OverDrive - OverDrive - December 16, 2024 - Hour 3

Episode Date: December 17, 2024

Join Bryan Hayes and Frank Corrado for Hour 3 on OverDrive! TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston joins to discuss the Sabres' downfall throughout the season, the Rangers' significant struggles and the Canucks set to make moves to the roster. TSN Football Insider Dave Naylor joins to discuss Josh Allen leading the Bills and the team's stature in the AFC and Bryan hands out his FanDuel Best Bets.

It's a brand new year. Time to review last year's financial decisions and set new priorities for 2025. Kelvin the Money Guy suggests the three-step approach. One, clearly define your goals for the new year. Two, create a plan tailored to your needs and ambitions. And three, make sure your portfolio is designed to serve that plan. Goal. Plan. Portfolio. Contact Kelvin the Money Guy and set your plans in motion. Call 416-457-PLAN

or visit askkelvin.ca final hour overdrive continues brought to you by fan duel bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score brian hayes frankie corrado dave nailer later in the hour chris johnston will join us here in a moment. The Leafs go 1-1 over the weekend. And I'd say lucky to play Buffalo, but they did turn the Jets on about halfway through that game. In the third period, at one point, they were out shooting them like 9-0, 10-0. Still got to turn the Jets on. Just because you're playing a bad team doesn't mean it's automatically going to happen.

They played Detroit. Detroit's not very good. They couldn't turn the Jets on on Saturday. That's right. Yeah, and listen, offense has been a really big conversation. Now you have Stolarz who's injured, and Hildeby was okay last night, wasn't great, wasn't challenged again by the end of the game. But you know what it was?

You got a start where you didn't have to put Stolarz, or sorry, you didn't have to put Wall in with Stolarz out, and you won the game. Like that's huge. That's a good way of putting it. Because Stolarz is hurt, and Wall can't play every single night because you always wonder like, what's creeping around the corner with him? He's been hurt a lot. So you put the kid in, and hey, it was

fine, but you won the game, and you didn't have to play Wall. That's a huge win. Well, and the next time you're going to see him, unless Stolarz is back, which he could be. They keep downplaying his injury, but they've been doing that with everyone, and it's a huge win. And the next time you're going to see him, unless Stollers is back, which he could be. They keep downplaying his injury, but they've been doing that with everyone, and it's never on time. McCabe wasn't on time. Matthews wasn't on time. Domi, McMahon,

it was always like, they're close, they're close, and then it was still a week or so. So I'll believe it when I see it that Stollers will return on the weekend. But they're in Dallas on Wednesday. Tough game. But then at Buffalo Friday, at home against the Islanders Saturday, if Hildeby goes, you're still going to be favored in whichever game he plays in.

And I would assume they'd go wall Wednesday, Friday, I would think, and then Hildeby goes Saturday at home against the Islanders. But that's probably the best way of putting it. Regardless of how it played out, you played Hildemy and you got a win. Yeah. And the bigger story for me last night was Buffalo because now they're 0-7-3 in their last 10. If they lose to Montreal tomorrow night,

Montreal will pass them in the standings, I believe. Which I'm not sure fans would want. Like, I feel like they're... Montreal, do you get the impression in Montreal you're there all the time? You're calling that game tomorrow night. Yeah, I'll be there tomorrow. Are they embracing just a full tank now? There's a portion of the fan base that says, well, we're here anyway.

You've gone this deep. You might as well finish post the last. Yeah, talk about being... Okay, but you know what's funny? I was talking to Muddy about this before the last game that we called. If you looked at the division like if you looked at the division or if you looked at the wild card last week the habs were five points out of a playoff spot but they were last in the atlantic so if i if i just looked at you at this time of the year regardless

of where the positioning was and i said to you you're five points out of a playoff spot in mid december is that quote unquote in mix? What would your answer be? I guess in general you'd say yes. It's not insurmountable, five points out. I guess you look at it that way. You had a bad loss against Pittsburgh, lost to Winnipeg, but at that point,

you were still kind of in the mix. Now I do think there's a portion of the fan base that just says we're here anyways like let's let's just grab who knows who it's going to be misa martone schaefer like yeah we're here anyways so you know because we're probably not going to turn it over next year and be a playoff team so let's grab one more guy on our way up yeah and you would think they would lean offense. Yeah, what would be interesting is if that Schaefer kid's on the board when they pick. What do you do because that kid has made Team Canada as a 17-year-old.

It never happens generally for a defenseman. And yet you have Hudson. You've got Gooley. You've got Reinbacher coming. You've got Mayhew who's played well with LaValle. Like you've kind of done, you've got Reimbacher coming, you've got Mayhew, who's played well with LaValle. You've kind of done, you would think, a lot of the heavy lifting with the defense, yet if you

believe in Schaefer, and if he's standing there for you, that's going to be tough for them to pass up. That's hard. Yeah, because again, I don't know enough about the junior ranks. It's that Higgins kid that's presumed to go first. Yeah, it feels like now more than ever. But Schaefer's making a push, isn't he? I don't know ranks it's that haggins kid that's presumed to go first yeah it feels like now more than ever i don't know shaver's making a push isn't he i don't know if it's a

four horse race but i think coming into the year a lot of people would have said you know it's hurt for haggins this year but now it's like it could be haggins could be martone could be shafer depends if a team really wants a defenseman i think misa would be on the outside looking in but like it's a three four horse race now now for that first overall, which is pretty cool. We never get that. No, and what that also would suggest is if you have the fourth pick, you're probably okay.

