OverDrive - OverDrive - September 22, 2025 - Hour 2 - Luke Willson/Stewart Johnston

Episode Date: September 22, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes and Jamie McLennan for Hour 2 on OverDrive! TSN Football Analyst Luke Willson joins to dive into the NFL Week 3 headlines, the Lions and Ravens on Monday Night Football and the CFL league changes. The guys discuss Easton Cowan's opportunity to make the Maple Leafs, CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston joins to discuss the significant changes in the CFL and Bryan gives his FanDuel Best Bets.

Josh stares down the business end of his baby brother as he takes the reins on diaper duty. But Josh comes prepared with a diaper change tutorial. The video stream, fast and strong. The baby stream contained. Yes, when the Harmon switched to Bell Pure Fiber Internet, they wondered why they didn't sooner. Experience proven reliability with Bell Pure Fiber Internet, Canada's fastest awarded by Ucla. Switch today. Plans starting at $60 a month with a two-year term.

Visit bell.ca for more details and to check availability. Bell, Internet just got better. Hour 2 Overdrive continues, powered by Fandu, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Brian Hayes, Jamie Noodles, McClennon. Luke will join us here in just a moment. Luke's going to come in firing on that Eagles win and that Eagles cover last night. And I can't even argue against it. It's the worst bad beat, I think, of all time.

In the history of, you know, since we've been doing it, it's probably overdrive's worst bad beat. 100% and I don't think there's anything within reason I mean the Rams you know they're they're in range for a field goal even if they miss the field goal they still cover right like all they got to do is get the ball in the air or if it gets blocked just jump on it and not only does no one jump on it look at this guy running dude this guy Jordan Davis is 330 pounds he blocks the kick picks him it up and takes it to the house and he's 300 bills nobody can tackle him either like you can't catch that guy like that was in slow motion

him running oh it was amazing I think everyone was in shock I saw that's what it was right tackle Fred Johnson said after the game he goes I'm so happy for the guy I'm happy for his big ass it's such a great quote if you smell

what the Owen Wilson is cooking Girl, you know who wasn't happy haze, this guy. That's the worst bad beat of all time, and certainly since we've been doing it. I've never, I can't believe he picked it up and took it to the house. So to give you a little context for me as well here, I'm sitting there and, you know, obviously it was Friday, we're at BMO.

It's a bit of a, it's a bit of a ballsy pick, you know, going on the Rams on the road. Right. And, you know, I'm sticking my neck out there a little bit in noodles. So, you know, I send a text. which I shouldn't have done, when they were up 19, and I said, how about that Rams pick? Yeah.

And the group. Yeah. And now, fast forward, we get there, and we're on the desk. We're meeting Kara Wagland, myself and Davis Sanchez, and we're talking about something else. And behind the TV screen is a, excuse me, the camera is a few screens. And one of them has the game on.

And I'm watching Matthew Stafford, boom, boom, boom, boom, right down the field. I'm like, seen this before. We're good. And I'm counting down. I'm like, okay, even if they get stopped, anything but a turnover, I'm good. Like turnover for a touchdown. Yeah. So I'm like, covers there, we're even, we're feeling good.

Yeah. We're live on television, and I'm watching, like, I think Dave's is talking, and I'm watching behind the camera and it's like, okay. And then I see it blocked. And at first I'm like, no big deal. Because we still cover. Right, exactly. Jump on it. And then I see Jordan Davis pick it up, and I think to myself, one, someone's going to tackle him, or two, you know, kind of.

Kind of one of those rules when the game's over, you just never want to risk it. He's going to slide. The game's over. There's no time. Get down. Zero's on the clock. And then all of a sudden I see him running and running, and there's just no Rams on the screen. He was gumping it, too.

He was flying. In my head almost exploded. I'm on live TV, and I'm like, I want to drop some profanity right now. Don't worry, do it again. I was so enraged. I'm like, there is no. way that I stuck my neck out there to take the Rams on the road

and they should have won the game let alone covered and Jordan Davis just returned a blocked field goal to beat the cover beat the spread I was blocked like dude it's the craziest finish I've ever seen and that was the theme of the day

blocking field goal kick the Packers game was over just and it gets blocked and then Flacco to his credit goes down the field, and there was another game. Was it the Cardinals Niners game? I can't remember. No, it was the Bucks game. Now the Bucks are still winning, but the Bucs had the wild one, where

the Jets came back and Baker had to lead a drive there. Crazy. What was it about yesterday where all of a sudden no one can get a field goal in the air? It was funny because we went over on Jay a little bit. Everyone was a little more individual. So Cardi for the Rams, he simply was hitting those balls too low.

