The Corbett Report, August 24, 2023

Introduction

If there was any doubt about the importance of Zach Collaros to the Bombers, that doubt should have been put to rest last week.  While his replacement, Dru Brown did a stellar job in his replacement role against the Elks two weeks ago, the same can’t be true about last week’s performance against the Stamps.  Sure, the Bombers won, but the offence was pretty lack-lustre.  Brown did complete 63% of his passes but what’s not on the stat sheet is how a few of his off-target passes should have been picked off by the Stamps defence.  He missed Kenny Lawler on 3 of his 5 pass attempts, a stat that you just don’t see with Zach under centre. In fact, fair to say that without a single offensive touchdown and only 257 yards of total offense (171 passing) the Bombers stole one from Calgary last week.  Had it not been for Demerio Houston’s pick six on the last play of the third quarter the Bombers would have gone home having lost ugly instead of winning ugly.

Consider though, the opening song might also apply to Montreal.  Returning at QB after two weeks is Cody Fajardo.  In his absence, the Alouettes, just like the Bombers, have won two games.  The difference between the two scenarios? Caleb Evans is a much more experienced replacement to Fajardo than Brown is to Collaros. 

In any case, while both teams can sing “our QB’s back” only one can finish the singing with “our QB’s Zach”.  We’ll see if that melody still has Bomber fans singing after 60 minutes.

Welcome to week 12. Welcome to the Corbett Report.

Standings

Team	GP	W	L	Pts	For	Against
WEST DIVISION
Winnipeg	10	8	2	16	297	208
BC	10	7	3	14	262	187
Sask	10	5	5	10	210	272
Calgary	10	3	7	6	217	255
Edmonton	10	1	9	2	158	260
EAST DIVISION
Toronto	8	7	1	14	268	175
Montreal	9	6	3	12	224	179
Hamilton	9	3	6	6	170	248
Ottawa	10	3	7	6	231	253

There’s certainly a disparity in the league this year.  We’re not even at Labour Day and it’s pretty apparent which teams will make the post-season (and that at least one of them will have a losing record).

Bombers

Champions, they say, (not sure who they are), find ways to win games.  Well, then I guess the Bombers are champions. In their last two games the Bombers have looked rather vincible.  They gave up a 22-0 lead in Edmonton before finding a way to pull out a victory against the lowly Elks, and then last week, snuck out a 19-18 win against Calgary in a game that neither team could find the endzone on offence.  It all counts in the standings though.  We’re just past the halfway point and the Bombers find themselves with a heady 8-2 record.

One area of concern for the Bombers must be special teams.  Last week the Bombers had a punt blocked and gave up a whopping 146 yards on punt returns.  Meanwhile, Greg McCrae is proving to be no replacement for Janarion Grant (still on the injury list).  The Bombers punt return game has been, well, anemic to say the least.  So far the play of the offense and defence have overshadowed this shortcoming but it’s got to be a concern for the Bombers coaching staff.

The Bombers get Zach back this week so that should help shore up the offence that was ineffective with Dru Brown at the controls last week.

On defense, (although they’d never admit it) it’s more of the same “bend don’t break” philosophy that is serving the Bombers well this year.  Consider that last week the defence held Calgary to 6 field goals and no TDs and held Jake Maier to an 11 of 24 completion record.  And of course, just for good measure, the defense provided the only TD of the evening by either team.  Allowing just over 20 points per game I think it’s fair to say that reports of the demise of the Bomber defense in 2023 have been greatly exaggerated.

Alouettes

Fair to say that Alouettes are over-performing this year.  Their 6-3 record is the 4^th best in the league.  They’re coming into Winnipeg riding a 4-game winning streak during which they’ve outscored their opponents 118-68.  They’re currently 2^nd in the league in defence, allowing less than 20 points per game.

The two key match ups of interest tonight are:

• Cody Fajardo – playing against the Bombers never seems to turn out well for Cody.  How long will Montreal leave him in the game before we see Caleb Evans

• Montreal’s defence vs. Bombers offence – Bombers have had a way to bring opposing teams defences back to earth (hello BC, remember August 3^rd).  It’ll be a tell-tale game for both the Al’s D and the Bomber’s O

Keys to the game

For the Bombers to win

• Protect Zach
• Burn the Alouettes defence with the big play
• Win the turnover battle

For the Alouettes to win

• Score early – have the lead at the half
• Stop the Bombers from hitting the big play
• Get a punt return for a TD

Corbett report record

CFL Overall                28 out of 43 (65%)

Bomber games            8 out of 10 (80%)

The predictions

Bombers get to start the week but after that it’ll be:

Toronto over Calgary             (Jake Maier seems to be going backwards every week)

BC over Hamilton                  (Who plays QB for the Ti-Cats these days?)

Edmonton over Ottawa           (YES-this is the week)

Last year the Alouettes provided the Bombers with their only home loss of the season, a 20-17 OT win.  They’re not winning this year.

Bombers 33 Alouettes 11