Expectations: Roquan Smith and Devin Leary

[Applause] [Music] hi folks welcome to another episode of film study this is KCK USIC we're here to continue our expectations Series today we're going to talk about a couple players uh Devin lery the six round draic at quarterback and ran Smith uh the well-known inside linebacker I don't think we needed to to say much more about him but uh Brandon croxton is here to talk about Brandon how you doing hey Ken I'm doing good uh love doing these and it's a very fun uh very fun segment so I'm looking forward to it oh appreciate that I I have a ton of fun doing this and and you know we have 29 shows this year and it's 29 different people uh didn't have any problem finding people to to to do it everybody was excited about it and so this uh this seems to be one of the the fun things that people we get between about the uh mini camp period and the beginning of camp this is one of the big things to talk about is our expectations for these players yeah absolutely how about we start with Deon lery since he's the the undercard to this pairing for certain uh drafted in round six number 218 out of Kentucky a 61215 guy really made a name for himself at NC State where he played very well for four years uh 62 touchdowns and 16 interceptions then moved on to the SEC in 20123 didn't have his best year 88.7 passer rating 25- 12 on the on the uh touchdown interceptions uh what what were your first impressions of the pick when it happened yeah um I I would say you know it's interesting in the that he'll be 25 at the start of the season so he's definitely on the older side um he's um definitely somebody I think probably could have been an undrafted free agent but obviously I'm I'm guessing that the Ravens see something in him that uh that's a positive um that they think is worth a six round pick um you know like there there's some upside and some downside to him his 21 his 2021 season was an excellent season he had 35 touchdowns um and just five interceptions and you know he did this led uh NC State to a 9 and3 record which is very good for NC State and um you know he did this without having an NFL wide receiver or tight end on the roster that year as well so it you know that's you know that's something that's you know looking forward you know looking forward to you don't you don't have you know like a cheat code like a Marvin Harrison Jr on your team that's just out there dominating and he's just getting the ball to him he's kind of making a lot of plays on his own to have such a great season um and um but yeah like I think it's interesting that he's he he was drafted um he probably somebody you could pick and you know you could be a priority undrafted free agent but maybe they just see they fig they feared somebody was going to take him maybe in the seventh round so they just grabbed him then they had at least one pick in the seventh round this year so it's a little funny that they that they didn't wait until round seven to get I mean seni Kane was their seventh round pick another guy who could have been had as a udfa I'm pretty sure um but the other thing I mean some of the draft pick value this is really strange but some times if you have priority udfas you want to sign you can't set yourself up to have three or four of those because you won't have enough money for them so those guys and Keaton Mitchell was a good example last year but there have been others in other years are are highly touted around the league and so they they they have three or four suitors at the max dollar amount they can pay a udfa and so they they maybe not three or four but they have more than one Suitor that they that that would that would pay them that money so you can't have three guys you're competing on um and you'll you'd spend more than the total amount in your pool to to do so so uh I've always heard about this you know the way the process works and that the way they've got you know 20 different guys on phones talking to their the people that they scouted or the people that they have the closest Handler relationship with um and it's it's uh it's very much, at a time kind of business which doesn't seem like those those chips are all that important but they are when that's all you have to play with and every team's working with the restricted amount right exactly yeah and um so you know I think I think it's interesting um how you know he is kind of um very different from the uh backup quarterbacks from Lamar um in the past like we've had uh Tyler Huntley the last four years um they drafted trace murly a few years ago um those two are mobile quarterbacks um you know kind of can kind of do not as well as Lamar but can move around and kind of do some things that are similar to the skill set that Lamar brings um uh uh liry and uh Johnson are both straight pocket passers they're not you he's not a statue in there but he's not going to be somebody that's going to run around make plays Off Script or kind of run an RPO uh or or run option to you know make plays with his feet he scrambled only nine times uh this last season so he's a pocket passer in the stricty sense that's that's like a Joe flacko number uh in terms of a very low number uh he's not a big guy either at only 61215 and one of the problems that he had in in Kentucky was he led all of college football in batted passes with 17 that's 4.6% of his throws were batted down at the line of scrimmage that's a big cut in that's rough yeah yeah that's rough yeah there were only eight other QBs in the entire uh FC I always get that wrong so I'm not even going to try in college football who had 10 or more um batted passes right exactly yeah um yeah but I think it you know it also kind of signals probably an evolution of the offense in general um with under monin um last year Lamar actually had the fewest design runs of his career um minus the 21 season he missed six games but um you know he had the fewest design runs and the fewest uh yards off off of off of those runs in his career so we might be seeing kind of an evolution of more of a kind of a straight back uh passing game passing attack as opposed to a lot of run option A lot of using Lamar as as a runner um instead letting him kind of be more of a passer and scramble break break make plays with his feet you know getting out of the pocket and you know still looking for a receiver downfield or scrambling then but few fewer design runs and that's probably you know maybe that's something that we're seeing with um ly and Johnson because I mean Tyler Huntley signed with the Browns but he only he signed for barely the the vet minimum and they have they literally have four veteran quarterbacks out there now so he's may not even be guaranteed a roster spot with them you know so I think Huntley could have been had for you know pretty much the same deal it was one 1.2 million for a year but the Ravens C of made an affirmative choice not to bring him back yeah it's a good point and it's not a long-term deal when you're you know you're signing a 37y old or whatever Johnson is now uh to to do that whereas Huntley you could have maybe had a couple more years it's a clear sign that they're done with Huntley I mean to to me it is that that that he had limitations that they just couldn't live with and and whatnot and we may not know what all of the are from from the Ravens perspective we we can kind of see some of them on the field in terms of being a linear Runner and more of a speed guy we can see some of the way the offense had to be schemed to get the ball out of his H quickly from pocket awareness but something tells me that might not be that might not be all of them that that might just be a part of it in terms of things that were not great um anyway let's get back to lirry for a second because I don't want to I don't want to just bash Huntley that's not NE I think it's it's possibly by the way even Huntley could be back on the Ra's practice squad this year that that it's uh you know this is a reasonable home for him as any and you know it's a way to extend your NFL career um the other thing about um ly he obviously played in his bowl game last year which I thought was a good thing he probably had something to prove uh played very well against Clemson in a game where he gave them two fourth quarter leads at 28 27 then again at 3530 Kentucky defense couldn't hang on Kentucky always kind of in a difficult spot in the SEC they're not in the top tier of That League and yet they they seem to have been pretty good in recent years at staying in the in the in the middle of the league which by the way if you can if you can be seven and six with your schedule being primarily in the SEC which is what Kentucky did this last year that's pretty freaking amazing yeah you're you're a pretty good team um and yeah they've you know they I I remember kind of watching that game um not him ly didn't really stand out to me he made a couple of nice plays but uh the running back Davis really kind of show showed showed something to me that game and I remember him uh you know he had he was in the back of my mind come draft day I was hoping the Ravens would get him in the mid rounds but yeah he's um yeah that was a uh yeah kuy's a a tough place to compete so he he definitely has some Battle Scars uh playing in the SEC all right now with ly and we talked about the undrafted and some of the reasons why they might have used a Draft pick on LY but they really did give up on a player who could have really help them I think in terms of of what they're doing the guy that I wanted at at 218 was Trey Taylor of Air Force ended up being drafted 223 by the Raiders he actually won the Jim Thorp award which is I think given to the best defensive back each year he won it over Cooper dein that is a pretty it's you know not really well known in terms of the available safeties out there but when you're looking for the specific traits you want good instincts not necessarily the top end speed um he'd be a guy who who would be kind of uh ideal I would think to play the back end and allow the flexibility to um Hamilton to to be up or back by play yeah yeah I mean I I think you know maybe and we'll kind of talk about this a little bit more maybe they see lirry is you know he definitely has a roster spot as a third quarterback and maybe you know he he would Taylor would be kind of uh competing you know with uh Worley and you know who's potentially coming back or you know any other safeties that might still be out there that they sign over you know the next month or so um leading into camp that makes it a little bit harder all right well let's let's move on it's uh he's the undercard after all what's what's a good season for Devon lry yeah um I had number one is make the team as the third quarterback um I think it's very likely you know but I wouldn't put it as 100% he's going to be on the roster um they did uh bring in another udfa and emry Jones um to compete with them as as quarterback so um number one would be making the uh the roster and um kind of going from there you want to establish himself as um a front runner to be the second quarterback in a competition uh heading into next year okay very similar and and I've got two things a couple of them are are we won't even know if he's if he's done this but I'll just read it has a solid preseason in Camp earns the qb3 role that's a match with you sees no more than a handful of regular season snaps that would be a big positive if he see a of time this build's rapport with some receivers who will still be around in 20125 I actually think that helped Lamar to be throwing a lot to to players like Mark Andrews back when he was a rookie that uh you know that was a that was a positive thing where Bole and other other tight ends were getting uh snaps with flacko at that point um learns and hones positional skills prior to 25 so again we won't really know it could be like a Lamar situation he comes to Camp all of a sudden his mechanics are improved or or he's he's making a lot of throws and we're saying wow this this guy had that kind of arm I didn't know um if if that happens prior to 25 I think it's a good 24 for him but you know pick up what you can few little Rapport components you probably make the roster as qb3 you hold a clipboard this