Like, especially the first one he missed, not even the game winner. If you look the protection from the sideline view, it is almost perfect. You know, and I think the first one was 36, the last one was, I think, mid-40s, you've got to kick the ball high. Like how we were always told is, okay, outside, if we do all our splits right, somebody from the edge should be beat with operation, meaning snap, hold, kick timing, we should be able to beat the outside edge rusher by the time of our operation time.

Right. how these guys are taught to kick these days is to really pop the ball up so that if you don't allow penetration, even guys' hands up it's too high. Like the first one, the second one had more penetration. But I'm like, you just missed the kick, bro.

Like you drilled it. And again, it's different if it's a 65 yarder and you really got to push the ball. I couldn't get over that. Cardi does it not once but twice. Now the Packers won not on the kicker. If you watch that thing, they got beat, the side got concave they got beat up front like it's just bad protection um what you know

yeah what was your what was your biggest shock yesterday in the game was it in all the games was it green bay losing was it the cowboys losing like what was you know your your the rams not covering notwithstanding yeah yeah outside of that um there was a few noodles i think one you mentioned the cowboys like generally speaking when you're when you're when you have a group that is that bad, meaning their defense, because the Cowboys' offense is good. The Cowboys' offense and now stand by that. But you generally see improvements from week to week.

You know, hey, this isn't working. Let's kind of shrink the playbook. Let's get back to fundamentals. It's really preach fundamentals. You know, maybe we'll add some new wrinkles in, try different guys. And even like the idea that, hey, nothing we've done is work. So if we kind of like, not create a new defensive scheme,

but throw more wrinkles in it generally or at least catch people off guard so you get a couple stops the Cowboys defense has been an utter abomination for three straight weeks so that was a bit shocking that there was just no improvement and made Caleb Williams look like John Elway at times and he's been real tough

I think the most shocking thing though if I want to be honest was Ben Johnson's post game speech I think I heard that in like my fifth grade class you know, that was like a logo. I don't know if Doogie can pull up the good, better, best. I'm like, this was one of the most unbelievable things I've ever heard. I don't really, it's hard for me to wrap my head around. Like in a bad way or a good way?

Terrible way. Maybe the worst way of all time. All right, good. That's what I figured. Yeah. Just confirming that. I was shocked. I'm like, yeah, this was stuff we said in elementary school.

But, and then, you know, back to going on the field, it's tough for me to get over that. Green Bay, I'm not surprised by it. Listen, Cleveland's defense is good. Exactly. And here's what I was worried about. You're talking about a trap game, though, Brian, right? You thought that was a trap.

Again, easy for me to say now. I'm telling you, I was talking to a lot of Packer fans over the weekend. I thought they'd win, but I said, be careful. Because they're still, I think the youngest team in the league, if not the youngest close to it. They've had two home games. They're running on a high. Cleveland, you know, their defense is really good. It's a tough place to play in.

And they're reading their press clippings, and they're talking going 17 and O, and they're getting cocky. I think this is a good thing. I think Matt Lefleur secretly loves that this happened. And it's an AFC opponent, so tiebreaker-wise, not a huge implication. And you've got to win next week, then a buy. Totally. So they've got to win next week, clearly, and you're three-and-one into the buy, and you'll be okay. The only thing that's tough, Hayes, is, and I mean, everyone lives and you've got to get over it.

But when you play a defense like that, you know, you play a Miles Garrett. It's such a slog all game. and you do enough to, like, put your fuel goal unit in position to win you a ball game. It just is a- It's like- crushing. It is crushing. It is crushing. They should have had that. They still should have won in the end. Yes, they have no business losing that game.

No, but they did. And, like, you look at some surprises in the NFL. I look at the Niners who found a way to win yesterday, Mack Jones, escaping for his life in the end zone, which was incredible. But they're 3-0, which I didn't see coming. I know Niner fans are waiting a pounce because I had a bunch of them yelling at me in the summer when I didn't think they would be that competitive this year.

But now Nick Bose is done for the year. He's torn his ACL. He's done for the year. You know, they've survived without party. And Jones has been fine. Yesterday was a weird, low-scoring game. But I don't know, man. I don't know how it's going to work for the Niners.

Like, you're 3-0, but how do you feel today? And this is what's tough. You know, if I had to give an MVP out to the Niners right now, would go to defensive coordinator Robert Salah. But losing Nick Bosa is crushing. You know, and it's funny because it's weird how these narratives get created where because they have such a good staff, you know, they've got Kyle Shanahan, obviously, an offensive guru, Kubiak,

and I get them all confused, but I believe Clay is the O.C. there, not Clint. Clint is in Seattle. Okay. You know the third brother's name is Klein. I played with him in calling. Of course it is. Yeah, it's true story. Why wouldn't it be confusing for everybody?

