Bombers not panicking after third-straight loss

CFL.ca Staff

WINNIPEG — Despite the Winnipeg Blue Bombers riding a three-game losing streak, quarterback Matt Nichols says there’s no panic in the team’s locker room.

“We can still be a 12 and six team,” Nichols told members of the media after practice on Wednesday as they get prepared for the second of a home-and-home with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“We’ve won seven games in a row before and it starts with just this one. (We’re going to) try and get on a run here. For this team to take the next step I think is to be able to go on a run at the end of the season and be at full tilt when we hit the playoffs and right now, that’s where we’re at. Try and get this one win to propel us towards that goal.”

Episode 123: Bomber Blues, Duke’s Half Time Rant, Labour Day Recaps

The Bombers are coming off a 31-23 loss to the Riders on Mark’s Labour Day Weekend, dropping their third straight contest. This week the team hosts Saskatchewan in the annual Banjo Bowl as the team tries to put the loss in Week 12 behind them.

“What happens in the previous game doesn’t really matter,” O’Shea told the media when asked about the back-to-back with their West Division rival. “We’ve talked about this before, I think the players like the back-to-back. I think it’s good for the coaches, too, because there’s an element of familiarity there. So with the prep, it’s not like they’re taking any more time off but they can go a little more in depth in certain areas maybe. They have a little more time to mess around with it.”

“Regardless, it’s a new week even though it’s the same team,” Nichols added. “They might have different plans coming in so who knows how that goes. I do know that this team is fired up to play a Banjo Bowl game against our rival in front of our home crowd. Hopefully we come out and we perform the way we can and come out here with the win.”

Last week after Nichols completed 14 of 26 passes for 166 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, questions surfaced if the Bombers would consider a change. When asked if O’Shea would switch to Chris Streveler under centre he quickly squashed any notion that they would do so.

No,” O’Shea said when asked if the team would start Streveler. “Matt’s our starter and last night I was asked the same question. The point is, we evaluate everybody after every game, win or lose. The numbers still show that Matt’s processing extremely well, running the offence extremely well, the ball is going where it should go. He’s getting the ball out of his hands and making plays for us.”

“There’s a lot of football left to play,” added Nichols. “Winning cures a lot of things so getting a win this week, I think the story’s completely different. It is what it is. We’re in a situation where we need to win right now and our opportunity is this weekend.”

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