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00:00We do a double shot every Thursday with our NFL insider, Adam Kaplan.
00:03You can follow him on Accent Kaplan NFL.
00:05He's covered the league for almost 30 years.
00:08He's been with us since the jump.
00:10And we start today and later in the second shot, we'll do bust a cap in your ass.
00:15Everyone lives for that.
00:16But let's start with Thursday Night Intel as we head into Baltimore for the Bengals
00:21and Ravens rematch.
00:22The first game was crazy, 51-48, whatever it was.
00:26Yeah.
00:27No question about it.
00:28I'm sure the Bengals would tell you they should have won that game.
00:30But look, the Bengals, they've got injury issues, OK?
00:34Their offensive line, Orlando Brown's hoping to play tonight.
00:36Tee Higgins is not expected to play with a quadriceps injury.
00:40They had the issue with Jermaine Burton last week, the third round pick out of Alabama,
00:44who was a, we would call it deactivated.
00:47He was not allowed to play due to a violation of team rules.
00:51He can't have that.
00:52Joseph, the second year receiver out of Princeton, started.
00:56They're going to get Jermaine Burton back tonight.
00:58They're going to need him.
00:59There's no question about it.
01:01When you look at the Bengals' situation, this is a must-win.
01:04They know this.
01:05They cannot struggle.
01:06They've got to bring it tonight.
01:09Their offense is still doing well.
01:10It's their defense.
01:11Scott, I cannot figure out what has happened to Luanna Romo's defense.
01:15They don't have injury issues.
01:17There's no excuse.
01:18They just have not gotten together.
01:21They've been very passive against the Eagles, where they got off to a good start.
01:24Then they got passive against Jalen Hurts and Hurts tore them apart.
01:28They've got to play better defense now.
01:30For the Ravens, Isaiah Likely is not going to play with a hamstring injury.
01:33Scott, he's important for matchup purposes.
01:35One of the most athletic tight ends in the National Football League.
01:38I know he's a backup, but he is really good with matchups.
01:41Charlie Kohler is going to fill in for him.
01:43He's a really good tight end, by the way, out of Iowa State.
01:46He's a third-year tight end, just like Likely.
01:48Deontay Johnson, who played in his first game last week, he only played 17 snaps last week.
01:53Expect him to play more tonight.
01:55Add in Deontay Johnson and the former Steelers and Panthers, it gives them the ability, when
02:00they want to, to play more 11 personnel, three receivers, one tight end, and one back, which
02:05they have not really done a lot of.
02:07They're usually heavy 12 personnel and some 13 with three tight ends, but they'll be able
02:11to spread out a little bit more.
02:12Deontay Johnson, by the way, could run pretty well.
02:15That was an aggressive trade.
02:16There's no question about it in a division, which is the most competitive in the National
02:21Football League.
02:23I got to ask you, do you think that Joey Silk thinks that Mike Brown is cheap?
02:29Not with him, not with, he still hasn't done a deal with Chase, but with the rest of that
02:34roster, that he's not putting him in a position to be as loaded as some of these other teams,
02:41that he doesn't spend the money?
02:43Well, Scott, here's the thing.
02:45Higgins didn't get his contract extended, right?
02:47He's going to miss his fifth game of the season.
02:49You mentioned Jamar Chase's contract not getting extended.
02:53They were not aggressive at the trade deadline.
02:54They did it at Khalil Herbert, a running back, because of the Zach Moss injury with the neck.
02:59So they needed to do something.
03:00But that was nothing.
03:01It had nothing to do with money.
03:02They gave up a seventh round pick.
03:04But the bottom line is, yeah.
03:05As a matter of fact, the word around the league is that they more often don't resign some key
03:10players like Bates, the safety, and they'd rather get compensatory picks than pay players.
03:16That's just the way it is.
03:17The offensive line, by the way, has not been good enough.
03:19That's another problem with this football team.
03:21They have not invested and not drafted well enough on their offensive line.
03:25If you look at the best teams, year in, year out, the Eagles, okay?
03:29The Eagles, the Ravens, and other teams that are high echelon, the Niners, they do a good
03:35job of drafting their own players, developing, and signing key free agents.
03:39The Bengals have not done that.
03:40They've never blocked well enough for Burr.
03:42You know that.
03:44So let's go to the trade deadline and some of the improvements that were made.
03:49Like, do you like the moves the Steelers made getting the edge rusher and getting the big
03:54receiver in Williams?
03:55Yeah.
03:56I've been telling you about Mike Williams to the Steelers for three weeks, and it finally
03:59happened.
04:00I was wondering what was going to happen when they wait until the last minute, but it was
04:03not a Steelers issue.
04:04I'm told it was a Jets issue.
04:06And they got it done.
04:07They didn't have to give up much for him.
