The Corbett Report, July 14, 2016

Introduction

 Time to jump on the bandwagon right? A gritty gutsy win by the Bombers in week 3 and the exorcism of the ghost of Joe Mack is complete, right? Well, not so fast. As Mike O’Shea said a few weeks ago, things are never as bad or as good as they first appear. So let’s begin with a quick look in the mirror at last week’s game.

 The good

•  A win is a win is a win
• Bombers played 4 solid quarters
• Offense controlled the ball for 33 minutes
• Bombers sacked Hamilton 4 times and gave up only 2
• Defense played like a side possessed. Registering 2 interceptions, one for a TD

But wait . . . yes this is all well and good but let’s look at the bad.

 

The bad

• Hamilton gave up 6 turnovers. With a stat like there should have been no need to pace the living room in the final minutes
• Bombers were playing against Hamilton’s back up QB
• Without the now infamous “no look” catch by Ryan Smith the Bombers could well have lost the game
• With all of the opportunities handed the Bombers a 28 – 24 seems to ring a bit hollow

Still, it did give the faithful some cause for hope. So let’s fastforward to this week with the Mike Reilly-led Grey Cup Champion Edmonton Eskimos coming to town. Suffice to say, this week will be a weeeee bit more of a challenge than last for the Blue and Gold.

Welcome to week 4. Welcome to the Corbett Report.

 

Stars of week 3 set to collide

This week’s game features two of last week’s outstanding players. In Edmonton, Adarius Bowman had a spectacular game catching 6 passes for 141 yards and 3 touchdowns. In Hamilton, Maurice Leggett was a one man wrecking crew on defense, forcing 2 interceptions (one that went for a TD), registering 5 tackles and a QB sack.

The outcome of this week’s game may come down to which of these players can build on last week’s momentum.

The standings

 

				WEST
Team	Wins	Losses	Tie	Pts	For	Against	Streak
BC	2	1	0	4	62	46	1 Loss
Calgary	1	1	1	3	80	68	1 Tie
Edm.	1	1	0	2	76	81	1 Win
Winnipeg	1	2	0	2	64	82	1 Win
Sask	0	2	0	0	53	69	2 Losses
				EAST
Team	Wins	Losses	Tie	Pts	For	Against	Streak
Ottawa	2	0	1	5	99	76	1 Tie
Toronto	2	1	0	4	75	73	2 Wins
Montreal	1	1	0	2	35	42	1 Loss
Hamilton	1	2	0	2	69	76	1 Loss

 Mark my words, that stinkin’ tie is gonna come back to bite someone at season’s end. I think they should have a kick off between the kickers if the game’s still tied after overtime!

 The Bombers

The Bombers were a much-improved team in week 3 after two lackluster outings in weeks 1 and 2. There’s still lots to improve on though, particularly on offense. Drew Willy’s 32 out of 42 passing percentage was impressive, but his throwing average of only 8.7 yards is disappointing. The Bombers need to throw the ball deep occasionally in order to give the Eskimos defensive line a reason not to pin their ears back and go after Willy on every play. Andrew Harris is developing nicely into an all-purpose back with 63 yards rushing and 41 yards receiving last week.

The Eskimos

In spite of the loss of head coach Chris Jones, the Eskimos look to be a powerhouse again in the CFL west this year. Last week’s 39-36 overtime thriller showed why this team should be a favourite to repeat as Grey Cup champs. Last week Mike Reilly hit on 27 of 37 passes with 4 of them going for touchdowns. Combine this with a passing average of 14 yards per throw and it’s not hard to conclude the Edmonton gets the edge over the Bombers on the offensive side of the ball.

Keys to the game

So with all of that said, here are the keys to the game:

For the Bombers to win

• Hold onto the ball – ALWAYS, hold onto the ball
• Extend the offense. Don’t be so predicable
• Don’t let Reilly pick you apart (easier said than done)
• Defense to feed off of the crowd’s fever!
• Utilize Andrew Harris

For the Alouettes to win

• Get to the QB. Willy can be rattled if under pressure
• Silence the crowd with a 1^st quarter lead
• Challenge the Bombers secondary (Bowman)
• Defend against the deep ball
• Stifle the Bombers ground game

Ring of Honour

This week’s inductee into the Ring of Honour is Ken Ploen. Ploen was the Quarterback who led the Bombers to Grey Cup victories in 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962. In fact, I saw as many Grey Cup Victories by the time I was 4 as I’ve seen in the past 40 years, due in a large part to both the passing and running of Ken Ploen.

A well deserved recognition.

The predictions

So apparently I’m a bit off my game to start this year. 4 right 8 wrong (1-2 in Bomber games). Sheeesh, a monkey could do better! So here we go:

• Toronto over Ottawa (BMO field gives the edge to the home team)
• Hamilton over Montreal (Injuries hurting the Als)
• Sask over BC (Riders home opener)

And of course in our feature game:

The last time the Eskimos were in town they walked away with the Grey Cup. They’ve looked a bit more mortal at times this year but Bombers aren’t yet dragon tamers.

Eskimos 33    Winnipeg 22