OverDrive - No more C on Dylan Larkin | OverDrive: Sept. 11, 2026 - Hour 2

Episode Date: September 11, 2026

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 2 on OverDrive! The guys discuss Dylan Larkin's future with the Red Wings and being removed as the captain of the team, NFL Play-By-Play Voice Kevin Harlan joins to discuss the start of the NFL season, Kawhi Leonard's impact with the Raptors and the ceiling of the roster in the Eastern Conference. Hayes and Bro and O'Win Willson make their selections for Week 1 and Hayes hands out his FanDuel Best Bets.

There's no shortcut for saving time, but saving money is simple. Just combine your car and home insurance with Bel Air Direct and save. Get a quote at bellair direct.com. Hour 2 Overdrive continues. Powered by Fanduel, bringing you more ways to play your game your way. Brian Hayes, the O'Dough, Jeff O'Neill, Jamie Noodles, McClennon. We've got Kevin Harlan coming up. We've got more picks, right?

Owen Wilson are quick 2-0. Very good start for the boys. Not a great pick. last night by Al's brother and myself. Al's brother, man. He's making some excuses to now. Yeah. And I had forgotten, you know, like you, it's seven months.

It's a long time in between picks. And there has been a lot. Let me just say this. There's been a lot of sways. Like there's been down seven comebacks to up seven, like 14 point differential swing. So this is nothing to be a large. That's it.

Like I was getting text from people today saying you got to punt Al's brother to the curb. I'm like, dude. They're not doing that. First pick, I wouldn't do that. I have to give him some freedom. Like as a management type, I got to allow him to breathe and I got to let out. You got to give my hazy arm sleeve. Yes, I got to give him a hazy arm sleeve.

But he is very frustrating at times to deal with when he's got his mind made up on a pick. and I'm pushing back. I have a clip here from a great movie called Office Space. You would be very familiar with it. I love that movie. Because we're on the Packer game, which I think is a doogie jam job. But let me understand what this is about. Let me guess.

You wanted the 49ers? Not, no, I was okay with the Rams in the end, but I will say I did throw out the idea that it felt like Vegas was thinking the Niners were going to win. The line was fishy to me. It was a neutral sight game. and it was in Australia. It was a tough game to call. But in the end, I was like, all right, we're in for the Rams, let's do it,

and they got pumped. But now we're going back and forth on the Vikings and Packers, and I got to let them breathe, and I throw stuff out, and this is effectively the response I get from Al's brother. I'm going to have to go ahead and sort of disagree with you there. Every time. I push back. He's, yeah, that's an interesting thought.

But you understand the problem is you're like that too. I know I am. We're both Bill Lumberg. Yes. We're both Lumberg from office space. Because trust me, things go your way and you're like, ah, that's not happening. I know that. So anyway, we'll get to our picks a little bit later on for the Sunday slate.

Kevin Harlan here in a moment. This Dylan Larkin story took another turn today where Larkin and the team jointly sent out a statement that he will be at camp but he's not the captain anymore. Goofy stuff, man. How does this work? There's still no GM. No kidding. And that, I think, would be on the owner.

I could dig around and find out. But how in the hell do you not have a GM in place? When Steve Eisenman left or stepped down from his position, however that was handled, this Dylan Larkin situation, you need to have this stuff under control before training camp starts. Especially for the Detroit Red Wings. who have missed the playoffs for so many years, you've got to have all this business in order. I'm not saying you go out there and rush to something that's ridiculous,

but how long ago did Eiserman step away? Oh, two months. Long enough to hire a new... More than enough. Early July he was out of quality person, and maybe it might be someone even in-house. And now you're going to say, you want to talk about a distraction?

Like, guys sit around and all summer and they look at their phone, or a captain wants to get traded. Oh, but now he's coming back and he's not going to be the captain? That doesn't jive, man. It's going to be a distraction. They've got good guys in house. They've got Sean Horcoff there. They've got Chris Draper there.

They've got a really good management team there. The problem is they've got to make a decision. Because if you have no manager, like who's setting the culture? Who's setting the tone for this group? You know, we're joking. You know, if the Raptors want to make a train. with the clippers, who's the GM? Who you're dealing with over there?

Like, what's going on? Exactly. Like, if Team X wants to trade for Dylan Larkin right now, who's he calling? Is he calling Larkin's agent to facilitate the trade? Is he calling the owner? Like, that's something. They've got to get that sorted just for even the illusion that, hey, everything's in control here.

Now, Stevie Iserman's still involved. I would argue he's probably... But now with Larkin, I'll bet you're not... I'll bet you're not... I'll bet you he's not involved with the Larkin. Larkin situation. It sounds like that was not the greatest relationship. But I would ask you guys, as players in the room, again, maybe there's some agreement, like listen, you've got to buy us a little more time. We're going to flip you.

