The Corbett Report, July 13, 2017

 

Introduction

Greetings! Sorry for the repeat of the opening song but I thought it was good enough to deserve a second listen.

So last week was hailed as a measuring stick game for the Bombers. A chance to prove that they could compete with the most consistent and successful team in the CFL for the past 5 years. The result? Well, Winnipeg held their own for 30 minutes but as they say in sports, ya gotta play 60! In the second half the Bombers offense looked anemic and concern over the Bombers defense has since given way to concern over both sides of the ball.

If last week was a measuring stick, the Bombers failed to measure up. The result is that this game (which last year would have been a gimmie), has suddenly gained near “must win” status. With the uber-competitive west division, the Bombers simply can’t afford to go 1-2.

They best come prepared to play this week.
Welcome to week 2. Welcome to the Corbett Report.

The Bombers

So, as suggested last week, the Bombers continue to be a work in progress. With so much excitement surrounding the offense (and in particular, Matt Nichols), last week’s outing was a disappointment. Although Nichols completed 67.5% of his passes, the 2 interceptions seemed very uncharacteristic of Matt. On the defensive side of the ball, a fairly sold first half gave way to giving up 20 points in the second and by the end of the game it looked like Men against Boys.

The Argos

The Argos enter the game with a 2-1 record coming off of a surprising come-from-behind victory against the Redblacks (26-25). That game was all about Ricky Ray to SJ Green. Green caught 10 passes for an amazing 210 yards (57% of Toronto’s total passing yards).

If the Bomber cornerbacks have another outing like they did last week, the Ray-Green combination may make the Blue faithful turn green themselves.

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 – Nichols needs to get this interception thing under control
• Score early and gain some confidence
• Stop SJ Green

For the Argos to win

• Pressure Nichols (his confidence may be a bit fragile at the moment)
• Scoring early will have the Bomber faithful muttering to themselves rather than cheering
• Challenge the Bombers secondary

The predictions

Around the league this week:

• Calgary over Montreal (The Stamps are simply a winning machine)
• Edmonton over Ottawa (Grey Cup champs remain winless)
• BC over Hamilton (there’s trouble brewing in Tigertown)

And of course in our feature game:

The Bombers are a solid team and will challenge for a playoff position this year. While Toronto is a better team than last year they were lucky to come up with a win last week. Look for the Bombers to finally get on track at home (where they’ve been 11-26 since IGF opened).

Bombers 38   Argos 30