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O’Leary: The Matt Nichols watch takes another twist

Senior Writer
@olearychris

By Friday morning, Matt Nichols very likely had life in perspective.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback got onto Investors Group Field about halfway through his team’s hour-long practice. Shrouded in a heavy winter jacket, some of his teammates b-lined to him, shaking hands and hugging him, providing a warm reception on a chilly day.

By the end of practice, the Bombers’ Twitter account provided answers to all of the questions that had quickly started to build up in his absence. Nichols didn’t have a setback with his injured left calf, as his absence might have suggested. Overnight, he and his wife Ali added to their family, welcoming Parker Winnie Lou Nichols into the world.

“I think his family is doing well,” Bombers coach Mike O’Shea said after practice. “There’s another redhead and we’re going to take over the planet, so it’s perfect.”

Nichols wasn’t made available for comment on Friday, but O’Shea said he told his star player to take the time that he needed to be with his family. He was back to work quickly but Friday morning was undoubtedly a perfect time to catch his breath. Nichols’ status for his team’s first home playoff date in six years has been — and remains — up in the frigid Winnipeg air.

As reporters worked their way into the facility on Friday morning and saw only two quarterbacks in their yellow non-contact jerseys, everyone began to try to draw conclusions through the prism of football only. An absence could only mean the injury had worsened. The handshakes and hugs upon his return were perceived as consolatory.

In reality, or at least in the one presented by the team this week, nothing has changed. O’Shea was asked directly at the end of his availability if he were prepared to name Nichols his starter for Sunday’s West Division semifinal. He said he was not.

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“We’ve got another day, right? Before the roster comes out?” he said, glancing over at Darren Cameron, the team’s director of communications and media relations.

You get the feeling that this would stretch out for another week, if there were time for it. Unfortunately for the Bombers, there isn’t. Someone’s name has to be filed under starting quarterback on Saturday’s depth chart. O’Shea would only say on Friday that Nichols’ status remained unchanged from Thursday’s practice, where he was apparently more active than in practice on Wednesday when he very briefly took first-team reps.

His failure to get a rep in at practice on Friday is probably not a good sign. If what you see in practice doesn’t lie to you and you extract all of the possible smoke and mirrors that teams love to throw at their opponents, the answer has been in front of us all week long. Dan LeFevour should be listed as the starter on Saturday morning.

 

That’d be a hard fate for Nichols to swallow right now, but Friday morning might have helped him accept it. If that’s the case, if he doesn’t suit up on Sunday, there will be other playoff runs. This Bombers team is poised to be as good or better next season, whenever this one does end. There will be other games, but there’s only one chance to see your family grow.

And if Nichols comes through this hyper-scrutinized week of smoke and mirrors to play and leads his team to the West final? That’d be a close second to Friday.