THE CORBETT REPORT – July 19, 2013

The Corbett Report – Issue 2013-02 – July 19, 2013

Winnipeg vs. Toronto

THE OPENING SONG

OPENING SONG: Hey Ricky (Sung to the tune Mickey by Toni Basil)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFrmapGCuhs

Oh Ricky you’re so fine you’re so fine you blow my mind Hey Ricky! (repeat)

Hey Ricky

You’re playing here tonight

You’ve been away so long

You think you’re gonna win but I think you’ve got it wrong.

Our D is back this year, and tonight we play at home
Ricky.

You’ve beat us many times
But tonight you won’t.
Our defense gives you chills
Ricky please Ricky
Don’t
Tonight you’ll just stand still
And leave the field alone
Ricky.

Oh Ricky
What a pity you don’t understand.
Our defense takes the field and you end up on your can

Oh Ricky
You’re so pretty
Can’t you understand.
QB’s like you
Ricky
Ooh what you do
Ricky
Do
Ricky
Don’t break our heart
Ricky.

Hey
Ricky

Now – tonight the game is Blues
You’re really gonna know
And every time you move
Your age is really gonna show.
The sacks are gonna come – an Argo win NO!
Ricky.

So come on out and play, we’ll put you on your back
Anyway you try to do it

It’s just another sack
But please
Ricky
Please just leave here in a jam
Ricky.

Oh Ricky
What a pity you don’t understand

You’re gonna look so bad when the ball is in your hand
Oh Ricky
What a pity you don’t understand. . . .

Introduction

 

Okay, I admit it, that song is worthy of about 2 listens before it starts to grate on you.  But you see that’s the point.  The song is exactly like Ricky Ray.  He grates on you.  Not of course if he happens to play on your team.  Noooooooooo, then it’s all fun and games.  A short pass here, a short pass there, a hand off to a Chad or two and voila, you’re hoisting the Grey Cup while your former team is pleading for a mercy rule in an Edmonton monsoon (Week 3, BC 17 –Edmonton 3).

On first glance you might think Ray would be better suited to teaching math than tossing a quarter back.  Not particularly athletic, not particularly fast, and at the age of 33 you’d think his career would be receding faster than his hairline.  You’d think that at the age of 33 he’d have maybe lost a step or two.  After winning a third Grey Cup in 2012 that he’d be starting to lose a bit of interest in shuffling around in the back field while 300lb linemen try to take his head off.  I sort of thought that’s how this year would start.  I thought both he and his arch rival Calvillo up in Montreal would both start looking back and wondering why they hadn’t quit while on top.  After all, for Ray, up to 2012, he had only accomplished a few things:

• 3 Grey Cups
• 44,000 yards passing
• 230 touchdown tosses (compared to 141 interceptions)
• A QB Rating of 96.8
• And a completion rate of 67.1%

Not a bad set of numbers to go out on.  So what does he do in 2013?  Sit around reading the Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy???? Start eyeing up Matt Dunigan’s spot on the panel??? NOOOOO…. How about a 71.8% pass completion rate, 6 touchdowns, no interceptions, and a QB rating of 114.8.  How about player of the week in week 1. (In the same stretch, the Bomber starting QB has thrown for a 58.2% completion rate, 2 touchdowns, 4 interceptions and a QB rating of 71.7).

So suffice to say that Ricky Ray is here to play and like Toni Basil’s opening song, can still get on your nerves.

Welcome to week four in the CFL, welcome to the Corbett Report.

Standings

 

West

Team	Wins	Losses	Pts	For	Against	Streak
Sask	3	0	6	114	67	3 Wins
Calgary	2	1	4	87	82	1 Win
BC	2	1	4	73	63	2 Wins
Edmonton	1	2	2	51	76	1 Loss

 

East

Team	Wins	Losses	Pts	For	Against	Streak
Toronto	1	2	2	83	97	2 Losses
Hamilton	1	2	2	79	89	1 Win
Winnipeg	1	2	2	72	74	1 Loss
Montreal	1	2	2	63	74	2 Losses

Glass half full?  Half empty? Bombers are tied for first J Bombers are tied for last L!

