The Ravens are NOT a threat in the AFC?! 👀 + 🚨 Travis Hunter BREAKING NEWS 🚨 | First Take

The Ravens are NOT a threat in the AFC?! 👀 + 🚨 Travis Hunter BREAKING NEWS 🚨 | First Take

First takes next and final stop on the fall HBCU tour will be at Bthoon Cookman. That show will be Thursday, November 20th. So, Bthoon, you better show up and show out Monday. We’re going to be right there in Dallas as Shay Cornet makes her debut as a new first host. The Ravens handled their business on Thursday Night Football. Lamar Jackson was impressive in his return, throwing four touchdowns and leading his team to a 28-6 victory over the Dolphins. This weekend, we’ll see two more star quarterbacks take the field against each other when the Chiefs take on the Bills. Josh Allen has gotten the best of this matchup in the regular season, operative words, regular season, winning the last four games against Patrick Mahomes. Cameron Newton. Yes, sir. Are the Ravens just as big a threat in the AFC as the Chiefs and the Bills? They should be. And the reason why I say they should be is because there’s not a more talented roster in the NFL than the Baltimore Ravens. And we understand that it’s been injury that’s decimated them. It’s been things that unforeseen circumstances that hold them back. But when you look at who they have, what they’re supposed to do, and how they’re supposed to play at on a week-toeek consistent basis, the Baltimore Ravens is supposed to be a a skip and a jump and a hop to the Super Bowl. That hasn’t necessarily been the case. Now, what we’ve seen last night, okay, cool. That gives us hope. But can they keep putting it together versus quality opponents? And can they get their swagger back? That’s what it comes. It’s supposed to be mattered. I’d have been at Auburn and won a Heisman trophy. My goodness. That’s what I was supposed to be when I was the 10-year-old quarterback in little league. It don’t matter that I stopped growing at 5’11 and I couldn’t run faster than 45. That changed all that for me. And so when you look at the Baltimore Ravens, that was the team that we thought was coming into this season. But no, they aren’t as talented as the Kansas City Chiefs. Not the Kansas City Chiefs with with Hollywood Brown. Not the Kansas City Chiefs with Rasheed Rice. Not the Kansas City Chiefs with Isaiah Pacheco. Not the Kansas City Chiefs with the resurgent Travis Kelce with the Brashard Smith on the offensive side of the football that’s emerging with Pacheco with Kareem Hunt. No, absolutely they aren’t more talented than that team. A team with Bolton and Chanel and also Tanquil at the linebacker positions. Jaden Hicks ascending, Kamari Connors ascending. That’s not a better team than that. Trent McDuffy. They don’t have a player on defense at at the quarterback position better than Trent McDuffy. They’re not more talented. They’re also not more talented than the coach right now. Not more talented than the Patriots right now. Not more talented than the Broncos right now. You only don’t mention them. You only don’t mention them with the Baltimore Ravens because of the quarterback. Yes, the Broncos. They are not a more talented team because you got to play defense too, Joe. Got to play defense, too. Pat Certan, even though he’s on IR with or he’s out for a few weeks with the Pack, they don’t have a player that good at the cornerback position. And so to me, the Baltimore Ravens have to show us more. We can’t live off the past or what we thought this team was going to be this year. Right now, this is a three and five team. This is a team that only had one win with Lamar Jackson playing at a a Super Bowl MVP level. Aloh Gilman, that acquisition has changed who they are defensively. They’ve been different defensively in the last three weeks, but we got to see it. No, they’re not the same type of threat as the Kansas City Chiefs or even Buffalo Bills who I don’t think are a threat either. Jahir Alexander, Nate Wiggins, Jahender Alexander does not Rocoan Smith Rocoan Smith has played better the last two weeks. Better like you just riddling off names like the Baltimore Ravens just are not able to compete with anybody. History doesn’t win you a championship. Say less. I appreciate the passion. It’s very very nice. eloquently stated. Um it’s really really touching. Um same energy when it come to bringing up the Pittsburgh Steelers and that’s not that’s not that is not what this is about. I understand that. I’m I’m just talking about your No, but this I I’m saying your energy what you giving off. So So you want to ignore the past when you want to ignore the past and you want to pick up on the past when you want to pick up on the past. I’m challenging RC Willy Wonka. You understand what I’m saying? to be consistent. I’m saying to you that excuse me getting a golden chocolate bar. The golden chocolate bar is nutty, buddy. Let me say this. Let me say this. What are we going to do when it comes to the Baltimore Ravens