Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols runs against the Saskatchewan Roughriders during first half CFL football action at Mosaic Stadium in Regina on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Taylor
REGINA – They all took their turns at the podium – Andrew Harris and Jackson Jeffcoat, followed by Matt Nichols and Weston Dressler, then Adam Bighill and Stanley Bryant, and finally, Mike O’Shea.
And if the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were showing any nerves on the eve of Sunday’s West Division Semi-Final against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, they hid it extremely well.
Yes, it was a quietly confident bunch that touched down in the Saskatchewan capital Saturday afternoon, aware that this has never been a welcoming place for Bomber teams in the past – although many on this squad did christen Mosaic Stadium with a win on Canada Day in 2017 – and that you have to go back to the 2005 Edmonton Eskimos for the last time a third-place team captured the Grey Cup.
The Bombers also haven’t beaten the Riders in seven straight playoff games dating back to 1965 and haven’t won a post-season tilt in Regina since 1955.
That was one of the questions posed on Saturday, this one broached to Nichols in this manner:
Q: “There’s a lot of history between these two teams, a playoff history that goes back to 1933 and this season and everything like that. Is that just something for the fans to look at and you guys just have to say, ‘That means nothing’?”
Nichols: “Yes.”
And… mic drop.
It’s been a long week leading up to Sunday’s game with story angles explored and mined again in the days leading up to kickoff. That didn’t change on Saturday, but the Bombers played along.
Here are some of the other highlights from the Bombers’ 30-minute gab fest on the eve of the West Semi-Final – 10 hot takes on a chilly afternoon:
1. THE RIDERS QB SITUATION
Saskatchewan’s depth chart lists Zach Collaros as the starter, but also lists three other pivots behind him in Brandon Bridge, David Watford and Drew Tate. Bridge reportedly took a lot of reps with the Riders No. 1 offence on Friday, fuelling speculations Collaros is still suffering from concussion issues.
Or, it could be a smokescreen of sorts by the Riders to keep the Bombers guessing. Or, maybe not…
“It doesn’t really change our preparation,” said Jeffcoat. “Both are good players. Both can make special plays. We’ve got Richie Hall calling great plays for us. It’s not something we worry about. It’s not something where we go ‘Oh, they probably know…’ Whoever they put out there is who they put out there and we’ll be ready for them.”
2. THE WEATHER
The Bombers stepped off the plane Saturday afternoon into brisk conditions in Regina. Sunday’s forecast calls for a mix of sun and clouds with a northwest wind up to 30 km/h, a high of -10C, and wind chill near -21C.
“I feel great right now coming off the plane. It’s nice and brisk,” said Andrew Harris with a grin. “Beautiful weather out there. I’m just excited to get a good night’s sleep and wake up and get right after it.
“Most guys will tell you they like to play in the warmth, but I feel as a running back if you have a certain mindset… most guys are out there thinking about the cold, but if you have the mindset that I’m thinking about it and they’re feeling the cold it’s going to be harder for them to tackle and make big plays and be on the ball. For me, I like to thrive in those situations and look forward to hitting guys when the weather’s like this.”
“Shoot, last year we played out in Calgary and it was colder,” added Jeffcoat. “This is a privilege. It’s a privilege to be able to play in this cold weather. We’re in the playoffs and this time of the year its going to get cold. So that excites me. It’s something different. Being a Texas boy, it doesn’t get that cold, but being able to come out here and play in the cold is refreshing to me.”
“The ball feels a little different in this kind of cold,” added Bighill. “It’s not as easy to throw. It’s not as easy to catch. It’s not as easy to hold on to. That’s the nature of the game in this kind of weather. Obviously, they can come out and throw the ball on every single play if they wanted to but generally that’s just not what happens. The game does come a bit more on the ground and for us in the box, that gets a lot more fun.”
3. THE NEW/OLD NICHOLS
Bombers QB Matt Nichols went through a three-week stretch in the late summer through the Banjo Bowl where he threw two touchdowns against seven interceptions. During the Bombers five-game winning streak that followed – Nichols dressed, but did not take a snap in the regular season finale in Edmonton – his TD:interception ratio was 7:1.
“You give yourself a good chance to win when you don’t turn the ball over in any game,” said Nichols. “Playing against a team that thrives on their defence making plays, obviously it becomes more of a focus. It’s no secret that’s something I take very much pride in and I’ve done a good job on in the last month and a half or so. I’ve just got to do it for a few more games.
“I went back (during the bye week) and watched the three games where I felt like I wasn’t myself. But when I went back and watched it, I was playing some really good football and it was just a few breaks here and there… a couple were bad breaks, a couple were bad decisions and those things are just so magnified at this level and in this position that you can feel like, ‘Oh my gosh… I’m playing terrible football.’ And then you go back and understand it, it wasn’t really the case and there was no need to alter everything I was doing that got me to that point.
