The Corbett Report, July 27, 2017

Introduction

Coming into the season there was optimism abound in Bomber camp. Coming off last year’s 10 – 3 streak to end the season I’m sure many thought the Bombers could go undefeated! While, like the song says, it won’t come easy. The Bombers find themselves in a tough, tough division and even a repeat of last years 11 – 7 record may not be good enough to get them into the playoffs. Well, at least not in the Western division that is. Even this early in the season a crossover to the East seems a likely scenario for the 4^th place Western team.

The Bombers to many, yours truly included, continue to be a work in progress. At times brilliant, at times shooting themselves in the foot. (HELLO, how did 42 – 23 turn into 42-45 last week?) At 2 – 2 though, there’s no reason to be leaping off of this bandwagon yet. Especially not with 3 games against the amateur teams that play in the Eastern division. What’s key is to keep pace with the West Division powerhouses – the Stamps, the Lions and the Eskies. Last week the Bombers proved they could play against the Lions; this week it’s about regaining some momentum and staying close in the West.

Welcome to week 3. Welcome to the Corbett Report.

Standings

WEST
Team	Wins	Losses	Tie	Pts	For	Against
Edmonton	4	0	0	8	107	95
BC	4	1	0	8	164	129
Calgary	3	1	1	7	153	120
Winnipeg	2	2	0	4	128	139
Sask	1	3	0	0	103	107
EAST
Team	Wins	Losses	Tie	Pts	For	Against
Toronto	3	2	0	6	125	125
Montreal	2	3	0	4	101	109
Ottawa	1	4	1	3	164	169
Hamilton	0	4	0	0	89	141

I’ll do the math for you. West division is a combined 14 – 7 – 1, the East is 6 – 13 – 1. And in interdivisional games? The west leads the way at 9 – 2 in interdivisional games. Ya see where this is going? Bombers need to win this game just to keep pace.

The Bombers

The Bombers are going to start to hate visits to the West Coast. That’s two heart-breaking games in a row at BC place. Although you can at least say they were competitive, the same problems ailed them last week as ailed them in last year’s West semi-final – an inability to hold onto a big lead and a defense that seems to think they’re playing basketball and have finished their day’s work at the 48 minute mark!

Until this team learns how to close out games it’s going to be worthy of its “middle of the pack ranking”.

Kevin Fogg’s return this week should help contribute to that process, as he should help shore up the secondary which continues to be prone to the big play/deep ball, especially late in games. Not to mention his punt returning abilities.

It won’t be the defense that’ll be facing the biggest challenge. The offense is up against an Alouettes defense which is averaging a stingy 22 points a game against. (Compare that to Bombers who on average have given up 35 per game).

The Alouettes

The post-Calvillo era continues this year with the Darian Durant experiment. How’s that working? Decent enough. Durant’s completed 70% of his passes with 6 TDs and 6 INTs and sits in the middle of the pack in QB efficiency rating. He doesn’t need to do much, not with that aforementioned defense repeatedly giving the offense the ball.

In spite of their 2 – 3 record, Montreal have been playing fairly consistent football. Not to mention the fact they’re the only team this year to beat the Stampeders.

Keys to the game

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

For the Bombers to win

• Solve the Montreal defensive scheme. A solid run game would help
• Special teams touch down
• Defense keeps the pressure on Durant for a solid 60 minutes

For the Als to win

• Keep pressure on Nichols and force the Bombers to repeated 2 and outs
• Don’t let Winnipeg’s ball hawk defense get a turnover
• Take an early lead

The predictions

Around the league this week:

• Edmonton over BC
• Toronto over Sask
• Calgary over Hamilton

And of course in our feature game:

The Bombers are a solid team and will challenge for a playoff position this year. Montreal is a good team, especially on D. If the Bombers want to keep in the hunt in the West, they’ll need to contribute to that Western dominance. Look for the Bombers to rebound this week just like they did against Toronto two weeks ago. All time IGF record improves to 13-26, with the Bomber taking this one

Bombers 24   Alouettes 19

The Corbett Report Season Record:

Overall                 15-5-1

Bomber games          3-1