If you lose out on the lottery, you still might get possibly the best player in the draft. But yeah, I mean, and listen, Montreal has been in this position for years. They weren't expected to be competitive this year. I think it'd be a different approach if you were in Nashville, where you thought you were good. You're five points out.

Okay, we got to take advantage of this. Montreal, it's fool's gold. I think people understand this team's just simply not good enough. They're trying to find any positivity they can. That's why the line has, you know, been so grateful. It's been a great story. It's been great for them. And I think Montembeau making Canada is a positive.

Cole Caulfield seems to be scoring every night. Hudson's the guy. Hudson's been great for them. And I think Montembeau making Canada is a positive. Cole Caulfield seems to be scoring every night. Hudson's the guy. Hudson's been outstanding for them. It feels like every game they'll grab a clip of Lane Hudson, throw it up on the floor. Even though it may not result in a goal or anything, it's a one-man cycle and they're like, okay, blast that out on the social.

So good. Get that out on social. It's good stuff. Edge work by Lane Hudson. Joining us now on the Maple Toyota Hotline, here's our TSN Hockey Insider, Chris Johnston. What's happening, CJ? From cold and flu protocol today, so I might be a bit low energy.

Uh-oh. Well, let's see if we can get you going. Where should we start here? Maybe in Buffalo. So it's been well reported today that Terry Pagula flew to Montreal to meet with the team. I think he met with Kevin Adams, the GM, Lindy Ruff, the coach, and the players. And it sounds like the messaging was

it's all good. We're not going to do anything crazy. Do you believe that is the truth if they get spanked by Montreal tomorrow night? Well, I believe it's the truth in the short term just because of where we are in the calendar, right? I mean, the trade freeze, roster freeze kicks in on Thursday. You know, we're just a week before Christmas.

I don't think any team out there is looking to fire someone, you know, at this stage of the season. But kind of my view on it is let's circle back in early January and see where things are. I mean, you know, from all, you know, everything I've heard, it really was a calm the waters kind of meeting. You know, obviously a pretty extraordinary thing for the owner of a team to do fresh off his bills with, and he's flying to Montreal to try to calm things with the Sabres. But Pagoula, when you look at him, he's been a very patient owner, maybe a little too patient at times for Sabres fans, but he was not Jim Dolan. He's the antithesis of that in terms of an owner.

So I think he is legitimately just trying to calm things down and see where they get to. But I don't think we can say with certainty when a team's dropped 10 straight games that that means anyone's safe. I mean, they're safe this week, but let's get through the holiday break and when that roster window lifts and see if they continue to lose, I mean, at some point a decision might still be coming on a couple different fronts.

Do you think Buffalo would be reluctant to trade some of their young players because of the success other guys have had going elsewhere, whether it's been O'Reilly or Reinhardt or Allmark? Do you think Buffalo looks at a guy like Cousins or Quinn and says, like, we're not going to let it happen again on our watch? 100%. I mean, how can you miss that?

Every year it seems like a quote-unquote failed Buffalo Sabre is leading his team to a Stanley Cup these years. I mean, we didn't even mention Jack Eichel among those ones, obviously Reinhardt last year. You know, we're not even talking players that won a Stanley Cup, but guys that were a key part of teams that got the job done. And so I do think there's some trepidation there. I think that's probably the biggest thing that's held up a trade to this point

because the Sabres have been a team that have been pretty active in trade discussions. But I think they're very worried about making the kind of move because some of these guys are struggling that it won't look too long, whether it's a couple months or maybe a year down the road. And you think, wow, why did we give up on him at that stage of his career and so you know I think for all kinds of reasons it's got to be a bit of a gun-shy organization obviously they've turned through head coaches they've turned through players they've turned through GMs and you know here they are with the longest playoff drought in NHL history and looks like

it's going to be one year longer with where they're at today. I think they're trying to be patient, but the reality of their situation, I think, is going to make it harder and harder if they keep losing games into the Christmas break and beyond it. Well, the Rangers have not been patient, necessarily. I mean, they moved off Trouba,

been incredibly loud, yet they lost multiple times again over the weekend. Peter LaViolette looks as if he doesn't have answers. Lindy Ruff basically said that on the record. LaViolette, they made Kako a healthy scratch. I'm not sure the explanation really made a ton of sense. I'm sorry, but not to cut you off, that is outrageous that Kako was the healthy scratch there. They're not getting anything five-on-five from their top guys,

and Kako's been really good in that third-line role. His line has been their best line. They don't get scored on, and that's the guy you make a healthy scratch? Yeah, and his explanation was fresh legs, as if Kako's 38 years old. He's a kid. I mean, how much longer can it go for the Rangers before another shoe will drop

there? I don't think it will be that long, honestly. I mean, could you look at the totality here, too? Those look like games that get a coach fired normally, right? I mean, you get spanked at home by LA and then you're booed off the ice. The next night, the coach makes all kinds of

unusual lineup decisions. Crider down to the fourth line, tackle scratch, as you mentioned, moved everything around, didn't get any results out of it. But the feeling is the Rangers really don't want to make a coaching change. So what comes next? I mean, it was already Kreider and Truba in the rumor mill three weeks ago. You trade Truba. Are you talking about trading Kreider?

