The Corbett Report, Grey Cup 2021

Introduction

Greetings from Hamilton and the 108^th Grey Cup.  The weather gods must be CFL fans because it looks like it’s going to be +6 at game time with no sign of rain or snow in the forecast.

To say that this has been a different Grey Cup would be understatement.  With only two team parties (East and West) the entertainment choices have been limited.  What hasn’t been limited though is the enthusiasm Hamilton fans have shown for the CFL.  Unlike Toronto where virtually no one knows that a league championship game is on, Hamiltonians have taken every opportunity to show their love for their Ti-Cats.  From the bus driver who wouldn’t let me on the bus because I was wearing a Bomber jersey to the numerous fans who broke into impromptu renditions of Oske Wee Wee (I now know all of the words), the city of Hamilton has proven worthy of hosting the Cup.  In fact, with such contagious home town enthusiasm it would be easy to consider jumping on the Ti-Cat band wagon. 

Okay, considered that, rejected that.

Welcome to the Grey Cup edition of the Corbett Report.

Season Series

The Bombers and the Ti-Cats met only once in the shortened 2021 CFL season.  It was the home opener for the Bombers and they came out on top 19 – 6.  The 6 points allowed would be a harbinger of things to come as the Bombers went on to allow just 13.4 points per game in 2021.  It was also a harbinger of things to come for the Ti-Cats as they had a hot and cold season enroute to their 8-6 record.

The Bombers

The Bombers cleaned up at the player awards on Friday night.  Zach Collaros (MOP), Adam Bighill (Top defensive player), Stanley Bryant (Top Lineman) and Mike O’Shea (Coach) all took home the individual awards.  That’s pretty fitting as the Bombers were beyond a doubt the most outstanding team in the league in 2021.  To a man though, all of the award winners gave shout outs to their team mates.  Mike O’Shea has this team acting and playing as a complete team and individual accolades aren’t in their DNA.

They come into this game as healthy as any team can be at this time of year and as we saw last week, the return of Andrew Harris could very well be the final piece to fall into place and lift the Bombers to their second Grey Cup victory in a row.

The Ti-Cats

The most intriguing decision coming out of the Ti-Cats camp this week was the announcement on Monday that Dane Evans will start the Grey Cup.  I wouldn’t be surprised though to see Jeremiah  Masoli come in at some point.  It would mirror their season where they seemed to flip-flop as to who should be their starting QB.

Evans, as you may recall, struggled mightily against the Bombers in the 2019 Grey Cup.  Whether he can erase those memories will be the key to the Cat’s upsetting the Bombers.

Keys to the game

For the Bombers to win

• Get to Evans early and show him it’s 2019 all over again
• Another big game from Harris
• Keep Collaros upright

For the Ti-Cats to win

• Win the turnover game (Bombers won’t win 2 in a row if they give up 6 turnovers like they did last week)
• A confident Evans needs to show up
• Win the line of scrimmage

The prediction

The big advantage for the Ti-Cats of course is home field advantage.  The Bombers though, have proven they can win anywhere and everywhere and won’t be rattled by the pro-Cat crowd.  So while it would be a nice story line for Ti-Cats to win their first Grey Cup in 20 years in front of their home crowd, I just don’t see it happening.  It’ll be closer than 2019 but in the end the best team in 2021 will prevail:

Bombers 31 Ti-Cats 21

Have a great Grey Cup Sunday