Shout out the rights house. You know, but I think that's pretty, obviously, the dad, Kubiak, the Mike Shanahan offense, you know, good football lineage there. And Robert Sala is cream of the crop when comes to de-coronators. So for some reason, it's like, oh, you know, Nick Bose is out, but the Niners, like, the narratives, the Niners still might be good. Like, could you imagine, you know, if we were, you know, last year when Aiden Hutchinson got heard from the lions, it was like the sky is falling. Right, and eventually it did. Correct. So I really do think the Niners are in trouble.

Not trouble in the sense are going to be awful, but I did have them as like an outside kind of looking in team to be a Super Bowl contender. Not in my, let's call it top four, top five, but I thought they'd be in the conversation of the next group. And right now it's like Kittles gone for a while. We don't know when Purdy's coming back. Iyuk is the big question mark when he's going to come back. Jennings has been out.

I mean, these are their best guys. Nick Bose is now done for the year. This is a very, very tough, you know, situation for the Niners. Tough division, too. All the other teams are two and one. Totally. What about the, I mean, are the Chargers for real? They're for real.

Noodles, they're for real. Like, the Chargers, four years ago, don't win that game yesterday. And the biggest thing for me right now has been Greg Roman, you know, and I've played in his offense, is one of those guys that he's always had this very electric run game. It's been complex. There's been like come up to the line of scrimmage and we can flip the run over or we can just say can and we got to go to the second run and you've got to know it's like the full back tight end, okay, we got to all adjust like it's not really

a motion thing. It's more of a shift and it's worked. It's worked well, but I've never seen him have a offense that throws the ball as well. You know, that's kind of why they got rid of them, not part of a way since they got rid of him. Part of ways in Baltimore was because, hey, Lamar wanted to take that next step as a passer. You know, same thing. Roman was calling Kaepernick's guy, and Kaepernick could obviously sling it, but you never really thought of him as like, hey, this guy's a pure pocket guy, where right now Herbert is absolutely humming. I mean, throwing the ball all over the place, making a ton of plays.

The defense looks very, very good, making a lot of plays of key moments. They're winning ball games. Harbaugh's got this team bought in, it seems like, I, uh, I can't say enough. And like Denver, it's tough. They're one and two now, and they've lost two games on last second field goals. And the one of them, the guy missed, and they had that leveraging penalty. Right. Last week, Danny Times, man.

Danny three and O. Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones, three and O, man. The guy's Peyton Manning when he puts on that year. No question. That's incredible. Yeah. But you're right. Chargers three divisional games, too, right?

Three and O against the division, which is mighty impressive to start a year like that. Well, you mentioned the Lions a moment ago, and it segues into the Monday Nighter tonight. Ravens Lions, one of these two teams facing one and two, which is pretty crazy. Hazenbro and O'Clock will get to my pick in a moment, and it is locked in. I've spoken to my friend from the West Coast. He's still in Vancouver, I think. Enjoying his life, eh? Yeah, he's having a great time.

But where do you see this one going tonight, Ravens Lions? To be honest, and I'm really glad that I'm not calling. this game. Tough game. Big spread, four and a half. It's a tough game, and both teams kind of had, you know, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in their first two weeks. You look at Detroit and

got absolutely smacked. I was embarrassed by Green Bay. Now, again, I was on here in Lambo. Mike's first day, Green Bay is a legitimate team. You know, they kind of got behind. I get it, and then they come back and they smoke the Bears. Although the Bears did win yesterday,

I think the Bears are pathetic. You know, and Dallas is worse. Totally. It's hard to put stock in that game, but in the same breath. Like, I'm not saying the Lions are a bad football team because of week one. So there's a lot of questions, I think, that still need to be answered there. And you look at Baltimore, it's kind of similar where week one, you know, obviously offensively, they looked like a juggernaut, which is kind of what we all expected.

Week two, like Henry did not go off. Obviously, they got a win. but that was also because they got a lot of turnovers against Joe Flacco and the question mark now becomes is Baltimore's defense in the same spot they were at the beginning of last year. I don't know if you remember last season.

The second half of the season, Baltimore's defense was electric, unbelievable. The first half, they were awful. And they were awful against Josh Allen. And again, this is what I'm saying tonight's going to answer a lot of questions. MVP, Josh Allen, guy was playing out of his mind. And then they were really good against Joe Flacko. go tough to put stock in that so that's why again i'm glad we don't have this pick

and i'm glad we won last night we should have been two and oh we should be one up right now war speed of all time sure but you'll probably choke this one a night we'll be we'll be well quickly before i get to my pick i do want to point out the dougy jam job on friday that line was charges minus two and a half and he pushed it the three forever and literally as i'm reading it i'm at bemo field i got a million things on a go and i'm like all right let's get to the 4 p.m. game, and he's in my ear going, it's up to 3, it's up to 3, which I don't believe it actually was. I think he pushed

it to 3 before the line actually moves. My man, my man, dude, he's trying to keep things close this year, and I appreciate that. He's a puppet master, and he wants you guys to stay in. Yeah, until he sends a text and noodles, you were on that one. He sends a text sister to after the push, hey, Haysenborough up 3. I said, no, they're not. Which is

more proof that the guy was being fraudulent, because he forgot that he had jammed himself up with the fake push. So, I was still, like, seething after that end of the Rams game. And I'm like, do not give these guys a bonus point, do you. It was a push. It was a push. Chargers by three. It's all good. But we're going to take the Ravens tonight.

