Cancel the priest; the Bombers are recovering

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/08/2016 (3356 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We can debate, I suppose, whether Mike O’Shea’s decision to finally bench Drew Willy was made voluntarily or because he was dragged into it by circumstance, desperation and intense pressure from both within and outside the Winnipeg Blue Bombers organization.

But what is no longer up for debate is this: giving Willy the hook and replacing him with Matt Nichols as the starting quarterback was the best decision O’Shea has made in his two-plus seasons as the team’s head coach.

Yes, you can argue that is a low bar for a man whose win-loss record is just 15-28.

And yes, you can argue replacing Willy with Nichols last week was long overdue and a no-brainer, given Willy’s ineffectiveness through the first five weeks of the season.

But in a business that is all about results, there is no arguing with the spectacular outcome of O’Shea’s decision to give Nichols the keys to the team’s offence.

With a memorable and historic 37-11 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Thursday morning — you read that right, Thursday morning, after a 2 1/2-hour lightning-powered weather delay pushed the opening kickoff to 10:08 p.m. — a team that looked well on its way to another lost season under Willy suddenly has a two-game winning streak on the go under Nichols and all kinds of momentum heading into a critical stretch that will see them play their next three games on the road.

Nichols’ numbers since taking over the offence — completing 59 of 80 pass attempts for 641 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions — tell the story of a man who seems suited to run offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice’s scheme in a way Willy was not.

But even more remarkable than the turnaround in the offence since Nichols took over has been the equally dramatic improvements we’ve seen on the other side of the ball.

Hands up if you predicted Nichols would be the most important player on the defence this year. Anyone?

It cannot be a coincidence since Nichols became the starter, the defence has played its two best games in victories in Edmonton last week and at Investors Group Field Wednesday… and Thursday.

The level of aggression and smash-mouth meanness displayed by the defenders since the quarterback change suggests the move sent a message that was heard across the locker room.

The special teams — which had been wildly inconsistent — stepped up in a big way against Hamilton.

The indisputable conclusion is having Nichols in the starting lineup has made this team better in all three phases of the game.

Not only has the QB switch taken the Bombers’ season off the critical list, the prognosis has improved despite several key injuries over the last couple of weeks.

Consider this: Wednesday’s lineup featured eight different starters than the one they fielded two weeks ago against the Calgary Stampeders.

I repeat, eight different starters — four on offence and four on defence — one-third of the starting lineup. And that doesn’t include the offensive linemen who were forced into new positions as a result of injuries.

That kind of turnover midway through a season is normally a recipe for disaster. Yet, with Nichols under centre, the Bombers have dramatically — magically? — changed course.

The biggest winner in all this, of course, is the long-suffering Bombers Nation. There was something very fitting in the fact a fan base that has been waiting more than a quarter century to experience Grey Cup glory was put on hold yet again before the latest opening whistle for a CFL contest in memory was heard.

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But for once, the Bombers finally rewarded their fans’ patience, storming out to a 34-0 halftime lead, laying a spanking on the Ticats the likes of which the Bombers have, all too often, been on the receiving end of in recent years.

Look, it’s still early and this could all end badly. But there is reason for genuine optimism in the fact a team that dramatically upgraded its talent level during the off-season is finally playing up to expectations.

The problem was never the talent level; GM Kyle Walters did his job in the off-season and the team’s performance the last two games has proven that.

O’Shea always had the horses he needed. He just had the wrong cowboy in the saddle. Until now.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @PaulWiecek