Please just show up and be a good guy. Maybe it's Larkin saying, hey, I don't really want to lose the money, because if I don't report, I'm not going to get paid. But my understanding was, and I understand, listen, I get the magnitude of being the captain, it is, it's a market thing. It's a fan base. role, but it originated from who's the leader in the room, like the guys kind of determined the captain. So, you know, I'm not convinced they're all pissed at Larkin. They might be. But what if in the room, they're like, that's our captain, we love this guy.

So who took the captaincy away from him if the other players are like, we don't, he's our captain. You know what I'm saying? Like, what is the purpose of taking the captaincy away? Do you still think that the guys are all lovey-dovey with this guy? I don't know. That's our leader and we love him? After the guy said, I want to get, you know what it's like?

You think the guys in Ottawa, as much as you're a buddy of Brady Kachuk, like all those guys that were tight with them, whether it be Batherson, Stutzla, and all of a sudden he goes, guys, I don't want to play here anymore. I'm out of here. Yeah. You'd be like, really? I don't think you'd be like, oh, I'm lovey-dovey with this guy. I love this guy, man.

I don't care about anything. You'd be like, what the hell's going on here? Do you want to be here or not? Well, you're right. Oh, that's the thing where Ottawa dealt with it quickly. and they dealt with it at the end of the season. That's exactly right. And so it didn't linger.

And you're right. These guys have gone for dinners. They've hung out. I guarantee they've been to each other's weddings and all that. They're friends. Dylan Larkin probably told his best friends on the team, guys, I'm out, and they have to respect that. But the longer it goes, it gets awkward.

And I would argue that Larkin probably went to the organization and said, it makes sense for me to not be the captain because I could be trained. traded tomorrow. I can be traded two weeks from now. So it might be kind of both scenarios. But it comes back to, Hayes, and you've been saying this, when there's been an ask, same thing's going to happen in Winnipeg. I say, when there's been an ask to walk back into that dressing room and go, I'm going to be a pro. I went through it years ago when I was with the Islanders. Kurt Mueller put his hand up and said, guys, I want to be traded. He talked to us on the bus. I'll never forget it. Milbury was being a dink and Mueller went back at him and Milbury's like,

this guy's giving up on you and all of that type of stuff. And then Mueller on the bus, we were in San Jose and he said, guys, not giving up on you. This is where I'm at in my career. This is what I'm going to do. He was very honest. And I respected it. I was just a kid, you know, so what am I going to say anyways? But there are things where guys ask for a trade and you respect where they are in their career. But it is the longer that it goes, Mueller didn't stay in the that room and and play with us for another month. That's the part that could get ugly guys. And it's a young league, and I also think it would be very important.

I don't know if in that Detroit locker room, Patrick Kane's not there. I don't know if they have like a 35-year-old Kevin Deneen or a Gary Roberts that would literally get everybody together, whether it be out for lunch or in the dressing room and say, what's the deal here? You're not the captain. do you not want to play here? Because it is awfully tough if your goal in the NHL is to bust your ass every shift, and you see just one little hint of him not backchecking or not really caring.

It's like it is such a distraction, and it's like, what the hell is this guy doing here? So someone needs to sit him down with all, like just air it out. Like what the hell is your deal? Like, do you want to play here or not? If you really want to get traded, then you got to go and tell the general manager, get this guy out of here somehow. Because we can't deal with it. Yeah, and I find it hard to believe he's really changed his mind.

It would be awfully difficult to believe that's changed. Exactly, what's changed? You know what I mean? Like if Detroit acquired Quinn Hughes and Connor McDavid over the summer, I'd say, all right, yeah, probably he's thinking, let's stick it out. They didn't do a ton in the offseason to improve their team. So I can't imagine he feels better about them today than he did three or four months ago. That's a great point, Brian.

And people are saying, you know, players are complaining about the market and they love bringing up Canada, which there is a case where guys are not wanting to play in Canada. That is out there. But maybe both of these guys have just simply, they've been on their teams a long time, and they don't believe they can win. Not anytime soon. And that's the simple reason why they said, I want to go play somewhere else, man. Yeah, it's been 11 years, I think for both of them. You know, like you're talking Hallibuck and Larkin. That's right.

It's a long time. 11 years is a long time. It's a long time. It's a long time. But it's not resolved. And now we've got some clarity on Larkin and his plan on the next two weeks. Still not on Halebuck, though. Is a joint statement coming out soon on that?

I don't know. I guess we'll find out. All right, joining us on the Maple Toyota Hotline. You hear them all the time calling NFL games, NBA games. He does it all. Here's one of our favorites. Back on Overdrive. Here's Kevin Harlan.