Now, we're laying the four and a half. A game like this, it starts with who do I think is going to win a game? I think Baltimore is going to win a game. I think Baltimore wins. They're at home. I don't love Jared Gough on the road. I think this is where the coordinators really show up. Like you said, at Lambo, they had all summer to prepare for that. They didn't look great. golf is splits ford field and on the road very different under the lights tonight i just i feel like

this is a lamar jackson special tonight i think i think he cooks tonight i think he goes off i think the ravens again showed up pretty well defensively last week everything he said is accurate it's joe flacco but i think them at home it's pretty significant going to josh allen like on the road josh allen week one that's as tough as it gets man the way alan's playing so uh you know i i i see I see Ravens win this by a touchdown. I could see Jared Gawthor on a late pick to end it. That's my prediction. That's our prediction.

Hazenbro locking it in Ravens minus four and a half. Pick is locked. I'll be honest. I don't think the lines are that bad. Four and a half points worse than Baltimore? I think they're a good team. I think the lines are not saying they're going to win, but I'd be surprised if this is more than a field goal game.

Okay. Well, there you go. And all of a sudden we're even, Stephen. All right. We'll see what comes of it tonight. All right, the CFL rule changes. I saw you tweeting about it, and you've been talking about it. So they announced it today.

Stuart Johnston will join us later this hour. And they're going to move the goalpost back eventually. They're going to shrink the end zone. They're going to shrink the field. It's no longer 110 yards. It's going to be 100. Same width. You're going to move the benches, right?

They're going to modify the rouge. Yes. What do you make of these rules and how much of an impact do you think it's going to have on, you know, the fans? ultimately, because that's the only reason you make a move like this. The only thing I was a bit confused about was taking out the 55. I think all the rest of them are just almost no-brainers. I think it's a great play. What's tough is you've got to understand the whole context of everything.

You look at the end zones, and it's like, oh, well, we have 15-yard end zones. Okay, well, right now we don't even have standard. There's nine teams, and two of the teams don't have regular-sized end zones. like you can't if you want to like button this league up and you want to grow this as a professional football league you can't stroll in with nine teams and one of them which we were at the game has 18 yard end zones instead of 20 yards and if you go play at McGill it's not a full square it's the actual like the corners are clipped because of the size so I love the idea that it's 15 yards and I love personally for me that it's going to be standardized across the league Again, could you guys imagine going to a hockey game and all of a sudden like, hey, if we play in Boston this week, the net is bigger or the net's not as small?

Well, it used to be, Luke, like before the cookie cutter rinks, you go to Boston, that rink was not 200 by 80. Correct. It was 185 by, you know, 75 type of, like some of these rinks in different cities were smaller or more unique. It had different glass, all of that type of stuff. but nowadays everything is standard cookie cutter because you expect to play on on the same field same ice same you name it in any city but that wasn't the case years ago now it is it's the standard case and noodles I'm glad you brought that up because like and I get that it's unique and it's fun like hey you know 35 40 years ago you know you'd go

to a rank and that you know it's a little different but in today's day and age you can't have those things like if you want gambling to become a thing which I I know I'm, you know, not the biggest gambler on planet Earth, but I know it's a big revenue generator for the league, for bringing fans into the league. Like, we've got to be honest. And I don't work at FanDuel, but I can imagine that whoever's making the CFO odds

probably doesn't love that the end zones are two yards smaller at BMO. You know, how do we do the analytics on that? Like, you know, there's a million things where you have to standardize things. It's just the reality of the situation. And so I love the end zone thing. The goalposts, I think, is phenomenal. Again, it's one of those ordeals where, hey, we don't really need to be shaping skinny post balls around goalposts of your quarterback. It's always looked awkward.

It never, I get it uniquely Canadian, but unnecessary. And you said something there, Hayes, and there's a big thing online now. It's a war on Twitter, but like Canadian, uniquely Canadian. I thought it did a phenomenal job. Let me just go over some Canadian things real quick. First off, you have 12 guys in the field. Secondly, you have 15-yard end zones. Third, you have 64 width field.

Fourth, everyone can be in motion. Fifth, there's three downs. Six, the entire special teams with regards to ball is live right away on kickoffs. There's no fair catches on punts. All of that, Canadian. Oh, by the way, 21 guys per roster, to be Canadian. Their definition is not exactly Canadian citizen, but most of them are. You know, there's the odd one where it's like, hey, I played college in Canada, et cetera.