Suffice to say that at least in the early going the East Division is coming up a bit short.  Saskatchewan looks like the class of the league but we all know that Saskatchewan and class don’t last long in the same sentence so don’t look for that to continue.

The Bombers

Fun fact.  The last time the Bombers lead the league in scoring was, get this, 2001.  Ottawa wasn’t in the league (for the 1^st time).  Jean Chretien was Prime Minister, George W. Bush was the President, space flight was a thing in the future, you couldn’t find anything on the internet ‘cause there was no Google, cell phones came in a bag and weighed 10 pounds, and Molson’s was still a Canadian company. (Go to jcorbettreport.wordpress.com and leave a comment if you know which of those things isn’t actually true; who knows, you might win a prize).  So it’s pretty safe to say that the Bombers have been a team defined by the strength of their defense.  Going back to the 80’s, with the likes of Tyrone Jones and Rod Hill, through the Doug Brown years, the Tom Canada period and as recently as O’Dell Willis and Jonathon Hefney it’s pretty safe to say that the Bombers Offense has always ridden on the coat tails of their D (with apologies to Milt Stegall and Khari Jones).  WELL, pretty safe to say that’s how things are panning out this year.

Coming into week 4, the Bombers are among the worst team on the offensive side of the ball in the league and could conceivably get worse.  Consider this, the following starting receivers are unavailable this week:

Terrence Edwards – injured

Clarence Denmark – benched (didn’t beat a single defender last week)

Kito Poblah – injured

Chris Matthews – injured

… and as of Wednesday,

Cory Watson – the Bombers leading receiver this year – injured when tackled by Dan West in practice

So who does that leave? How about Massey, Kennerd, Anderson, McGree, Etiennie, Carter Adams and Doug Pierce.  Recognize all of these future Hall of Famers?

In short, perhaps a warning should come with your ticket this week:  “This game includes the Winnipeg offense.  Viewer discretion is advised”.

So right here, right now, I’m calling Milt Stegall to come out of retirement.  And for good measure, how about Matt Dunigan, after all, that Dunigan to Stegall pass during the opening game pre-game show has been the best offensive play by the home side at IGF so far!

Even on defense the Bombers are a hurting bunch what with Bryan Turner and Terrell Parker on the injured list.  Getting 6 sacks against Ray is going to be a challenge.

The Argonauts

 

So sure, the Bombers are the defending Grey Cup champs.  I still don’t think however that they’re that good.  After all they finished last year with a mediocre 9-9 record which if it weren’t for the fact they’re in the same division as Winnipeg and Hamilton would barely have gotten them a play- off spot.  This year, they’ve looked rather ordinary as well, coming out of the gate with a 1 – 2 record.

The tipping point of course is Ricky Ray (sensing a theme?).  As he goes so go the Argos.

Keys to the game

The Bombers have 3 of the top 5 sack leaders in the league this year and have a whopping 18 on the season.  Consider that they played the usually unflappable Anthony Calvillo and the nimble Henry Burris and that’s a notable accomplishment.  The Bombers lead the league or are second in every defensive category.  So for keys to the game, may as well start there.  The keys are:

For a Bomber victory

• Pressure Ray – sack him early and often
• Get defense into the game early – it’ll bring in the fans and it’ll bring the noise
• Palardy needs to be better!  A 70 yard field goal attempt may be the best our offense can do
• Have our Chad play better than their Chad
• Hang onto the ball (Football 101)

For an Argo’s victory

• Score early and take the crowd out of the game
• Overcome the shock of playing in front of more than 500 fans
• Keep Ricky upright

So there you have it!

Corbett Report Prediction Record

So here’s the record so far!

Last week’s record: League 1 – 3, Bombers 0 – 1

Season record: League 4 – 8, Bombers 0 – 3

(Which is why you should not use this Blog as a betting tool!)

The Prediction

So I’m predicting a wildly entertaining offensive slugfest!  NOT!  I am however going to use reverse psychology and the fact that I’ve seldom been right this year.

Bombers’ D’s going to slip a bit this week due to injuries.  Bomber’s offense………..uhmmmmmmm…… maybe we should just decline the ball and keep the D on the field.

 

Argonauts 21 Bombers 6    

But as duly noted – I’ve been known to be wrong.

CHEERS!

Enjoy the game.

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