At some point, is Jim Dolan looking at the front office and asking hard questions about Chris Drury? I mean, I think you look at that situation. There's nothing I would rule out as a possible next point. I mean, probably the only thing you can rule out is there's four or five players with no movement clauses, no guarantee they would move it if management looked to trade them. But I feel like everything has to be on the table with the season the Rangers have had.

So much of it feels self-inflicted. I mean, this team won the President's Trophy last year. They were in the third round of the playoffs. I don't know if that's cold and flu or if that's bad cell phone. It could have been a cold and flu. I don't know if you go that abrupt to the flu. That was a quick shoot deployment. Yeah, that was mid-word.

And he was kind of... He was feeling it, man. I don't think you would have known. This was his flu game. No, he found it. He found a little something. He dug deep for us. That's Jordan game six.

Now, the thing about the Rangers that kind of, I guess, irks me in a way is like, it's been so loud around this group, right? Oh, this guy's going to get traded. That guy's going to get traded. There's obviously guys that go to the rink now and they like, I don't know if it's like they're grumpy or ornery about it, but it's not like not a good feeling going to the rink when you're just worried and always looking over your shoulder or, Hey, what's going to happen? It kind of turns into a bit of a soap opera so cj now that you're back with us like how much concern would there be from the rangers point of view about things just kind of turning into a soap opera and the team just never really finding it because guys are so i don't know unhappy or uncomfortable going to the

rink every day well i mean it feels like we're there does it i mean i can't remember the record three and seven in their last 10 basically basically, since the trade rumor started. They did make the one deal. I mean, it's not as though they've gotten any reaction. And they were sliding at that point when all that first got out there. I mean, I don't know what rights to ship. I'm not sure where I was cut off earlier, but I was kind of making the point. To me, this team isn't that much different than the one that had quite a bit of success last year.

You know, a couple players swapped in and out, but nothing that you would think would result in total different results on the ice. But that's what they're getting. And so it's highly flammable, I would say, this situation. And I think for players that have been there a long time, there's an element of looking at management and asking there. I mean, there's a lot of finger-pointing, whether it's being done explicitly or behind closed doors in the conversation.

And so I don't know if the break will help, if there's a rager on the road, if there's a way to clear the air, but it does feel like they need something to change the atmosphere in addition to just the product clear the air, but it just does feel like they need something to change the atmosphere in addition to just the product on the ice because I don't see any reason why this team should be this bad or as bad as they've been the last three weeks or four weeks. So the Leafs get a win last

night. They lose on Saturday against Detroit. They have been inconsistent, yet they're finding ways to win. So off their schedule, it's going to get tougher. Dallas tomorrow or on Wednesday, then they got Winnipeg rolling through town next Monday. But that third line came alive and Max Stoney, I said earlier, CJ,

nobody, nobody I think in the league needed a game like that last night more than Max. Because it was starting to get to a point where it was embarrassing. He's not contributing anything offensively. He went 16 or 17 games without a point. And he showed up last night.

He had a lot of life in his game. He's still an important piece. Like, what does he mean to the Leafs? And how integral does Max Domi have to be in order for them to feel like, okay, they're kind of hitting on all cylinders? Well, he feels like a swing player to me in that, you know, we've seen stretches even last season, early in the year, he had a difficult start, and then the second half was hot.

I thought he played well in the playoffs. Obviously, he was filling in the top six for a lot of that series against Boston and making an impact. And so it can go either way with him. And given how the goals have been a little tougher to come by this year than what we're accustomed to for this team, it feels like, look, he doesn't have to be the leading scorer, but, you know, him generating some offense, giving them a threat as a third line if that's where he's going to be,

I mean, all of that is huge. If he's not able to do it or if he's playing the top six, I mean, I still think we're going to be talking about a trade for a player that can help the third line and give the Leafs a little bit more depth in that area. And so, you know, it's not saying that he'll stand in place of a trade ship, but I do think the Leafs need more of these guys to stand up. And so I don't know what Nick Robertson's future is with the team,

but him having a big night, Domi having a big night, I mean, you see what kind of game you get out of the rest of the guys. And look, lo and behold, they score five goals. So we haven't seen a lot of that this year against any team. And so I think Domi is a massive part of things here. And even as bad as these first couple months have been, I think there's at least some hope there that maybe you get more of him because you did see it last year.

I mean, he had a really strong second half into the playoffs. And while you prefer that he didn't struggle at all, I think you're hoping he can replicate that. Well, another player who had a big night was John Tavares. And like, I don't know, we've talked about the contract next year so much. Like, I don't know if your opinion has changed about, you know, what he can do this year that would make you want to resign him more or at more money.

But it's at least worth the conversation conversation given how well he's played, you know, Tavares in his future with the Leafs, like how would they view what he's doing in the success he's having this year? Well, it certainly helps, right?