season you you you stay very focused on learning the NFL game and I think uh I think that's a good year yeah yeah and you know and hopefully you know he's here with uh Taven Robinson who's a udfa so that's his teammate so maybe we'll have some Buzz talking about in the preseason uh Larry to Robinson is a nice uh onew combination but hopefully we don't see either one of those uh at all come week one good good point so the either one has the potential to be a camp darling based on their play but you're right as a as a team they might be better how about a great season what's a great season for uh ly yeah I would say show enough uh in the preseason and in practice uh to be the unquestioned second quarterback in 25 so at some point kind of beat Josh Johnson out as the second quarterback maybe possibly during the season or you have a you or just show that you're definitely going to be the number two guy going into next season because Josh Johnson's up there in age he's 38 now he you know he's at the end at the end of his career it's a yearby year so having somebody who's younger that can be a cheap option um kind of similar to like Tyrod T Taylor was as the second quarterback as the backup here you know can be extremely valuable to the team um okay yeah all right that very good I'll just say outstanding practice in preseason has him assume the qb2 role by mid-season there's nothing in my way of thinking that has Josh Johnson locked into that role for the whole year Josh Johnson can be you know emergency qb3 at any point this year if ly is really the guy they want to use second in a game but they do they do have to decide on a week-by-week basis uh uh how they're how they're doing this that uh CH I'll say plays a limited number of snaps in mop-up Duty he could also get a trial by fire in the top 20% that wouldn't be a good thing for the Baltimore Ravens obviously but but it it could be a good thing for him his change of pace provides intrigu it proves intriguing to coaches and the Ravens scrap their longtime trend of having a stylistic match for Jackson you said a lot about that earlier I don't need to go further the Ravens like him enough not to draft another QB in either 2025 or 26 sure yeah okay yep absolutely all right all right let's uh let's move on talk about ran Smith then is there you say about R CR Smith Oh Che you know he's uh only my second favorite player behind uh Lamar Jackson here so yes I was very excited to talk about roquan so um you didn't pick this peing to talk about Larry lirry he that was just the uh icing on top right there Kev Larry yeah yeah so uh roquan Smith we traded for him uh in the 2022 season um and he played uh nine games in 22 and he pretty much instantly made the defense the best defense in the league um that year and that even carried over to 2023 um you trade I'm generally not a fan of um trading BigTime picks and paying a player um you know like the second round is definitely the highest I would go I would very very rarely go a first round pick and pay a player big you know a big time contract but I mean Ron has just um been absolutely worth it as far as um what he's brought on the field um and as a leader as the team taking over the Green Dot um you know in the in the those eight games before he got here in 2022 the defense was really plagued by a lot of miscommunication errors um and just big plays going all over the place I mean you think back to the Miami game where couldn't even we could barely even get lined up correctly or even that New England game where people were just running wild in our in our back field and when we traded for them like literally all of that stopped um you know the big plays were were halted the miscommunications were absolutely just uh taken away and um you know those uh you know that can almost directly be attributed to you know Ran's arrival so you know he's he's you know been a first team all probe uh these last two years and he's just been an awesome awesome player I have really appreciated the similarity between the Ravens and orioles in terms of picking up scrap Heat players in the Elias era and the dasta era as well I mean the Casta era first of all you know coming in in 2019 his first year as a GM the Ravens had a great great freaking football team but they had a defense they needed to fix on the fly now Marcus Peters trade was just part of it but we'll come back to that in a second I mean they got two inside linebackers they got two two um uh nose tackles they brought in uh they really put together that defense on the fly to um fix what was a very much a flailing unit through four games in terms of of what they' done and you know Josh bines is a name that's often uttered on this on this show along with LJ fort Ellis and Pekka were picked up on the defensive line of course Marcus Peters was the was the Crown Jewel of the Acquisitions there uh it's getting back to the comparison of the Ravens and Orioles though uh Marcus Peters was a guy who was on the scrap Heap at nine over nine yards per Target with the Rams That season before he came and then all of a sudden by the end of that year he's all pro one you know so that was pretty spectacular you his first week he has the big pick six against Seattle when when um Russell Wilson hadn't thrown an interception to that point right so I I think that's right I think had thrown interception and it's very similar in terms of the ran uh pickup ran was a very uneven performer in his times with the Bears there were highs there there were flashers there there was a great player out of Georgia there was a great pedigree with an eighth overall pick but he his performance had been very uneven and I think basically in particularly some of the troubles he had as a run Defender were a problems with the defensive line not being Stout enough to maintain offensive line blocks for longer and he's done very well worked extremely well uh with Jones with Pierce with the other interior Defenders Campbell and others who who've been here for the time he has been um uh to to work very well with those with those groups and structure has been fantastic for ran here yeah absolutely