The Corbett Report, September 9, 2017

Introduction

Ahhhhhh, the Banjo Bowl. Game 2 of the mini season-within-a-season that highlights the Bombers schedule. For a short 7 days the Bombers ostrich and ignore the rest of the CFL and focus on their archrivals from the flatlands, the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The first ½ of the double header is, of course, the Labour Day game.

The first Labour Day game was in 1949 with the Riders winning 20 – 9. Since then the game’s been played (almost) every year and the Bombers haven’t fared well. There’s been 53 Labour Day “Classics” and the Bombers are 18-35 in those games. The trip down the Trans Canada to Queen City hasn’t been exactly an uplifting experience for Bomber Faithful. In fact, since 2004 the Bombers have won only once on Labour Day in Regina (2016). It seems that regardless of the standings or the strength of the teams, the Riders ride to the occasion and beat the Bombers.

Enter the rematch, the much younger and sexier Banjo Bowl. (C’mon now, how can you not add the word sexy when you say Banjo?) First played in 2004 the Bombers have posted a much more successful record of 7-6. It’s tough to win back-to-back games against the same opponent in football and history suggests, that the Banjo Bowl is the perfect antidote for the malaise that inflicts them in Regina on Labour Day.

Win or lose, the Bomber fans have one certainty that’ll give them comfort.   They won’t be waking up with congealed watermelon juice in their ears.

Welcome to the 2017 Banjo Bowl. Welcome to the Corbett Report.

Standings

WEST Team Wins Losses Tie Pts For Against Calgary 8 1 1 17 337 187 Winnipeg 7 3 0 14 332 316 Edmonton 7 3 0 14 279 295 Sask 5 4 0 10 289 227 BC 5 5 0 10 269 274 EAST Team Wins Losses Tie Pts For Against Ottawa 4 6 1 9 314 275 Toronto 4 7 0 8 252 278 Montreal 3 7 0 6 203 263 Hamilton 1 8 0 2 172 332
Could this be the year that a winning West Division team misses the playoffs in favour of a weaker 2nd place East team? Or how about the 4th place Western team winning the cup?

 

 

The Bombers

So here’s a fun fact. For the first 5 years of the Banjo Bowl, the Bombers had the same starting QB. His name? Kevin Glenn. He went 3-2 in that stretch. After that, it’s was a revolving door with starting QB’s as the Bombers have struggled with consistency both on and off the field. The starting QB’s for the Banjo Bowl from 2008 to 2014 were as follows:

• 2008: Glenn
• 2009: Bishop
• 2010: Jyles
• 2011: Pierce
• 2012: Elliott
• 2013: Goltz
• 2014: Willy

That all changed in 2015 with Matt Nichols taking over from Willy. He lead the Bombers that year to a 22-7 victory in his first game as a Bomber and followed that up last year with a 17-10 win in a defensive struggle. Nichols has provided some much needed stability at the QB position.

This year, Nichols is putting up some pretty decent numbers but he’ll be haunted by last week’s 2-interception outing. One that gave the Riders momentum and one that took the momentum away from the Bombers. The Bombers will need a solid outing from Matt and Andrew Harris on offense to hold off the Riders stellar D.

That being said, it’s really on defense where there’s concern in Bomberville. The Bombers have given up the second most points in the league, second only to the declawed cats from Hamilton. They’re a long way from Swaggerville, but maybe if they can make it to Not-great-but-okay-ville, they can help the Bombers pull this one out.

The Riders

I try to be impartial to opposing teams, recognizing that each team has fans that are as passionate about their team as Bomber fans are about theirs. Watermelons notwithstanding it’s hard not to be impressed with Rider fans’ passion. So I have no real issue with Rider fans. HOWEVER, I do take exception with the antics of their coach.   Last week’s Injury-gate took the cake. The site of an “injured” rider leaving the field and chuckling while the hurry up Bomber offense was thwarted harkens me back to days of Don Matthews in Montreal. Not to mention that Chris Jones is (I believe) the only CFL coach not to buy into the Diversity is Strength campaign, and I have enough ammo to despise the current leadership of the Riders.

Coming into Winnipeg, the Riders are on a 3 game winning streak. Impressive, especially when it’s been against 3 Western opponents (BC, Edmonton and Winnipeg). So as much as I dislike the antics of Chris Jones and his buttoned up collar he does have the Riders on a roll. Kevin Glenn has never looked better and the Bombers will again be in for a challenge on defense. That, to me, is going to be the difference in this game. Will the Bombers D continue to give up big plays against the 37 year old lead Rider offense or will they finally be able to generate some stops?

Keys to the Game

With more than just a few green jerseys in the stands the Bombers need to start off strong. Not so much on offense but on defense. Rattle Glenn early and get some momentum. If the Riders score first it could be a long and annoying afternoon.

For the Riders, it comes down to hitting the big play. In spite of protests to the contrary, there has to be concern in Bomber land about the defense’s inability to generate stops, two and outs and turnovers.

Things you’re likely to hear (or not ) at IGF on Saturday

From the Announcer:

“Could the owner of the combine with Saskatchewan license plate number GORIDERS please move your vehicle, you’re blocking the beer line”

In the beer line (heard from a Rider fan):

“Damn, all they serve is Merlot, I had my heart set on a Shiraz”

In the Stands:

“Excuse me ma’am, your watermelon is dripping on my lap”

From Buzz to Gainer the Gopher:

“Oh yeah?? Well at least I don’t have to go sleep in a hole at night”

From a Bomber fan to a Rider fan:

“See you on November 26^th for a rematch”

From a Rider fan (to no one in particular):

“Wow, I can’t believe it, their Jumbotron is in colour”

From the Announcer”:

“and that’s another Winnipeg FIRST DOWN”

(You might recognize the opening song and the above quotes as repeats. I’m counting on the aging demographics of my subscribers to not notice when I repeat myself (and not being able to read the fine print))

Corbett Report Prediction Record

Predictions for Bomber games: 8 – 2

Predictions for all CFL games: 32 – 12

The Prediction

It’s hard to win back-to-back games in any sport and when the second game of a back-to-back football game is played in the zoo that will be IGF today it’s even harder. The Bombers should have a chip on their shoulder this week after last week’s mistake-filled affair. That chip should carry the day.

Bombers 38      Riders 35

Elsewhere it’ll be a home team sweep: BC over Montreal, Edmonton over Calgary and Ottawa over Hamilton