Matt Nichols stood in front of a small media horde after practice Monday and – minus swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth – sounded exactly like a defendant taking the stand at a trial.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback was asked about the difficulties in connecting with Darvin Adams in last Friday’s win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, about whether he is 100 percent healthy and if that was impacting his decisions to run with the ball, and about his passing yardage totals.
He handled all the questions as deftly as firing a strike while under the siege of an all-out blitz, just as everyone in Bomber Nation has grown accustomed to during his two years as the club’s starter.
Funny thing about all this…
Just to recap, Nichols has guided the Bombers to a 4-1 record since returning from injury, is 25-10 since becoming the club’s unquestioned starter, and over that stretch, has a TD-to-interception ratio of 53:31.
And he is defending himself why, exactly?
“We’re winning football games,” said Nichols. “Obviously, I’ve never played a game where I go home and don’t feel like I could make a few more plays or what have you. I’m also a guy who thinks about the key plays I want back and those are the ones that fuel me to keep getting better.
“Obviously, you’d love to go 30-for-30 for 500 yards and six touchdowns, but that’s just not what this sport is about. I’m proud of the fact we’ve been in some different types of games and found ways to win. I’d love to play better and better every week, but right now we’re winning football games and doing what we need to do to win
“As long as we keep winning games, I’m happy.”
That’s really the bottom line here. For as much as some were clamouring to see Chris Streveler enter the game last Friday after the first half – the Bombers were winning 19-7 at the time – and others bemoaning his stat line, the Bombers are now back in the West Division playoff discussion, tied with Edmonton for second place and four points back of unbeaten Calgary.
He was just 13 of 24 for 180 yards against the Ticats, but threw for two TDs against zero interceptions and with the game hanging in the balance late in the game, led the club on a 10-play drive that chewed up five minutes and nine seconds and led to a critical field goal by Justin Medlock.
“We have a lot of different ways we can get the ball in the end zone. Our defence has provided us short fields,” said Nichols. “When you have all those things, who cares if you’re not throwing for… everyone loves the 300-yard mark for whatever reason that is. I have no idea why.
“We’re winning football games and I’ve said many times if you give me the choice between throwing for 350-400 yards in a loss and 180 yards and a win, I think you know which one I’ll choose.”
Finally, asked about not rushing as much this year and whether he was 100 percent healthy, Nichols was quick with an answer.
“Yeah, I am,” he said with a smirk. “And I have two rushes for two yards and a touchdown this year.”
More news and notes on the Bombers first day back at work in this week’s installment of Need to Know…
PATIENCE TO PAY OFF?
Weston Dressler watched practice Monday, but there remains some questions about whether he will be good to go for this Friday’s home date against the Ottawa REDBLACKS. Said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea on the status of Dressler:
“Not practising, lower body, we’ll see. As I’ve said before so many times, he’s not the type of guy that needs to practice to be able to play so we’ll reassess on a daily basis and see where we go from here.”
Working with the No. 1 offence was veteran Ryan Lankford, whose versatility, knowledge of the offence and kick-returning ability seems to point to his being the leading candidate to go if Dressler cannot.
“I like to think so. It’s just nice to be back out there with the starting group again, like I was Week 1,” said Lankford. “Hopefully I get that call this week.
“It’s tough (watching and waiting). It’s tough, but it’s part of the game. I’ve been up here for a while now and I’ve had to do this almost every year. I like to call myself a veteran when it comes to that. I’ve been in this situation before and really try to take every day one day at a time. That’s the biggest thing I can do and control what I can control.
“You’ve got to prepare every week like your number is called and then when it does get called there’s no switch, you’ve been doing what you’ve been doing.”
Lankford led the Bombers in kickoff return yardage last year – third in the league – and could be asked to play that role again against Ottawa.
“I want to play. I’ll return kicks, I’ll do whatever is asked of me,” he said. “That’s what I’ve got to get back to mentally thinking – just doing my job. Doing whatever is asked each play, one play at a time, and let the chips fall where they may.
“My first year, my rookie year, (waiting for his turn) was probably the hardest making the transition. You don’t understand how the process works, compared to the NFL, with the Canadian ratio and all that kind of stuff. There are so many different factors that are way bigger than you, that you can’t control, and just learning how the league works.
“It’s getting a little bit easier, but it’s still not the easiest thing to do.”