and I mean you know and you know another thing that I just love is he's really to taken on the leadership role of a typical middle linebacker um I mean he's he's kind of that heart the heart and soul of the defense he you know gives the pregame hype speech he wears the Green Dot he's making all the calls um I mean he's he's just been just a phenomenal leader here like to give kind of like an 80s uh Cartoon reference he he's the head with a Voltron right here like the Voltron okay no that's see that's that's after my time watching cartoons sure yes sadly Fat Albert and Scooby-Doo were probably my era and and we was watching Scooby-Do in fat Alber too I'm a little younger but yeah yeah um Voltron was you know they they have these mechanical uh robot lons and they all form to to to uh create Voltron who was basically the Unstoppable Godzilla type robot that could defeat any any enemy uh out there so yes that seems sort of unfair yes yes and you know you know ran is just you know he he's the guy you know like he just brought it all together and you in and it was not just his play which has been spectacular that has created it but the leadership and you know the taking on the the defense is and making it his own really has just allowed everybody on the team to flourish and you know and and make this the best defense in the league the last two years yeah well The Ravens have two emerging superstars on the defense and I'm not going to include matab B in this group even though I think he's a very good player or o who I think is a very good player or the corners all of them who I think are good players or Marcus Williams even I mean they obviously have a lot of good players but the two great players they have are ran Smith and Kyle Hamilton and if you look at them as The Sword and the shield no doubt about it Kyle Hamilton is the sword he is the offense of that defense going and making plays wherever is needed ran is The Shield he has filled in at whatever way is needed to maximize the value of this defense and I want to get into some of that later um but we'll start with this the first three weeks of the Season ran Smith rushed the quarterback back 35 times he only rushed the quarterback 70 times more in the remaining 15 games of the year yeah 15 games that he played yeah so they morphed his role to basically say Patrick Queen is is going to be short and the coverage elements this we trust you more in that regard so we're going to use him more as a pass rusher and we're going to use you more as a pass Defender and even though sometimes ran might be doing his things a less flashy and B might even be less less his strength as a player though he's great coverage asset um uh he's he's doing something that's that's for the because the team needs him to do that thing whereas Hamilton you're putting him where you can make a play you're you're you're lining him up where you could and he does he has some other ancillary benefits of he takes away the strong side of the football field which is a hell of a shield type thing to do but but he also rushes the quarterback he drops the coverage he'll uh you know does all sorts of things anyway yeah yeah I mean Hamilton's you know he's he's that game wrecker when he's near the L line of scrimmage it's you wide receiv he's he eliminates wide receiver screens outside runs everything like that is he's just eliminates but and you know ran is just that you you know he's that missile that fires and just takes off to wherever the ball carrier goes whether it's short pass he's he's coming and he's you know he's filling gaps like I think of you know that very very first game against the Saints and it was a third and one and they out the the Saints had it blocked and for Alvin chra to get a to get a easy first down and ran just came in and took off like a missile and stopped him dead and dead right at the line of scrimmage for for no gain and they had to they had to uh they had to punt and that plays like that it you know it's it's just a tackle it's not a tackle for loss it's not a sack or or you know anything like that but plays like that are just huge get get your team off the field they they do count them in one way and that stops okay so defensive stops are the defensive wins by the old football Outsiders definition and PFF has them I've been touting stops to miss tackles as kind of a strikeout to walk ratio for inside linebackers it's also good for defensive linemen but in particular it's good for inside linebackers he he was at 54 stops which is actually down some from previous years and 13 Miss tackles which was still right along his career average for a 4.2 ratio not quite at the top of the league and not quite the highest he's been in his career I think there's some reasons for that based on some compromises the Ravens were making in their run game by the way that that in in run defense relative to pass defense but still uh high up in the league Bobby Wagner was around uh he had a fantastic year he was was over seven um in in stops to miss tackles and Levante David also had a big year he over six 6 to1 uh but there aren't very many guys in the whole league who are over 4 to one and ran has consistently been there he's had better years in the past because his career rate is 4.9 um but it's it's it's very hard to find inside linebackers who make that many effective plays and Miss as few tackles and it's just a great combination to have yeah yep absolutely um what I else I want to talk about I thought his usage a pass rusher drop for multiple reasons I I I kind of went into one um but the Ravens went to a lot of four-man pass rush this last year more than they'v been doing in previous years they kind of had a budget it seemed like for the number of fiveman rushes they want to use on a per game basis uh so that was that's obviously eliminating places where ran is going to do unless you're you're dropping but one of the problems with dropping this year was that the real lack of a quality Sam linebacker to drop so they ended up dropping interior guys and doing some doing some things with that but they but they didn't have the number of coverage