The Corbett Report, July 7, 2017

Introduction

Greetings! Welcome back to another season of the Corbett Report. Sorry for the repeat of the opening song but doesn’t it captivate the mood across the CFL at this time of year?

As spring is known to do, it’s brought a breeze of optimism into Bomberville. Hoping to simply add to their core from last year the Bombers sought to strengthen their D-Line and stay the course on offense. What a difference a year makes. Last year the Bombers were a revamped team placing their hopes on the shoulders of Drew Willy. Willy, if you recall, got the Bombers off to a 0-4 start and was replaced mid season by Matt Nichols who eventually lead the team to their 11-7 record and a berth in the Western semi-final. A game in which the offense dominated but the defense left the building early (leading to a 32-31 loss to the Lions).

This year, Willy has passed through Toronto (cut during training camp) and now is playing back up to Darian Durant in Montreal. Matt Nichols, meanwhile, started the season with a slow start in quarter 1 in Saskatchewan last week (no first downs) but came on strong finishing the game with 23 completions on 36 attempts (63.9%) for 331 yards, 4 TDs and 1 interception (on a tip ball no less).

So while the offense seems to be on pace to follow up last year’s solid performance, so too does the defense. Except not in a good way. Their propensity last year to rely on turnovers to mask the number of yards and big plays they gave up finally caught up to them in the Western semi when they couldn’t stop BC on their final drive. It looked eerily similar last week with the Bombers giving up 400 yards offense to Kevin Glenn and the Riders. (Oh yeah, and blowing a 14 point lead late in the 4^th quarter). They can’t continue to do this and rely on kickers hitting the post to win games.

The old sports adage is that offense sells tickets and defense wins games. The Bombers look poised to put that adage to the test this year. Will the tickets still be selling in November? Stay tuned.

Welcome to 2017. Welcome to the Corbett Report.

Meet the new boss . . . different than the old boss

This week the CFL announced its new commissioner, Randy Ambrosie. At first glance he seems to be everything Jeffrey Orridge wasn’t. A former CFL player, an offensive lineman, a native of Winnipeg and a Grey Cup champion, Ambrosie brings a unique inside perspective to the job. Of course being a past player doesn’t necessarily fill the resume required to lead the CFL, but Amborsie’s business record is equally as strong. After his playing days were done, Ambrosie entered the world of banking and moved through CIBC and HSBC to ultimately become President of AGF Funds in 2007. A U of M grad (GO BISONS), Ambrosie’s roots in Western Canada allow him to see what the CFL can aspire to across the country. His background as a player balanced with his experience in the boardroom will serve him well as he navigates the highs and lows of the CFL.

The Bombers

So as suggested above, the Bombers continue to be a work in progress. This game will be a true test of whether they’ve taken a step to become an elite team. The biggest test will be on the defensive side of the ball as the top ranked QB Bo-Levi Mitchell leads the Calgary powerhouse to Winnipeg. Can the defense play toe-to-toe against the Stamps offense or will their bend-but-don’t-break strategy crumble against the mighty Stamps?

Calgary has never lost at IGF. It could be tough night for the Bombers.

The Stamps

The Stamps have been the model franchise in the CFL when it comes to on field performance over the past 4 years. Here are their records:

2013 14 – 4

2014  15 – 3

2015 14 – 4

2016  15 – 2 – 1

2017  1 – 0 -1

Suffice to say that the tandem of John Hufnagel and Dave Dickenson has put together a pretty well oiled machine. There’s quite simply no weakness on offense. On defense, they may be a bit suspect against the run, but that could be because of boredom since their offense seldom leaves the field.

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
• Score early and gain some confidence
• A couple of early sacks of Mitchell might help the cause

For the Stampeders to win

• Stop the big play on offense. (Last week Saskatchewan forgot about a guy named Dressler)
• Home openers always sees a pumped-up crowd, scoring early will have the Bomber faithful quieting down
• Challenge the Bombers secondary

The predictions

It’s week two so the crystal ball is still a bit cloudy but let’s go with:

• BC over Montreal (Darian Durant isn’t the answer in Montreal)
• Toronto over Ottawa (Just a hunch that Ricky Ray might light this one up)
• Sask over Hamilton (apparently they’ve widened the goal posts at Mosaic for this game)

And of course in our feature game:

The Bombers are a solid team and will challenge for a playoff position this year. But baring some major injuries in Calgary, they’re going to repeat as division champs. Bombers can feed off the energy of the opening night crowd; I just don’t think it’ll be enough.

Stamps 38      Winnipeg 30