Because at John's age, in any given year, any player, you're worried that there's going to be a dramatic fall off. And so far, I would say, whether you're looking at the underlying numbers that he's produced, but the fact he filled in for quite a while there when Matthews was out injured

on the top line, and then obviously his goals and assists have been about where he's been the last couple of years. I mean, there's nothing there that suggests to me that that fall-off has occurred. And that's going to be part of the decision. I think ultimately sitting

here today, I think that they stay together. I think that John is very sincere and wanted to remain a Leaf. It might not be a contract that gets done until after the playoffs are all done and the dust settles on the season and they sit down

and get things done. But I just think with how committed he is to the organization, with his family, his kids were all born since he came to the city. And I think that it's pretty clear on the right number on his next deal he can still bring a lot of value to the leaf so there's going to be a way to find uh to get him

extended but you know i don't know that they have to do it in in season because you know i think there's probably a lot of confidence in the front office that he's not someone looking to go and so you're comfortable leaving that discussion until whenever the last game's been played. Are you a believer in Anthony Stolar as actually being day-to-day, or is this the Maple Leafs version of day-to-day? Well, it's hard to be a believer just based on this season. You know, I don't have any reason to believe it's serious, his injury,

but, you know, the fact that we're so close to the christmas break let's see how the results go this week you know maybe maybe they decide not to put him back in um you know if if you know the guys are rolling okay without him so you know day-to-day is it's kind of been week to week around here this year and so until i see otherwise it's it's hard to it's hard to say that he's going to play on Friday when he's eligible to come on by hour. How eager do you think Jim Rutherford and company in Vancouver are to make a deal to shake things up? I don't even know if it's shake things up, but it just feels like they're not the type to sit too long and watch them not play well at home.

It just feels like there's more there. How active would the Canucks be? Extremely active. And, you know, that's Jim Rutherford's MO. Remember last year he made the Lindholm deal during the All-Star break, you know, kind of a month before most other teams were doing their deadline work. You know, you can be sure he would want to be, you know, trying to bolster the team as soon as possible here. May not be able to get it done before the holiday roster freeze kicks in. But, you know, the Canucks are really looking

for help on the blue line in particular. I think that they'll also be in the market for a forward as time goes along. But, you know, they're down Hronik right now to injury. And, you know, it's been tough slogging back there. And so, you know, I would think if we're taking sort of bets or picks and where, you know, the next significant trade comes from, it would not surprise me in the least that the Canucks were one of the two teams involved in making that deal. Yeah, I like that idea.

I mean, that's with Demko returning JT Miller back. That's what's kind of interesting here is they have reinforcements now and yet it feels like it's an even stickier position that they're in. That makes sense, CJ. Based on the way

I guess they're playing. I mean, they CJ. Based on the way, I guess, they're playing. I mean, they got embarrassed on Saturday night. Brad Marchand rolls in there and, you know, scores. He's trying to fight Quinn Hughes. That had to be embarrassing for that administration, even though they weren't affiliated with what happened in 2010. Yeah, I'm sure a little bit. And, look, they've been embarrassed with their results on home ice, too. I don't have the record in front of me, but I know it hasn't been good there.

You know, it's so much went right for the Canucks last year. I think this season has brought more challenges. For everything they've been through with the injuries and all that, I actually think they're in a decent spot in the standings. But, you know, they don't right now look like a team that we're going to be tabbing as a Stanley Cup potential team. And so, you know, because of that fact, I think they're very likely to take a big swing between now and March 7th.

And based on the history, I'd suggest likely to come much sooner than later because Jim Rutherford doesn't like to wait. The flu game for CJ. You just had your flu game. What a hit. What a hit. It was good. Fighting the flu.

I love it. You're Jordan. You're the new Jordan. You're the Jordan of insiders. Jordan of insiders. If only some of that energy can go to my fantasy teams tonight in the first week of the playoffs, that would be great. Might be asking too much. Might be asking too much.

Good luck with that, CJ. And we'll do it again soon. Alright, guys. Have a good one. Chris Johnston joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline. Check out Mapleota's huge truck and suv lineup including tundra forerunner highlander and grand highlander in stock and ready to deliver visit maple toyota.com the um the vancouver thing on the blue line is interesting because all we talked about i think for the last call it year and a half two years was that you need massive bodies on the blue line right like in order to win in the playoffs but so they went out and they got forbert they got day harney

um who else did they bring and they brought in they went with big guys but they don't have enough guys that can move the puck and all of that falls on hughes and haronic and when haronic they play together right so two-thirds of the game you're you're having a hard time getting out of your own zone and now Hronik's not playing and so like that's been the biggest issue there's so much so that Eric Branstrom has been like a revelation that they just needed someone lower in that decor that can move the puck a little bit and so like he he came over and it's like we have to have this guy in the lineup. Where, you know, he's good. Good for him.

But that is troubling when it gets to that point. Yeah. It's kind of exposing where you're at. Yeah. If that's kind of the feeling you have. But then it's like the conversation. Okay, what do we need? Do we need big guys or do we need puck movers?

Because it's hard to find the guys that do it both really well. Like they just, they're not very available. It's tough to do. Ideally, you have a combination, but even within that, you need a bit of all of the ingredients in all of it, including your smaller puck-moving guys. They've got to have some bite. They've got to be willing to fight through checks and push back and block shots.

A guy like Jared Spurgeon. He's a small defenseman. He's good. Gritty. He's not. Yeah. He's not like overly elusive in any way, but like he'll battle you.

He'll cross check you. He's got bite to his game. He's been playing forever and he's always been a top pair guy. Yeah. Like there's a smaller guy. That's, that's a nice mold to have. Absolutely.

Absolutely. A nice mold, like mold to have right now is Josh Allen and the way he's playing. Now you see the way people are reacting to it. I've seen, again, multiple people down in the States talking about how he's the greatest quarterback of all time. No, they're not saying that. I've seen it. Again, this guy is playing as well as anybody right now. And I think he's a lock for the MVP.