drops they've had in past years when tyus Bowser's been healthy or when they've had other guys like Matt judon say uh who were really high quality coverage assets they could draw from the outside linebacker position yeah yeah and yeah and Roan's been great in pass coverage too like he's yeah I mean covering tight ends covering running backs out of the back field um you know not very rarely getting out of position when they throw it short so you know a lot of times it like if it's third and five third and six a defense an offense will throw at you a running back out you know and make the running back make a guy Miss and get that first down or throw it to a tight end something like that I mean ran he he takes great Pursuit angles and will not very rarely gets juked to get you know for the running back to get that first down he'll get that running back out of bounds or he'll put him on the ground before he gets first down and I mean yeah yeah like he's he's everything you want I mean in a linebacker and I mean he's you know him him and Fred Warner are definitely the top two and I would probably take ran every day all right all right definitely uh uh a great awareness I've always found of where the first down line is almost like he can see the yellow line on the field um and he's playing with it to try and make downhill stops and whatnot not take unnecessary chances on the angle which is what you're talking about in terms of pursuit angles are good uh if you know where the line is you got a good chance to to push the guy out of bounds course the line is also marked on the sideline maybe that's a bad analogy but uh but it's what it is no but it's a lot of players that don't have that awareness all the time so yeah the fact that does worst thing you can do is an inside linebacker making a downhill stop on a pass play is to put up your fist for fourth down when the guy's two yards behind or past the the marker that really looks stupid in ter of your understanding the wor yeah yeah uh he's gonna spend time with Trent and Simpson this year at weak side linebacker and presumably also or possibly also with a dime um but you know I I personally feel like his fate is very closely tied to how well Simpson adapts to the NFL based on having ran as a partner now I I and fair and unfair I've come to expect that after the way he basically uh shed up Queen's career and made him a very salable commodity yeah um it's it's going to be interesting like I I kind of expect at least initially that Simpson's going to get every opportunity to be um a full full-time three down uh linebacker as opposed to possibly going to Dime on passing Downs or something like that like Um Zack or was you know that three down linebacker when he was a he was a uh when he was here when he was playing and um Simpson's going to get that same opportunity as Queen I think Simpson I really like is a Blitzer like kind of very similar to Queen you know the role that Queen played the last two years with ran here is being the guy that shoots the gaps um blitzes makes those you know sacks or you know tackles for losses in the back field and ran is just like you said that Shield that if if they if somebody does break through he's still making that tackle for a three yard loss so yeah um simpsons's got a great mentor and a great partner right next to him in Ran yeah it'd be exciting to see how that develops this year what else I want to talk about we talked about his Miss tackle rate 6.7% was the second lowest of his career but his uh his stops are down a little bit um he's sign through 2027 now uh for some reason I thought he might have been signed through 2028 or the Ravens might have had an option to extend him by a year I don't believe they did it um but he there's no chance for him to be cut prior to 2026 uh so is 2025 salary is actually guaranteed it's 15 million I think so he's he'll be here through 2025 no matter what so we got at least two more seasons to enjoy ran before he could possibly be cut any is into fear with a player his age that his productivity May slip in a way that the Ravens would not like would would would would not be happy with the last couple of years of that contract I mean he's he's 27 right now so these next three years I I would be surprised barring an in obviously an injury that really Pro possibly slows him down it I would be surprised if we saw a significant drop in his in his actual production and you know I think the with the leadership that he brings with the team I think even if we do see a slight dip over the next couple of years I mean I think he probably brings you know added value as being that leader and being that guy that really knows the defense and gets everybody in the right position in order to make make that play so um yeah like I I I would expect um him to be here you know through the life of his contract and I and I would assume that I would hope that the Ravens would probably try to keep him here for the rest of his career you know making you know another extension probably for less money but you know something that keeps him here for the rest of his career because he's he's one of those guys that Harbaugh says you didn't know you were a raven until you you were a raven he's definitely a guy that's you know he's found his home as a raven well we want him you know I I I guess the worst case scenario I want him phoning the Ravens when he's ready to retire and say I want to come back for a one-day contract because I identify with being a raven that's actually the Lesser thing what I really want is I want him in the Ring of Honor and I don't think he has to do more than play the current contract to get there given the given the term of it he'll he'll have been here from you know for parts of six seasons and that's long enough uh to do it it would be a sure thing if he signed on for an extra three years and and actually played those years in Baltimore and had you know eight nine years uh with the team uh but is they don't have a backup right now for him is kind of one of my concerns going into the season is that there's not a player who I really think is is an obvious