The Corbett Report, October 23, 2021

Posted on October 22, 2021

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Introduction

How hot are the Bombers? This is the teams best start since 1960 when that team (lead by coach Bud Grant) went 10-0 out of the gate enroute to a 14 -2 record.  That team averaged 28 points per game on offence and allowed only 15 points per game on defence.  They came into the season as a two-time defending Grey Cup champion having defeated the Hamilton Ti-Cats in both 1958 and 1959.

For comparison, the current edition of the Bombers is scoring on average 26 points per game and allowing just 13 points per game, and come into their 11th game with a 9-1 record.  Oh yeah, and they’re also the defending Grey Cup champs having defeated the Hamilton Ti-Cats in 2019.

Other comparisons are notable:

The QB comparison

The legendary Hall of Famer Kenny Ploen was the Bomber QB in 1960, this year the Bombers are led by future Hall of Famer Zach Collaros. 

The RB comparison

At running back, the Bombers MVP nominee in 1960 was the Lincoln locomotive and Hall of Famer Leo Lewis, this year the Bombers have been lead at running back by the 2019 Grey Cup MVP Andrew Harris (who won’t be playing btw… see below).

The O/D Line comparison

In 1960 Herb Gray won the Lineman of the year (in that era linemen typically played both sides of the ball – Gray played on both the offensive and defensive lines).  This year the Bombers are dominating both lines.

In short there are a lot of similarities between the two teams.  But hey, I’m not exactly a football guru in observing that you win a lot of games with good quarterbacking, a solid running game and control of the line of scrimmage.

Still, the Bombers might heed the cautionary tale provided by the 1960 Bombers.  After rolling over the league during the regular season the Bombers stumbled in the playoffs.  In 1960 the Western final was a best of 3 game round.  Bombers won the first game in Edmonton but lost to Edmonton in the two games played in Winnipeg (by scores of 10-5 and 4-2) and thus were unable to defend their championship.  

I’m sure Coach O’Shea will be reminding the Bombers that it’s what happens in the playoffs that defines your team and provides its legacy. 

Oh yeah, and what happened after that 1960 loss? While the Bombers did bounce back to win the Grey Cup again in 1961 and 1962 to complete a 4 out of 5-year run of Grey Cup wins with all victories coming against Hamilton. 

Welcome to week 12.  Welcome to the Corbett Report.

Standings (as of October 21, 2021)

WEST DIVISION

RKTEAMGPWLTPTSFAHOMEAWAYDIV
1 Winnipeg x10910182591265-0-04-1-07-0-0
2 Saskatchewan9540102001884-2-01-2-02-4-0
3 Calgary10550102261952-3-03-2-04-3-0
4 BC945081992061-4-03-1-01-5-0
5 Edmonton927041592410-5-02-2-02-4-0

EAST DIVISION

RKTEAMGPWLTPTSFAHOMEAWAYDIV
1 Toronto9630122012074-0-02-3-04-1-0
2 Montreal9540102282061-2-04-2-04-2-0
3 Hamilton945081791662-2-02-3-03-3-0
4 Ottawa1028041692851-4-01-4-00-5-0

EST DIVISION 

To sum up the various playoff scenarios, we can keep it simple.  Bombers beat BC this week and clinch first place with 3 games left in the season.

Fun fact: The Bombers have hosted some Eastern division finals, most recently 2011, but should they host the Western final on December 5th, it will be first time hosting the Western final since . . . get this . . . 1972.  Heck, I wasn’t even born then! 

Bombers

The Bombers made a couple of significant signings this week.  Defensive back Winston Rose is returning to the team after a brief NFL stint.  Rose led the CFL in interceptions in 2019.  He’ll make the defence even better than it already is.  The Bombers also traded for and signed Sergio Castillo who was the team’s kicker before Justin Medlock was signed as a free agent.  He actually had a better field goal percentage than Medlock in his final year in the CFL so could very well be the answer to the teams woeful kicking game.

Neither player, however, is going to play until the November 6th game so for now it’s status quo in the kicking department where Ali Mourtada will be performing the kicking duties.  For those haven’t been watching closely, Mourtada has completed 8 of the 15 field goals he’s attempted.  So, let’s just leave it at that.

Out of the lineup this week is Andrew Harris.  That’s a big hole to fill in the lineup but Brady Oliveira has had great performances when Harris hasn’t been able to play.  He’s averaged 5 yards per carry and hasn’t looked out of place.  It’ll be the 4th game that Harris will miss in 2021 after missing none in the previous three seasons.

As usual, the Bombers defence will be the focal point for this game.  The Bombers defensive front will need to keep Reilly under pressure to stifle the BC passing attack.  History would suggest they’ll be up to the task.

Lions

The Lions came into the season which much excitement around their team.  With Mike Reilly leading the way expectations were high that they’d be able to contend for first in the West.  Early returns supported that optimism as the Lions started the season 5-1.  Since then, though, they’ve suffered 3 straight losses to Western division opponents and fallen to a record of 4-4 and now sit in 4th place in the West.  What’s more, with a tough schedule to close out the shortened season and Calgary on the rise, the Lions run the risk of missing the playoffs all together.

Their most recent woes seem to be on the offensive side of the ball.  Last week for example, Mike Reilly completed just 52% of his passes for 145 yards and threw 2 interceptions.

Keys to the game

For the Bombers to win

  • Don’t be cocky.  Keep the “one game at a time mentality” going.
  • Keep rushing the ball (Brady Oliveira is a solid back up to Andrew Harris)
  • Pressure Mike Reilly

For the Lions to win

  • Score a TD early to gain some confidence
  • Win the turnover game
  • O-line needs to stop the Bombers’ pass rush (as if that could be a thing)

The record

Corbett report predictions record this year:

                        CFL                             22 – 20 (52%)

                        Bombers only                7 – 3 (70%)

The predictions

Picks:

Toronto is starting to separate themselves from the rest of the East.  This week they’re off to Montreal.  Look for Toronto to continue to dominate the east.  Toronto over Montreal

A triple header on Saturday:

Ti-cats should have a cakewalk at home against the Redblacks. Hamilton over Ottawa

In the late game on Saturday, I’m looking for Calgary to continue their resurgence with Calgary over the Riders in Regina.

As for our feature match up:

Bombers continue to roll at home.

Bombers 32 Lions 21

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