Dave Campbell
ESKS.com
Six games to go in the regular season means the stretch drive to the playoffs is in full swing. For the Eskimos, they currently occupy the final playoff spot in the CFL, sitting in the crossover position. A month ago, they were in second place and in a position to challenge for first place in the West Division. Now they have lost four straight games going into their most critical game of the season to date tonight in Calgary against the Stampeders.
Head coach Kavis Reed mentioned this week that his team is running out of mulligans. They’re also running out of healthy bodies and at the most critical position. Kerry Joseph last week dressed as the third quarterback after hurting his calf muscle in the Labour Day Rematch. Joseph played at 80 percent in Hamilton. Steven Jyles missed three straight starts with a deep calf bruise, but he returned to start last week vs. the BC Lions only to re-aggravate the injury.
So, both Jyles and Joseph are laboring. Jeremaih Masoli won’t see the field this season. So that leaves the spotlight on only one man. The most popular quarterback in Edmonton this season. Yes, ladies and gentleman, enter Matt Nichols tonight for his first ever CFL start.
“I think to be a professional quarterback, you have to be successful playing the position at some point and I feel like I’ve done that throughout my life,” Nichols said. “I feel confident in the things I’ve done and I feel confident that I can continue to do those things here.”
Nichols was a star quarterback at Eastern Washington. The four-year starter finished with the sixth highest career passing yards total in NCAA history (12,616). He broke 14 school records which includes his 96 career touchdowns. He also broke six Big Sky Conference records including career passing yards.
He arrived in Edmonton almost two years ago and bided his time on the injured list and the practice roster. This year he was elevated to the number three quarterback position, moved his way up to number two because of injuries. For the same reasons, Nichols finds himself under centre tonight.
Fans and media have been clamouring for Nichols to play. You know in Edmonton, the most popular players are usually the backup goaltender and the backup quarterback, Or in this season, a third-string quarterback.
Reed has been doing his best to give Nichols the greatest chance to succeed; that has mostly been through observing. Nichols is still in the development phase of his career and Reed has no interest in rushing him along. However the injuries have dictated Nichols get the start tonight. Reed says Nichols should be able to do the job well.
“We feel confident that Matt has enough understanding of the offense,” Reed explained. “He has enough of a skill set to go out there and guide and lead this offense. We know that he’s a very smart individual and that he’ll do things the smart way.”
People will ask “Should this have happened weeks ago?” The truth is it didn’t need to. The Eskimos were doing just fine with Jyles at the helm for the first seven games, helping the team to four wins. Then Joseph gave the Eskimos their first 300-yard passer of the season, but he only won one game out of four.
Despite all of that, Nichols perhaps can provide the offense with some much needed spark. He may have put the organization at ease during the one series he played two weeks ago in Hamilton. He ended up leaving the game with a suspected concussion, but he drove the ball downfield in a hurry. He threw two touchdown passes that were called back because of penalties. Slotback Fred Stamps was very impressed on how Nichols took charge of the huddle.
“That’s one of the main things that stuck out because we were down by a lot of points when he came in and he just took charge,” Stamps said. “It was like we were down by three and we needed a touchdown. That’s one of the good things that he has and that’s what we need.”
Nichols seems to have to have given the team some much needed confidence and he’s looked very good in practice. Precision throws, very good decisions, and excellent command and leadership.
There’s practice speed and there’s game speed.
In regards to his readiness for the CFL game, the big test for Nichols comes tonight in Calgary.
NOTES: Left guard Simeon Rottier has been placed on the nine-game injured list with a leg injury suffered last week vs. the BC Lions. 2011 first round draft pick Scott Mitchell will make his first-ever CFL start. Slotback Cary Koch hurt his collarbone last week and is out, so Dobson Collins moves into the receiving corps. Defensive end Marcus Howard re-injured his left hamstring while rookie Justin Capicciotti injured his leg vs. the Lions. Both are out tonight. Newly signed imports Brandon Lang and Alex Daniels will make their CFL debuts on the defensive line.
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