Right. Almost every aspect of this league is Canadian. Almost every single thing. And I think it's great. It's the Canadian Football League. It should have those things. But if we make a tweak, okay, to the end zone and still, it's, I don't know another league that's 15-yard end zones. Maybe I'm not a big, I don't know how many other football leagues, so maybe Europe had it. I don't know. 15-yard end zone. You know what that is? It's still uniquely Canadian. That's not an NFL end zone. So it's weird because everyone's like, oh, you know, we're trending towards four downs. No, we're not. There's like a million things in this league that make it uniquely Canadian. Just because it's different and they're trying to bring new

fans in does not make it bad or anti-Canadian. Okay. Something that's you. I'm brought to you by Boston Pizza Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree, a side, and a drink, and you 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 of your local Boston pizza. We've been asking

that. You know, if you're going to make changes, if you really want to make a ripple effect here, should the CFL go to four downs? No, never. Click that, doogie. No, never? No. Listen, hey, you know, as far as this is a personal opinion, like, I

like to try and split these things I say with the CFL and like what's based in film like I'll say this is factual I watch a lot I buzz a lot of CFL film versus like this is an opinion right now you saw BMO there's not a lot of fans of the CFL

especially in Ontario obviously Winnipeg, Saskatchewan are a bit of an outlier Hamilton is very hit or miss you know much better as far as quantity goes of fans in Toronto, but if you pull the three down

card and make this like a feeder league, personally again, an opinion, I don't really think that that drives many more people to see it. There are a lot of NFL snobs out there, which I like, you know, I'm an NFL guy, but I don't think they're going to be like, oh, now I'm going to watch the CFL because it's American

football rules. That's not, I don't think that happens. So again, I think you keep as many Canadian aspects of the game as you can, but also bring in like, hey, this just looks better. It's more professional. It's better for the guys. I mean, look at, think about the, you guys are going to laugh

at this, but I was joking, like, the sideline thing. So for us, like if you're on offense and you're, you know, sitting there and you're waiting for personnel, let's say you're the extra alignment. It's when they go jumbo. We're 310 pounds. So what you do is like, hey, on the sideline,

the coach would be like, hey, alert jumbo, you know, we're getting into the red zone or like short yardage. It's jumbo personnel. Yeah. You follow the personnel coach in the sideline, whoever's calling that in. Generally, if the offensive coordinator is there, you're hovering around him. Imagine, like, oh, the ball's in the seven, you're 310 pounds, and you've got to be on your own 45 because there's two teams in the sideline.

The coach calls Jumbo, and you've got to do a nice 65-yard hustle in there. Oh, by the way, we want to talk about gameplay. The play clock and the game clock are not mirrored. so the play, excuse me, the game clock is running, but we're now waiting for the extra 6-0 linemen to come in so that we can start the play clock. Like, it's ridiculous. It's ridiculous, and they're little things.

You get them out of the way. It's going to be a smoother game. Guys are now sitting on the 35, right by the coach, subs go in, clock's moving, games going. This is great. Like, that small change for the fluidity of the game is great. And it's just the pushback on some of the, I feel for students.

It's ridiculous. The NFL fans are sense. sensitive man they are they always feel like and yet it's because what you said you know like the reason they're making these changes is try to get new fans i don't know if these are going to get you new fans so this is where i i don't know if they will this is where i you said what you said about the four downs and i agree with that i agree but that would lead to the biggest ripple of like biggest response like that's because i said earlier what makes the cfl the cfl is three downs yes like first and foremost you mentioned a lot of other important things motion 12 guys you

But it's really three downs, like the fundamentals of football. You have one less down per possession. It's very significant in terms of the way the game is played. But, you know, I don't know. I worry Hayes that, like, yeah, there'll be an effect on this. But I think we've briefly talked about this, there's a operations cap in the CFL. And I don't have time to go down that rabbit hole,

but how it was implemented. But basically, there's a certain salary slash number of coaches and operational people that are allowed team by team. And it's way too low. So it's one of those things where, like, as far as the on-field product goes, until we get to the point where, like, we have sufficient coaches and film guys

and strength coaches and nutritionists and all of the above, it's going to be very tough for me to think that, like, there's going to be a drastic improvement. Right. Now, those things do matter in the staying age. Like, I talked to a gentleman the other day, played eight years in the CFL recently retired and was like I didn't have a positional coach

at any time in my career in CFL like an end like for me I was the only guy we were the only organization group that didn't have two positional guys in Seattle generally you have like your wide receivers coach and your wide receivers coach assistant you know your tight end coach we only had one but generally have like a assistant or a tight end's quality control guy two guys in the court these isn't like the coordinator floats you know the offense corner floats we're like the chicken of the egg though right like the owners will say we don't have the money and that's exactly what ends up happening so if this leads to money which now we can bump the cap you know the operations cap i'm talking about like it's good it's good things all right well

we'll ask the commissioner in 15 minutes on this raven's pick locked in good luck tonight partsy can't wait can't wait all right there he is luke wilson overdrive continues tsn 1050 and on tsn Something to Chew on 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 bet's powered by Fandu looking at the Monday night or tonight. Ravens laying the points minus four and a half and Lamar Jackson any time touchdown tonight.