since week six? Since week six, they’ve only been giving up 13 points. Okay, 100 315 yards. There’s been a damn near 100yard reduction in the yards allowed by their defense. And they went from giving up 35 points to giving up 13 points. I’m not counting Miami. What about the Bears? What about the Rams? That’s what they’ve done over the last three weeks. Do we get to a point where we’re able to say because of their pedigree, because of their history, because of their coach, because of the personnel that they may have found a way to write the ship. If you’re telling me about Kansas City, no problem. Because can P Magnolan, those boys never fell off the wagon defensively. I got that part. And we see what they doing offensively now that Patrick Mahomes obviously has all his horses and toe. Got it. But anybody else in the AFC? Anybody else? Why can’t we sit up there and look at the Baltimore Ravens? You think the Baltimore Ravens are better than the Indianapolis? I did not know. Right now that right now is the I got I got Indianapolis. No, I got Indianapolis the best team, but I do get to look at Daniel Jones and say I got to see it to believe it when it counts. I damn sure got to do that and then I look at Drake May. It’s your second year. I appreciate Vel and the whole nine, but we’ve seen his teams collapse in the playoffs, too. So, we got to pay attention to that. We’re looking at Buffalo. We’re talking about how Josh Allen is bereft of the necessary weapons in order to be effective. So, they limited to what they got. We don’t They don’t look the same. I get to look at the charges they add. I get to look at the AFC South and even though Indie like we said is formidable, Jonathan Taylor is who we looking at more so than anybody else right now because we want we want Daniel Jones throwing the ball. You got to make him you got to make him throw but this under pressure he’s been the best quarterback. I don’t I totally agree. But the point that I’m making is what have we just been saying about Jared Golf? Great. But how you doing in the playoffs? Do it when it matters. How do you think Daniel Jones going to do in the playoffs? Cuz we ain’t been there. We ain’t been there. What makes me mad? Why you making me do this? Why? Why do you make me do this? Cuz I don’t want to do this. Go ahead. He’s one of my favorite players. Go ahead and get What has Lamar Jackson done in the playoffs? Okay, he has. Well, listen. What has he done in the playoffs? We just said it wasn’t on him that they lost last year. Now Mark Andrew’s got to catch that pass. Yeah, I agree with that. All right. But he it was half on him. The first half there were two first big fair enough. I got you. He brought them back into contention. When we have this conversation and say Patrick Mahomes is a great individual when it comes to playing the game of football. That is a fact. We all can unanimously raise both of our hands and say that even Patrick Mahomes needs help. When you look at the Baltimore Ravens, sometimes it’s been like, “Yo, Lamar, why isn’t he able to win in the playoffs?” It’s because, hey, bro, when he does give you the time, the the the energy, and the effort to win football games, we still lose. Matter of fact, let’s go back to week one. Mhm. When he was playing pristine football, not his fault. I’m not saying it’s never his fault. I’m trying to literally say, hey, as Stephen A would say, it better not be you. Don’t be you. Don’t let it be. Don’t Don’t let it be you. Don’t let it be you. Right. that AFC Championship game. They were a one seed. They were at home. They rolled through Houston. The table was set. The defense held Kansas City to 17 points and he had what? Three, four turnover. Yeah. Yeah. They hold this one game. They hold against No, no. Listen, we hold that against Hell, we still hold against how he looked against the Chargers in the players first playoffs. We all remember all of that. But we also know, but and this is the reason why I don’t like doing it because I believe he’s great enough to change it. I believe Lamar Jackson wins a Super Bowl. I think Lamar Jackson is one of the greatest players this game has ever seen. He has to he has to get the ring for us to be able to speak about him in that way. But individually, he’s shown us everything we need to see outside winning there. But it is about the supporting cast. Is this supporting cast good enough? Mhm. We got to see it consistently. You got to see this defense. But you’re forgetting the question I asked you. Forget breaking news. Forget Lamar Jackson. What about John Harbaugh and the AB? Do you believe in his ability defensively to turn around based on what we see the last three weeks? They did it last year. They did it last year off the buy. They changed everything off the buy last night. They got to get a pass rush though. Right now they’re not. Tua had all night last night. They couldn’t do anything with it. We’ll leave it there for a moment. We