Bombers’ starting lineup has something to prove against former Edmonton teammates

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This article was published 02/10/2015 (3751 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With the Bombers losers in six of their last seven games, it’s safe to say there’s more than enough motivation in the locker-room to get things back on track when they hit the field Saturday against the Edmonton Eskimos. 

But when you consider the Blue and Gold have two former Eskimos — quarterback Matt Nichols and offensive lineman Selvish Capers — in their starting lineup, guys who were deemed disposable this season and traded from an Eskimos team that has since rolled to a 9-4 record — it’s safe to say there may be a little extra push from the home side come kickoff.

Not to mention the text messages and phone calls have already started to come in, including one from Edmonton receiver Nate Coehoorn, who told the Bombers pivot the team is “coming for him.”

“Those guys know me well enough that they know that doesn’t affect me,” said Nichols, who will meet up with a few of his former teammates for dinner. “Once the game starts it’s going to be nameless faces… and we’re going to go out and do our stuff and try to be successful.”

Nichols hasn’t exactly been tight lipped about his departure from the Eskimos, and has praised his time in Winnipeg so far. He noted earlier in the year it’s the most fun he’s had playing football since his college days at Eastern Washington University.

When asked to expand on that thought Friday, Nichols’s voice waned as he described how he felt his former team had lost confidence in him this year, despite putting up a record of 5-2 in seven starts with Edmonton. He was eventually traded for a conditional seventh round pick in the 2017 CFL Draft.

“When you’re getting pulled in games that you’re winning 13 to 3, I think that is just a message to me that they didn’t believe in what I was doing,” said Nichols, referring to a game in July against Winnipeg where he was replaced by backup James Franklin, who went on to throw three touchdowns.

“It’s been a crazy season. I wish I would have had a heads up that I was going to be traded to Winnipeg, I would have thrown a few pick-sixes earlier in the game and threw that game against Winnipeg; would have been nice.”

Capers will make his debut with Winnipeg today and looks forward to mucking it up with a unit he used to do battle with in practice.

“Yeah, that’s something I don’t think nobody could have wrote down on a piece of paper,” said Capers, who was part of a trade that sent Chris Greaves the other way. “Edmonton is a good team, they bring a lot of schematic things to the field so we just got to be prepared for it. I think our preparation this week has got us in a good position to win.”

Down but not out

Many fans have started to give up on the Bombers’ chances to make the playoffs, but despite such a putrid record, they’re still very much in the race thanks to a West Division that has such a big disparity been the haves and have-nots. The Eskimos, along with the division-leading, 10-3 Calgary Stampeders, sit atop the west. The next best team is the B.C. Lions at 4-8, and the only team threatening a cross-over move is Montreal, who were crushed by the Ottawa Redblacks Thursday night, 39-17, to fall to 5-8 this year.

Ex-Falcon swoops in 

He’s one of the players with the most NFL experience on the Bombers — he played 29 games with the Atlanta Falcons — but today will be receiver Kevin Cone’s first CFL game. With Julian Feoli-Gudino still on the six-game injury list, Cone fits in to a lineup that will start four import receivers.

“Just pure excitement,” Cone said. “I’ve put in the work, I’m comfortable with the plays and I’m going to leave nervousness at home…”

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At 6-2 and 215 pounds, he’s certainly a big target. But whether he’ll be able to reel in catches is still up for debate. Cone had just one catch for 12 yards while playing in the NFL; his experience coming mostly on special teams.

“He seems to have grasped the offence very quickly,” said Nichols of his new receiver. “I obviously don’t know too much about him. All I know is I’ve seen him out in practice, making some plays and he’s a guy I’ve got all the confidence in the world in.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.