The Corbett Report, June 10, 2022

Introduction

Ah yes, another year and this time maybe a more “regular” regular season.  Sweet Caroline last opened the Corbett Report on August 5, 2021, a mere 10 months ago.  That shortened season, so wrought with uncertainty, managed to be played with only one game delayed due to . . . nope, won’t say the C word.  In many respects it was a season that seemed to be played just for the sake of playing.  The result though? Just another year of Blue Bomber dominance, another year culminating in a Ti-Cat vs. Bomber finale and another year with the Blue Bombers being Grey Cup champs.  In fact, the Bombers have been Grey Cup champs for a total of 929 days! That boast is a bit of a stretch I know, given that there was no 2020 season, but hey, after a 29-year drought a guy gets to bask in victory a bit doesn’t he? 

This year, of course, was also looking to be delayed as well, this time due to labour strife.  In the end,         rational heads prevailed and here we are at the start of another CFL season.  Take that, all the naysayers who had written off the CFL.  Hell, the CFL is like a cat and it’s only on life #5.  Lots of football left to be played!  In fact, there’s hope for optimism in many of the CFL markets.  For the first time in 8 years the BC Lions will be opening the upper deck at BC Place stadium because the lower bowl is sold out!  Edmonton set a single day season ticket sale record a few months ago when they offered a BOGO promotion.  Winnipeg and Saskatchewan will of course be strong and hopefully, the lifting of attendance restrictions and a full schedule will bring fans back in the other markets.  There’s nothing wrong with the CFL that a solid marketing plan won’t fix.

In any case, tonight marks yet another Blue Bomber Grey Cup banner raising ceremony.  How many is that??? Too many to count on two hands, I know that, (okay actually the number’s 12).  It’s the start of a fresh new season though and every team in the league is touting themselves as Grey Cup contenders.  The Bombers will be in tough this year, but whatever the season holds, it’s just nice to be heading to – the ball park on a warm summer night.  Good times never seemed so good.

Welcome to week 1. Welcome to the Corbett Report.

Bombers

The Bombers continued their offseason with the professionalism and tenacity that has helped them to develop into the flagship CFL franchise that they are.  Re-signed are the likes of Willie Jefferson, Jackson Jeffcoat, Zach Collaros, Oliveira Brady and Nic Demski, In fact, the Bombers re-signed more of their free agents than any other team.  That’s a testament to the winning culture that’s developed in Winnipeg since the arrival of Wade Miller, Kyle Walters and Mike O’Shea.  No longer the place where football careers go to die, Winnipeg has become THE place to play.

That’s not to say there aren’t some holes to be filled due to departures.  In particular, Andrew Harris, Kenny Lawler and Sergio Castillo’s departures leave the Bombers with a bit of uncertainty at the rushing, receiving and kicking positions.  Of the three, the greatest concern has to be at the kicking position.  As you might recall the Bombers were winning most of their games in the first half of last season without a consistent kicking game.  Enter, Castillo, who righted the field goal kicking ship and in fact, went on to kick 5 field goals in the Grey Cup, a fact somewhat missed by many who voted for Zach as the MVP of the game.  Without Castillo, the Bombers would not have been in a position to go to overtime and win that game.

This year, Castillo’s off to Edmonton leaving last year’s punter Mark Liegghio as the starting kicker for the season with last year’s first-half kicker Ali Mourtada on the practice roster.  The Bombers won a lot of games last year in spite of missing numerous field goals.  They’d be wise not to test their luck two years in a row on that front.

Redblacks

Last year the Redblacks had a forgettable 3-11 season.  The first year with Paul LaPolice as head coach was, to be polite, a disaster.  It was quickly apparent last year that former Bomber, Matt Nichols, who started the season was simply unable to overcome the injury that knocked him off the Bomber roster in 2019 (which made room for Zach Collaros, you might remember).  By mid-season, the Ottawa QB carousel was in full swing, and by the end of the year the franchise couldn’t wait for the season to end.  This year should be different.  Coming over from Hamilton is QB Jeremiah Masoli which gives the Redblacks instant credibility at the QB position.  It’s just too bad (for them) that they open the season with back-to-back games against the BACK-TO-BACK GREY CUP CHAMPS, Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Keys to the game

For the Bombers to win

• Draw from the energy of the crowd but don’t get over-hyped (O’Shea will be all over this)

• Rattle Masoli early.  Remember, he started the 2021 Grey Cup game and hit 80% of his passes before giving way to Duane Evans

• Establish the run game.  With Zach Collaros not taking a single snap in the pre-season he could be a bit rusty and passes may be a bit off to start

For the Redblacks to win

• It’s always SCORE EARLY, to quiet the crowd

• Win the kicking game

• Keep the ball (winning the turnover battle won many games for the Bombers last year)

The record

Corbett report predictions record last year:

                        CFL                             35-28 (56%)

                        Bombers only                10-4 (71%)

The predictions

Thursday I went with Calgary over Montreal

Saturday,  Hamilton over Saskatchewan and

Edmonton over BC

And in our home opener? Bombers are 9.5-point favourites but that’s a bit optimistic.  Hard to bet against the Bombers at home though, so let’s say it’ll be:

Bombers 24 Redblacks 18

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