I think he deserves it. I think if you're a Buffalo Bill fan, this is just a dream come true. Because between Jim Kelly leaving and him arriving, it was a disaster at the quarterback position. I thought Tyrod Taylor was going to be the guy. Tyrod was going to be the guy. E.J. Manuel was going to be the guy. I mean, we had the Doug Flutie fiasco,

and then Drew Bledsoe was there. You could go down the list of how many different guys they tried. And now Allen is just a legend, and he's playing at such an incredible level. And what he did yesterday probably puts a cap on it in terms of the MVP pursuit. Dave Nail has been there for almost

every game he's played, if not every game. And the Nail Gun was in Detroit yesterday. We'll catch up with Dave, get his take on that. How good are the Bills? How vulnerable are the Bills in certain areas? Who would scare the Bills in the AFC? How important is it for them to get that first seed if it becomes available?

There's a lot to get into with the nail gun. So we'll get to that in our Best Bets still to come. Two games in the NFL tonight. Two Monday nighters. Hazenbrower laying the points with the Vikings. Owen Wilson laying the points with the Falcons. Big, big swing night tonight. Big swing night tonight.

So we'll get to those two games as well. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN 2. It's a brand new year. Time to review last year's financial decisions and set new priorities for 2025. Kelvin the Money Guy suggests the three-step approach. One, clearly define your goals for the new year.

Two, create a plan tailored to your needs and ambitions. And three, make sure your portfolio is designed to serve that plan. Goal, plan, portfolio. Contact Kelvin, the money guy, and set your plans in motion. Call 416-457-PLAN or visit askkelvin.ca. All right, Best Bets brought to you by Fandu later in the hour. Dave Naylor will join us here in a moment. You know what I've noticed in society, a real development post-COVID?

In the NBA, I blame the NBA for this. I don't blame them, but the NBA, I think, is a representation of this. Coaches in the NBA used to wear suits, always suits. Then they got down to that bubble. They got mighty comfortable, started wearing the track suits, and they just said, we're never going back to suits. And collectively, the coaching society just all committed to that. Not one guy wears a suit anymore.

It's kind of amazing to me that not one guy doesn't say, There's not one basketball coach wearing a suit anymore? Everyone rocks the suit pants with usually a quarter zip. Okay. That's kind of the move. Maybe you'll see a golf shirt. Generally, it's a quarter zip. But that was like, we got comfortable in COVID.

We're not going back what i have noticed in society is track pant guy he is like never going back to non-track pants 100 percent the amount of track pant guy that cruises the halls down here because there used to be same pair of jeans every day for 30 years, guy. Yeah. That guy existed. And there was a time in my life where it was like, I'm throwing on those jeans, whatever. But it was understood like, okay, I got to figure out the shirt and shoe combo.

But I got a belt going on here. You know, I got to actually wrestle with these. And there's like, okay, those are pants. Yeah. Track pant guy said, screw it, post-COVID. And I'm talking track pants. Like, I'm not Slim Fit Lululemons or something. Okay, okay.

No, no, I mean track pant guy. Like, you could... And I respect it. Like, parachute, kind of like parachute, garbage, bag material, track pants. Yes. Can I just pants Loving life I love it and I respect it I want that on the record

I'm going to admit something Then we'll see if the nail gun has the same thing going on I have currently one pair of jeans Really? That should let you know how Little I actually wear jeans Is that because you're a track pant guy? Is that what you're telling me right now?

I'm the Lulu kind of sweat pant guy. And let me clarify. I will rock those two around here. I don't want someone to stop me and say, hey, you're a hypocrite. I won't wear them to work. I won't wear them to work. I've worn them to work.

I'll look like this up top with a jacket and a collar with like Lulu pants on. I've done that countless times. I refuse. But I have one pair of jeans. That's how little I wear jeans anymore. Yeah, jeans. I don't know, man.

I got a few pairs of jeans. I'll rock a jean. I'll bet you the nail gun crushes a pair of jeans. Dude, Levi's, 100%. Yeah. Different tones. Yes. I'll bet you the nail gun's got one for every week.

Every day of the week if he wants it. Here he is, Dave Naylor, a TSN football insider. Is that accurate? How many pairs of jeans do you own? I think active. I may have some retired ones that I haven't done away with. I think active I have about three. But I actually could start this segment with a bit of a jean story, believe it or not.

Yeah? You ready? Yeah, what do you have? Okay, so I come back off a vacation saturday night i get like home at about 10 30 and by the time i get to sleep it's like one or something and i'm on a uh 10 o'clock in the morning to detroit for lions bills right so i'm like okay 10 o'clock land 11s for i'm probably going just to the hotel and right to the stadium. So I pack a bag, obviously, carry on, and I wear my suit. I put on my suit in Toronto and fly to Detroit.

And I'm like, okay, this is cool. Wear the suit, have it on all day, no big deal, because I'm riding back. I flew in, but I drove back with our cameraman, Peter Bradley, today. That's no problem. Wear the suit for one day and get out of it and ride back. And then I get to my room and I realized I didn't bring any jeans. Oh, no. No jeans.

No jeans. Just the suit. I brought a hoodie and a t-shirt. So it was two full days sitting in the suit, including riding back five hours from Detroit today. So the first thing I did when I got in was went straight to the dry cleaner and dropped that baby off. Yeah, man. I love it.

