Nichols-led gritty offence complements Bombers’ dynamic defence

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/09/2016 (3305 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the annals of pro football, there is little chance the 2016 Blue Bombers offence is going to be confused with the greatest show on turf — the NFL’s 1999 St. Louis Rams — or even be mentioned in the same breath as what the Bo Levi Mitchell-led Calgary Stampeders or the Zach Collaros-led Hamilton Tiger-Cats offences are on their way to accomplishing this season.

A juggernaut they are not, but they are everything their team needs them to be and a near perfect compliment to an evolving, ball-hawking defence.

Throughout the team’s current six-game winning streak the offence is averaging 363 yards and almost 30 points a game, just about 30 minutes of possession, and most importantly — and incredibly — averaging only half a turnover a game, or 0.66 give aways an outing, to be exact. The stats are pretty good numbers in the CFL — not great — but when you have committed just four turnovers in six games, and only one of these has been an interception tossed by your quarterback, the rest of those numbers don’t need to jump off the page.

Speaking with Bombers QB Matt Nichols after Saturday’s 17-10 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, he agreed that he is at the helm of an offence whose identity is shaping up to be a workmanlike, blue-collar outfit, that is heavier on the grit, fight, and compete ingredients, than just flash and pizzaz.

Some offensive attacks are overly complex and delicate, like a finicky soufflé. There are so many layers and moving parts, there is lots of potential for disaster. They look great when everything is working and the recipe is followed exactly, but you take a lot of risks and some nights you don’t get to eat at all. This offence is pot roast, carrots and russet potatoes — and you are not allowed to leave the table until you finish your helping of Harris, Nichols, Dressler, and McDuffie.

No matter what page of the playbook Nichols has been asked to open, he never starts a kitchen fire, he doesn’t drop anything on the floor, or even come close to burning the meal beyond recognition.

This offensive group is also on the same page as the other phases of the team. They weren’t lighting it on fire offensively in a 10-10 dead heat before Kevin Fogg forced a fumble when Saskatchewan travelled into the red zone. Yet after this take away, they fed off the energy and excitement, and drove the field for the decisive touchdown of the game. That is complimentary football at it’s best. One phase of the football team makes a big play, and the other responds and reacts accordingly.

Beneath the surface, the top fliers on this unit aren’t afraid to get dirty either. There aren’t too many teams that are led by quarterbacks that would sell out to stop a missed field goal return when they are winning the game. Heck, Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers didn’t even want to get after a fumble that lay at his feet in last season’s Super Bowl. Nichols didn’t know that a flag had been thrown on that missed field goal return, as time was expiring. All he could have known is that they were holding on to a seven-point lead, and that was enough for him to fight off a block and take out the pins of returner Kendial Lawrence. When the quarterback of your six-game winning streak decides to get physical to secure the win, you know you have a leader in the locker-room.

To be sure, this is a football team that leads and makes its statements first and foremost with a dominant defence that swarms to the football and takes it away at a record pace. But its offence, and to a degree the special teams, are complimenting this defence so well, they are making that spotlight shine even brighter.

Doug Brown, once a hard-hitting defensive lineman and frequently a hard-hitting columnist, appears weekly in the Free Press.

Twitter: @DougBrown97