The Corbett Report, August 11, 2022

Introduction

When the 2022 regular season schedule was released by the CFL, it was hard to imagine the Bombers would hit the halfway point in the season with a 9-0 record.  During the first half of the season they’ve played 6 games on the road and faced every team in the league except Saskatchewan.   And those 9 games have come in a 9 week stretch.  No bye week for this team.  Surely going undefeated was just a little bit too much to expect.  Well, here we are.  Entering the second half of the season with nothing but W’s on the score card.  Sometimes it hasn’t been pretty but week after week the Bombers simply find a way to get it done.  It’s a tribute to Mike O’Shea and the players who simply believe in the mantra, 1-0 every week.

So, while the fans outside Winnipeg might be going all giddy over Nathan Rourke in BC, just consider this:  The Lions (other than the game against the Bombers) have faced opponents with a combined record of 9-22.  They’ve also had the luxury of two bye weeks and played 5 of their 7 games at home.  So yeah, Rourke has looked impressive, but talk to me in November.

Before all of that though, there’s a rematch tonight against the Alouettes.

Welcome to week 4.  Welcome to the Corbett Report.

The Standings

WEST DIVISION

RK	TEAM	GP	W	L	T	PTS	F	A	HOME	AWAY	DIV
1	Winnipeg	9	9	0	0	18	250	162	3-0-0	6-0-0	4-0-0
2	BC	7	6	1	0	12	254	135	4-1-0	2-0-0	3-1-0
3	Calgary	7	5	2	0	10	206	150	2-1-0	3-1-0	2-2-0
4	Saskatchewan	8	4	4	0	8	200	192	3-2-0	1-2-0	1-1-0
5	Edmonton	8	2	6	0	4	145	290	0-3-0	2-3-0	0-6-0

EAST DIVISION

RK	TEAM	GP	W	L	T	PTS	F	A	HOME	AWAY	DIV
1	Toronto	7	4	3	0	8	153	174	3-2-0	1-1-0	2-1-0
2	Hamilton	8	2	6	0	4	161	209	2-2-0	0-4-0	2-1-0
3	Montreal	8	2	6	0	4	211	228	1-2-0	1-4-0	1-2-0
4	Ottawa	8	1	7	0	2	155	195	0-4-0	1-3-0	1-2-0

Fun fact: Bombers defense gives up an average of 18 points per game.  Montreal? 28.5 points per game.

Bombers

You can pretty much use all the football accolades around to describe the Bombers’ performance this year. 

• Playing well in all phases of the games
• Finding ways to win
• Winning the line of scrimmage battle
• Next man up takes the lead when injuries strike
• Out-coaching their opponents
• Etc . . . etc . . . etc . . .

All that being said though, to a man, the Bombers admit that they can still be better.  Last week’s slow start in Montreal is a fine example of that.  When one looks at the score (35-20) it would be easy to conclude it was just another day at the ballpark for Blue.  Not quite so quick though, when you consider the game was 14-14 entering the 4^th quarter, it’s easy to say either:

1) Glass half full – they’ll simply do what it takes to win or

2) Glass half empty – they were lucky to escape Montreal with a victory. 

I’m a glass half full kind of guy, so to me, it was a tired Bomber team (5^th game in 32 days) that entered the 4^th quarter and said simply, “well that’s enough of this shit”.

Until someone proves otherwise, the Bombers continue to be the class of the league and look like odds-on favourites to get the three-peat.  Their running game is coming together, Llegghio has been solid, this week Ellingson returns to the receiving corps and then . . . what about that defense!

Alouettes

The Als entered the season with such promise.  A healthy Vernon Adams at QB, a new owner, the much-loved head coach Khari Jones.  So much pointed to a revitalized franchise.  How’s it gone? Well let’s see:          

Week one: Montreal start strong but ultimately give up a game-winning field goal to the Stamps

Week two: Missed a 20 yard (YES 20 YARD) field goal and lost 20-19 to Toronto

Week three: Vernon Adams is now injured but Trevor Harris steps in to lead the Alouettes to a win over the Riders

Week four: Alouettes give up 5 turnovers and Riders win 41-20. 

Week five: A bye week. 

Week six: Als collapse in the fourth quarter giving up 14 unanswered points and lose to the Elks.  Als rack up 193 yards of penalties (many in the 4^th quarter) which leads to the firing of Khari Jones.

Week seven: Another bye week (meanwhile the Bombers move to 7-0)

Week eight: Trevor Harris is pulled from the game by the concussion spotter.  Dominique Davis comes in and throws a pic and Hamilton comes away with a victory

Week nine: Alouettes hold the Bombers through 3 quarters but ultimately the Bombers prevail scoring 21 fourth quarter points.  Horned up Alouette fans cause TSN viewers across the country to hit mute on their remotes.

Get the picture? The Als are a team in turmoil. Despite that, they did hold the Bombers close last week, largely on the strength of their defense.  They’ll need another big performance out of that group this week.  I don’t think you can count on a Zach Collaros-lead offense turning the ball over 3 times, two weeks in a row so it could be a long night for them.

Keys to the game

For the Bombers to win

• Keep on keepin’ on (cliché I know but what the hell)
• Win the special teams battle (Hello Janarion Grant)
• Don’t look ahead to their bye week

For the Alouettes to win

• Win the turnover game
• Score early
• Hope for a lightning strike

The record

Corbett report predictions so far this year:

                        CFL                                         17 – 18   (48.5%)

                        Bombers only                            8 – 1     (89.0%)

The predictions

For the non Bomber games, here’s what’s going to happen:

• A key matchup in Calgary sees the Lions crawling back to their den (Calgary over BC)
• Game 2 of 4 games in 5 weeks between the Ti-Cats and the Argos sees the Ti-Cats get revenge at home (Hamilton over Toronto)
• Final game of the weekend sees the Riders head to the Elks.  Riders are a struggling team.  This could be the Elks’ third win of the season (Edmonton over Saskatchewan)

In our feature matchup, the Bombers will be the last team in the league to get a bye week.  They could be a tired group Thursday night, but look for a loud, raucous (cowbells rock, horns suck) crowd to push them to the top. 

Bombers 32 Alouettes 11

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