The Corbett Report, October 12, 2019

Introduction

Wow, wow, wow! A month ago the Bombers had just won the Banjo bowl with Chris Streveler leading the way. That lead them into a bye week which lead them to the game in Montreal in which they posted 34 points in the first half and all was right with the world!  Since then? They’ve managed to score 22 points and the defense stunk out the stadium in two of the last 3 games.

Defense bounced back last week. Offense……uhmmmmm…..not so much.

So with the fan base screaming for action and the Bomber brass wondering whether Streveler could lead this very talented team into the playoffs…..enter Zach Collaros. This recent trade could be viewed a number of different ways:

An honest attempt to make a run into the playoffs by replacing Streveler

A move just to appease the fan base and make it look like they’re trying to right the ship

A move to put the pressure on (or take the pressure off) Streveler as the starter

Or ……. As I believe, all of the above

Nichols, Streveler and Collaros are all free-agents next season so whatever the reason for the move, it’s definitely short term.

Welcome to the Corbett Report.

The Standings

WEST
Team	Wins	Losses	Pts	For	Against
Saskatchewan	10	4	20	382	300
Calgary	9	5	18	366	301
Winnipeg	9	6	18	411	320
Edmonton	7	8	14	350	344
BC	5	10	10	370	385
EAST
Team	Wins	Losses	Pts	For	Against
Hamilton	12	3	24	459	288
Montreal	8	6	16	360	356
Ottawa	3	11	6	238	422
Toronto	2	12	4	264	484

 First place is up for grabs in the West, but in the East you can count on a Hamilton vs. Montreal final. It’ll be interesting to see if BC can beat out Edmonton for the cross over.  (They need to win all of their last 3 games and have Edmonton lose all of their 3)

 The Bombers

 It would be pretty easy to write this year off for the Bombers after seeing how they’ve played after Nichols went down. I think it’s too early for that.  They are still a very talented team with a defense who at least last game seems to have returned to form.  It’s the offense that needs to find some rhythm.  Streveler’s rushing has dryed up (probably by design) and in spite of the heroics of Andrew Harris, they just aren’t getting the job done.

Bringing in Collaros could help that change but it also could be too little too late.

The Alouettes

Montreal is the Cinderella story of the year. Khari Jones has them playing awesome football on both sides of the ball and with Vernon Adams Jr. lighting up opposing teams defenses, they’re a legitimate Grey Cup contender.  Just ask Calgary about that after last week.

Keys to the game

Here are the keys to the game:

For the Bombers to win

• In the last three games the defense has sagged in the fourth quarter from simply being on the field too long. The Bombers MUST move the ball and win the time of possession
• Win the turnover battle. (4 turnovers last week)
• Defense needs to pressure Vernon Adams. If he has too much time to throw he’ll pick the Bomber secondary apart

 For the Alouettes to win

 

• Score early. The Bombers are a fragile bunch after 3 straight losses including the Meltdown in Montreal
• Exploit the Bombers’ secondary by going deep often

• Limit Andrew Harris’ production as a receiver out of the backfield

 

 

The predictions

 Picks

Toronto over what’s become a lowly Ottawa team

Calgary over Sask to bring the melon heads back to earth

BC over Edmonton because Mike Riley’s on fire

 

And in our feature game:

The Bomber defense returned to their ball hawking ways last week in Saskatchewan. The offense though, continued to bumble along. Since the first half of the meltdown in Montreal 3 weeks ago the Bombers have scored 22 points in 10 quarters of football for a 2.2 points per quarter average.  That just won’t cut it.

Montreal 21   Winnipeg 9

Corbett Report Stats so far:

CFL overall      47-18 (72%)

Bomber games     10-5  (67%)

 

CHEERS!