choice to play that even a two down mic role and I it wouldn't surprise me if they ended up having to go to the street for it yeah I think that's probably what they would do um is there there's always you know a stop Gap middle linebacker that can fill in for a few games here there that's out there on the street I'm sure they have you know a list of three or four players that are out there that if if need be they could sign to the practice squad and you know activate them to the you know the game but yeah yeah like there there's always that concern when you you Queen could I guess could have been that guy last year and you would see kind of a dip in production probably on both both positions but sure um there's there's not that obvious guy that could replace ran and you know we we would see you know a pretty significant drop in production there it it is always one of the issues with a three down unicorn at inside linebacker is if you lose him you you have to replace him with multiple parts or you have to you really struggle with the total amount of production if you try and replace them with one player now Ravens have been pretty good about doing it in the past you know with players like bines and Fort and getting getting players into that uh that Mike role who were who were good Fort more of a more of a will guy but still could play the mic on a passing down say um but I don't think I don't I wouldn't want Chris Bor there I I don't think that's the that's the solution for it I don't even think Josh um Ross is the right guy for it uh he may or may not be around uh on the practice squad or whatever but I think it's more likely like you said that they'd end up going to the street and finding a guy yeah I'm I'm sure there's that new uh Josh bines guy that's out there somewhere right now that they they have ready on speed dial if anything would ever happen yeah yeah and and you're probably right they probably ought to have four of those guys and it's you know it's it's not a difficult size and shape position to fill when you get right down to it you want to replace your left tackle and you want 34inch arms to do it you got an uphill battle because there aren't very many of those guys who actually have feet that are attached to that that 34 in length um but if you if you want an inside linebacker or an athlete I mean there's a there's a huge surplus of athletes who don't have the specific physical traits required of other positions at both middle linebacker and running back I mean there just there's just tons of them there's a lot there yeah so all right now I I wanted to read this because I had four things that I hoped he could do in 2023 that would make that would make him a player when I when we did this show last year it wasn't you and me but it was but I said one was take over the Green Dot check onfield leadership of the front seven on the Fly check continue with outstanding reads Jack at least a slight Improvement in coverage results would be ideal and he actually did get that not not everybody really probably knows this but he he had a a a uh a cut in his yards per Target that was good down to 7.0 this last year from over eight the previous year uh he still I thought had a pretty good coverage coverage year the previous year but he had a really good coverage year this last year and uh and that was an improvement so you know he couldn't have done any more to check the boxes for me as a player in 2023 yeah absolutely like same here um like I said since he's come here he's transformed this defense into the best in the league and um you know like people talk about you know how how big of a loss Mike McDonald is and I mean I I'm not trying to Discount him in any way but the the thing that took this defense to another level wasn't the hiring of Mike McDonald it was the acquisition of ran Smith and that that's the point in which we saw this defense become a great defense and so um you know with with Zack or who I think is very interesting hired is very different from you know the traditional hires like they they may Mike McDonald go um go be the defensive coordinator at Michigan because he they wanted somebody to call plays and now they hired Zack or who's never called never called a called plays before um so he's it's a different new um new new uh hire in something different from them but um I think the relationship that or and roan probably have is what's going to enable this defense to not really have a a large dip even though they've lost Talent at the um at the coaching positions with um with McDonald and um uh and dard Wilson um and all of the you know the players that we lost that you know I think I I don't think is as big a deal um especially with Wiggins but you know obviously Clowny I think was probably biggest loss that that this defense will have um the way he played but I I I I don't think it's reasonable to have to for this defense to be as good as last year but I it's going to be a top five defense again this year okay and and I was just going to comment on exactly that because they led the league in pretty much everything defensively this last season it is you know we're going to see un unquestionably some regression from this defense just because of the amount of quality players lost but if they went into this season and they finished fourth or fifth in the league of Defense there's still going to be a lot of crazies out there saying you know you let Mike McDonald go uh you didn't make him a plan to be head coach or you didn't make him head coach immediately and get rid of Harbaugh now because we need to get rid of har now now now now now now um this this is a case where you know yeah it is ridiculous you know Harbaugh has put together these coaching staffs over the year if they succeed they're going to go that's the that's the deal I mean that's you should want that for your coaches because if you don't have it you probably have a stagnant situation um that you're going to have a hard time fixing it Dean peas was around for a long time happy being a number two guy um he wasn't a bad defensive coordinator but he's not in the top three of Ravens ever