How you doing, Kevin? All right, good afternoon, everyone. Good to be on with you. Yeah, great to chat with you. What do you make of the NFL down in Australia? Are you a proponent of the NFL trying to basically get to every possible continent and time zone and just expand the brand? Yeah, I understand the business side is clear, and I get it, and that's the world we're in. It shrunk with everything that we've got technically in front of all of us, and the jet travel.

the way it is and the way you can now alter that and make it even better for the people that have to make that trip in terms of pressurizing the planes and leaving it when you need it and every, I understand that. That is a marquee matchup. Those are two of the best teams in pro football. And I get playing around the globe and selling your product. but at the end of the day it's not that I'm against it but that's a big game

and that's a game that should be you know on a platform and here in the United States I mean you could have almost taken New England and Seattle and put them there and you know that although we've got two Super Bowl teams from February

that are going at it and, you know, why would you begin with your two, you know, conference champions there? But San Francisco and L.A., I mean, like, those are, that's a big game. And to make them do that, go all the way there, and go through those hoops and adjust, which all teams are doing when they play in Europe or in Brazil or wherever, I don't know. It just, first of all, we're playing on Wednesday. We're playing on Thursday.

we're playing on Saturday, Sunday, Monday. We're playing all over the map. And I guess when you look at what made this league successful was that Sunday afternoon package, the early game, the late game. And what they're trying to do is they've got 32 teams and 16 valuable members, commodities, investment pieces, that they want to get in front of every available eyeball on every possible platform, make every game stand on its own and not have a Sunday game go to 4% of the country when we could put it on another broadcast member and have them do it

nationwide. And it would still get ratings, even though it may be against two, you know, three-win teams. So they're just trying to feel what this world looks like. But that kind of a game is a fan. I would have loved to have seen that game in San Francisco or in Los Angeles with the home crowd giving, you know, just this wonderful, great, you know, a motion of opening game of the season, two Super Bowl contenders, and as opposed to maybe an unbiased crowd at 10 o'clock in the morning in Melbourne, Australia.

Just as I'm talking as a fan here, because I am a fan first and foremost, and I guess I just kind of feel that way. Kevin, do you think the guy that was the sports science that probably spent a million bucks to figure out what time to get to Australia? Does he have a job today? Because the Rams, that decision. That decision, it did not look good when I thought about it this morning. Because we were weighing both things all week, and I woke out this morning, and I was like,

how stupid is that to fly in right before the game and not get acclimated? Well, I mean, I think science, as it does every day, comes up with a new way, different way, altered way of handling anything, disease, hydration, physical, blood work like all of it, right? I mean, it's a daily evolution of that, including this. And there is no doubt that that coach and his staff discussed it with the smartest minds they know, relying a lot on what they had done playing overseas before, and they had followed this pattern before, nothing like Melbourne,

but they had followed the same procedure and found success. I don't think this morning, I haven't read it. it. They are blaming that, but I think what it does is it puts information, just like a trial, medical breakthrough in whatever it might be, puts it into the pot, puts it in front of very smart people, and they're going to figure out if maybe they have checked the box here and said, okay, that clearly was not the best way. Or it clearly didn't have a factor. I don't know. I kind of think San Francisco was just ready. Now, whether they were more rested, less confined mentally,

and just the travel and all the weird things, that conjures up when you make a 16-hour flight, I don't know. But maybe it did, and I do know this. San Francisco looked great, and they had been there a week, and that's the way they approached it. And I guarantee you there are teams that are making trips around the world coming up, this NFL season that are going to study what happened, reconsult with the people that they already consult with,

and figure out, you know, what did we learn, how can we alter it, should we alter it, and how does that apply to us and what we have? But the Rams have, one of the richest owners, they spare no expense in any aspect of their organization. So it's not like they just decided one day, hey, we're going to wait, go, you know, 72 hours before the game. They made a decision based on the best information they had personal experience in science.

So until I hear differently, until they hear differently, until anybody does, you know, we'll have to wait and see just now what this does in furthering this exploration of traveling over oceans to play pro football and what that does to the player mentally and physically and where we proceed from here. Well, Chad, Kevin Harlan, and obviously you have your NFL helmet on right now. You're calling games already. You call the opener on Wednesday night. But you also call a lot of NBA games. And we're in waiting up here in Toronto on this Kauai Leonard situation, Kevin.

But let's presume it goes through and Kauai is a raptor. based on what you know of Kauai and the projection of this upcoming season, a lot of change. LeBron's in Philly, Yannis is in Miami, in the East in particular, the Knicks won the championship. But if Kauai is healthy and plays 65 games for the Raptors next year, what do you believe that means for them? How good do you think they could be with a healthy Kauai? Well, we saw advancement last year, and you get a guy like Leonard, his aura, and you've witnessed it, you've tasted it firsthand with that championship a handful of years ago, so we know what he means. I don't know that he's the same guy as he was then, but every once in a while and when it matters and when he's healthy,

he can be what he once was at times. It may not be every night, and so to your point, about 65 people, games, you can see it. And these guys are, and he's a maniacal trainer. He's got a mind, you know, for the ages in terms of seeing the game, being around the game, managing the game, helping teammates, helping, you know, teams he's on. I hope it works. I got to be honest. I want to get up there and do games. I like going to Toronto. I like him. Always respected him. I'm wondering a couple things in the aftermath of what happened in L.A. and it's still an ongoing thing, I think, too, to a degree.