The suit pant with a hoodie, that's a guy who's been through it, man. That's a guy that's traveling and he's in a dark place. I know it. I know it well. That's you, man. Well, listen, he got to see a great ball game yesterday. That was something. And, you know, Josh Allen, it feels like it's effectively locked up now

because he was going to likely win the MVP anyway. Last night he plays the way he plays. They win in Detroit. Now you have all the national media in the state saying it's over and anyone that doesn't vote for him is going to get bullied now. So I wouldn't be shocked if he won it it unanimously but what's it like seeing him up close and personal watch him in the zone because he is playing at a level that is absolutely absurd right now i don't know if i've ever seen anything like it i mean and in particular look he's doing

everything well right now i mean there isn't an element of his game even when he was running you know when they would be third and four, second and six, and it was almost like he could pick a spot by the fourth quarter because they were so shell-shocked with what he could do throwing the football that, you know, he could just run around the end and step out of bounds whenever he wanted. But the stuff

that really blows you away is the stuff outside of structure, which is the stuff that he's been criticized for in the past, right? Being a little too loose with the ball security and taking chances. And, you know, McDermott got asked last night, when you stand on the sidelines and Josh breaks structure, playing outside of structure, are you in amazement as much as everybody else? And his answer back was, yeah, and blacking out. as much as everybody else?

And his answer back was, yeah, and blacking out. And you really think, because he's watching this stuff, but he has to really trust his quarterback. And I think Josh is, Josh Allen's a really humble guy. From what I can tell, and again, I'm always aware that, hey, I'm wearing a media badge. I don't know Josh Allen. I see him once or twice a week through work and sitting and watching him talk to the media and see sometimes the way he interacts with teammates. But

when you talk to teammates about him, and I've been covering this team on a weekly basis now. This is for the third year. So you do get a pretty good sense, I think, of what a guy is like. And a guy to be that talented and kind of have that much humility, which is really reflected in his teammates attitude about him. And here's the other small part about that. If you're a guy from California and you're going to be the face of the Buffalo bills,

you kind of got to be that guy. You've got to lean in and be a Western New Yorker a bit. And Josh Allen does that. But I mean, the things he's doing, it's almost like every game, there's a Buffalo Bills PR tweet about Josh Allen became the first NFL quarterback in history to this, this, this, and this. I mean, it's almost comical.

One after another. You know, the first guy ever, three rushing touchdowns, three passing touchdowns. The first guy to have a running touchdown, a receiving touchdown, and a passing touchdown, one of each in a game. You know, back-to-back weeks with at least two rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns. I mean, he is not just doing things that we haven't seen, we're not seeing elsewhere in the NFL right now, not things that we haven't seen in the last few years.

He's doing things that nobody in the NFL has ever done. And when you combine it with the ball security, and I mean, that throw he made to Keon Coleman, the 64-yarder on a rope, rope you know after buying time and dancing around it and it's i think it's one of those things that probably on television it's harder to appreciate but when you're sitting up in that press box and you can see the whole field and you can see the way that defense just freezes when josh starts to move around and the way he's time and space in his head and then he unleashes that rocket. It is something else, guys.

How much credit does the O-line deserve? Because we talk about Josh Allen all the time, but I feel like that might be one of those things where it almost gets underappreciated because of Allen's brilliance. I think you're right. I mean, no sacks. I think three hits yesterday, something like that. And here's the other thing about the O-line part of it. One, they're right. I mean, no sacks. I think, you know, three hits yesterday, something like that. And here's the other thing about the O-line part of it.

One, they're talented. And Aaron Cromer, their offensive line coach, is very, very good. But I don't stand to be corrected on this, but I think I'm right about what I'm about to say. It's an incredible stat. I don't believe the Buffalo Bills have lost a single man game on their offensive line to injury the past two seasons. Think

of that. Think how many times you hear an NFL game go, well, so-and-so's playing so-and-so. The old line's really banged up, right? Or they're playing their backup tackle, or this tackle was signed off the practice roster two weeks ago. The Bills have marched their starting five out there. There's 17 games last year,

31 consecutive games. Wow. And again, I don't think I'm wrong about this, and if I am, I'm barely wrong, but I believe it's 31 consecutive games. They made a couple of switches on the offensive line from last year to this, but they're starting five.

So I think that's the other part of it, just in terms of when you're blocking for a guy like Josh Allen, it's a unique beast. So the fact that they can other part of it, just in terms of when you're blocking for a guy like Josh Allen, it's a unique beast. So the fact that they can roll out those same five guys every single week and have that consistency, I think that's part of what you're seeing as well, Frankie. With Dave Naylor. So the Bills still have an opportunity to get that first seed. Kansas City, you know, they've got some tough games coming up.

They've got Houston, they've got Pittsburgh. And then they've got Denver. And now you're dealing with a high ankle sprain from a home. So who knows if he's even going to play in all those games, any of those games, a few of those games. How important do you think that number one seed is to the Bills or should be to the Bills? And then beyond that, who in the AFC do you think still scares the Buffalo Bills? Well, you know what the Bills have left, right? Easy. Patriots, Jets, Patriots.

Right. I mean, so, you know, I think, I don't want to get too far ahead of it in the schedule here, but there's a pretty good chance they're going to finish the season 14-3. And, again, with Mahomes' high ankle sprain, they play Saturday, they come back on Christmas, on Wednesday, you know, they've got a really condensed schedule as well. And, I mean, Kansas City's going to the playoffs,

so how much risk do you want to take exposing Patrick Mahomes to at the end of the schedule when you know he's the guy who butters your bread in the playoffs? That's going to be interesting to watch. You know, in terms of what it means, I mean, just one thing, I don't believe they've ever had it. I don't think they've ever had the number one seed in the AFC in the McDermott era.