Added O’Shea on Lankford:
“He had an unbelievable camp. He’s a good returner, he’s basically done everything we’ve asked and now he’s getting a shot at practice and we’ll see where it all ends up with Weston and how it shakes down.”
ONE MORE ON LANKFORD:
Dressler leads the Bombers in receptions with 28 and has always been one of Matt Nichols’ favourite targets. But Lankford has worked with Nichols before. He started six games last year and suited up for 15 in all, pulling in 20 passes for 260 yards and three TDs.
“Weston is a guy that is extremely difficult to replace, obviously,” Nichols said. “Luckily, I do think that Ryan has been a great player for us the last couple of years. He’s a veteran guy, he fully understands that position. He’s also big in our return game so having a guy like that on the roster is, obviously, big time for you. We have full faith in him and in all of our guys, so…
“Like I’ve said, Weston Dressler is a future hall of famer so it’s always harder to replace a guy like that, but I do feel like we have guys that can make plays for us, especially Ryan, who is a guy I have a lot of faith in. We’ve had some good games together the last couple of years.”
HOLD ON:
Part of the fallout of not having Dressler means Justin Medlock will also need a new holder on placekicks. Even though he was dinged in the first quarter last Friday, Dressler remained in the game to serve as a holder. But with his watching on Monday, quarterback Bryan Bennett put in extra work with Medlock.
Bennett, it’s worth noting, continues to serve on the Bombers special-teams/kick-cover units in a tribute to his athleticism and willingness. That’s not lost on his boss.
“Bryan is a special athlete,” said O’Shea. “It’s interesting… if you love the game of football and are then given a certain role, even if it’s not a traditional role, I think you see that passion come out. These guys not only want to, they’re dying to get that opportunity to play another snap.
“Over the course of (playing/coaching) football you run into certain guys who say they love football and then when you hand them a different role than the one they want, they don’t necessarily put all their energy into it. That’s not Bryan Bennett. He loves the game of football. We gave him an opportunity to have another play, no matter what that play is, and he’s going to love it.”
JUICY NUMBER:
What shouldn’t be overlooked from last Friday’s win was the work of Medlock’s punting and the kick-cover units. Medlock punted six times for a 44.7-yard average – that number would have been higher if he hadn’t bobbled a snap and kicked once with his right foot, not his left.
But consider this punting log total:
- Punt 1: 42 yards; fielded by Chris Williams with a return of -1 yard.
- Punt 2: 56 yards; fielded by Williams, returned nine yards; Ticats illegal block penalty (half the distance to the goal, six yards).
- Punt 3: 53 yards, out of bounds at the Ticats 10-yard line.
- Punt 4: 43 yards, out of bounds at the Ticats 10-yard line.
- Punt 5: 31 yards (with right foot after bobbled snap); returned by Jay Langa zero yards; illegal block Hamilton; illegally downfield on a kick Winnipeg – penalties offset.
- Punt 6: 43 yards: fielded by Chris Williams, zero-yards on return.
The final numbers: the Ticats were credited with three punt returns totalling zero yards.
“It was good… minus one little punt it was pretty good,” said Medlock. “I’ve been on my guys pretty hard and they’ve done a great job covering punts and we all work together.
“I just tried to focus in on my little details to hit the good balls this week and it ended up well. I’ve been a little bit harder on myself just for the punting aspect whereas a couple of years ago it was, ‘Ahh, just make field goals…’ Now I’ve been taking a little bit more pride in the punting. It’s not always just about banging. It’s about making sure you’re putting the defence in a good spot. We’re doing a good job and could continue to keep getting better.”
Medlock has added some specialty punts to his repertoire – the ‘Boomerang’, the Aussie ball, and the Koch ball, named after Balitmore Ravens punter Sam Koch, who steps one way before kicking it the other.
“It was unbelievable. He did a terrific job,” said O’Shea. “That idea of all three phases contributing… I thought our special teams did a great job of flipping the field several times for us. We had a couple very good returns – Nic (Demski) had a couple very good returns – but it was Justin’s punting that was on another level this game. A 44-yard net… which is about 10 yards better than what we usually average as a net. They had zero net punt return yards against, so that flips the field and takes some dangerous returners off the board for us.
“He’s worked on as many kicks to have in his quiver as possible. I think that’s important for kickers, to be able to do different things and he’s embraced that.”