got some breaking news out of the NFL right here on first take. The Jaguars are placing rookie Travis Hunter on IR after suffering a knee injury during practice yesterday. He’s going to miss at least the next four games. RC, we come to you. Your thoughts on the news. This is devastating for the Jacksonville Jaguars and for Travis Hunter. Last game when we saw him against the Los Angeles Rams was the best game he had as a wide receiver. Eight catches, 14 targets, over 100 yards, a 34 yard catch, and a touchdown. And so, this was the question we asked about Travis Hunter during the draft. How does your body hold up under this much work, under this much usage? We don’t know what the knee injury is, but having to miss at least four weeks of the season that stops the progression that we were starting to see from this very talented young player. Huge blow for the Jacksonville Jaguars. I’m going to tell you a quick story about Travis. I had the opportunity to not just learn him, but also he played on my 707 team. I have the opportunity to also have his younger brother in Travis. They have this knack about them. They just want to play. But this is where I had to learn being his coach is this. I have to protect him from him. No, it’s not that I don’t want you out there, bro. It’s that Hey, man. Is that I want you out there. It’s it’s it’s it’s he has a gear, a shift, and the willingness. It’s not just the talent of Travis Hunter that makes him great. I’ve seen him coach good guys to play great. I’ve seen him coach bad guys or be around bad guys to play them. He raises the level of play. Now the thing about Travis Hunter, he also has to understand is this. What can I realistically do at a high level and something has to give? If you want to play 10, 15 years in this NFL, that style is a young man’s sport that you’re playing. We have to start to understand and realize it’s not that I couldn’t do it. We never questioned if you could do it. It’s the longevity of what you’re doing. I think I think the problem is he can do both. Well, and it’s hard to not let him try. That’s true, Cam. We interviewed them Super Bowl week. Yes. You had him on your You had him on on on your podcast and y’all called me over. What would That’s a fact. What did we talk to him about? Y what you said to you you asked me right in front of Travis Hunt. He said, “What’s your concern?” I said, “Bro, you all world. You’re not big enough. This is a grown man’s game. You got to grow into your own. And when you expose your body to that level of physicality by playing snaps on both sides of the ball, something eventually is going to happen. We’ve seen cute superhuman beings in the NFL crumbled because of attrition. Has nothing to do with anything else is attrition. I don’t mind this happening to him at all. I’m almost I’m actually glad it happened. I don’t want him out for a long period of time. But here’s what I mean by that. If we feel that way about them, imagine a team that’s been losing and has been unproductive and spent $55 million on a quarterback per season. Imagine what they think. Hell, we got to use them as much as we possibly can. We got to capitalize off of this. We moved up to get number two pick to make sure we got him. Hell yeah, we going to use them. Ride them till the wheels come off. Now you got to think differently as an organization because now you got to think about now you got to coach. Now you got to govern. You got to you got to develop. You got to do all of these things as an organization. You’re the Jacksonville Jaguars. You got to think about what’s best for the team and him. And you got over the beyond a season, beyond a few games. This is the future, bro. This ain’t this ain’t about this year. No matter what happens to the Jacksonville Jaguars this year. We ain’t losing no sleep. As long as they improve. As long as you show improvement. We see their coach going. We we realize he can coach. You know, Trevor Lawrence wasn’t no damn scrub. You see the potential that they have now. You take steps and steps and steps to ensure that your future is bright. You don’t compromise your future cuz you trying to get it all a year one. Not with that brother. He’s got a decade. No. Okay. Let him be. So now you got to watch it more. And I think this is a wakeup call for the Jacksonville Jaguars. I think this is going to end up being a blessing. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]

On First Take, Stephen A. Smith, Ryan Clark and Cam Newton debate whether the Baltimore Ravens are a more talented team than the Kansas City Chiefs or Buffalo Bills before reacting to the breaking news that the Jacksonville Jaguars are placing Travis Hunter on IR with a knee injury.

0:00 Are the Ravens as big as an AFC threat as Kansas City and the Buffalo Bills?
1:40 Ryan Clark says many more teams are talented than the Ravens right now
9:00 Jaguars are placing Travis Hunter on IR
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