04:09He will start opposite George Pickens.
04:10They had to do something, Scott.
04:12We've been talking about this for several weeks.
04:14They love his size.
04:15He's healthy, I'm told.
04:16You're going to see him go get the football.
04:18The downfield passing game will be there.
04:21Prior moves now, that'll help them out.
04:23He'll be more the intermediate pass target.
04:25I like that.
04:26And you know what?
04:27The Preston Smith one is very underrated.
04:29He's in the twilight of his career.
04:30The Packers were not going to bring him back next year.
04:32The Packers wanted to move him.
04:34They're going to go with Lucas Van Ness, who was the first rounder last year as a pass
04:37rusher.
04:38But this gives them great depth now at edge rush.
04:41They've got four guys now.
04:42They're going to have four guys for the playoff run who could all rush the pass.
04:46You know, T.J. Watt, one of the top three pass rushers in the National Football League.
04:49You know about his injury problems in the past.
04:51You got that issue.
04:52And then Nick Herbig, who's got that hamstring issue, who may not even play this week.
04:57And he's been out a while.
04:58So this is a smart move.
05:00Give Omar Khan, the general manager, credit.
05:02Very aggressive.
05:03And look, Scott, they're better than the oddsmakers.
05:06We talked about this back in May when the oddsmakers only gave them for the future number
05:10of wins.
05:11Two and a half wins.
05:12Then it ended at eight and a half.
05:13They're obviously going to be better than that.
05:14In fact, Scott, the over nine and a half wins is only minus 125.
05:19Now, I get it, as you said, and I agree with you, that the schedule's harder, folks.
05:24Memo to you all.
05:25They're absolutely going to go for nine and a half.
05:27That absolutely is happening.
05:28The under, by the way, is plus 105.
05:30Listen, here's the thing I see in terms of Williams.
05:34This is the same conversation you and I've had 15 times with T. Higgins.
05:39The guy's 6'5".
05:40He goes up, climbs the ladder, comes down with the ball.
05:43There are very few corners that can match up with that type of body size and ability
05:48leaping for balls up in the air.
05:50And the guy that can throw that pass up in the air is Russell Wilson.
05:56He's great at throwing that high.
05:58He's always done it.
05:59He can throw that ball up there, and guys can go up and get that and bring that down.
06:04That's why they like Williams, because of his size and ability to climb the ladder and
06:08bring it down, somehow bring it down.
06:11Now they got two guys, a guy in Higgins that can make any kind of catch, and a guy that
06:15can go upstairs into the attic and make catches.
06:18And they got a big in Washington, and they got a big in Firemouth.
06:21They got a running game now, but a guy that's going 100 per week every week because of the
06:25passing game.
06:26They got a pass rush.
06:28They got a secondary.
06:29What don't they have?
06:30Nothing.
06:31No, they're loaded, man.
06:32Honestly, they addressed the receiver position, which was by far their number one need.
06:38I know ESPN put out the story about Christian Kirk.
06:40That is true, that they were deep in negotiations before he broke his collarbone, but as I told
06:45you now for weeks, they were doing all they could to get Mike Williams, because you just
06:50talked about the deep pass game.
06:51He also has got size.
06:53Very talented former first-round pick for the Chargers.
06:56And I thought the Preston Smith move was very underrated, and we'll talk in the second second
07:00about the Steelers' injury issues, which were numerous before the bye, but talking to them,
07:06they think they're going to get two or three players back this week.
07:08So what's the deal?
07:09The Commanders got Latimer.
07:10What a steal, but they had to pay the price to get him.
07:13They gave up three picks.
07:15No question about it.
07:16You're absolutely right, but they know there were two issues going into this trade deadline.
07:21They wanted to prove a corner, and what they'll do, what they'll wind up doing is when Latimer's
07:26ready to go, we'll talk about him more in the second segment, his hamstring injury.
07:29When he's ready to go, they're going to probably move Mike Sandler still, who's their second
07:33round pick out of Michigan, who was really drafted to be a nickel defender.
07:36He'd been playing on the outside.
07:37They'll move him to nickel.
07:40Latimer will play outside, and as Dan Quinn said, he's absolutely right.
07:43This gives you the ability to play more man coverage, and everybody knows who follows
07:48the NFL closely.
07:50Latimer versus Mike Evans for years, and their battles in man coverage.
07:53You can see this now.
07:55This helps them for yet another team that has been way better than people expected.
07:59So you don't think he's playing against the Steelers?
08:01I mean, that opens the door with Pickens, and Williams, and Friermuth, and that Steeler
08:07offense with what they've been doing, scoring 30 or more every week since they got Russ
08:10into that gig.
08:11I mean, that opens the door for Pittsburgh in this game, doesn't it?
08:15It has to.
