Backup Coates proves he’s game-ready

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This article was published 21/08/2017 (2962 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

How good was Matt Coates’ performance as an injury replacement for wide receiver Julian Feoli-Gudino in the first half Thursday night? Seamless, you could say. Almost as if Feoli-Gudino never left the game.

“Honestly, during the game, I didn’t even know Julian got hurt on that play,” Winnipeg quarterback Matt Nichols said following Blue Bombers’ practice Sunday afternoon, recalling Feoli-Gudino’s lower-body injury. “We had gone two more drives, actually had a completion to Matt, and we were on the sidelines. Julian was on the (medical) table and I went to Matt and said, ‘Be ready to go, Julian’s on the table,’ and he said, ‘I’ve already been in there, you threw me the ball.’

“I think that just speaks to how — at least for me — I never lock in on who’s who and who’s where. Our guys are in the right spots and throw the ball to where the defence tells me to throw the ball to. Credit to him for knowing his assignment and being in the right spot, because I’m not a guy who’s going to say we’ve got a new guy in there and he hasn’t played much this year, (so) I’m not going to throw him the ball… I thought he did a real nice job filling in.”

Coates, a 26-year-old Canadian who played three seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before signing as a free agent with Winnipeg in the off-season, caught a pass for a 12-yard gain in the second quarter and added two more receptions for a total of 32 yards. He was one of seven Blue Bombers with a catch during Winnipeg’s 33-26 win.

“He’s obviously focused on his reads and stuff,” Coates said, explaining how his entry into the game escaped Nichols’ notice. “I mean, we all have a trust factor in each other that everybody on the field’s going to be able to do their job.”

With Feoli-Gudino watching practice from the sidelines Sunday, Coates worked out with the first-team offence and he could very well get his first start in a Blue Bombers uniform Thursday night in Montreal against the Alouettes (6:30 p.m., TSN, CJOB).

He plans to be ready if Feoli-Gudino is unable to go. Backups must be prepared to contribute at a moment’s notice in offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice’s system.

“I wouldn’t say it’s too hard as long as you have good second-team reps,” said Coates, who caught nine passes and started 16 games in his three seasons with the Ticats.

“As you see on the walk-through day, all the backups are watching the starters go through their reps and they’re walking through it even though they’re not actually doing the rep.

“They still know where they are on the field and what their responsibilities are. I think that, combined with the communication we have with the receivers as well, with the quarterback in and out of the huddle, helps to transition any new player that’s coming into the offence.

“It’s the same prep as if I’m a backup. As you know, you can get in there any time and you’ve got to be ready. When I hit the field, it’s not really any worry to me.”

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Coates also said he is capable of filling any spot in the receiving corps. “Most of us actually can do that,” he said.

“With our offence, you need to know what the other guys are doing to make it work.”

There is some added value to Coates’ presence on the Blue Bombers roster. After Week 6, he replaced an injured Weston Dressler as the holder on field goal and convert attempts and kicker Justin Medlock, a former teammate with the Ticats, has gone on to hit on 16 of 20 field goals attempts while posting a perfect mark on seven converts.

“We go back to Hamilton in 2014 so, I mean, we have a good understanding of what we have to do to get the job done,” Coates said.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @sawa14