Eskimos bracing for Streveler’s impact

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This article was published 22/08/2019 (2259 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON — He’s started just four CFL games, two of which they’ve seen first-hand, and yet the Edmonton Eskimos aren’t exactly celebrating the arrival of Chris Streveler to Commonwealth Stadium Friday.

Given the importance of the game — the Winnipeg Blue Bombers lead the CFL’s West division at 7-2, with the Eskimos at 6-3 — one would think facing Streveler might be an ideal situation over having to play Bombers No. 1 quarterback Matt Nichols. After all, Nichols is 37-16 as Winnipeg’s starter.

But that isn’t the case.

“I don’t look at it that way. It’s not like he’s a normal backup. He’s taken a lot of reps in nine games. They’ve put him in pressure-packed situations at the end of the game to get a first down. They do things with him that most other teams don’t do with their backups and then you see the production he provides you and the spark he provides you and all things that he can physically do,” Eskimos head coach Jason Maas said Thursday.

“That’s different. That’s noticeable on our part. We understand what we’re getting ourselves into and the fact of the matter is we’ve played him twice — once for a full game and once for half the game — so we at least have an idea of what he presents, the challenges he presents and it’s still not easy. Whether you want to say he shouldn’t have that much praise because he hasn’t played a lot, we’ve seen enough of him to know he’s dangerous.”

Streveler joined the Bombers as a 23-year-old straight out of college in 2018, following two standout years at the University of South Dakota, and was quickly thrust into the starting role after an injury to Nichols.

He started three games, winning one — a 56-10 blowout in Montreal against the Alouettes. He embraced his role with the short-yardage team, which often included staying on the field for a few extra plays. He finished the year completing 86 of 140 passes for 1,134 yards and 11 touchdowns, along with five interceptions, while rushing 77 times for 441 yards and 10 scores.

“It’s a lot like playing an option team down in the States. You have to be very assignment-sound playing their offence. They do so much different things that if you get caught looking here, or get caught out of a gap there, they’re gonna make you pay because they have such great athletes on their offensive side. And they’ve got a big, physical O-line,” said Maas.

“He’s the added dimension now, where you’ve got to worry about the quarterback running. With Matt you don’t have to as much. He’s still a great athlete and he can still get out and get first downs for you, but Streveler can score from anywhere on the field.”

Streveler’s skill set has caught the eye of Eskimos quarterback Trevor Harris, admits he was most intrigued by Streveler’s running ability. At 6-1 and 216 pounds, Streveler is built more like a linebacker than a quarterback, and sometimes plays like one, too.

“I’ve always admired his game. He’s like a darn fullback that’s super fast and can throw the football. I always love watching him play as a fan. He makes a lot of plays,” Harris said. “Shoot, even when Matt is healthy, Chris plays a lot of plays. He’s a big part of their offence, of who they are. They obviously developed some pretty big packages for him to be in there during the game because he’s that big of a difference maker… as a fan you’ve got to love watching him.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton