The Corbett Report, September 17, 2016

Introduction

What a difference a year makes! Last year after 11 games the Bombers were 4-7 this year they’ve flipped that around to 7-4 and have a solid hold on a play off position, either in the West or via the cross over.   This week of course, the talk isn’t just about the what the team did on the field (1 – 10 looks good on you Chris Jones), but also about the trade.  Here’s my take on it:

Drew Willy – gone

It’s probably safe to say that Drew didn’t become the marquis, franchise player the Bombers wanted him to become. With Matt Nichols clearly entrenched as the starting QB, Willy’s future here certainly was shaky, to say the least.  Hard to say what when wrong, whether it was the O-Line’s sketchy play or an inability to quickly release the ball or a shaken confidence, but whatever the reason it was clear that the Bombers needed to move on with Drew.  By going to Toronto it may well restart Drew’s career.  Let’s hope it’s just not this week.

TJ Heath – acquired

This is the best part of the weekend trades. TJ Heath is a first year halfback who picked off Zach Collaros twice on Sunday to earn a tie with Ian Leggett for the most interceptions in the league this year (5 each).  Our ball hawk secondary just got that much better.

Kevin Glenn – acquired

With Willy gone, the Bombers needed to prove they’re serious about being contenders this year by shoring up their back up QB position. Welcome back Kevin Glenn!  Recall 2007?  Glenn was here and he came one game short of leading the Bombers to a Grey Cup victory when he broke his arm in the East final.  Grey Cup’s in Toronto again this year………hmmmmmmm could it be?.

 

So there you have it, throw in a couple of draft picks and its clear to me that the Bombers got the best of these trades. Of course we’ll be in a better position to assess that in November.

 

Welcome week 13, welcome to the Corbett Report.

 

The standings

 

				WEST
Team	Wins	Losses	Tie	Pts	For	Against
Calgary	9	1	1	19	357	237
BC	8	3	0	16	318	273
Winnipeg	7	4	0	14	276	239
Edmonton	5	6	0	10	324	326
Sask	1	10	0	2	205	364
				EAST
Team	Wins	Losses	Tie	Pts	For	Against
Ottawa	5	4	1	11	262	255
Hamilton	5	6	0	10	333	302
Toronto	5	6	0	10	270	306
Montreal	3	8	0	6	232	275

 

So a quick glance at the standings shows the Bombers solidly in a playoff position in the west. Good of course, but how about that cross over possibility. The road to the Grey Cup may be easier for a western team to finish forth and then head east.  A Calgary vs. Winnipeg Grey Cup anyone?

 

The Bombers

The Bombers Banjo Bowl victory was certainly an emotional affair. A win is a win of course, but the Bombers should be a little worried about their continued lack of production on offense and their propensity to give up significant yardage.  Without the afore mentioned ball hawk defense coming to the rescue and recovering a Sask fumble on the 16 yard line with 2:04 to go in the game, I fear the outcome of the Banjo Bowl wouldn’t have been quite so enjoyable.

 

Still, you can’t argue with success and with 6 victories in a row, this team is becoming a confident bunch. This should be a winnable game for the Blue but after that, the schedule becomes challenging (Calgary, Edmonton, BC, BC).  We should know by thanksgiving if this team is a true contender.

The Argos

Just when you thought it was time to write off the Argos they come out and turn in a stellar performance, defeating the Ti-Cats 33 – 21. What’s more amazing is that they did it without their starting QB Ricky Ray.  In his place, Dan Lefevour was starting his first game in the CFL in over 700 days.  How’d he do? Well how about completing 75% of his passes for 329 yards!  In fact, after watching that game on Sunday I thought for sure that a Drew Willy trade would have fallen off the table.  After all, Ricky Ray is due back in about 4 weeks.

So the big question is, who’s the QB going to be for the Argos this week. I’m 90% sure it’ll be Lefevour.  To start anyone else would be a slap in the face to him.  The 10% chance that it’ll be Willy is really only there because they are playing Winnipeg.  

Keys to the game

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

For the Bombers to win

• Get Medlock back on track (missed 2 field goals last week)
• Overcome injuries (Andrew Harris and Ian Wild are doubtfull for Saturday)
• Ball hawk D to shut down the Argos receiving core
• Don’t be over confident, stick to the game plan

For the Argos to win

• Silence the crowd with a 1^st quarter lead
• Find the rhythm on offense you had in the second half last week
• Shut down Harris (if he plays)
• Tap into Willy’s knowledge of the Bombers offensive to rattle Nichols

Ring of Honour

This week’s Ring of Honour Inductee is Leo Lewis. His 12 year history with the Bombers included 4 Grey Cups (58/59/61/62) and he’s been described by former Bomber head coach Bud Grant as the best player he’d ever coached. He passed away in 2013 but will be represented by two of his sons at Sunday’s game.

The predictions

Heady times for Bomber fans these, what with 6 wins in a row. The streak will come to an end, but it won’t be this week.

Winnipeg 28  Argos 25

Elsewhere: 

Calgary remains the class of the league and cruised to victory over Ottawa           League                            

A surely Eskimo team goes into Regina and stomps all over the Riders

And Hamilton over Montreal