But, you know, when he left San Antonio, I recall, and I don't have it in front of me because I'm so into the NFL right now in the start. But my recollection is there was a trust factor with him and the Spurs medical staff on how they were handling his injuries. and my recollection is, is that his trust factor really shrunk. In other words, he began to limit who he was listening to and how he would be guided from that point on. He went to Toronto, won a championship, and again, continued successful individual play, although injured a lot in L.A.

I think his group, his inner circle, has shrunk and is trusted, but that one person in that inner circle looks like got him in trouble. So I don't know where his head is in that world, but I think he can still play, he can still contribute. And while I may not be the headline guy, he can definitely be a major reason why you win and give a lot of texture to a team that is evolving with some really bright young stars as the wraps have.

So I'm excited to see how this ends. I'm hopeful he gets up there, and it really could be kind of a reincarnation of maybe not him being what he once was, but how he can help the team overall with what he possesses move to that position, or at least in that conversation again. That's what we're hoping for. NFL season off and running. You're back in the booth, NBA season around the corner. Great having you on, as always, Kevin.

Thank you for doing this. Thank you for having me on. Always a pleasure. Take care. You got it. Kevin Harlan, joining us. here on the Maple Toyota Hotline. It's time to Toyota.

Check out the Toyota Tacoma and Toyota Tundra. Pickup trucks, both available as hybrids. Maple Toyota near Canada's Wonderland and the Maple Auto Mall. Can you be both? Like, can Kauai be regarded as this, like, he's, I've read a bunch of different thing where he's, like, the fitness, like, he gets props for, like, but can you also be that and only play 65 games? Or is that just at his age and the miles on this guy?

That's just what he brings to the table, and it's unavoid. Now I think it makes sense because of his age. You know, seven years ago, different story, is it 28 or whatever? You know, that was, and he was coming up a major injury, and he only played nine games a year before. But now you get to 35 plus in the NBA, you're not likely playing anywhere close to every night. It just doesn't happen. How old is Kevin Durand? Isn't he 39?

He's got to be up there, dude. He would be, yeah. He was drafted in 06 maybe. There's an old guard that's got to be cycling through. These guys are almost done. They're all at the end, right? Young stars are taken over. You're right.

You're right. I mean, like, Steph is going to retire a warrior, likely, but Steph's coming to the end, and LeBron's coming to the end, and Durant, those have been the three that have kind of carried the league for 20 years, 20-plus years. And now it's Shea and, You know, Luke, I guess, in L.A. We'll see what he's got.

When Kauai gets here, do you think he's the type of player? Because I get the sense, and it's not a shot, but I think that he's just like, like Nick Nurse told us that story where he's just like, give me the damn ball, and I'm going to score the basketball. Do you view him as a guy? Like, do you automatically point to Scotty Barnes and say watch Scotty Barnes take off as soon as Kauai gets here? I don't like is anyone going to just latch on to kawai and be like they're like divan tase where they're just they take off and they're in stardom because of this guy i don't know if i see him like that sure it's a good question i mean they've got a lot of guys like scotty scotty's a guy they're not calling a ton of plays for what i wonder is like r j barrett is a guy who had a great year rj last year but rj was is a score and a lot of games that they won when he was on the ball was going to

going through him. That's not really going to happen anymore of Kauai's here. So how does he adjust? But it's good question. Like Scotty is going to have to team up with Kauai. That's your plan. Those are your two big guys. Barnes and Kauai Leonard and if they both can pop,

then you're going to win a lot of games. You're going to be able to beat a lot of teams because of the way they defend the two of them in particular. I'm still shocked that Kauai is unscathed and all of this. I don't know. 700 grand. That's nothing. Dan Patrick was like beside himself when he was telling us.

He's like, this guy got a slap on the, this is couch cushion money to him. Like, you don't open your checking account. There's 50 sheets sitting in there and you go, hey, where'd this come from? It's like. The reverse show hey, right? Yeah. Like it's, ah, how'd that money get there instead of where'd the money go? Yeah, like, I mean, good for the Raptors, good for the city of Toronto, but it is kind of outrageous.

He knew what was going on. going like what is going on Kauai knew what was going on. Of course. You have to. I would love to watch a dateline episode on this thing going down, man. Just the behind the scenes. How it was brought up.

He gets a phone call going. Hey, we're getting clipped on this tree planting thing. What do you want to do here? All of it. I would love like a 30 for 30 on just like the back scene stuff, like the true information on this stuff because I find that fascinating. Like who made the first call on this? I guarantee it was.

Uncle Dennis. Well, Uncle Dennis has fallen on the sword, right? Oh, yeah. He's the translator in the show. I wonder how that call when. You're a scumbag, Uncle Dennis. Yeah, you're the worst. You're killing us.