I think Lamar goes off. I do too. I think he's going to torch this. I think he's going to have a great night, man. And I love Lamar under the lights at home. You can't beat it. You can't beat it. So laying the points with the Ravens, Lamar anytime touchdown, paying plus 310.

Best bets powered by Fanduals. Same game parlay as this NFL season now include passing touchdowns and receptions on the Fanduals Sportsbook app. Please play responsibly 19 plus physically located in Ontario. Easton Cowan, what's your best bet after one game on the likelihood of him making the Leafs opening night? I still think he's got a pretty good chance of making it He didn't stand out for me yesterday No, I mean either

But the one thing, Brian He looked fine The one thing that I believe the Maple Leafs are looking for him Is his play away from the puck We all know he's good with the puck But keep in mind on the National Hockey League If you look at even analytics Like the top players, you know, McDavid's of the world in that

they handle the puck like a minute and 10 seconds in a game and those are the best players so you've got to learn to play away from the puck but he wasn't noticeable he's not a physical guy you know as long as they see something that he can handle himself you know in his defensive zone maybe win a loose puck battle here and there then he'll get an opportunity to push up in the lineup but that being said i talked about it before brian like if tree has a problem where he's got you guys that showed up NHL players that look good yarn croak look good

you know Nick Robertson is pushing for a spot then they've got Cowan that doesn't need waivers so they can say you know what let's let's put you in the HL for a weekend but I think they're going to give him every opportunity to make this team but they just might not place

him in a situation going hey you're riding shotgun with Matthew so you can get some point I don't think that would be smart I don't think it sounds like Domey's going to get that opportunity we'll see maybe michelli who knows but you know you mentioned puck battles and he won a puck battle on that goal and he got involved there he is

with Perron and a little extra right yeah I mean and that's what he's going to have to do like if you're playing down the lineup you're going to have to exactly what you said win battles be noticeable you're going to have to be gritty you're going to have to be willing to get in that doesn't mean fight but agitate a little bit he's not the biggest guy you know and you have to compete

you have to find different roles when you get into the league and that's the thing like It's rare that a guy steps into the league, and it's like, hey, you're our first line left winger. Again, he's had success at the junior level. The junior level to the NHL level, it's light years. It's the butch-goring. It's light years because you've got to learn the game at the NHL level. He's got nothing but time.

He's a top prospect. He's got tremendous skill. I don't think the lights are too bright for him, but I do believe he'll put a lot of pressure on himself. What I'd like this approach is for them to go relax and play. You'll find your game at the NHL level, but it's all going to be timing. We've got to sort out other players first before you get that. It's tough on a team like this, too. It's a veteran team that expects to win.

Yeah. Right. Like if you're coming up and you're in San Jose, you're playing. Exactly. They want you to play. And they're going to let you play. Exactly. But up here, the Leafs aren't going to do that.

You know, they're just not in a position to do that. The Oilers aren't. Vegas isn't. Florida is. There's seven, eight teams that you would have to start farther down in the lineup. And conversely, there's five, six teams that he would be the top line. Step right in and push right in. We saw that with Will Smith and Celebrini in that in San Jose. We see that in Chicago.

He's not there. He's here. Yep. He's in Toronto, exactly. So it's one game, but we'll see what happens with Cowan. I'm curious to see what happens with Easton Cowan. as the preseason continues. And, you know, we've got to get into the Matthews clip, too, if we can't.

We're tight on it today. But we will at some point this week, him talking about Marner questions and a timeline on that. Yeah, didn't he say? I don't like that. Why don't we play it? Let's play it quickly. This is Austin. Austin, just, you know, letting people know the media scrums, you know, what the timeline is on the Marner questions.

you have a habit of pre-game staying out as late as possible you and Mitch always did have you thought about how that will change like are you going to ask someone to stay out with you or you can change things up this year I mean see what happens I guess yeah you got two more weeks and then we're done with these questions I like that man I like it I like it because you could tell they're all like done Mitch is gone he's not here anymore he chose to leave. Yeah. They love Mitch and, you know, they've said that.

They've all said the nicest things you could ever say about a former teammate. They have not been disrespectful, but asking who the pregame routine's going to be with, like, come on. Are you going to ask someone to stick out? Like, I love that. Will you ask somebody to stay out with you and represent Mitch? Maybe they can wear 16 in the warm-ups. You got two weeks.

Jonas probably asking that. All right. Stuart Johnston coming up. Commissioner of the Canadian Football League. Pretty big day in terms of the CFL's history with rule changes forthcoming. We'll catch up with Stu. We'll do that next. All right, overdrive continues, powered by Fanduel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score.

Big day for the CFL, rule changes coming. And they announced it last night, major changes coming. Yes. It had to be major, right? You can't issue a press release like that and then make it minor. And I would suggest these are pretty major changes. They are, and I wasn't sure where he was going with this because you're thinking, okay, are they going to go to four downs?

What are they going to do? Because the word major really gets you thinking. Now, I am a little, I mean, I'm going to have to ask Stu about this because we were there Friday. Right. And I was expecting him to come by and handshake and everything. Do you want to get into that ask? Exactly. Did we get big-timed on Friday?

Is that what you're suggesting? Or maybe he was hunkered down in a boardroom with these rule changes. That's probably what it is. Here he is, the Commissioner of the Canadian Football League, Stu Johnston. Go ahead, Stu. Where were you Friday night? We were down at Bimo Field. Look at this, putting you right on the hot seat.

First question, ridiculous, Jamie. You know I would never big-time you. There was only one thing that could tear me away from being there, overdrive on the field, you saving Commonwealth Stadium. only one thing could have kept me from that, and it was a wonderful reason. I was in Hamilton attending the Canadian Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies with the most worthy recipients, amazing array of incredible players and builders, giving heartfelt speeches that maybe went a little long and prevented me from a hard drive up the QEW to,

I was hoping to get to the game for the fourth border, but just ran out of time. Well, that's understandable. I guess a Hall of Fame makes sense over us clowns being down at BMO. It sounded like it was a great night. I know the nail gun was down there. Dave Nailor sent us a note last week, said he couldn't be here. Yeah, it was great to see it as well in terms of what was going on in Hamilton on the Saturday night. It was a great weekend in Canadian Football League.

And then, you know, the big and I guess the press release last night that you were going to have a press conference today with, you know, major news announcements, and I would suggest they are, these rule changes that will be put in place in 26 and then in 27. I think one thing that popped in my mind that I wanted to ask you, which I will hear, Stu, is like why now? This feels like it could have been a great Cup week announcement, maybe into the off season. Why did it feel necessary to release this news and make these rule changes today?

Well, you know, Brian, we've been working for months on these. doing a ton of background work, a core team that was all sworn oath to secrecy as we looked at the stats, the data analytics, the football operations, and got to the point where, A, we presented a package to the board who approved it unanimously a couple of weeks ago, and B thought, you know what, why wait? Look, you know, I think it's hard to deny we that we've created some attention. We've created a whole lot of discussion. And I love that. So we wanted to, A, just seize the moment. We're here. We've done the work.

Why sit on it? And then secondly, you know, when you're talking about pretty major infrastructure changes to the field, giving a year and a half notice that this is what we're looking at. This is what we're working on with turf and post footings. and paint on fields and so forth, getting all our teams available to just work through the infrastructure. I want to give them as much time as possible. And then kind of lastly, you know, if you think about amateur football,

use for all of the umbrellas of amateur football underneath football Canada, let's give them a year and a half to think about it. There's, you know, nothing says that they will adopt these same changes. However, if they are inclined to align with this vision, And I think a year and a half is a good amount of time to try and work through that. And then, guys, you know me. I try and work with pace and urgency. And this isn't going to be the last announcement we make.

It is the last announcement for now that we're making on rule changes. But we're pushing forward. We want to take this league and move it to another level. And I'm incredibly confident that we can do that. So, Stu, you've got a real passionate, fan base and you just talked about it as you can imagine i mean it's it's landed and there are some people that maybe are early on uh critics of it what do you say to them is it something that you're just trying to build the league build the league out and and grow the fan base but

there's some traditionalists that uh are voicing their opinions and where you're out with that well jamie i think it depends on what the critique is but if it's in general hey we don't like change, but I get it. Change is hard. Nobody really likes change except for maybe wet babies, right? It's a very difficult thing to kind of change, especially things that have been around for a while. Having said that, what I would say is if anyone's critiquing that they're worried we're

transitioning to a more American-style game, I point to what really defines us as a Canadian football league and Canadian brand of football, I do think, three downs, 12 players, a 65-yard-wide field, big end zone, motion, you know, yard off the ball, five yards on catches, all of that. Like, that's all in play. What we're trying to do here is create a plane surface, or as I said in the press conference, a canvas that really is going to allow the Canadian game to flourish even more.

