Bombers QB quietly confident and ready to go

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This article was published 30/06/2017 (3027 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

REGINA – Matt Nichols doesn’t plan to lose any sleep as he and the rest of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers get ready to open their 2017 CFL season Saturday night against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, in what will be the first regular season game to be played at the brand new Mosaic Stadium.

After a long off-season spent studying hours of game film and even more time in the gym – not to mention a gruelling training camp made longer with a Week 1 bye – the Bombers starting quarterback is ready to see his hard work finally pay off.

“I’m going to sleep like a baby tonight because I know I’ve put in the work all week and I’m going to continue to go through my reads and game plan all night tonight, all day tomorrow,” Nichols said during the Bombers brief media availability Friday. “We’ve put in a lot of work this training camp and we feel like we’re ready to go.”

It’s the first time in Nichols’ seven-year CFL career that he enters a season as the undisputed No. 1 quarterback. Now in his third year in Winnipeg, he took over the job for good in Week 6 of last season, replacing a struggling Drew Willy.

From there, Nichols won seven straight games, finishing the year 10-3 as the starter. As for Willy, he was shipped to Toronto in a lop-sided trade that saw the Bombers get the first overall pick in May’s CFL Draft and all-star defensive back T.J. Heath. Nichols finished the 2016 season with career highs in completions (327), attempts (471), yards (3,666), and touchdowns (18).

Asked if he felt any different this time around, Nichols recognized the significance of beginning the season as the go-to guy but downplayed what it may mean to the game or his performance.

“I’ve started so much football in my life, including the last couple of years and I’ve already gone through the mental process of what it’s going to be like leading up to the game, before the first kick-off,” said Nichols, who finished the 2016 regular season 10-3, leading the Bombers to their first playoff berth in five years. “Once the schedule came out I felt like I really had a month or two in the off-season to mentally prepare for what it’s going to be like and now I feel like I’m already in that mindset and it’s not going to bother me at all.

“I’m going to come out their firing in play one and play four incredibly good quarters.”

It’s that kind of confidence and preparation Chris Jones, head coach of the Roughriders, witnessed first-hand when the two were together with the Edmonton Eskimos. Jones, the head coach of the Eskimos at the time, was the one that traded Nichols to the Bombers – a deal that was next for nothing; a conditional mid-round pick – midway through the 2015 season, just months before winning the Grey Cup.

“I was around him for a couple of years. He’s a guy that stays prepared regardless,” Jones said Friday. “He was our backup in Edmonton and every time he was asked to go out and start the game, we won a lot of football games with him. We did that because he’s such a hard worker and very much a competitor. You saw a little of that last year that you had not seen, the competitive part of Matt Nichols’ game.”

Nichols wasn’t able to impress in a pre-season game against the Roughriders in Regina June 10, completing just five passes for 32 yards in a quarter and a half of play. He found his groove the following week against the Eskimos however, going 19-for-24 for 227 yards and two touchdowns (one interception) before sitting out the second half.

“What we’ve got to do is come out and when we decide to pressure, we pressure and when we decide to cover we cover,” Jones added. “We’ve got to tackle well because you know he’s going to find his check-down throws underneath. We’ve got to cover deep when he decides to put the ball down field.”

The Bombers will be in tough against a Saskatchewan team that, despite finishing the 2016 season tied for last place with a 5-13 record, has plenty of motivation behind them in this one. Not only will they try to avenge a disappointing 17-16 loss to the Montreal Alouettes last week, but will have the crowd carrying them in what will be a special kind of homecoming.

A formal celebration is planned for Saturday, officially opening Mosaic Stadium with politicians and fans gathering to take in the event. That energy should only progress up until kick-off and into the stands for what will be a Canada Day game to remember.

“I fee like you can let those things get to you but, for me, once the opening kick-off goes, it’s 12-on-12 football and I enjoy the loud noise, honestly,” Nichols said. “It helps me focus more and I felt like I’m just in my own thoughts so I hope they’re extremely loud.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton