The Corbett Report, July 5, 2024

Introduction

Fun fact, the last time tonight’s opening song was used was September 20, 2012.  At that point in that season the Bombers were 2-9 and enroute to a 6-12 season.  It was of course, in the middle of their 29-year Grey Cup drought and the team had become the poster boys for football futility. It’s hard to even contemplate that the current edition of the Bombers might be on that same path, but an 0-4 start, regardless of how close the games have been, is still an 0-4 start.  It reminds one of how fickle sports can be.  One minute you’re on top of the world, the next? Well, the standings section of this report comes later.

Welcome to week five.  Welcome to the Corbett Report.

Bombers

When Zach Collaros went down last week with what I suspect is a rib injury, the game was there for Chris Streveler to take over.  Coming in off the bench he did lead the Bombers to a bit of comeback and did throw the first TD pass by a Bomber quarterback this year.  There was, however, some notably awful throws and in the end, in overtime, it was the interception thrown that did in the Bombers.  Now with Zach out, the question becomes: “Can Streveler be more than just a short yardage guy?” That’s the first big question facing the Bombers this week. 

The second big question, and maybe the one that the Bombers hope no one is asking, is “Can this O-Line stop opposing teams pass rush?” It sure hasn’t seemed that way this year as Collaros has been scrambling for his life on many plays and the running game has struggled to be the dominant force it was during the last four years.  The Bombers are second last in the league with 7 sacks allowed.  What’s more, if you turn the question around and talk about the D-Line, The Bombers sit second last in the sacks-made category as well, having sacked opposing QBs only 3 times.  Clearly, the performance of the players in the trenches has contributed significantly to that afore-mentioned 0-4 record.

RedBlacks

The RedBlacks seem to have improved significantly at the QB position.  Dru Brown (he of the former Bomber persuasion) has completed 60% of his passes for 795 yards (an average of 265 yards per game).  What’s more significant is that he’s only thrown 1 interception.  That’s pretty impressive for someone who’s essentially a rookie QB.  In contrast, Bomber QBs have thrown a total of 5 interceptions in just 4 games.

In most other stat categories, the RedBlacks are shaping up to be a middle of the road team.  Their 2-1 record puts them in third in the East, and really, who have they beaten? Two 0-4 teams in the Bombers and the Ti-Cats. GULP!

Standings

Team	GP	W	L	Pts	Pts for	Pts Against
West
Saskatchewan	3	3	0	6	98	71
BC	4	3	1	6	103	97
Calgary	3	2	1	4	71	69
Edmonton	4	0	4	0	98	115
Winnipeg	4	0	4	0	74	98
East
Montreal	4	4	0	8	127	73
Toronto	3	2	1	4	94	93
Ottawa	3	2	1	4	68	88
Hamilton	4	0	4	0	96	125

A third of the teams in the league haven’t yet won a game.  That’s not a good stat (says Captain Obvious).

Keys to the game

For the Bombers to win

• Score early and regain their mojo
• Don’t turn the ball over or give the RedBlacks freebees on offense
• Streveler must learn how to pass

For the RedBlacks to win

• Hit the big pass play early and silence the crowd
• Win the game in the trenches.  Both the Bomber O-Line and D-Line are suspect
• Confuse Chris Streveler (make him resort to running and becoming one dimensional)

The predictions

Corbett report record is 2-14 overall and 0-4 in Bomber games.  In CFL fantasy this puts me in 21,912^th position.  Or just ahead of those people who accidentally set up an account and haven’t played yet.

This week will be when everything turns around.  Let’s go with:

• Toronto over Sask (the Riders are without starting QB Trevor Harris)
• Montreal over Calgary (I’m finally starting to believe that Montreal are for real)
• Hamilton over BC (In the only upset of the week)

And of course, tonight the Bombers show that they’re better than an 0-4 team:

Bombers 26 RedBlacks 23

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