So, you know, yeah, I mean, you get a week off, right, and you're home field through the playoffs. There's a bit of an irony about the Bills earning home style of the playoffs, though, and obviously you can't predict or you can't pick where you play. But among the factors that have played into at least the last two weeks when the Bills have put up over 40 points, both games were played in perfect conditions,

one at SoFi, one at Ford Field. And, of course, if the Bills go through through the playoffs you're not going to get perfect conditions at Orchard Park but I mean hey Josh Allen's been pretty good all season good weather bad weather I just think you see when the conditions are ideal you see almost another level of what he can do teams that would scare you in the AFC well Kansas City for sure and I think that you know if you look at the way they lost last year to Kansas City, I mean, they only gave up 27 points, which was, I think, only one team all year held Kansas City.

Or the bill put up 24 points on Kansas City, which was one of the highest totals of the year. They gave up 27, which wasn't a disaster against that team. But the problem was that the defensive line couldn't disturb Mahomes. They couldn't get off the field. You know, he was just doing his thing, and they couldn't disrupt him. And I think even though they – and see, winning in the regular season this year like they did in spectacular fashion on November 17th,

that doesn't really ease, I think, people in Buffalo and the Bills organization about, wow, we played – because they beat them in the regular season three times in recent years, and they still can't beat them in the playoffs. So I don't know that you can say, well, checkmark on Kansas City November 17th. No, Chiefs are a legit threat. And the other one is Baltimore. And maybe it's not as big a problem as we remember because they got blown out in,

I think it was week four. And it was one of those games where you had a team that plays a lot of heavy offensive sets that is really committed to run the ball and they just blew the bills away on it and i think going into yesterday there was a lot of fear that that could be a repeat of baltimore with you got gibbs you got that offensive line you've got montgomery and it's like okay the last time they finished they played a team that was built like this here's what what happened. And I think, you know, two things were different yesterday that happened than in the Baltimore game. One, they didn't give up any explosive runs early on like they did. You may remember Derek Henry going off for, you know, 79 on the

third play of the game or something in that game. And the other thing was their offense was so much better that they flipped the game script on Detroit and got them out of what they like to do which is just line up and power run the ball and wait for explosive runs and in Baltimore they didn't score they got behind they got pressing so maybe what they learned in executing against Detroit yesterday makes Baltimore less of a threat but I still think that's not a great matchup for the Bills yeah that's that's where my head would go as well I mean Kansas City is always going to terrify you because of who they are, what they've done, right? If Mahomes is under center and that defense is playing the way it's playing,

it's a very difficult out, especially if you have to go to Arrowhead. It seems like that's just going to be a very, very difficult thing to do. Yet, the Bills are very capable of doing it, and especially the way they're playing right now, the way Josh Allen's playing. But it does feel like Allen probably has to find another level in the playoffs. I don't even know if that's possible. I mean, based on what you've just described, Dave, up close and personal,

seeing him do things that you don't think anyone's ever done before, is it reasonable to ask Allen to do more in the playoffs? Or does another element of this team have to step up a little bit? I don't think Allen has to do more, and I don't think he has to do better. And as the other element of the team, this is the cool thing about this year's Bills. And it kind of reminds you maybe a little bit of the Patriots and a bit of their golden era, where every week it's something different. It's not like, okay, you can stop Buffalo's offense if you do this. No, because they might not even be trying to you can stop buffalo's offense if you do this

no because they might not even be trying to do that they may be trying to do this and you're not lined up to stop that i'll just be a couple examples you see what ty johnson's receiving total was in that game yesterday like a hundred and something he's the number three running back he had over 100 yards receiving in the game. Do you think Detroit prepared for that? No, of course. Okay, here's another one. You know how many targets Amari Cooper had yesterday? The second highest paid offensive player on the Bills yesterday.

How many targets did he have yesterday? Zero. I was going to say two or three, but yeah. Zero. Not one. Did not have a catch. And by the way, that's the difference when Amari Cooper is your star receiver on your team as opposed to Stephon Diggs. Because if the Bills had won 48-42 in Detroit yesterday and Stefan Diggs had that target guess what we'd be talking about today oh he'd be going nuts on the sideline even in a win

body like everything like I really think you know moving on from Stefan Diggs has freed the Bills offense to be able to do whatever they should be doing in any given game or any given series or even any given play, as opposed to the burden where Josh has got a funnel 14, 15 throws to Stephon Diggs every game. So I think that versatility, you know, it started off back in the summer. Everyone talked about, you know, the line they use, everyone eats, right? Hey, we don't have a star receiver. Everyone eats. But they really are that kind of team, especially when you look at the way they mix in the three running backs into the past game. So I don't think Josh has to be better,

and I think the Bills can keep kind of flipping the script on teams week after week. They're incredibly difficult to prepare for because, again, I don't know what the Lions expected going in, but I'm sure they saw some things they didn't expect and weren't prepared for, and that's kind of the magic of this offense and maybe what sets it apart from previous Bills teams.

Great catching up with you, Dave. Getting those jeans, man. Make sure you pack those jeans next time you're on the road. Do not forget. I will not, guys. Thanks a lot. All right, that's Dave Naylor, TSN Football Insider. Yeah, suit pants with, like, casual gear around the suit pant.

