Weekly Takes - Monday, November 15 Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, November 15 Edition

1. My three stars from the Maple Leafs’ lacklustre loss to the LA Kings on Monday…

1. John Tavares

2. Auston Matthews

3. Wayne Simmonds

This was as forgettable of a performance that you will have in a regular season. The Leafs were simply flat. No need to analyze this game any further.

2. My three stars from the Leafs’ honest road win over the Flyers on Wednesday…

1. Nick Ritchie

2. William Nylander

3. Jack Campbell

3. My three stars from the Leafs’ well-deserved win against the Flames on Friday…

1. Nylander

2. Campbell

3. Ondrej Kase

4. My three stars from the Leafs’ win over the Sabres on Saturday, which may very well be the ugliest win they will have all season…

1. Alexander Kerfoot

2. Tavares

3. Morgan Rielly

This game was Kerfoot at his best. When he is on, he is a much better passer than people give him credit for. The issue is, when he’s not on, he’s extremely pedestrian.

The Kerfoot we saw in this game has to be the Kerfoot we see more of moving forward. This was the exact Kerfoot that we saw in the playoffs this past spring.

5. After the first week of the college basketball schedule, here are my top four teams in the country…

1. Gonzaga

2. Illinois

3. Kansas

4. Purdue

Duke, Michigan, UCLA, and Villanova are going to be in the mix all year long.

6. It’s official: The Cleveland Browns need to move away from Baker Mayfield in the offseason.

The issue with that? The Browns are not going to be close to being a bottom feeder anytime soon, meaning they are going to need to trade some serious draft capital to land a quarterback.

Trading one, given their cap situation, is not a realistic option.

A huge swing-and-miss for the Browns, who simply could not afford to miss on Mayfield.

And they did.

7. Speaking of quarterbacks, the Steelers may have been saved from themselves in Sunday’s tie with the Lions, as there is no way the organization can hand Mason Rudolph the keys next season.

Most people did not need to watch Rudolph underwhelm against the Lions to say that, but now this take is cemented in stone for all.

Whether it’s Malik Wilis, Matt Corral, Kenny Pickett, or…. Aaron Rodgers, the Steelers need to find their next franchise quarterback immediately.

8. My week 11 NFL picks…

• Falcons (+5.5)

• Bears (+6)

• Titans (-10.5)

• Saints (+1.5)

• Dolphins (-2.5)

• Colts (+6.5)

• Browns (-10)

• Packers (-2.5)

• Panthers (-3)

• 49ers (-6)

• Raiders (-1)

• Cardinals (-2)

• Cowboys (+2.5)

• Chargers (-3.5)

• Bucs (-11.5)

I went 6-7 in week 10, with Monday Night Football still pending. On the season, I am now 76-67.

9. Full credit to Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment for turning around the Argos.

It would have been easy to stay with Jim Popp and Marc Trestman, given the history of the duo, but a full-blown house-cleaning was in order and that is exactly what they did, starting with the hiring of Pinball Clemons, who should easily win executive of the year.

Winning the number one seed in the East Division is only the beginning for this franchise, who had to completely overhaul their roster in the last two offseasons.

No matter what happens the rest of the way, they are one more great offseason away from being right there with Winnipeg as the very best team in the CFL.

10. My top four college football teams, after Oklahoma’s loss on Saturday…

1. Georgia (-)

2. Cincinnati (-)

3. Alabama (+1)

4. The Ohio State (New)

The top two seeds are locks, barring epic collapses to their season. I still think Alabama will have to beat Georgia, however, unless three of the Buckeyes, Sooners, Oregon, and MSU lose one more game.

One of the Buckeyes/MSU will be done after Saturday’s game.