So if there's doubts that this is, you know, that's the intention. I can just say with all sincerity. That's what we think we're going to have more touchdown scored. We're going to have a safer field. We're going to have a better presentation for our broadcaster and our fans. We're going to take some idiosyncrasies out that I think don't make sense. All of that, that's what this was. With Stuart Johnston, Commissioner of the Canadian Football League,

one of the critics would be Nathan Rourke. I'm sure you're aware of his comments from earlier today. He might be your MOP this year. He's a Canadian from Oakville. and to my knowledge, it sounds like what he's really disturbed with was that the players weren't consulted. Is that accurate? And how do you respond to Nathan?

Well, first off, Nathan is a superstar in our league, and I think he's having a historic season. And I will tell you, on a personal level, I was such a fan of his first time around in BC. and then when he tried his hand in the NFL, I was cheering so hard for him. I felt like if he could just get his opportunity, he would show the world just what an amazing player he is.

And then, of course, selfishly, I'm thrilled he's back in Canada and having a season like he is, which is awesome. So look, Nathan, of course, is an important, important voice in the league. and I know he's busy preparing for actual games. So when the time is right, I would love to connect with Nathan and walk him through kind of the reasoning behind what we're doing

and also kind of the really core group of a lot of football experts that were involved in looking at this. And so I'm confident, I'm incredibly confident that these are the right moves for the league. But, of course, I respect anyone's opinion, whether it's Nathan Work or a passionate season ticket holder. I want to listen to what they have to say and hopefully be able to explain, you know, the reasoning and the process that we went through. Well, and I think what you said is, you know, very important and accurate. Like the quintessential Canadian elements of the game are still here with three downs, most importantly.

I think that's what I've always, you know, that's how I would distinguish the difference between Canadian and American football is three downs. but like you mentioned, 12 guys on the field, motion, you know, a wide field. And, you know, let's be, I don't think any of us need to be naive here, still. This is about finding new fans, you know, the steadfast fans, they're going to be here. They may be aggravated in some ways, but they love the Canadian Football League, they continue to commit. How much do you think this is going to, how many new fans do you think could arrive due to these new rules? and if it's not as many as you hope,

how much further are you willing to go to find new fans? Well, I think that first off, I'd say that these changes are going to be very effective in bringing the entertainment value of our game to an even higher level for both existing fans and new fans. I think any football fan is going to say, hey, I don't have a giant metal obstruction in the middle of my view of the most important area of the field. I think that's going to go over well with everybody.

And I think that when we show highlights of amazing touchdowns or interceptions in the end zone that aren't blocked by that obstruction, I think that's going to go over well with everybody. But this is just one step. this is so Brian to answer your question this isn't done to narrowly you know narrow in on a specific objective of attracting new fans we think it will but really not the primary objective primary objective is clean our canvas up to allow these athletes to shine and we think this will do it we think it's going to create a really great brand of football and I think it's going to be exciting for new and old but this can only be step one this has to be part of a series of

of opportunities we need to explore to really win in the attention economy. You and Jamie have to do that every day. You have to win in the attention economy. Well, so do we as a lead. And that's kind of our thought process as we drive all aspects of our business forward. Well, it was a major announcement. That is for sure. And like you said, it's created quite the buzz throughout the Canadian sports scene.

and we wish you nothing but success like we always do. Congrats on this. And I'm sure we'll catch up well before the Great Cup. Thank you for this. I'll look forward to it. Thanks, guys. There's Stuart Johnston, the commissioner of the Canadian Football League. Yeah, big changes.

I think what he said there at the end is, like, it's cleaning up stuff. Like, it's entertainment, it's modern, you know. It matters where camera angles are, where fans are, what people see, how it looks. You know, and a lot of this is cosmetic, like moving the benches. moving the goalpost, you know, it's cosmetic in nature. It's not changing the fundamentals of the sport. No, it's progressive, though. It's progressive, yeah, and I think it's necessary.

You know, like we had that child who keep Peli last week, you know, about the bills and the Argos, and he said, hey, listen, we can't just go decade after decade just saying this is just going to work. Right. You know, it's going to be the same product, and this is it because we're Canadians and it's Canadian football and so be it. You know, these are, these are businessmen. These are guys who are trying to push it forward, you know,

and trying to find as many eyeballs as you can and as many ticket sellers as you can and ticket buyers and create buzz and will it all work? No. Some of it won't work. Right. But the beauty of it is it's your league or it's your team, it's your sport. You can change it. And they're trying.

That's the thing. They're trying. They're trying to be progressive. And like you say, not everything's going to land. but there will be some stuff that helps the league and we'll land and we'll bring in the fans so I like it yeah go for it all right thanks to stew thanks to luke thanks to kegan today thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out we appreciate it everyone for tuning in today tv radio podcast web and of course up on youtube live every show is up on youtube live on tSN's youtube channel

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