defensive coordinators uh and they they you know they they did need some freshness there there are people who would say the same thing about Urban as well that it it was just it was a more of a stagnant situation he didn't get a in you know head coaching gig either but a guy who who'd been a very good offensive coordinator the best offensive coordinator the Ravens have ever had I mean yeah however you wanna you wanna uh complain about who Urban was did I say Brent Urban by the way yeah you're saying Urban Greg Roman Greg Roman Roman okay yes so whatever you want to do about complaining about Greg Roman the offensive coordinator take a look at the other guys we've had in that position Don stro might be the second best you know and then you you go through all of these guys you know Kavanaugh and fil for a period of time and bck doing himself and Caldwell and umh Cam and all those guys I mean it's just it's a other than other than kubak I guess kubak would be number two in my book um there really isn't anybody else yeah exactly I mean you know you you want I I I always say you you want to have as many good problems as you can yeah and having a great uh coaching staff where they're doing a where they're coaching up our players and making our players better making our defense and team better and then they go on to better positions elsewhere because because we have a great head coach here and you know we we're constantly churning out these defensive coordinators and you know they're all succeeding like that that's a good problem to have the the bad problem is to have these average guys that aren't really making your team better and you're finishing kind of mid you know mid tier that that that's not the good problem that you want to have you want to you want to be able and you have to be able to trust Harbaugh who's shown that he can hire these guys and find these guys and I think he's done a great job and and very different from a lot of head coaches who kind of you know kind of go in their own circle like they they hire the same guys like you know like I mean even you look at Jim Harbaugh who you know he hired Greg Roman as his offensive coordinator again and he's hired a lot of his staff from Michigan then San Fran um you know he's hired them back again as opposed to Harbaugh's really gone to you know he's gone far and wide and not just bringing back you know guys that have gone else elsewhere and then gotten fired and that bringing those guys back and things like that he's constantly refreshing the coaching and bringing more ideas and new ideas and I think that's a good way to handle it yeah it's it's great I mean position coaches are the are the NFL gold right now um when you you can get coordinators shouldn't ever bother you to lose coordinators and and let's talk about just one component of this and it's this is 4% of the value of hiring great coordinators is if you lose coordinators you might get third round draft picks depending on who your coordinator is okay and you know Zack oer is that guy did I do I think that really played into the hiring decision I don't I think that he was probably their guy for a long time as they were going through this season as he was involved in the plan and whatnot it's a great side benefit that you Le these guys and I'm I'm kind of I'm sad that they lost Anthony Weaver not to a head coaching job I it's not shocking that that would happen but I'm sad about it I guess we got to look at it as Tully I guess the guy from a few years ago who went to the Texans I think that's the guy right Tully oh great C David cly cly cly cly yeah he he had no business being a head coach it was that was we got Fortune at that time but yeah that was a gift right there yeah yeah I was I I was disappointed in Anthony Weaver too like I mean I think I think he's got head coach written all over him um and I think if he had stayed here a couple of more years I think in the next couple of SE cycling hiring Cycles he would have gotten something I I hate to say it but I think he may have regressed his career by taking you know the defensive coordinator position because you know that defense isn't as talented as this one yeah and you know he's already he's already been getting those head coaching uh interviews with us so you know now now you're taking a risk of you know with Miami are are they going to be as good are they going to be as good as last year or not and you know they've got a lot of question marks on their defense so yeah PE people have to recognize that if Miami has a middle of the- Pack season on defense that's probably his work his good work that got them there and and you know the lack of talent but you're you make a great point that that the Ravens are in a wonderful position that because the team is so talented and so well run in the front office they draft so well this is an easy place to hire coaching Talent it's a really easy place to do it and yeah it's it it is great that they do it it's great you have ownership that probably is willing to pay a few extra dollars where it's needed to to get you know some of the real stars in terms of coaching but uh uh you know and probably also has some good discipline to say no When It's Time to Say no on that right but anyway it's um I think that the the carping to get rid of Harbaugh are have have so little actual substance behind them at this point uh you know I I can't take them seriously you know like anyway we don't to go that let's go back to ran Smith what is a good season for ran Smith this year so I had um helped make a uh smooth transition from McDonald uh to or and any scheme or Personnel adjustments you know obviously help that make make that a a smoother transition and you know and I and I will say like my my predictions for ran are kind of more based on a total defense because I think he like a quarterback is to the offense you like a quarterback is an outsized um uh producer of an offense and makes an offense better um Ro I think Ran's kind of that same player on defense so like I'm looking as the defense as a whole because you know that's that's kind of where just kind of how I see them and um