Nichols gets back to work

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/05/2017 (3084 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Of all the defining moments that made up the 2016 season for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, perhaps none was greater than what happened in Week 6 in Edmonton.

With a 1-4 record, the Bombers were beginning to free-fall, on the brink of another lost season and in desperate need of a spark. To shake things up, Winnipeg appointed Matt Nichols the team’s starting quarterback against the Eskimos. Nichols had seen limited time up to that point, replacing Drew Willy the week before late into a blowout loss against the Calgary Stampeders, but had impressed in the few minutes he played, orchestrating a touchdown on his first drive.

As good as he was, this was a much bigger ask: to do that over four quarters, with the season on the line, in a building the Bombers had gone winless in for 10 years.

Nichols understood the odds were stacked against him, but part of being a backup is living with the uncertainty of when — or if — you’ll ever get a chance to play. Ready or not, his opportunity had arrived. It was then, with just minutes before kickoff at Commonwealth Stadium, Nichols would call over the offence to huddle around him. Get close, he said, so he could share a few words.

“He came in there and said, ‘I don’t know how it’s going to go, it may not always be pretty but I can promise you one thing: I’m going to be tough for you guys and I’m going to give it my all,’ ” Bombers running back Andrew Harris recalled. “Sometimes guys say things and they can be all rah, rah but when he said that you could feel it, you knew it was genuine.

“We believed in him and that game we were a completely different offence.”

Nichols threw for 304 yards and one touchdown, completing 78 per cent of his passes in a 30-23 win over the Eskimos. He would remain behind centre for the rest of the season, guiding the Bombers to an 11-7 record and a playoff berth for the first time in five years. The Bombers lost to the B.C. Lions in the West semifinal, but the decision to make Nichols the long-term future of the team had been made. Voted the team’s most outstanding player, the Bombers inked Nichols to a three-year deal worth $400,000 a season.

While some might mention a lack of playing experience for such admiration — Nichols has yet to complete an entire season as a starter despite joining the CFL in 2010 — his teammates see it another way. To them, Nichols represents a player who has grown stronger from his experiences and proved last year he could perform under pressure.

“Every quarterback up here has a good arm; they can read defences,” Harris said. “To me, it’s toughness. It’s about having a guy who’s willing to run through a wall for you; a guy where, when the game’s on the line it doesn’t matter if he’s a little banged up; he’s not going to be complaining about protection or be worried about going head first for a first down. Matt has all those intangibles.”

“People see Matt at a practice or in a game but it starts in the classroom,” added Bombers receiver Darvin Adams. “He speaks his mind, he lets us know where he wants us to be and wants to know what we’re thinking on plays. He is like another coach who is always looking to improve.”

It was Nichols’ attention to detail, his accurate arm and his ability to protect the ball and make smart decisions in the pocket, that a year ago changed the direction of the Bombers offence. With Nichols, Winnipeg now has hope at a position that for years had been clouded with doubt. Beyond stability, Nichols has ushered in a new era of confidence, inspired by his lunch-pail work ethic and enthusiasm that is contagious both on the field and in the locker room.

“I would say this: in my experience with him, he’s as smart as anybody in the room,” said Bombers offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice. “He is someone who as a backup took every rep at 100 miles an hour. One of the reasons he’s a starter in the league is because of his preparation.”

Perhaps what the Bombers find most promising about Nichols, who set career highs in completions (327), yards (3,666) and touchdowns (18) last year, is he should, in theory, be even better in 2017.

Nichols is working with the same offensive scheme and terminology and with many of the same players from last year, including an offensive line that was tied for the third-fewest sacks (35) in 2016.

“I think there’s more to it, more to add,” said Bombers coach Mike O’Shea. “As time goes on, there will be more and more things to be impressed with.”

Bombers offensive lineman Jermarcus Hardrick prefers to act out what’s most impressed him about Nichols since he arrived in Winnipeg last year. An already intimidating figure at 6-5 and 311 pounds, Hardrick took a step back before clenching his eyes tight, as if he’s trying to look deep inside your soul.

“When I come into the huddle he gives me that look and it just does something to me,” Hardrick said, his eyes still clenched.

“I’m 300 pounds and my skin shakes. That’s just what I love, that look in his eyes with that cocky swagger. He’s saying, ‘Let’s go to work.’”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @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.

Every piece of reporting Jeff 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.