All right. I'll see you in a year or two. And what are they going to do with them? Fine. They ban them from all the buildings, and Kauai is going to disassociate publicly. It's not going to change anything. That's going to be at a birthday barbecue in the summer.

They can't stop him. Exactly. You can't legislate the. Kauai can't have interaction with Uncle Dennis. Of course you can. You're not going to see them in the building anymore. Mail it on Friday, brought to you by Boston Pizza. Canada's favorite sports bar.

Enjoy a $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree of a site and a drink and you get it all in 20 minutes or less. Fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a fast, $15 lunch at your local Boston pizza. We reference the Boston pizza on front all the time, but we're Tiff now open. You got J's Orioles tonight and Tiff on a Friday night, and it's beautiful.

I'll bet you downtown Boston Pizza is rocking right now. 100%. Really fun time to be roaming around. Big time downtown. All right. Best Betts's coming up and we've got our three picks as well. Oh, you and I are going to be on the clock and we'll continue to look ahead to Jay's Orioles starting tonight.

Overdrive continues up on YouTube Live. There's no shortcut for saving time, but saving money is simple. Just combine your car and home insurance with Bel Air Direct and save. Get a quote at bellair direct.com. Behind every night spent making the kids' lunches, there's a lot of suspense. Will they finally eat the veggies? Will the pastos survive the first bite?

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Didn't think I was up on the screen there. That was a quick one for Joe from the bridge. Usually that overdrive thing's up there for a while. I was trying to find something online, and I couldn't find it. I was getting a little bit off track there, but it's all good. Good to see you guys. Thanks to Kevin Harlan for joining us. So we're going to get to our picks here in a few minutes.

And, oh, you'll obviously be picking for your team. team, I will be picking for my team. And it's not been a good start. I mean, full disclosure, it hasn't been a great start. You guys picked a winner. And Al's brother and I were on the Rams, and they got destroyed last night. Yeah, it is. No, it's not a big deal we talked about.

There's been a lot of swings. But if you have one of those weekends where you get dummied, you're in concern mode very early. Very early. Big time. You do not want that. Yeah. I mean, you know, we do the overreaction Monday, and there's some great, great games in the NFL. I mean, great games.

The Monday nighters Kansas City against Denver. That's an amazing week one game. Bills at Houston is a great, great game. Ravens Colts has the chance to be a really good game, you know. So there's going to be teams in this league that have high expectations that are going to be 0-1. Is Danny Dimes still the cube? Like, is he still? Yes, coming off an injury.

Last time I checked, I believe. leave he's ready to go. But remember they started the seed. They were the best team in the league the first seven or eight weeks. Dude, I know. What are they going to do? Do they still have the kid there, Richardson? Like, are they going to move it?

No, he's got no future, ultimately. I mean, so he quit on his team the one time and they just said your career's over. Basically. Yeah, because remember they brought in Danny Dimes. No, I know that. But they just said you'll never play again. Well, I mean, effectively, they may have waived him. I'd have to look that up, but I don't get the impression there is any market for Anthony Richardson in the league.

And not just because he did that, which was unheard of. I've never seen a quarterback pull himself from a play. Like, I've never seen that. But J.P. is saying he is the backup there. J.J. McCarthy, I believe, is the third stringer in Minnesota. Wow. Third stringer. And Carson Wentz is ahead of him.

That's how bad that pick was. and it cost the GM that drafted him his job. Well, dude, as much as he was dynamite at Michigan, did you not look at him and say, there's just something that's just too small about that guy? Yes. You know what I mean? Like, he just looked like a kid.

Yeah. Well, yeah, he did. That's the issue. He's far down on the depth chart now. That's why. Well, he got hurt. And then last year he just didn't have it. And there were some things that he would say in kind of body language.

Like, that's a position that you, you are constantly being watched. We were talking about leadership early this hour and Dylan Larkin and him not being the captain anymore. And big boys in pro sports, as you guys know, like all eyes are on them. That's the fascinating thing about Vladdy and what's going on with him this year

is you know everyone walks into that park looking for that guy. You know, like, what is he going to play like tonight? How's he going to perform? What's the body language like? And a quarterback is times 50. on top of what any other superstar in pro sports is going to have to deal with because of the position you play and the importance of the sport

and the amount of coverage that comes with it all the time. Think about the mental though. Like I'm not going to BS you guys and the listeners and act like I spent a bunch of time in the minors. Two games is all I did. Maybe even two days. Yeah. But the mental idea of getting the call and you're going to the minors

and it's like, okay, well, if this doesn't work out, then you're that guy who just didn't pan out. So think of the transition for J.J. McCarthy, starting quarterback of the Vikings, and then it's like some injuries, and then all of a sudden Carson Wentz shows up and is the number two guy, and you're the third quarterback?

