Can Nichols repeat last week’s feat?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/08/2016 (3357 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Matt Nichols did exactly what the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hoped he’d do last Thursday in Edmonton.

He moved the football downfield into enemy territory. From there, he marched the offence into the red zone and then, in something rarely seen this season, made sure the ball got into the end zone.

In fact, Nichols’ first four drives — 37 plays and 279 offence — resulted in a 17-0 lead while the game was still in the second quarter. Nichols dictated the pace early and didn’t take his foot off the pedal.

It’s been written in these pages before: Nichols inspired an underachieving team to its second win of the season and, arguably, the first earned without having six balls handed to them via turnovers.

The logical next question is, can Nichols find the repeat button at Investors Group Field Wednesday against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats?

“We’re out to prove that to everyone,” he said after the Bombers pre-game walkthrough on Tuesday. “We feel that we have a good team in that locker room and a team that can go out and play with the best in the league.”

The Bombers haven’t won two straight games since the 2014 season and have just seven wins in 30 tries at IGF since it opened in 2013.

The quick turnaround of a Wednesday game along with just two days of on-field practice this week has meant Nichols has had to refocus quickly.

“For me, it’s doing what I’ve always done — get in here early, stay late, watch the film and try and get a good feel of what they’re going to do to us,” he said.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Calling the Blue Bombers Nichols’ team after just one week might be a little premature, but that’s the pivot’s state of mind when he steps on the field.

“If you don’t have the confidence that you’re going to go in and the team is going to believe in you, then I think that you’re in trouble from the start'”he said. “My mentality hasn’t changed.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @scottbilleck

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

Every piece of reporting Scott 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.