“Taking that mindset into the Montreal game after that bye week… I just continued to prepare and trust the process and trust my teammates. That’s all I’ve done, is just understand that sometimes games like that happen. You’d like to minimize them, which I feel like I have and we have. Moving forward, I plan on playing the football I’ve been playing the last month and a half.”
4. A WIN MEANS….?
Nichols, who is winless in his two playoff starts as a Bomber QB and 1-2 in his career, was asked what a win would mean for his career.
“It would mean that the Blue Bombers are getting to go and play in the West Final,” he said. “And that’s literally all I care about.”
5. CHANGES COMING?
It’s a storyline we touched on earlier in the week, but will undoubtedly be chased throughout the CFL playoffs. An expiring collective bargaining agreement coupled with the trend toward one-year contracts mean every team is facing a potential massive makeover this winter.
“That’s the world we live in now with the way things are set up in this league,” said Dressler. “Every team is going to have a lot of free agents every year. No sense in worrying about it right now. We’re focused on the present and the guys we have in the locker room right now and trying to do everything we can to find a way to win the next game.
“Every year, especially the longer you play, you start to understand more and more that it’s going to be a different team next year, regardless of all the situations. It’s not going to be the same group of guys in there. At the end of the day, this is our crew. These are the guys we’ve got and we’re focused on the present and trying to win now.”
6. THE BELICHICK FACTOR
After the Banjo Bowl, the Bombers had a bye week and Nichols used it for some positive reinforcement, aided by a Bill Belichick quote he came across while writing a paper for his Master’s Degree at Gonzaga.
The quote, paraphrased: ‘Don’t let a negative outcome affect what you know is a good decision.’
“That (the Banjo Bowl) was probably one of the toughest games of my career,” said Nichols. “The Bill Belichick thing was just him saying just because you have a negative result doesn’t mean you have to change what you’re doing or change things you’ve done to be successful. Honestly, that was a great time for me to randomly come across that quote. It made me understand that just because I had a couple of bad plays here and there, it didn’t mean that the 30-some odd wins we’ve had over the last three years didn’t all of sudden mean I had to change what I’ve been doing to have that success. It allowed me to take a deep breath and brush all the negative things off and just get back to being me and performing well for my teammates.”
7. LIVE IN THE MOMENT
Harris was asked if, as a veteran, he might have something extra to say to his teammates about Sunday’s game and the road ahead. And he offered this:
“The biggest thing is don’t take it for granted. We could just as easily been out of the playoffs, as hard as it was just to get in. You’ve just got to take every moment, every play, every snap and make the most out of every opportunity. This game, that’s all it is. This CFL game is so momentum-based and the game can change so quickly with defensive plays, special teams plays and obviously offensively. Just make the most of every opportunity, every moment and just enjoy it. Don’t get too excited about it… it’s still another game. There’s no reason to get all tight and nervous because it’s just another game. Obviously there’s a lot more on the line, but just enjoy the moment and seize the opportunity.”
8. JOVAN SANTOS-KNOX… AN UPDATE, SORT OF
The Bombers linebacker, second on the team to Bighill in defensive plays, hasn’t suited up at practice all week because of a foot issue. Head coach O’Shea said Friday he wanted to see what Santos-Knox could do on Saturday. And so, here’s the update on his status when asked if there was any change:
“I’ll look forward to what he can do tomorrow,” said O’Shea with a grin.
So, there’s a chance he could play?
“I’m always hopeful, yes.”
9. RATING THE BOMBERS ‘D’
The Bombers finished second to Calgary in points allowed and tied with the Stampeders in turnovers forced and turnover ratio. O’Shea was asked if this is the best defence he’s had, compared to the last two playoff squads.
“Oh yeah. Absolutely,” he said. “I haven’t spent any time looking at the differences, but this is a very good defence. We’re limiting yards, we’re taking the ball away, we’re getting pressure, we’re getting to the quarterback when we need to. I think one of the major differences is the timeliness of a lot of these big plays for us.”
10. THE LAST WORD
Here’s O’Shea when asked about the ‘confusion’ over who the Riders might start at QB and how the Bombers might prepare because of that:
“I don’t think Jonesy is confused about anything. He knows exactly what he’s doing. I’m sure if he’s got the opportunity to use both, he’ll use both. We’re prepared for that. It’s a small-enough league, you play everybody enough times and the film travels and you know who these guys are. And most importantly, it’s really about what our guys do, our execution, more than anything else.”
