There are many storylines heading into this game, and there are many “if Winnipeg wins” statements hanging around this game. Yet for me, those are all premature statements.
The Grey Cup is one-and-done. So those storylines will come out, but they will only come out from me if the Bombers win.
Either way, one team is ending the season on a high, and the other team is ending the season thinking about what could have been.
The Mindset
Bombers
Sure, the Bombers know they are the favorite to win. But in their culture they find every way to stay focused. So the Bombers have once again found a way to convince themselves that it is them against the world.
Argonauts
For the Argonauts, their mindset is to “finish the job”.
While I am not convinced that “finish the job” is as strong a motivator as the Bombers have, the Argonauts have to draw upon something.
The Matchup
On paper these two teams look quite a bit more evenly matched than Bomber fans might anticipate.
Argonauts
Bombers
The Differences
Passing
Sure McLeod Bethel-Thompson has more passing yards than Zach Collaros, I will give that to McLeod.
However, yards do not tell the whole story, and in this case I would argue that they do not tell much of the story at all. Consider some other statistics. Zach has thrown more touchdowns and less interceptions than McLeod this season. Both of these quarterbacks have played 17 games. Yet Collaros threw for 37 touchdowns while Bethel-Thompson threw for 23 touchdowns. Zach has thrown 13 interceptions compared to McLeod’s 15.
There is a reason Zach Collaros won the Most Outstanding Player again.
Sure, McLeod can rack up yards, and might do so against Winnipeg, but it is points that win games.
Rushing
We will likely see a one-two punch for Toronto on Sunday. Not seen in the Team Leaders graphic above is Andrew Harris. But do not take Harris lightly. While Ouellette filled in for Harris, since Andrew has been back he has had some decent games.
On the other side of the ball is Oliveira. He may have started the season extremely slowly but he is hitting his stride at the exact right moment for the Bombers.
This will be a game of student vs master. However, in an even better plot twist the master is not playing for the champs.
Winnipeg is going to need to stop the run early and talk Toronto out of the run game if Winnipeg is going to win the 109th Grey Cup. If Andrew Harris gets 20+ touches, this game is going to be far closer than Bomber fans anticipate or are comfortable with.
What did I get right? What did you disagree with? Let me know in the comments.
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Written by a Bomber fan, for the Bomber fans.
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Lou Bruno
November 20, 2022 at 10:19 am
gopod stuff however I wonder if the comparison between MBT and Zack is different in the last ten games compared to the whole season. Argos were struggling in the first half of the season with so many injuries players out of position ect. just wondering let us know.