That's a sign i got i got jammed up once going for like a little weekend trip with my wife i had like three or four t-shirts stacked and i just i don't know what i did but i didn't transport them into my luggage so when we got there i'm looking for stuff i'm like oh my god i don't have any t-shirts i had to get like the the t-shirt from the like the shop souvenir shop no way yeah those are never good yeah just never good new york okay that's not bad i mean at least it was like a new york thing well i guess you could take that but yeah yeah that's that's concerning man you gotta you gotta pack you pack all the time yeah that was a mistake for you that was a mistake that's surprising i didn't have a good system back then.

Same thing with the nail gun. That is surprising. Alright, we'll get to our best bets brought to you by Fandor. We've got two games in the NFL tonight and we'll let you know who Hazenborough are on, who Owen Wilson are on and who we're going to pick in our best bets for the two games tonight. We also got a rematch of the cup final out in

Edmonton. We haven't mentioned that yet. Oilers Panthers tonight. We'll touch on that to wrap up a busy afternoon. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN 2. It's a brand new year. Time to review last year's financial decisions and set new priorities for 2025. Kelvin the Money Guy suggests the three-step approach.

One, clearly define your goals for the new year. Two, create a plan tailored to your needs and ambitions. And three, make sure your portfolio is designed to serve that plan. Goal, plan, portfolio. Contact Kelvin the Money Guy and set your plans in motion. Call 416-457-PLAN or visit askkelvin.ca. All right, Best Bets brought to you by FanDuel bringing you everything from the opening

line to the final score and of course you can make your picks and assemble a same game parlay in seconds on the FanDuel Sportsbook app. Hazenbro on the Vikings laying the points tonight at home against the Bears. The Bears, terrible on the road it feels as if they've effectively quit on the season. I mean he's been really good

and now the door's open for them to possibly finish ahead of the Lions. Not only winning the division, but maybe the conference. Although I feel like the Eagles are in a good position to do that too. But very inspiring night I expect to see out of Sam Darnold. It's been sneaky good. Not even sneaky anymore. It's just very good.

They just don't get talked about very much, the Vikings. Yeah, well exactly. Because I think the division they play in, Detroit is so loud and they've been good and they've been an interesting team. And Green Bay is the team that's just owned that division forever. They're the perennial favorites and all that kind of stuff. But the Vikings have been really good. I think they win.

I think they cover the number. And I'm on the Raiders plus five and a half. Owen Wilson's... You have to be. They're laying it. They're taking the Falcons. I can't do it. Atlanta has been awful. Kirk Cousins

has been terrible. Five and a half is just too big of a number for Atlanta. It doesn't even matter who they're playing, especially on the road. Kirk Cousins in prime time on the road. Recipe for disaster. Taking the points tonight. Best bets powered by Fandu. Fandu is the home for popular parlays

this NFL season. Please play responsibly. 19 plus, physically located in Ontario. Oilers, Panthers tonight. Oilers a minus 132 favorite on FanDuel. That's appropriate. They've been crushing. Yeah, I'm not surprised. Skinner's playing well. It's very quiet around the Oilers, and that's great. They're playing really

well. They're just doing their thing. I said this on after SportsCenter on Saturday night. We know they got the two best players, or two of the best players in the world, right? But the next tier of guys, so that's Nugent Hopkins, Hyman, throw Skinner in there. Bouchard.

Yeah, I was thinking more forwards. But their next tier of forwards, when they play at their game, there's not many better tier two forwards on a roster. You know what I mean? Yeah. Oh, yeah, for sure. That makes a big difference for them.

Huge. Hyman was a big issue for them. Nugent Hopkins was terrible earlier in the year. Well, Skinner wasn't great either. Skinner couldn't find a role. They were moving up and down the lineup. Henrik's a guy that can play. Arvidson's a guy that actually had to play

pretty consistently. Yeah, Connor Brown's being more productive now, too. They're an older team. It took them a while. Listen, they were dealing with a cup hangover without the cup. It was harsh. You could tell. They didn't want to be back playing regular season games again, but they kept their head above water,

and now they look great. I think by the end of the year, they'll be one of the three or four teams people will be picking to win. That kind of feels like where it's going. And I think Florida, probably the same thing. Florida's just kind of going through the motions, good enough to pick up games. They've had hiccups along the way, but they're going to get in. And if they're healthy and they reset, they'll be a favorite too.

Florida's a team that, once the playoffs start, the emotional investment, you say that term, that's when they can easily find it. I feel like for them, a game in November, a game in December, here and there, it's hard to play that style over 82, but once the playoffs hit, they just kind of know that

they got it. They show their true colors. They're comfortable when it gets to that point. So yeah, this could be another cup preview. I wouldn't be shocked. I mean, I don't know how often that's ever happened where you get two teams back-to-back, especially in a 32-team league. Skinner's playing better than Bobrovsky right now.

Yeah, Skinner's in tonight. Yeah, he's been playing very well. All right, Frankie. Good seeing you, man. You're in Montreal tomorrow. Yeah, we got... Habs, Sabres. Someone's waking up in dead last on Wednesday.

Montreal beats them in reg tomorrow night. All hell might break loose in Buffalo. That could be crazy. Or even crazier, it won't. Or they'll just be like, nah, it's fine. Just another one. Who cares? Speechless. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out.

We appreciate it. Everyone for tuning in today. Radio, TV, podcast, web. We appreciate that. We're tuning in today. Radio, TV, podcast, web, we appreciate that. We're out of here. Enjoy your evenings. Enjoy the games tonight. We're back tomorrow at 4 p.m. We'll chat then. Available on TSM+.