Success is all that Matt-ers

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This article was published 15/09/2016 (3304 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Drew Willy was expensive, expendable and alluring to a team that just lost its No. 1 quarterback for the season — three reasons the Winnipeg Blue Bombers traded their one-time franchise pivot

Willy’s salary for this year and next had the potential to pay him north of $400,000 — a price tag far too high for someone who was expected to hold a clipboard for the rest of the season.

Plus, the way Matt Nichols has been playing, entering Saturday’s game against the Toronto Argonauts a perfect 6-0 since taking over July 24, Bombers general manager Kyle Walters admitted Willy’s contract made it next to impossible to keep him around past this season. Why not see what he could get for him now?

Which brings us to reason No. 3: Willy was attractive. At least to the Argonauts, who were not only willing to sacrifice part of their future to get him, trading away a first-round pick next season and a third-rounder the year after that, but also a piece of their present in defensive back T.J. Heath.

Heath had two interceptions — he’s now tied with Bombers linebacker Maurice Leggett for a league-best five picks — two knock-downs and seven tackles against Hamilton on Sunday, the same night he found out he had been shipped to Winnipeg. Heath joins a Bombers defence that leads the league in turnovers, averaging more than three per game.

It can be argued, however, the main reason Willy is no longer with the Blue Bombers is not the money, nor the market, but because, simply put, he wasn’t the right fit for offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice and the Bombers offence.

“Matt just seemed to be a better fit for what Paul wanted to accomplish,” Walters said during a news conference Monday, noting he first made the observation in training camp. “It’s not uncommon where certain skill sets of players match up with certain co-ordinators a little bit better.”

Knowing that, the question was put to LaPolice on Thursday — the first time he was made available to the media since the trade — why he felt Willy, a guy who was the undisputed starter heading into the season, didn’t seem more compatible with the offensive game-plan.

“I don’t know,” said LaPolice, seemingly displeased with the question. “I thought that he fit in some ways very well but certainly trades happen… those aren’t my calls.”

But as much as it wasn’t LaPolice’s call to trade Willy, it’s hard to argue against his calls on the field playing a role in his departure.

Willy played just five games with LaPolice’s playbook, posting a 1-4 record. Under a new system and with a number of new players, Willy never seemed to find his comfort level.

He looked rushed in the pocket and often overthrew receivers. He rarely got off to a good start in games and was unable to finish when it counted, throwing for five touchdowns and four interceptions.

But whether it was the type of play calls or Willy’s inability to execute them, LaPolice wasn’t willing to play ball.

“I thought Drew did a lot of great things here and I wish him the best of luck,” he said. “The past is the past.”

Nichols is the present — and likely the future, too, even if he remains unsigned beyond this season. Walters, though interested in working out a deal, said signing Nichols to an extension wasn’t imminent, since there was plenty more football to be played this season and time before the Feb. 9 free-agent deadline.

So, if Nichols is the right fit for the Blue and Gold, where does he fit in the long-term plans with the boss on offence?

“Everyone keeps talking fit,” said LaPolice. “I think he’s a good fit because he’s a good quarterback…in our system, or whatever.

“He’s a good quarterback, he just hasn’t had opportunities to play.”

‘I think he’s a good fit because he’s a good quarterback… in our system, or whatever’– Bombers offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice, on Matt Nichols

It’s the very fact Nichols, who at the age of 29 and in his seventh year playing in the CFL, is still considered to be relatively inexperienced as a starter that makes the Bombers faith in him all the more intriguing. Nichols, who was brought to Winnipeg in a trade with the Edmonton Eskimos midway through the 2015 season, has never started more than seven games in a season, boasting a record of 13-12.

That’s not to suggest he hasn’t been impressive. After posting a 2-5 record with the Bombers last year, Nichols has done nothing but win this year in what’s been as great a story as any this year in the CFL.

And he’s doing it under a new offensive scheme, one that has allowed him to put move the ball downfield even on weeks where he was missing a number of key receivers.

In a 37-11 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 7, Nichols completed 74 per cent of his passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns, utilizing a receivers group without Weston Dressler, Darvin Adams and Ryan Smith.

LaPolice wasn’t going to take credit for the success Nichols has had this season, but he’s not surprised to see him striving, either.

“I evaluated him in free agency last year and I loved him,” said LaPolice, who spent the last three seasons as an analyst for TSN before joining the Bombers in December. “He processed information and he made throws. He threw accurately and he could process information quickly. That’s some of the things we look for in our quarterback.”

It’s the kind of qualities Dominique Davis feels he, too, possesses. Davis, now in his second year in Winnipeg, is considered to be a quarterback in waiting for the Bombers, the third stringer behind 37-year-old Kevin Glenn, who returned to Winnipeg in a deal with the Montreal Alouettes shortly after the Willy trade.

Davis, 27, described a LaPolice offence as fast-paced and one that uses the right mix of plays that allows receivers to make plays. At 6-3, 215 pounds, Davis can also toss the long ball, another quality he said works well within the Bombers playbook.

“It’s just so many things he does to prepare us for when we do play,” said Davis. “We come out here and we play fast. We’re prepared, and we see everything.”

In other words, it’s the perfect fit.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.catwitter: @jeffkhamilton

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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