Bombers tab Nichols to start in Week 6

WINNIPEG — It didn’t take Mike O’Shea long to decide on his starting quarterback for Week 6, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced Sunday they’ll be changing pivots.

Matt Nichols will go under centre for his first start of 2016 on Thursday night in Edmonton, where he and the Bombers look to get their season on track against the Eskimos following a 1-4 start.

The move comes on the heels of a 33-18 loss to the Calgary Stampeders on Thursday night, in which Drew Willy was pulled just under midway through the fourth quarter after his pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Stamps defensive back Joe Burnett.

Nichols threw a touchdown pass to Weston Dressler upon entering the game to pull the Bombers close, but in the end it was too little too late for an offence that has sputtered through the first five games of the season, reaching 20 or more points only twice thus far.

The Bombers entered Week 5 as the league’s second lowest-scoring team with 20 points per game, and the sixth most productive offence with 356 yards per game. Willy finished 23 of 33 against Calgary with 233 yards and an interception, failing to generate a touchdown or reach the red zone a single time.

 

“I think he tried to force that ball in there on that touchdown; he’s trying to make plays,” O’Shea told BlueBombers.com immediately following the game. “He’s trying to make plays. He also had some good throws. He threw that one down the sideline to Darvin [Adams].

“He made some plays and then he had one where he wants to have it back because he’s trying to force the ball in there. You can’t fault him for trying.”

O’Shea was non-committal after the game on who would start in Week 6, but in the end the decision has come down to make the change.

Nichols, 29, first landed in Winnipeg in a trade last season in exchange for as seventh round draft pick after an injury to Willy. He then provided an immediate return for the Bombers after Brian Brohm and Robert Marve were both ineffective.

Once a top prospect as a quarterback in the CFL, Nichols played to a 7-7 record last season in 14 starts between Winnipeg and Edmonton, and the Bombers hope he can provide the same spark now that he did late last year in the Manitoba capital.

“These guys, they believe we’ve got talent,” O’Shea added following the loss. “We’ve got to get going, obviously — we’ve got to put something together and get some wins.”

“I’ve been around this before,” added Andrew Harris. “I was 0-5 before and we won the Grey Cup. I’ve been around the worst of it and fought back and been successful. It can be done. I think we have the right tools in this room to get it done.”

While Thursday will mark the 20th start of Matt Nichols’ career, Willy is relegated to backup duty despite being among league leaders with 1,473 yards, although most of those have come with the Bombers trailing in the second half of games.

Willy is 12-21 in his career as a starter while the Bombers are 11-18 in games he’s started against 2-10 in games he hasn’t been available since 2014.