You're like, I might not be, he went from like the starting quarterback, like the stud who won a national championship, to being like, I might be floating around as like a third stringer for 10 years if I'm lucky. Yes. It happens quick, though. In any league, you get flushed out. If you don't make it right away, now, there are high draft picks in that that get nine lives.

We see it in every sport. So this guy bounces around. It was a high draft pick or he did this and that early on. You can flush out very quick. The NFL will flush you out. I think you get steamrolled quicker now, Jamie, than back in the day. Like, it seems like now teams make a judgment or an assessment on. you and you're just you just disappear into ninja dust it's true but it just you know that's why i think

it's fascinating to see some of the the quarterbacks that are really good now they're all like they're older they're veteran guys you know like they they've kind of come into their own like i remember years ago baker mayfield like was what was he you know like first overall pick though you're right though what was he but what was he like he was you know i there were questions Hayes, you were always pretty hard on him going like, what is this guy and all of that type? Turned out to be a pretty damn good quarterback. Once you get out of Cleveland. Yeah.

That's true. That's a part of it. Get out of Cleveland. It's usually pretty good for your career. Well, that's the thing when you're a first-round draft pick or highly tout. You're going to get second opportunities where some other guys might not. Definitely. Sam Darnel.

Kyler Murray is a great example. Like Murray got outplayed. He lost his job in Arizona because he didn't perform well. It wasn't just injuries or not being on the same page with the coach. He didn't perform well. But now he's a mini as a starter because he went first overall. So we'll give him a shot because we know he's got talent. You know, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield.

Tua? Two is a great example. Two went fifth overall. And now he's hurt again in Atlanta. Dude, he gets the starting job and then the day before the season starts or whatever. He's got muscle, oblique spasm. Not good, man. Like that coach must want to just.

Well, did you see the play? Punch him out. Did you see the play where he threw it and it kind of sat down? You're like, oh, no. Well, Tomlin lit him up on Wednesday night. Tomlin's good on the – I like – phenomenal. It's great on the sideline.

I don't think he cares about anything, Mike Tomlin. Good. Absolutely good. And listen, we're in a different world than error. But in the NFL, and I think same thing in the NHL, it's a big-boys. sport. You got to play through stuff. You've got to be tough. It's a part of the evaluation, and it's a part of your reputation.

And I think they look at Tua and say, we don't know if this guy wants to play, if he does. Because the idea that he's getting an opportunity, part of it is because Panix has been injured and may not be available in Atlanta. But Tua was atrocious in Miami the last couple years. Like, terrible. And how is this guy still a starter in the league? Outside of the fact that fifth overall pick, great collegiate player, and had a couple of years there with McDaniel where analytically he put up numbers in Miami.

So someone's like, I guess we'll give him a shot. You know, they're giving him a shot in Atlanta. But I don't think he's going to take advantage of that. You know, I fully expect that he'll barely play if he plays at all. And if he does, he won't play well. And that'll be it. And two, it won't be in the league for the next. I think he's got maybe a year or two left.

I wouldn't be shocked. You think he's on borrowed time? I would not be surprised. He's had some major injuries, but this one, you get a muscle issue as a quarterback when they really need you early. That's not going to go over so well. I think we have the Tomlin stuff. Do you want to hear it? Tomlin on Tua from a couple of nights ago.

Here he is on NBC. You know Aaron Rogers so well. He said that this is final season. Be hosting the Falcons to start out. And what do you expect to see from him? You know, it's less about Aaron for me and it's a war about the quarterback on the other side. His last visit in Pittsburgh didn't go well. I was in the stadium that day.

They lost. He got benched. And so I think it's going to be a good day for Mike McCarthy, Patrick Graham, and the Pittsburgh stills in company. So he's talking about Tua and then playing Atlanta. I would say destroyed him. But, I mean, it's anecdotal evidence of him basically saying if you're a head coach and you're going up against a guy like Tua, you're like, this is Great. Yeah, you're like in your chops.

This is very good for us. Absolutely. All right, the picks. You guys are on the clock. We got three tough games here, man. Wow, two tough games. I think the Sunday. Yeah, we had to, there were some weird games, man.

We had to get our survivor picks in, and it was like some doozies where you're like. I know. I know. There's like some big spreads, but we're not, I don't know if we're going three and oh right out of the gate, man. Oh, let me just tell you the last three or four years, we've always got one. pumped right out at the first week. You get one wing clipped early in a game that you shouldn't lose. But Bill's Texans, bills are minus one and a half at Houston.

You guys are on the clock. Who is Tim Owen Wilson taking? Well, you guys saw earlier in the week how I always defer. Mm-hmm. And I love Josh Allen. He is my guy. He's my guy. but my parts, see, we had a long, long discussion about this,

and we're going with the Texans. Wow. See, J. Stroud is your boy now? Dude, he looks so brutal walking into training camp. He looked out of shape. He worried me. But I had a long discussion with my parts, and we're going to take the Texans. That defense, we think they're going to go crazy, cause some problems.

