's matured as well as a quarterback in terms of how he manages the game.

01:25And then you look at some of the weapons that he's been surrounded by.

01:28For me personally, the year for me was when they had that historically incredible defense

01:34when Odell Beckham Jr. was on the offense.

01:36That was such a big year for me.

01:38And, you know, as we keep on going, as we continue throughout the seasons,

01:42that's the year I always look back and I'm kind of like, oh, like what could have been,

01:45what should have been, what might have been,

01:48had the offense just had been a little bit better in that AFC championship game

01:52against the Chiefs because that defense, they're never going to,

01:56I don't think they're, I don't know if they're ever going to be able to replicate that.

01:58But saying all that, having said all that, last year was kind of the opposite, right?

02:02The offense was making historic plays, like setting records.

02:06And then the defense was the one that was still in the learning phases a little bit,

02:10obviously having a lot of new personnel, obviously new defensive coordinator,

02:13Zach Orr, who now has some experience under his belt.

02:16And this year we see DeAndre Hopkins on the field as well,

02:18who has a history of, you know, being able to get comfortable with quarterbacks early on.

02:23And we've definitely seen that between him and Lamar Jackson.

02:25So there are a lot of factors at play, but you're certainly not wrong about that

02:29for the Ravens, for the team themselves, and especially for the fans too.

02:33It's got, it's got to be a Super Bowl.

02:35I mean, it's been looming, I think, for the last five years of what this team could be.

02:39And we look at the end of every season, like they're just this close.

02:42And really, they have the talent to do it.

02:47They added DeAndre Hopkins, and, you know, certainly that's a big ad for them

02:50if he can get back to what he was a few years ago.

02:52Zay Flowers is back once again after the great year that he had.

02:55Rashad Bateman was a touchdown machine.

02:57So I think let's start there because we know who's going to run the ball,

03:01but do you think it's the same group of pass catchers this year?

03:05I think yes, but also let's expand on some of the guys they have.

03:08One guy I really have loved since he came to the Ravens, not really spoken about a lot,

03:13is tight end Charlie Kohler.

03:15So he came in from Iowa State.

03:17He's an extremely cerebral guy.

03:19And the times that you talk to him, I mean, we had like a 20-minute conversation once,

03:23one-on-one.

03:24I think about like for seven minutes of it, he talked about his favorite condiment

03:27and like literally went in-depth of like every single one of what he likes.

03:30So he's like, you know, there's a lot going on upstairs for him.

03:33And when he makes mistakes, he knows automatically right away, he'll be like,

03:37well, I like, you know, I ran the wrong route there.

03:39That was my bad.

03:40And so I think that he is someone that size-wise too is a very large human being.

03:46It has been great in blocking in the last couple of years.

03:49But I think that we could maybe see him emerge quite a bit more this year.

03:52I know he has great chemistry with all the guys on the team.

03:55He's someone I'm keeping an eye on.

03:56And obviously you mentioned the usual suspects, of course, say Flowers,

03:59who has the quickest feet I've ever seen.

04:02Rashad Bateman couldn't be more happy for him and what he's been able to do

04:05because, you know, he had been ridden by injury-ridden for the last couple of seasons

04:09and finally was able to have a breakout year.

04:11So definitely I think a couple of the usual suspects that will add to, I think,

04:16what DeAndre Hopkins could possibly bring to this team.

04:21Now, Isaiah, likely that's a big injury, of course.

04:23And, you know, certainly they're going to put the best outlook on this.

04:26It says maybe four to six weeks that could really put him out for the beginning of the season.

04:31And, Melissa, sometimes we hear these things that he could be back for week one.

04:35Teams do tend to go on the side of caution.

04:38And I'm not saying that he's going to be put on that physically unable to perform list,

04:42but Kolar could be one of those guys that may have to step up in his absence.

04:46Yeah, I'm excited, honestly, for the possibility of Charlie Kolar

04:49because he is like a real – I don't know if it's really noticeable to people

04:52from the outside, the organization or outside this beat reporting team.

04:57But he really is fun.

04:58He's fun to watch.

04:59He's a fun guy on the sideline.

05:01He's fun to talk to.

05:02I hope he kind of brings some of that joy into his game.

05:05And also, like, we can't forget Mark Andrews, obviously, too.

05:08You know, the OG of the OGs in that tight end room

05:10and still arguably Lamar Jackson's favorite target.

05:13And I know he's gotten a lot of flack in the last couple of months,

05:16especially given the way that last season ended for him.

05:20But he's come to terms with it.

05:22He has obviously worked through a lot mentally and emotionally to get over that.

05:26And so I think he's still going to be a reliable figure for Lamar Jackson

05:30to throw the ball to.

05:31Now, what about kicking here?

05:33It's a new era for the Ravens because, you know,

05:35Justin Tucker with all of the issues both on and off the field last year

05:38has been shown the door, so to speak.

05:41What do you think happens with Baltimore's kicking game this year?

05:43Listen, I think that it is indeed a new era.

05:48I mean, Justin Tucker has obviously been a figure in this organization

05:51and in Baltimore for so long.

05:54But they purposely went out and, you know, drafted and got some other guys.

05:58Tyler Loop, I think, has been pretty solid for the most part

06:01in what we've seen from him.

06:03So I think that this is an opportunity, right, I think,

06:06for him to make a name for himself, for any of some of these other younger guys

06:11that they have, to be able to – obviously, you can't replicate

06:15what someone like Justin Tucker has done on the field.

06:18But I think it's an opportunity for them to find somebody new,

06:21for someone to come and make a name for themselves.

06:24And I think Tyler Loop is on his way.

06:27Finally, Melissa, in the end, do you think that this potentially is the season

06:32that the Ravens do get over the hump here?

06:34I mean, it is Kansas City, it is Buffalo, and it is Baltimore.

06:38And it feels like – is it more the Ravens stepping up

06:41or is it more of Kansas City taking a step back?

06:45I think it's more of the Ravens stepping up.

06:47I mean, those three teams that you just mentioned there,

06:49those three are the ones to beat, right, on the AFC side.

06:53So, obviously, Kansas City has had their turn.

06:57Buffalo's had their turn.

06:58It better be Baltimore's turn this year.

07:00But, no, I think the Ravens, like you mentioned, like we've been talking about,

07:05they have the talent.

07:05They've got the goods.

07:07Everything or something just seems to happen where they beat themselves.

07:09It's not necessarily that the other team is better.

07:11I think that they've kind of had some issues in that sense.

07:15So, I think that as long as they can just beat themselves, play their game,

07:18stick to what they're good at, and not stray away from the plan, they'll be okay.

07:23Thanks, Melissa, for coming on.

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