THE CORBETT REPORT, 2012 – 04, August 24, 2012, Winnipeg vs. BC

THE OPENING SONG

Blue Bomber Lineman – Sung to the tune of Wichita Lineman performed by Glen Campbell

 I am a lineman for the Bombers

And I play offensive line

Searchin’ the D for a weak side overload

I see in their eyes is fire

And I think they’ll blitz this time.

But the Blue Bomber linemen

is still on the line.

Next week will seem like a vacation.

Cause its labour day again

But this week its BC and we’ll be in tough to stand the strain.

But fear not Joey we’ll protect you

And we’ll get a win this time.

Cause the Blue Bomber Linemen

Are still on the line.

Introduction

That’s a good spot to start.  The often ignored, underappreciated but oh so necessary offensive line.  Only heard from when they screw up, the offensive line is probably the most underappreciated position to play in sport (next of course to the 5^th man on a curling team).  Let’s face it, the Bomber’s O Line has been heard from a little too much.  21 QB Sacks against???? The worst in the league by far, this group has shouldered the blame for everything from Buck’s injuries, interceptions, an anemic rushing attack and the lack of hot dogs in the concourse after ½ time.

I’m all for cutting the big guys some slack though.  It’s not their fault that the Bombers have thrown the occasional deer onto the field to face the oncoming (defensive) traffic.  Nor do they design the plays like those oh so exciting hand offs for a gain of three and another “WINNIPEG SECOND DOWN”!  And let’s face it, for the most part these guys have come through the CIS system, playing in front of, at best, a couple of thousand fans per weekend.  They’re not going to get rich playing football in the CFL, and by the time their careers are done, they’re bodies are pretty much shot.  You try spending 3 hours in full equipment doing deep knee bends carrying (on average) 307 lbs.

Not to mention that they toil in relative obscurity.   Oh sure, everyone knows the Doug Browns from the defensive side of the ball but a free beer to the first one to post a comment to the Corbett Report blog naming the 5 starting Bomber O-line men this week (without the aid of Google)!

So this week, take a few moments to look away from the ball and watch the work of the beleaguered offensive lineman.  Play in and play out they lay it on the line, or the field, all to protect the marquee players in the back field.  Cheers to them!  Now let’s hope we don’t hear their names this week.

Welcome to the Corbett Report.

Standings

Hmmmmmm……we play BC this week right?  Hmmmmmmmmmm

I’ll do the math for you.

Average points for:                BC 26 Bombers 23

Average points against: BC 18 Bombers 32

So if we take the average of the averages the score should be 29-21 for BC, and that may be the best the Bombers could hope for!

The Bombers

The four game Bomber home stand that succeeded the woeful four game road trip that started the season comes to an end this week in Winnipeg.  Glass half full?? The Bombers are 2 -1 at home.  Glass half empty?? They’re still 2 – 5 on the season.  There was sign for hope last week though.  In particular, for the first time since the days of leather helmets a Bomber QB passed for over 400 yards, and in so doing, Joey (the savior) Elliot completed 77% of his passes, threw a TD and NO interceptions.  What’s more, the Bombers did not turn the ball over once!  Not once!  Suddenly their takeaway ratio improved to a -2 on the season, up from -8.

Which segues nicely into the defense.  They forced 6 Hamilton turnovers last week including 4 Henry Burris fumbles.  Those are pretty heady numbers, but please, let’s keep the Swaggerville banners on the shelf for now.

You don’t have to scratch to deeply over last week’s results however to conclude that the Bombers may be a few air miles away from booking that ticket to the Grey Cup.  For instance, how do you win the turn over battle 6–1, the first down battle 27-11 and the total offense battle 505-439 and yet only win by 7 points!  A lack of finish, particularly in the first quarter where the Bombers have now scored a whopping 10 points (in total) for the season continues to plague the Bombers.

This upcoming game provides a litmus test for the Bombers.  Against the leagues #1 defense Joey will truly be put to the test.  Against the likes of Geroy Simon, Andrew Harris, Arland Bruce and reigning MOP Travis Lulay the Defense may need more than crowd noise for the 13^th man, they may need an ACTUAL 13^th man.  I don’t think the Bombers necessarily need to win this game to salvage the season, but it needs to be close for them to salvage their (and their fans’) belief in themselves.

 The Lions

YIKES!  Where does one start with this crew? Let’s throw out a few defensive stats:

•  22 total points against in the last 3 games
• Plus 8 in giveaway/takeaway ratio (1^st)
• Fewest first downs allowed
• Fewest yards given up (passing, rushing and combined)
• Fewest plays allowed from scrimmage
• Most QB Sacks (19 vs. 14 for Bombers)
• Second most interceptions

….need I go on? These guys are good!  If they show up a ½ hour late for the game they might still hold the Bombers to less than 20 points.

On offense, they have a wicked arsenal.  Lulay, Simon, Bruce, Taylor.  Interesting observation here though, the Lions are somewhat in the middle of the pack in most offensive categories.   Lulay’s 5^th in the league in passing, Geroy Simon has yet to catch a touchdown pass, and Andrew Harris is 5^th in the league in rushing.  In fact, through the first 30 minutes of football last week, the Riders held the Lions to a mere 7 points.   Could be a bright spot for the Blue?

They are however defending Grey Cup champions and at 5 – 2 look to be well on their way to a repeat appearance.

Keys to the game

For the Bombers to win

• Joey Who? Was last week a one-night stand or are we ready for a relationship?
• Score a TD in the first quarter (Bombers have scored 10 points in TOTAL in the 1^st quarters of the first 7 games)ßsad I barely had to change that from last week
• Hold onto the ball – Lions feast on turnovers
• A special team TD is a must
• Offense must score at least 2 TD’s
• Open the roof at the stadium so the Lions don’t think all of that noise is from within their home stadium

For the Lions to win

• Just show up (let’s hope they actually think that way)
• A TD by Geroy
• Get the ball to Andrew Taylor
• Feast on Elliot’s inexperience
• And as usual score early and take the crowd out of it

The Season Ahead

This week’s game does have the potential to turn the season around.  A loss however would not mean the end of the world.  The Lions, as noted, have been dominating everyone on defense.  Lose though, and a back-to-back sweep against the Riders in the Labour Day/Banjo Bowl series becomes a necessity.  With the Riders struggling and on a 4 game losing streak, this could be the year the Bombers finally win in Regina.  A feat they haven’t accomplished since 2004!

Get out your pumpkin carvers, cause it’s almost watermelon time!