‘Game manager’ gets the W, and that’s what matters to him

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This article was published 17/06/2019 (2323 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Matt Nichols wears many hats. He’s an accomplished pro, a father of two and, now, the butt of his wife Ali’s jokes.

Less than 48 hours removed from an impressive season-opening 33-23 road win in Vancouver on Saturday night, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback met with local reporters Monday wearing a Father’s Day gift with the words “Game manager” stencilled on the front.

The irony of the “game manager” label — a common putdown for quarterbacks who win games despite less-than-flashy stats — wasn’t lost on Nichols, who has won 31 of his 46 starts since taking over as the No. 1 man in Winnipeg midway through the 2016 season.

He’s also good-natured about the ribbing.

“Yeah, my wife’s sense of humour,” he said, grinning. “She loves it. I think everyone can kind of figure it out.”

Saturday’s win over the B.C. Lions was a prime example. Although Nichols had modest numbers, completing 21 of 33 passes for 184 yards, he also fired three touchdown passes and did not throw an interception while directing a powerful Winnipeg offence that got 148 yards on 16 carries from tailback Andrew Harris.

His opposite, B.C. quarterback Mike Reilly, completed 22 of 39 for 324 yards, one TD and two picks in the losing effort.

In seven previous seasons in the CFL, Nichols passed for more than 4,000 yards once. Reilly, meanwhile, has eclipsed the 5,000-yard mark three times in eight years.

“We’re a balanced attack,” Nichols said. “I don’t know why everyone cares so much about 300 yards passing and stuff. It’s pretty insane to me. There were a couple of inches here and there (in Saturday’s game), barely missed one to Lucky (Whitehead) that’s another 60 yards. Had a scramble to (Drew Wolitarsky) that got called back — that’s another 20 yards. The yards were there.

“We ran the ball for 160 yards. It’s hard to also throw for 350 yards. It’s not something we’re real interested in. We’re interested in scoring a lot of points. That’s something we do consistently. Regardless how it gets done, we preach just scoring one more point than the other team.”

Saturday’s performance also showed a new and perhaps even flashier version of Nichols. After spending most of the off-season refining his diet and workout regimen with the intend of getting quicker, Nichols showed exactly that. Twice in the red zone, the 32-year-old went through his progressions after dropping back to pass, only to scramble out of the pocket to find wide-open receivers in the end zone — hitting Darvin Adams and Wolitarsky for easy scores.

‘We ran the ball for 160 yards. It’s hard to also throw for 350 yards. It’s not something we’re real interested in. We’re interested in scoring a lot of points. That’s something we do consistently. Regardless how it gets done, we preach just scoring one more point than the other team’
– Matt Nichols

Nichols said those plays are made possible by mental and physical changes.

“Not that I wouldn’t be able to do it (last year),” he said. “It’s just a lot more effortless now and I feel like I’m just moving a lot better. When you have that thought process, also, I’ve incorporated that into my thinking. Read one, read two, read three, get out of there type of thing. I feel like one of my strengths is finding throws. Sometimes that can be a hindrance, where I always feel like I can find a throw.

“Sometimes, it doesn’t trigger you to just be a playmaker and break the pocket, or scramble up through the pocket and just kinda have that a bit more in my mind to use that ability. It happened twice in the game.”

A year ago, the result of each drive would likely have been different. Winnipeg went 4-for-4 in the red zone on Saturday and Nichols sees the Week 1 trend continuing.

“That’s what I want to continue to do,” he said. “The initial reads weren’t there, went through two or three reads and they took things away and I was able to escape, and the receivers did a great job of just finding open spots in the end zone and a big reason we’re scoring touchdowns instead of field goals. It’s something we practised a lot, working on those scramble drills and finding spots, getting on the same page and we were able to do that. I think that it just puts more pressure on a defence, something else that they have to plan for.”

The Blue Bombers are off this week on a bye, returning to the practice field on Sunday to begin preparations for their home-opener June 27 against the Edmonton Eskimos, who defeated the Montreal Alouettes 32-25 on Friday night.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14