you know I also said you know we see a slight drop off and defensive Effectiveness due to the loss of talent and coaching and players it's something you know we've already talked about and um continue to be the heart and brain of the defense and um just be that solid excellent um middle linebacker that he's been you know his his entire two years here okay I I I really like those comments and I like putting in context to the Total Defense because certainly what he's asked to do a lot is to be that glue to hold it together I have plus plays 15 plus games with a slight drop off from his 22 to 23 rate statistics and by the way slight drop off he's still going to be very close to the pro ball all pro voting whether it means ap2 or AP1 um but he remains one of the best inside linebackers in the game due to a broad set of positives awareness and onfield Leadership can probably still make the Pro Bowl with a drop off like this but I'm not making that a condition if he didn't make the Pro Bowl for some reason I think he could still be a great player and I think he could still have a good season we've just been so incredibly spoiled so far by a year and a half of unbelievably great roquan that I'm not sure that we can all put in context there that he could have a drop off and it' still be a good season sure yeah yeah how about how about a great year okay um again kind of do all the things I mentioned in the good season um also see no uh no drop off or uh or even an improvement in the overall defense effectiv um this year as opposed to last year so if we see you know this being just again the absolute best defense in the league Ran's going to be a huge part of that um you know both on the field and you know with his leadership and you know helping helping being that coach on the field it's you know he's going to be a big reason for that and I also said uh make some a few more Splash plays such as sacks interceptions that puts him in conversation as uh for a defensive player of the year okay he was eighth in that in that voting this last year so he he was in the conversation fair to say right yeah I I guess I would I would say top top two or three something like that yeah all right I I've got a a great season it's kind of lengthy here I say he's healthy for 16 plus games plus all of the postseason he continues at a level very similar to 2223 on a rate basis he improves his stop to miss tackle ratio slightly to back to north of his career rate of 4.9% his role morphs is needed to maximize the aggregate inside linebacker play I'm not making him responsible for the whole defense but I like the way you're doing it because he's the communication Hub of the defense uh they need another guy to be captain of the secondary too and I think that's Marcus Williams but uh they they they need him to be a great communicator as well for the for the front seven uh okay let's see uh Ro morphs is needed to maximize aggre inside linebacker play and Simpson or the Andor the dime thrives next to him in a role designed for big plays so I'm I'm deemphasizing Ran's big play opportunities to try and get more for that weak side linebacker dime it could be for other players as well because that's the way the Ravens have played it in 23 uh the Ravens pass rush continues to shine with effective contributions from inside linebacker but not necessarily from Smith onfield leadership is apparent both before in terms of repositioning and after in terms of Def effectively demanding accountability the play so you you know as a player what I mean by effectively demanding accountability but he's got to be able to go over to the guy who messed his messed up his assignment and in the most productive way address that situation yeah so yeah so you know sometimes you know if you're if you're Marlon Humphrey you turn your you turn your head to the side and you get visibly upset with the player next to you and Marlon May realize he's doing that or not I'm sure he's been told by now if you're LJ Fort you go over and give Patrick Queen a low five for not being in the right place and then you have words about where you should have been and that you know that's you got to be behind seven because you're there you know what whatever his responsibility on the play was Fort communicates him to but whatever however he does this he needs to guy be a guy who who does it well I I think everybody who's been a Ravens fan for since they came to Baltimore would say Ray Lewis was the best ever at doing it I mean he would take these people in grab them by the helmet and talk to them for for a few seconds and uh I want to see that from Mo yeah yeah exactly the same yeah I mean that's the so many of the big mistakes have been eliminated since he's been here that I I think he's probably doing this in film study um you know during the week throughout the week when they're having these defensive meetings hey you need to be in position when they when the does this I need you to slant this way or you know whatever whatever the case may be um so that you don't see it that much in the game but I'm sure even in the game as somebody you know misses an assignment here there he's you know he's telling them in his own way hey you need to you need to do something else right there yeah all right absolutely fantastic always talking football with you Brandon why do you tell folks they can talk football with you online sure I'm on uh Twitter at Brandon croxton 5 um you know I love talking football love talking Ravens all right other folks out there if you'd like to be on a film study short hit me up uh the expectation series is all taken but if you want to do a recollection series and I'm going to be starting a new one as we approach Camp about biggest Camp questions if you have an idea or a thought or a concern about what are the biggest what are the biggest things the Ravens need to fix entering Camp uh need to questions they need to resolve uh hit me up uh DMS are always open on Twitter I want to hear from you I'll get back to you very quickly Brandon thanks again for coming on thank you I'll talk to you next time on film study [Music] [Music] [Applause]