Jason Halstead/CFL.ca
WINNIPEG — When it comes to the Bombers’ early-season change of fate, it’s hard to ignore what Matt Nichols has done since stepping in to replace Drew Willy as the team’s quarterback.
By finishing in the red zone and protecting the football, Nichols has given the Blue and Gold a new lease on life after a 1-4 start, helping the Bombers head to the bye with a 4-4 record and a legitimate shot at contending in the highly-competitive West Division.
But while the change at quarterback clearly sparked something in the Manitoba capital, contributions on the other side of the ball may be playing the biggest role in a Winnipeg team that’s hardly recognizable compared to the first few weeks of the season.
Turnovers, turnovers and more turnovers have helped the Bombers win three straight games and emerge as one of the league’s most dangerous teams.
“I think we have started to learn what it’s going to take to win, and that’s a good thing,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea told BlueBombers.com following his team’s 34-17 win over the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night at BMO Field. “That kind of knowledge, understanding of what it’s going to take week in and week out, is important.”
“I think we have started to learn what it’s going to take to win.”
Mike O’Shea
Mike O’Shea and the Bombers continue to do what it takes to win football games (Adam Gagnon/CFL.ca)
Nichols had the mental toughness to battle back from an early interception, leading the Bombers out of a 10-3 hole and throwing a pair of touchdowns to help sway the game in the Bombers’ favour.
The defence did the rest, forcing five Logan Kilgore interceptions — the most by a Bombers team since Oct. 5, 2001 vs. the Edmonton Eskimos — and scoring two defensive touchdowns to put the game away by the start of the fourth quarter.
“We talked about this game being a tough game,” O’Shea added afterwards. “Mistakes were going to be the deciding factor and we had to limit ours, which we did again, and force them to make some mistakes, which we did again.”
So while fans hit the panic button early in the season, the Bombers did what they needed to, scrapping their way back into the thick of a West Division playoff race. While a lot of the talk is on Nichols, now 3-0 as a starter this season, the defence deserves plenty of credit.
In the last three games, the Bombers have forced 13 turnovers with an overall differential of plus-11, transforming their season total from plus-one in the turnover battle to plus-12. That and the their 27 turnovers forced and 14 interceptions through eight weeks of the 2016 CFL season are far and away the best in the league.
Over that span the Bombers have outscored their last three opponents 101-51.
That unit isn’t without its individual successes, either. Ian Wild’s 53 tackles rank him number one in the CFL, one tackle ahead of Montreal’s Bear Woods. Maurice Leggett leads the league with four interceptions, including two for touchdowns. And perhaps most impressively, rookie 25-year-old defensive back Kevin Fogg is one of three players with three interceptions this season.
Early-season injuries appeared to put Defensive Coordinator Richie Hall’s defence in an early hole, but they only opened doors for new contributors to step up and emerge as everyday starters.
O’Shea sees stardom in Fogg’s future.
“I think once he learns a few more nuances of the CFL and the Canadian game, I think he’ll be a household name,” said O’Shea. “He’s electric, he finds the ball, he had two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a sack.
“We’re very pleased with him and I think he’s having fun.”
The bye week may have hit the Bombers at the wrong time — anyone could use a break, but no one wants to stall momentum — but O’Shea has to be feeling pretty good about his team’s progress. Considering the team’s next three games are against the two worst teams in the CFL (Montreal and Saskatchewan, with a combined three wins this season), a long winning streak and a change in the balance of power in the West may not be out of the question.
– With files from BlueBombers.com