08:16We'll talk more about that game in a minute, but here's the thing with Latimer.
08:20If you go back his injury history, it's been the same problem going back to Ohio State.
08:24Hamstring, okay?
08:26Before he was drafted in the first round of 2017, he was a phenomenal player.
08:30Top five corner went healthy.
08:31That's the issue with him, getting him healthy for the stretch run.
08:35They're a really good football team.
08:36They're playing way better than expected.
08:38Now the thing they didn't get, and they really still need it, is a wide receiver.
08:41They didn't get that at the trade deadline.
08:43That's going to be an issue going forward.
08:44We're going to still look at the key injury updates and lineup changes for a couple of
08:49games.
08:50Start with that game at the dump in Landover.
08:51Steelers, Commanders, what a game in our nation's capital.
08:55Who knew before the season started that the Commandos would actually be hosting an important
09:00game in Week 10?
09:01But they are.
09:02So let's get started with your Steelers.
09:03Now, as I alluded to from the first segment, and it's going to happen barring a setback
09:07tomorrow, they're going to get Zach Frazier back, their starting center.
09:10He, I'm told, graded out really highly before he suffered his ankle injury, well before
09:15the bye.
09:16And the other one, which is key, and let me explain this, Cordell Patterson, who's their
09:19kickoff returner, one of the best in NFL history, he also had an ankle injury.
09:23But he's actually a part of the running game.
09:25Super explosive well into the 30s.
09:27That's what people don't understand.
09:30But he gave something different to the running game, and he's going to be back this week
09:32again unless something happens in practice tomorrow.
09:35Now, I mentioned-
09:36Yeah, he guarded against the Chargers in that game I went to in Pittsburgh.
09:40He had about six or seven carries for around 38, 40 yards, and they were big, big first
09:45down carries.
09:46And, Scott, he runs violently, man.
09:49He is so cool the way that he runs, and obviously a pro ball kickoff returner.
09:53Now, Nick Herbin, who is their third edge rusher, he's been out for a while with a hamstring
09:58injury.
10:00He's got to practice more tomorrow to be able to get clear, but again, they made that trade
10:04for Preston Smith.
10:05This is why he was so smart for Omar Khan.
10:08Even with Nick Herbin still not 100%, they could turn to Preston Smith.
10:13This is big.
10:14So kudos to their front office.
10:17They've done a good job here.
10:18Now, let's get to the commanders who've been obviously one of the top two or three surprises
10:21in the National Football League.
10:23The big injury is Brad Robinson.
10:24I was told last week, leading up to the game, they thought he'd be able to play.
10:29What happened is, in pre-game warm-ups, his hamstring got tight, they didn't play him,
10:33Austin Ackler filled in and did a fine job.
10:36So he's still limited this week.
10:38He better do more tomorrow.
10:39He's not going to play.
10:40As I mentioned earlier, they're not expecting Marshawn Lattimore to play with that hamstring
10:45problem.
10:46They've got to get it right.
10:47There's no question about it.
10:48But you play the long game, by the way, with hamstring issues.
10:51You don't force it.
10:52You don't rush it.
10:54They know they're going to go to the playoffs.
10:55That's not the issue.
10:56The oddsmakers with future numbers clearly believe that.
10:59It's about getting Marshawn Lattimore healthy and getting him off the injury board with
11:02the hamstring.
11:03So that's where that's at.
11:04That's a great game, man.
11:05You're right.
11:06I cannot wait for this game.
11:07Yeah.
11:08I'm just thrilled that they don't have to see Lattimore in this game on Sunday because
11:12that guy's locked down, no doubt about it.
11:15And I really don't care about his hamstring.
11:17What a game Sunday night at NRG in H-Town as the Texans are going to be wearing their
11:21gorgeous red uniforms, their new unis, against the best team maybe in the NFL.
11:26Is it the Lions?
11:27Yes.
11:28And I believe the Lions are better than the Chiefs.
11:30I know the Chiefs are still undefeated.
11:32That's pretty incredible.
11:33But let me tell you something about the Lions.
11:35Yes, they don't have Aiden Hutchinson until deep into the playoffs for the Super Bowl
11:39if they get that far with a broken leg.
11:41But Josh Paschal has been filling in for him, who's done pretty well.
11:44Unfortunately, he missed the past two games due to an illness.
11:47He took all the reps today.
11:48He's going to play tomorrow.
11:49He's going to play this week on some unforeseen setback.
11:52And don't forget, Darius Smith, they acquired him this week, as everybody knows from Cleveland.
11:58Now they let him get his personal affairs together, so he's not where the football team
12:02is supposed to arrive tonight and practice tomorrow.
12:05Then they'll make a decision after practice if he'll play and how much he'll play.
12:09But that's a go-forward move.