I hear you. That's our pick, the Texans. I don't think it's a bad pick. You get plus points at home. Houston's really good. and the bills have had real troubles down there. Dave Nail has been saying this all over TSN for weeks. Described it as the House of Horrors.

Yes. They've lost six in a row, I believe, in Houston. And the last time they won there was like 2009 or something. It's been a long, long time. But don't you think now everybody who is a contrarian is going to go, they're due. That's what they're going to say, right? Definitely are. And it's a big first impression for a coach.

Like, that's tough. Joe Brady, you're the offensive guy, right? forever McDermott was the defensive guy. You knew he'd be going in there thinking this is going to be a war. We've got to win 17-14. Your first game as the head coach is in Houston against that defense. Very challenging. But I don't have an issue with being on Josh Allen at any point.

I wouldn't be shocked about it. I think Allen's, he's my Super Bowl. He's my MVP favorite this year. Again, second year in a row. Yeah, well, yeah. I mean, staffer won last year. He won two years ago. But I pick him every year.

I mean, I don't think he's going to finish his career with only one MVP. I think he's too good. Right? He's 30 years old. He's in his prime. He's got Brady. He's got DJ more. And he stays healthy.

You know, Mahomes, I don't know. Is Borough going to be healthy? Is Lamar going to be healthy? I just feel confident this guy's going to start 18 games. You know, like he's so big, so hard to hit. He's made of rubber. Like, it seems like it's impossible to bring him down. So I'm like in.

the odds on Josh Allen winning the MVP this year, but that's not what we're doing here. You guys are taking the Texans in the 1 p.m. slate. Packers, Vikings, Vikings minus one and a half. This is Hazenbro. I'm concerned about my Packers early, with no Micah Parsons, no Josh Jacobs,

a potentially shaky offensive line. I'm not a Kyler Murray guy, though. And I want to... I'm not either. I was pushing Packers here because I got to see it believe it with Murray. But I got to let Al's brother, you know, he's got to fly.

I got to let Al's brother extend the wings and fly. I got to give him some freedom. He is pushing heavy on the Vikings at home. Dude, if you do this, I swear to God, you'll regret it, man. You are going to take the vikes? Well, Brian Flores, as Luke always says, Ann Al's brother, very aggressive with the pass rush, with the blitz, possibly shaky O line.

if there's no run game to save Jordan Love, we're on the Vikings minus one and a half. That is insane, dude. I'll tell you what, that one, right? I know what that one there is. That one there is a friendship dender. It's got potential. That goes south.

I know you'll just want to strangle that guy. Yeah. It's got potential to put the wedding on ice. You know, like Al's brother and I are going to have to have a conversation soon about possibly moving the date of the wedding, because. So it was like a boardroom scouting table where he was like pounding his fist saying, you've got to give me this one.

I know this one. Well, he's looking at, again, it's on the road. It's a divisional game. It's a tough game. The Packers' line is in question right now. Like anyone tracking the Packers are aware of that. There's some concerns about the offensive line. Jacob's not playing.

Parsons not playing. And the Vikings are a great defense. Like they could be a top five defense in the league. They got great weapons. If Murray doesn't turn the ball. all over. I think they can score points. I think Jordan Love's got the chance to have a big, big year. I really do. But I think the way they're going to win, he's going to have to have a

great night. Like he's going to have to dismantle Minnesota. And that defense with Brian Flores calling the game's tough. Al's brother's pretty adamant. Again, I got to let them have some freedom. I got to let them be all growns up and I got to let them breathe here. I came around to it and I'm hedging because there's a world where the Packers, maybe they cover, maybe they win. I can handle that. I don't know what it is about your boy, your quarterback, and please Joe Bowen and your dad and yourself, don't text me.

I don't know. Like, he's got to do it before I'm going to. Yeah. He's got the contract, and they obviously saw something in him after not a lot of playing time. But he's arrived. I just, I don't know. There's something about him.

He's got to be great. Yes. He's got to be great arm, man. And he can dance in the pocket, and he can move. he's got talent. They've had a drop issue, drops issues in the past. The wide receivers haven't been great. And I'm still concerned a little bit about their receivers.

But I'm with you. He's got to have a platform season. Like if you're going to be like a legit quarterback for 15 years with a team. You're going to be that guy. You've got to be that guy. And there's got to be like seasons of your career where you look at it and say that was the best he's played. And I think it's got to happen this year where he's got to be like kind of chasing MVP caliber stuff. I don't know if he can do that.

He's not a top five guy, but could he be top ten? I think so. Absolutely. All right. The Sunday nighter, Giants Cowboys, John Harbaugh, making his debut as the head coach of the Giants. Cowboys minus two and a half. This game in New York City or in New Jersey, I guess.

