Esks.com
With just six games remaining in the regular season, the stretch drive to the playoffs is in full swing.
Heading into Week 14, the Eskimos currently occupy the final spot available, a two-point lead over the Tiger-Cats in the crossover slot.
One month ago, the Eskimos were in second place and in a position to challenge for top spot in the West Division. Now, the Eskimos have lost four-straight games, and are facing arguably their most critical matchup of the season tonight in Calgary against the Stampeders.
Head coach Kavis Reed mentioned this week that his team is running out of chances and are also running out of healthy bodies.
Last week, QB Kerry Joseph was listed at number three on the depth chart after injuring his calf muscle in the Labour Day rematch. The following week, he played at just 80 per cent in a devastating 51-8 loss in Hamilton.
The team’s usual starting QB 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 even further.
So, both Jyles and Joseph are laboring and 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), breaking 14 school records which includes his 96 career touchdowns in the process.
He also broke six Big Sky Conference records which includes career passing yards.
He arrived in Edmonton almost two years ago and bided his time on the injured list and the practice roster.
This season, he was elevated to the number three quarterback position, and moved himself up even further because of injuries.
Fans and media have been clamouring for Nichols to play. In Edmonton, the most popular players are usually the backup quarterback…or in this case, the third-stringer.
Reed has been doing his best to give Nichols the best chance to succeed; which has mostly been done through observing. Nichols is still in the development phase of his career and Reed has no interest in rushing him along.
However, given the circumstances, Reed did not have much of a choice.
“We feel confident that Matt has enough understanding of the offence,” Reed explained. “He has enough of a skill set to go out there and guide and lead this offence. 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, as he helped the team to four wins. Then Joseph gave the Eskimos its first 300-yard passer of the season but he only won one game out of four.
Despite all of that, Nichols can perhaps provide the offence with a much needed spark.
He may have put the organization at ease during the one series he played in Hamilton, having completed one pass for 30 yards before being knocked out of the game with an injury of his own.
Slotback Fred Stamps feels that Nichols should be able to use that short appearance to his advantage tonight.
“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.
The big test for Nichols in regards to his readiness for the CFL game, however, 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 B.C. 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, 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.