12:10Scott, guy's 32 years old, can still play.
12:13This is a really smart move.
12:14Him and Paschal will fill in for Hutchinson.
12:16I like this.
12:17Now, the Lions, why are they so great?
12:19They win everywhere.
12:20They're at home.
12:21They're away.
12:22They're 4-0 at home, 4-0 on the road.
12:24But the Texans are 4-0 at home, but that's a game where they squeak by.
12:29This is the big deal here.
12:30Will Anderson, their best pass rusher, he's got an ankle injury.
12:33He hasn't practiced yet.
12:34That's a problem.
12:35Derek Barnett, his backup, it's been limited, but they think he'll be available.
12:39But obviously, if Will Anderson can't play, that's a problem.
12:43As I was telling you during the break, the big issue for this football team is that receiver
12:47Nico Collins is not even clear to practice.
12:49He's not playing.
12:50He's still in IR.
12:51Stefan Dix out for the season with the ACL.
12:53Their scoring is way down.
12:55Passing numbers are way down, and they're having problems moving the football.
12:59That is why the Lions are a three-and-a-half-point favorite, and they deserve to be.
13:02All right, it's time for Bust a Cap in your ass.
13:04We're going to haul ass and hit all these games.
13:06First of all, breakfast activities in Germany with a big Steiner brew.
13:11Giants in Carolina, Giants laying six-and-a-half.
13:13Yeah, I like the Giants that cover this.
13:16This should be Ticketbroker's day off, you would think, overseas, but it's not because
13:21they go crazy for football internationally.
13:23I like the Giants somehow to handle that in an awful game.
13:26Bears laying six as a soldier field against the Pats.
13:29Yeah, I like the Bears to take care of business.
13:32I know they haven't looked good.
13:33They've got to bounce back, and this is a good time to do it at home against the tough,
13:38competitive Patriots who can't score.
13:40Buffaloes at Indyland 4.
13:43Upset special here.
13:44I like the Colts to win outright, and Flacco to bounce back.
13:48I get it.
13:49I get it.
13:50He didn't play well against Brian Flores.
13:51Nobody plays well against the Flores defense.
13:53They bounce back.
13:54They must win at home against the Bills.
13:56All right, Minnesota, Jacksonville, the Vikings are laying seven.
13:59It looks like Mack Jones for the Jags.
14:01Yeah, and Vikings will take care of business.
14:04Mack Jones, he couldn't play for New England.
14:05He can't play here.
14:06He's going to struggle, and nobody gets it done against Flores.
14:09Forget about it.
14:10Denver at arrowhead against Kansas City Chiefs, laying eight.
14:12They never lose.
14:14I know, and the reality is the Chiefs are way better than the Broncos.
14:17Broncos got a taste of reality last week.
14:19Chiefs will take care of business.
14:20Saints getting three and a half at home against the Falcons.
14:24Falcons will take care of business.
14:25I know sometimes when you have interim head coach, they play better.
14:28It ain't going to happen.
14:29Falcons will take care of business.
14:30Niners laying six at Raymond James against the Bucs.
14:34Yeah, you know what?
14:36I like the Niners to take care of business.
14:38Off the bye, McCaffrey trending towards playing.
14:40That means everything to them.
14:41Bucs are super competitive, but they've got problems in their secondary.
14:46They're not going to get it done.
14:47The Niners will take care of business.
14:48Washington laying two and a half at the dump against the Steelers.
14:51Like the Steelers.
14:52I love the trade.
14:53I love the energy.
14:54I love the Steelers.
14:55Just take care of business.
14:56I know I'm usually not on it, but I like the McCaffrey.
15:00You got me all fired up over here.
15:02Bust a cap in your ass.
15:04Tennessee at the Chargers at SoFi.
15:06Chargers laying seven and a half.
15:08Chargers will take care of business.
15:10The Titans can't move the football at all.
15:12They'll take care of business.
15:13And Chargers will cover this.
15:14Jets are in the desert against Zona, and the Jets are laying one and a half.
15:18Yeah, because everyone knows this is a must win, and they will take care of business and
15:22win it outright and cover that one and a half.
15:24Wrong.
15:25Phillies at Dallas.
15:26Philly laying seven.
15:28Cooper Rush, a quarterback.
15:30The Cowboys are all sorts of beat up.
15:32Eagles will take care of business.
15:33Not only win for the first time since 2017, but they'll take care of the number.
15:37Sunday night, Detroit laying three and a half at Houston.
15:42Love Detroit in this game.
15:43They will take care of business.
15:45Look at your boy, Adam Kaplan, ladies and gentlemen, getting it all in on bust a cap
15:50in your ass.
15:51Great stuff, Adam.
15:52Have a great weekend.
15:53Enjoy all the football.
15:54You got it.