How about them, Cowboys? That's all I'm going to say. That's all I'm going to say. Cowboys, hey? Cowboys big. How many times have you seen it? the beginning of a season where the Cowboys just explode and go nuts. Yep, they like New York.

And they just drill a couple teams and everybody jumps on the bandwagon, Pierre LeBron, Chris Johnston, Dero, all of them. Glennie Scheler, they jump on the Cowboys bandwagon and then they just disappoint. But I like a great early start in New York. Doc Prescott's going to be slinging it. I think he's going to play well. I think he's going to have a good season. You know, the Giants are, they're one of those teams. Like with Harbaugh there, Jackson Dart, I just can't get a read on him.

You know, I cannot get a read on the weapons. His neighbors, I don't know if he's playing, if he is, what's his status coming off injury? Scataboo, what's he all about? What's his deal in the back? Dude, how about Scataboo? I think he came back from, like, his injury in one of his first, I don't know what type. I don't know if it was like an on-field thing or an appearance. He did a backflip.

Right. Did you see how strong. stupid that was. Like, if you're the coach and you saw that, you'd be like, really, dude, you just blew your knee out and your first moves of backflip? Cam Scataboo. He's a different cat, Scataboo. But we're on the Giants, I guess.

I was brother and I. All right, there you go. The picks are in. Yeah, oh, man. Yeah, lock it in. Okay. That Green Bay one concerns me. That's the only one that concerns me.

Green Bay? Yeah, I know. Me too. Me too, noodles. Listen, I hate betting against them. I do. and I got to let him fly. I got to let Alice Brother.

I got to spread the wings, man. Let him fly. Let him breathe. He's adamant, so we're on it. All right, best bet's still to come. We've got a quick update. John Chikas speaking to some media about Max Domi. We'll tell you about that next.

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And will you finish episode 8 before you're done slicing the cucumbers? Get Bell Pure Fiber Internet with Craved Netflix and Disney Plus from $94 a month. Price guaranteed for two years on internet with a two-year term and auto pay credit. Visit bell.ca for details and to check availability. Bell, connection is everything. Mail it in Friday is brought to you by Boston Pizza Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree of sight and a drink and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food.

See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston pizza. Best bets powered by Fandul. Make your picks and assemble the same game parlay in seconds on the Fanduals Sportsbook app. I like the Js tonight first and foremost. I'm on the Jays this evening. The NFL slate. I like the Colts get three and a half at home against the Ravens. Danny Dimes is back.

They had a great start to the season last year. Raven's new coach on a row. They're getting a lot of hype, but I'm getting three and a half at home. I'll take it. All right. Yeah, and I like the Titans at home too. It's one and a half at home against the Jets. The Jets stink.

I know Tennessee hasn't been great. Cammore was a lot better down the stretch than people realize. I think he's going to, I'm racing for him to have a pretty good second year in the league. Dude, he was getting carved. Like, do you remember? Early. He was off. I know.

The interactive. actions with the press. Yes. Even in training camp, dude, the press was like, he was asked the question. Like, how do you think you were out there today? And he was, yeah, pretty good. And the guy was like, yeah, pretty good? Like, he's, I don't know, man.

I know. First overall picked on, believe it in the talent. Best bets powered by Fando and make your picks and assemble the same game parlay for any NFL game on the Fandoz Sportsbook. Yeah, it must be 19 plus, physically located in Ontario. So, John Chakis spoke with Joshua Clipperton of the Canadian Press on Max Domey, and say, quote, Max is going to come and be evaluated.

He's not going to be ready to start training camp. He's going to be out indefinitely. At the right time in the near future, he wants to address it himself, and I think that's best for him to do. We'll leave it at that, end quote. So not ready for camping out indefinitely. The idea that he's going to address something,

that doesn't sound very encouraging. No, it sounds like. No, I agree. Yeah, that doesn't sound very good for a comeback type of thing. That sounds like, hey, I've got to take a look at my health here. So hopefully it does. Yeah.

And listen, it's his body. It's his life. It's his career. We'll see what Max is willing to say about it. But it sounds like it was pretty scary, you know, like the surgery and the recovery. You know, if he's out, he's been a big part of the team the last few years. Played every night. You know, like he's a guy that's in the lineup every single night.

And if he's not available, then he's a vet. He's a big presence in the room and the media and the market. market. So we'll see what Max Domey has to say on that in the next couple of weeks. All right, there you go. Good stuff. First week in the books. Thanks are locked in. It's going to be a great Sunday. It's going to be an awesome Monday. Jay's need to have a series here. Got to get at least two out of three and put Baltimore into the rear view. So big, big weekend for the Blue Jays as well down at the dome. All right. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out. We appreciate it. Everyone for tuning in today, TV, radio,

podcast web up on YouTube live and streaming soon up on Crave. We're out of here. Enjoy your evenings. We're back Monday at. Big Ron, keep crushing it on the golf course 4 p.m. We'll chat then. The battle for every yard. The chase for the end zone.

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