THE CORBETT REPORT – September 27, 2013

THE OPENING SONG –  The Lions sleep tonight

At the stadium
The brand new stadium
The lions lose tonight
At the stadium
The noisy stadium
The lions lose tonight

On the sidelines
The Bomber sidelines
The Bombers get it right
On the sidelines
The Bomber sidelines
The Bombers get it right

Hush, Bomber fans
Don’t fear Bomber fans
The Bombers win tonight
Hush, Bomber fans
Don’t fear Bomber fans
The Bombers win tonight

 

Introduction

 So it’s impossible to look ahead to this week’s game without first making a comment about last week’s game.  With 30ish seconds to go in the 4^th quarter, after Edmonton had tied the game, the Bombers simply ran out the clock.  I really, really don’t get this.  With the score tied at 27, all the Bombers needed was a single point, or field goal to win.  It’s clearly a indication of the lack of confidence that the Bomber’s coaching staff have in Justin Goltz that they chose to put their faith in their defense in overtime.  It’s playing to lose, and guess what, the Bombers seem to have perfected that approach.  Either that, or it was simply a bad coaching decision.  Either way, it was a heartbreaker of a game that actually had the fans still cheering into the 4^th quarter, a rarity at IGF this year.

 But it’s time for the Bombers, their coaching staff and us diehard fans to pull our collective selves off the mat and move onto week 14.

 Welcome to week fourteen.  Welcome to the Corbett Report.

Standings

 

			WEST
Team	Wins	Losses	Pts	For	Against	Streak
Calgary	9	3	18	373	301	1 Loss
BC	8	4	16	325	302	2 Wins
Sask	8	4	16	376	282	3 Losses
Edmonton	3	9	6	294	328	2 Wins
			EAST
Team	Wins	Losses	Pts	For	Against	Streak
Toronto	8	4	16	354	315	3 Wins
Hamilton	6	6	12	316	329	1 Win
Montreal	4	8	8	285	349	3 Losses
Winnipeg	2	10	4	251	368	2 Losses

 

Fun fact: Bombers are just 4 points out of a playoff game and no sign of Calvillo returning to the line up for Montreal.  Of course there’s also no sign of Dieter Brock returning to the Bombers.

The Bombers

The buzz around IGF last week in the first half was “who stole the Bombers and replaced them with this highly tuned offensive powerhouse?”.  Unfortunately the 20-0  second quarter lead evaporated and by the time the overtime period arrived, the real  Bombers returned.  There was some hope though.  Max Hall seems to he able to move the ball, at least for a half, and the secondary looked stronger, at least for a half.  Now if they could only put together two halves.

Cory Watson and Chad Simpson are out this week for the Bombers so look for Aaron Kelly to have another solid game.  Also, it’s time to work Sims-Walker in the pass rotation.  With the Lion’s solid, experienced secondary, more than a couple of receivers need to get worked into the game plan.

The Lions

 

So Thomas DeMarco is getting the start for the Lions but you gotta wonder how tempted the Lions will be to switch the Buck Pierce.  In a rather surprising comment, Tim Burke actually admitted this week that they likely wouldn’t go on a blitzing binge if Buck found his way into the game.  It would certainly be interesting to see Buck in action in orange without defensive pressure.

The Lion’s have been a hot and cold team.  Last week’s victory over Saskatchewan seems to have seen the team turn the corner.  In that game though, they struggled mightily on offense before the last play heroics of DeMarco.

With Lulay out of the lineup, they’re vulnerable.

 

Keys to the game

For the Bombers to win:

• Score more points than the Lions
• Provide the Offense with wrist watches that indicate a game is 60 minutes
• Pressure DeMarco
• Win the turnover battle

For the Lions to win:

• Score more points than the Bombers
• Hold the Bombers to an occasional 2  & out
• Be ball hawks and shut down the Bombers passing game

The Prediction

The Corbett report is really struggling with the prediction record on Bomber games.  Almost as though there’s a blind faith in the team that ignores the facts on hand.  Not this week though:

Lions 35   Bombers 21

 

CHEERS!