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July 26, 2018

Matt Nichols | Game Changer

It was two years ago, less one day, that Matt Nichols was handed the keys to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers offence with simple instructions:

Do something – anything – to get the thing going and ignite a spark after a 1-4 start that, coming off four losing seasons, had the walls closing in and tempers flaring everywhere in Bomber Nation.

What was worse was that the Bombers were in Edmonton to face the Eskimos that week, and traditionally, the Alberta capital had been a graveyard for Winnipeg teams, both in good times and in bad.

Everything about the move screamed band-aid and quick fix. It was necessary, to be sure, but it was also seen as an act of desperation by anyone who followed the Canadian Football League.

Fast forward to the present and that decision not only seems visionary, but franchise altering.

Yes, yes, yes – we understand that the Grey Cup drought is still very much alive – but Nichols not only helped guide the Bombers to a 30-23 win that night, but a seven-game win streak that resulted in a playoff berth.

Over the last two years, only the Calgary Stampeders have won more games than the Bombers. And Nichols, kicked to the curb by the Eskimos when he was traded here in September of 2015 for a draft pick, has since posted a 23-10 record in games he has started.

“I didn’t really know him at first,” began Andrew Harris when asked to look back to that game in Edmonton two years ago. “I remember him coming into our warm-up before the game and breaking (the huddle) down. There was an intensity in his voice. Obviously, we were playing Edmonton and so that was a very special game for him. He was just fiery.”

“And I remember one play… we ran play-action and he almost got tackled and he threw a dart down to Darvin (Adams). I don’t remember plays all that well – there are guys who can remember every play. I’m not a guy who can… I just remember games. But that’s a play – and it shocks me that I’m telling you this now – that I remember. It was like, ‘This guy has it. He’ll do whatever it takes to make the play and get the ball off.’”

That game carried over to another, and then another, and another. And, as the wins piled up, more of Nichols’ personality and leadership skills emerged as he became one of the key figures in helping change the culture in the Bombers locker room.

“What’s changed? We’re winning now,” said Weston Dressler with a grin. “I remember before the Edmonton game Matt came in late against Calgary (the week before) and led us on a touchdown drive. Throughout the rest of that game, before he started, he just brought an attitude into the huddle.

“There was a confidence, a charisma. It was like, ‘We’re going to go get this done.’ That carries over to the guys in the huddle and throughout the rest of the team.”

There’s truth in that, undoubtedly. Nichols had been through so much with the Eskimos – twice getting seasons and opportunities to start wiped out by injury – that when he took over here in Winnipeg, there was a sense it could be his last hurrah before he was forever pegged as a No. 2.

But with the backing of the coaching staff, management and his teammates, Nichols has attacked this chance ferociously.

Consider that before he got this shot, his career record in spot starts in Edmonton and in Winnipeg late in 2015 was 8-12. His completion percentage was 60.1 and his touchdown-to-interception ratio was 30-25.

And since that fateful night in Edmonton, he has completed 70.5 per cent of his passes with a TD:interception ratio of 48-17.

Yowza.

“Every other time I played in my career I didn’t know for how long or if I made a couple of mistakes if I was going to get pulled – all those types of things that you think about when you’re not ‘The Guy,’” said Nichols Thursday. “From that moment (the start in Edmonton) on, it felt like my team. I felt like I could go out and play free and if I made a mistake everyone trusted me to go out and fix it and make sure that I made an even better play to make up for it.

“It’s just that confidence of having the front office, coaching staff, teammates, fans all behind you. All that stuff is important to a quarterback because you can’t go in and play this game half-heartedly or scared. As a quarterback, you have to go in and trust your eyes, trust what you see, make throws, and it’s allowed me to do that. When you get to the point where you know you’re the guy week in week out.”

There’s more meat on this story, too, as the two years have passed. The impact Nichols has had on the environment isn’t new. But even this year a vet like Harris has noticed a subtle change in the club’s QB1.

“At first, I think he just wanted to prove he could be the guy to help us win games. And he did that,” said Harris. “But this year he’s got a different swagger and aura about him, a different confidence. He really expects to win, he expects more out of his teammates. So do we.

“That’s the biggest change. He continues to raise the accountability factor and when you know you can lean on other players it changes the team dynamic and how you attack the week. You’re not second-guessing or wondering if a guy is going to be able to get the job done or make that block or make a catch.

“All that filters through him. And it’s contagious.”


BOMBERS REPORT | July 26, 2018

HIGH PRAISE, VOL. 1:

Friday’s game will mark the CFL debut for receiver Kenbrell Thompkins, who draws in as the replacement for Adarius Bowman. Here’s Nichols on the new weapon in the Bombers receiving corps:

“Honestly, he kind of has everything you want. He’s a smart football player, he attacks the ball in the air. He’s big, physical, fast. He definitely has a chance to be one of the next big-time receivers in this league. He has that ability. Hopefully that will be on display tomorrow.”

Thompkins has 33 NFL games to his name, including 14 – and nine starts – with the New England Patriots, where he played with future Hall of Famer Tom Brady.

“I honestly don’t really know his football story all that well. I know he was in the NFL for a bit – I know he’s one of the lucky guys that’s going to get to catch a pass from Tom Brady and myself – but aside from that I don’t know too much about it,” added Nichols with a grin. “All I know is he’s a guy who came in here and was working extremely hard right away.

“I remember the first day just throwing routes on air, just throwing him a route and saying to the guy next to me, ‘Holy cow, this is a Dude.’ He has that explosiveness that you want, the body type you want as a quarterback and he’s shown every day that he cares and he wants to be here and that’s all that’s important to me.”

HIGH PRAISE VOL. 2:

The Bombers O-line has been getting a ton of love over the past couple of years, but especially in their work over the last few games where Nichols has been kept relatively clean and Andrew Harris has cracked the 100-yard mark three straight weeks.

The legendary Bob Irving asked Nichols on Thursday if he felt fortunate to be working behind this crew.

“It’s definitely not lost on me,” he said. “I appreciate those guys and try and take care of them a few times a year. The biggest thing for us is we’re all very detail-oriented guys, but we also all care for each other on a genuine level. A lot of times that’s something that’s talked about, but not always for sure the case. I love every one of those guys and feel like I have the same from them. They take a lot of pride and I can feel in their voices when we give up a sack that they are just devastated that they let me get touched. That’s the kind of pride they take in it and I’m very appreciative of it, for sure… so is my family.”

Added Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea with a grin when quizzed on the same subject: “I’m going to get fined at some point because isn’t there a fine about talking about the O-line too much? They’re not allowed to talk about each other or themselves… this is borderline here. I’m going to get tagged for one.”