The Corbett Report, August 17, 2018

Introduction

 It’s been that kind of a week in Winnipeg.  Nominations closed for Mayor and many Bomber fans have penciled in Chris Streveler as their number one choice to lead the city and their team.  As usual in the Peg, the back up quarterback for many is the most popular guy in town. After all, Matt, “what have you done for us lately” was whined by many so-called Bomber fans this past week.  Well in deed, what Matt?

How about:

• 4 – 1 record since returning from injury
• 7 TD passes compared to just 4 picks
• 62% pass completion record

Sure, his numbers pale in comparison to say…….Jeremiah Masoli who put up 6 consecutive 300+ yard passing games earlier this year but which would you rather have? The Bomber’s 5-3 record or Hamilton’s  3-5?  As Paul LaPolice pointed out to many a Nichol’s distractor this week, it’s about winning and winning is what Matt brings to the table.  So come on Bomber fans skip the blue whine, grab a beer and get behind the only QB on the Bomber roster that can lead his team to the Grey Cup as they take on the Redblacks tonight.

Colour me blue and gold and welcome to week 10 of the Corbett Report.  The colourfull edition.

The Bombers (5-3)

The Bombers faced a tough defense against Hamilton last week and as expected they weren’t able to march the ball down the field at will like they did against the likes of the Montreal Alouettes.  With the game coming down to the wire however Matt Nichols and the offence put together an 11 play 36 yard drive that lead to a Medlock field goal.  Then the defense took over.  Aided by the boisterous crowd (2 time count violations on Hamilton’s final drive) they stopped Hamilton at centre field and the home side went home with the victory.

It may not have been pretty but that’s the way good teams get wins.   If the offense is sputtering, the D needs to step it up.  So it’s somewhat surprising that following a 3 game win streak so many are calling for a replacement at QB.  The Bombers are a contender with Nichols in the game, they aren’t when he’s not. Oh and just a fun fact, the Bombers lead the league in points scored – so there’s that.

The Bombers are getting it done largely due to a much improved defense (holding opponents to less than 20 points against on average over the past 3 weeks) and of course, Andrew Harris.  He’s been virtually unstoppable this year leading the league thru 8 games with 720 yards rushing and adding another 254 yards passing. That totals 974 which (yet another fun fact) amounts to 32% of the Bombers total offense of 3,008 yards.

The Redblacks (5-3)

 

For those of you in Winnipeg, you might be surprised to know that there’s another Harris in the league.  Coming to town this week is Trevor Harris, the Ottawa QB.  Who knows, come November the race for Most Outstanding Player may just be a Harris vs. Harris affair!  As Trevor Harris goes so do the Redblacks.  Last week he was brilliant against Montreal completing 44 of 54 passes (81% completion rate!) and racking up almost 500 yards against Montreal.  But hey, that was against Montreal.  Throughout the rest of the season the Redblacks have struggled for consistency enroute to their 5-3 record.

Keys to the game

 

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

For the Bombers to win

 

• The Bombers lead the league in sacks, the front line needs to keep this up and not allow Trevor Harris to look down field for too long
• They also lead the league in interceptions as well, so one of those would help
• Complete passes to Blue and Gold not Red and Black

 For the Redblacks to win

•  Redblacks lead the league in pass knockdowns. They’ll need to stop the Bombers from completing the deep passes
• Pressure Nichols (it won’t be easy, Bombers have given up the fewest sacks of any team)
• Hold Harris to less than 100 all purpose yards

 

The predictions

 Starting to see some separation in the standings this week

• Toronto over BC (it’s not easy being Orange)
• Edmonton over Montreal (Yet another new QB for the Als)
• Saskatchwan over Calgary (Green is the colour – Stamps are due for an upset)

And of course in our feature game:

 

Home field advantage is becoming a thing.  It won’t be easy though.

Winnipeg 28  Ottawa 25