Introductions

Greetings from Calgary!  Basking in the glow of a Calgary Chinook and enjoying western hospitality.  Even if you’re not a football fan, you need to experiene one of these Grey Cup thingies.

So the Bombers have finally done it!  For the first time since 2011 the Bombers are heading to the Grey Cup.  As the parties die down and the focus switches to the game on Sunday, the Corbett Report breaks down what to expect.  Starting with . . .

Fun facts about this years matchup

• Bombers last won the cup in 1990
• Ti-Cats last won the cup in 1999
• The last time these two teams met was 1984 and the Bombers won 47-17 (my first Grey Cup FYI)
• A third place team last won the Grey Cup in 2005
• The first time the Ti-Cats and Bombers played in a Grey Cup was in 1935
• Bombers and Ti-Cats have played in the Grey Cup 10 times with the Bombers winning 6 of them
• Ti-Cats beat the Bombers twice in 2019
• Of the 46 players who dressed for the Bombers last Sunday, only 15 of them had been born when the Bombers last won the cup

The Collaros story

So back in week one, Zach Collaros was the starting QB for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. On the third play of the game he was hit by TiCats defender Simoni Lawrence and knocked out of the game.  In came Cody Farjardo who played so well that Collaros was deemed expendable and traded to Toronto.  Lawrence was suspended 2 games for that hit.  There was a question as to whether he’d see the field again. Meanwhile, over in Winnipeg, the Bombers were having QB issues of their own.  With Matt Nichols out for the season and Chris Streveler struggling to put wins on the board, the Bombers sought out a veteran QB who might help them salvage what had been shaping up to be pretty awesome season. And so it was that Kyle Walters reached out to the Argos and managed a trade for Collaros literally minutes before the trade deadline.  The Bombers still intended for Streveler to be the starter but when he suffered an injury Collaros was rushed into action.  The result? A win against Calgary in the last regular season game, then another in Calgary in the West Semi-final and a victory in the Western final in Regina.  The prize? A trip back to Calgary for Collaros and a chance for revenge against Lawrence and the Ti-Cats!

Key matchups

There are so many key match ups in this game.  Here are just a few:

• Coach O’Shea vs. Coach Steinauer.  Friends off the field and former teammates with the Argos.  Both are in their first Grey Cup game as head coach. (FYI – Steinauer has been named 2019 coach of the year).
• Collaros vs. Lawrence.  Maybe Zach can be the one who finally shuts up Simoni.
• Brandon Banks vs. the Bomber secondary.  Banks has been a game changer all year and is well deserved of his Most Outstanding Player award.
• Willie Jefferson vs. Dane Evans.  Evans has been spectacular since coming in to replace the injured Jeremiah Masoli but he is a rookie.  Jefferson (the defensive player of the year) could be a real difference maker.
• Justin Medlock vs. the wind.  Early forcasts are for winds of 30 km, gusting to 50 km.  McMahon is a wide open stadium so Medlock will be challenged.

For the Bombers to win

The Bombers are on a 3 game winning streak coming into the game but they’ll likely need to play better than last week if they want to break their 29 year Grey Cup drought.  Here are the keys to a Bomber victory.

• RUN RUN RUN – Andrew Harris needs to get 100+ yards
• BREAK THE BANK – Defense needs to limit Brandon Banks effectiveness as a receiver.  A big ask given no one else seems to have done it this year
• SPECIAL TEAMS ARE SPECIAL – one special teams TD would go a long way to securing a victory.  Oh yeah, covering punts might work (what the hell was that 3rd quarter coverage breakdown last week against the Riders????!!!)
• BALL CONTROL – Collaros has thrown zero interceptions in the playoffs.  The Bombers chances improve if that continues

For the Ti-Cats to win

The Ti-Cats cruised to a 15-3 record during the year, scoring 551 points during the season.  There’s good reason that they’re the favourites going into this game.  Here are the keys to their victory.

• SIMONI IN YOUR HEAD – early pressure by Lawrence on Collaros might just rattle Zach
• BANK ON A WIN – Brandon Banks needs to be involved early and often.  Evans needs to hit him with the deep ball to stretch out the Bomber secondary
• YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN – Dane Evans has been a calm and cool QB all year.  This game however is different.  If he come out too hyped up things could unravel SWIFTLY
• BALL CONTROL – so often Grey Cup games are decided on one or two big plays,  often coming in the way of a turnover

Prediction

The Ti-Cats beat the Bombers twice this year.  On July 26, the game that saw Masoli get injured, they held on for a 23-15 victory on the strength of 3 interceptions from Matt Nichols.  On September 27 they handed the Bombers their only home loss.  The score was 33-13.  Chris Strevler was the starting QB for the Bombers in that game.

Given the outcome of the season series and the overall records of the two teams, it would easy enough to suggest the Ti-Cats should walk away with the 107th Grey Cup and break their 19-year drought.  But, there’s something special about this Bomber team and the Collaros story line is just too compelling to ignore.

It won’t be easy but in the end it’ll be:

Winnipeg 26 Hamilton 22

Oh yeah, and the game stars?

• Most outstanding – Zach Collaros
• Best defense – Willie Jefferson
• Most outstanding Canadian – Andrew Harris

CHEERS!

Have a great off-season!