Nichols’ leadership qualities earn him respect among Bombers teammates

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This article was published 14/11/2018 (2488 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If Chris Streveler wasn’t a morning person before joining the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in May, he certainly is one now.

Streveler, the Bombers’ 23-year-old rookie backup, has adopted the same routine starting quarterback Matt Nichols has done for years. The two, along with third-stringer Bryan Bennett, gather at least three times per week for sessions beginning at 5 a.m., hours before any of their teammates arrive for scheduled meetings.

Together, they go over game tape and dissect opposing defences in hope of unearthing whatever edge they can find. While each person contributes in their own way, it’s often Nichols who leads the class, taking on a role that seems as much a coach as it does a committed teammate.

“I hope when I’m done playing, Chris plays for another 10 years after me and I’m hopefully getting texts from him and still have that relationship”
– Blue Bombers starting quarterback Matt Nichols on backup Chris Steveler

“I know it’s not really part of his job requirement. We play the same position but obviously being a leader, Matt is a team-first guy and so am I,” Streveler said Wednesday, following the Bombers’ first official practice ahead of Sunday’s West Division final in Calgary against the Stampeders. “He’s been just tremendous that way. I think everyone on this team knows what type of person and leader he is.”

What’s impressed Streveler the most and the part of the meetings he believes has made him a better player on the field is the ability Nichols has to pick out parts of plays that often go unnoticed to the untrained eye. There are moments when Nichols will ask to rewind a certain play when he catches something at the last second, even though everyone in the room has already run through it two or three times.

Nichols has the added advantage over Streveler and Bennett of playing in the league for the past seven years, but it’s more than just a familiarity with the CFL game that makes him so savvy in the film room. He’s become so good at it, Streveler said, he’s not just coming forward with suggestions but is often leaned on by the coaching staff.

Along with offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice and quarterbacks coach Buck Pierce, Nichols’ voice is as valuable as any when it comes to providing input on certain plays that are being installed or when devising a game plan.

“He does that really well, he’ll get through his reads really quickly and he sees things on film that I didn’t even notice. I’ve watched the play but he’s looking at it from a different perspective,” Streveler said.

“We’ll be talking about something and he’ll give a lot of input back to LaPo about what he does or doesn’t like about the play or what he’s thinking about that play. It’s cool to see and be a part of,” Streveler said. “Matt, LaPo and Buck are all on the same wavelength and I don’t want to bring it back to me but I’m trying to get on that wavelength with them.”

There have been times where the sessions have been more therapeutic than instructional. When Nichols hit a rut during a four-game losing streak that lasted from mid-August to early September, a stretch of games that had fans calling for Streveler to replace Nichols as the No. 1, the environment outside the room allowed for a different type of lesson inside the quarterbacks’ lair.

“We talk more about just ignoring the outside noise. Sometimes something happens and it’s like, ‘oh, jump right to the craziest conclusion, right?’” Streveler said. “Things are going to happen throughout the course of an 18-game season where somebody is not going to play well, or have a bad game or whatever, and that stuff happens. We just talk about staying off the emotional roller-coaster.”

It might seem odd to outsiders that Nichols would be so willing with his time and expertise, especially to those who are fighting for more of his playing time. To that, Nichols had a few reasons for why he’s quick to lend a hand. First, he’s received help from others earlier in his career. When he was in Edmonton it was the older quarterbacks in the room, such as Ricky Ray, Kerry Joseph and Mike Reilly, who were intergral to his growth.

More to the point, though, is Nichols wants to win.

“You learn what being a good teammate is. And if something was to happen to me, I want Chris to go in and give us a chance to win a championship. So I want him to be at that level,” Nichols said. “There’s a lot to learn when you’re in a new league, and playing this position at this level, there’s a lot that goes into it. It’s a responsibility to pass along knowledge.”

“I know it’s not really part of his job requirement. We play the same position but obviously being a leader, Matt is a team-first guy and so am I”
– Bombers backup quarterback Chris Streveler on Matt Nichols mentorship

Nichols is a self-professed workaholic. It’s just one of the reasons for why he’s respected in the locker room and why Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea never considered a change when Nichols wasn’t playing his best. But he’s also someone who understands not just the importance of the game but also the people who play it.

“I hope when I’m done playing, Chris plays for another 10 years after me and I’m hopefully getting texts from him and still have that relationship,” Nichols said. “Because that’s what we have at the end of this, whenever you’re done playing. It’s something I love about the game, is the relationships you build. It’s an important thing for me.

The way veteran receiver Weston Dressler explains it, Nichols has a special instinct of knowing what to do and when to do it, whether in the classroom or on the field. It’s noticed by all that work with him on a daily basis and why they’ve been quick to defend him throughout the year, no matter what the stats suggested.

“To me, that’s a huge quality right there as a leader, that he’s helping a guy like Streveler, a rookie coming into his first year. There were certain groups of fans that were calling for Streveler at times throughout the year and he’s still in there helping the guy and teaching him about the Canadian game and trying to improve his game,” said Dressler.

“The other thing for me is Matt on game day. He’s got a certain attitude to him — a confidence level — that he brings into a huddle at, it seems, the right time throughout a game. He’ll make just a quick comment here and there and it fires guys up.”

Nichols rebounded from his mid-season struggles and has won his last six games, including Sunday’s West semifinal win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, in what was Winnipeg’s first post-season victory in seven years. Over this recent stretch, he’s completed 72 per cent of his passes for 1,382 yards and eight touchdowns, while throwing for just one interception.

When the Bombers face off against the Stampeders on Sunday with a chance to advance to the Grey Cup, all eyes will be on Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, the West nominee for most outstanding player. That’s just fine for Nichols and his teammates, all of whom feel confident with what they’re getting every time No. 15 steps behind centre: a chance to win and a trust that the right person is leading the way.

“It’s an implicit, inherent trust that we have in Matt that he’s going to do the right thing and it’s because we know the type of work that he puts in and the time he takes and how much care he has. We know where he’s going to be and the type of player he is because of the preparation that he has. That goes along with all of us,” left guard Patrick Neufeld said. “We all trust each other because we put in so much work and we feel like it’s been building to this moment and we’re going to lay it on the line for a guy like that.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

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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.

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