Previews of Sunday’s East And West Finals
Starter Nichols and backup Streveler equally effective leading Winnipeg attack
The backup quarterback’s mantra can be found, in large print, on page one of the big book of football cliches.
“You’re only one play away. Prepare as if you’re going to start.”
The truisms are interchangeable. Most starters and backups, however, are not. In most cases, there’s a noticeable drop off in skill and/or experience from quarterback 1 to quarterback 2.
That’s why the relationship works. Starter starts, backup plays only when needed.
However, should the starter fail to assume the position, turn immediately to page 3 of the big book of football cliches, where “quarterback controversy” is explained. It’s the stuff of which headlines and irritated head coaches are made.
In the Canadian Football League, by the time the East and West finals come around every November, the four surviving teams are rarely in the throes of any controversy at the game’s most important position. Teams with obvious weakness behind the centre generally fall away, if not during the regular season, then certainly in the first round of the playoffs. To wit, Toronto and Montreal in the regular season, Saskatchewan and B.C. in the semifinals.
(Not even the big book of football cliches has an answer for whatever ails the Eskimos, who had the luxury of former MOP Mike Reilly at the controls all season and still managed to finish out of the playoffs.)
Each of Ottawa, Hamilton, Calgary and Winnipeg made it this far with a well-defined and relatively constant starter/ backup relationship intact, but not all four teams are created equal at that position. Far from it. If they are indeed one play away from having to send in the backup on Sunday or a week later in the Grey Cup in Edmonton, it’s easy to see that Winnipeg has the upper hand.
All season long the Bombers boasted by far the strongest one-two punch at quarterback. Matt Nichols is a solid starter who shook off an early knee injury and a mid-season crisis of confidence and is back near the top of his game. Chris Streveler started three games early as well as Game 18 in Edmonton and is the best backup quarterback in the league, bar none.
Sure, rather than Nichols you would probably want Hamilton’s Jeremiah Masoli or Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell at the helm of your offence — they’re the East and West nominees for most outstanding player after all — but the step down to Ticat Dane Evans and Stampeder Nick Arbuckle is considerable. Same for Ottawa, where Dominique Davis made a few relief appearances for starter Trevor Harris this season.
There is no drop off to Streveler. He’s huge and mobile, fearless, creative and vocal and has a cannon for an arm. The experience he gained off the top of the year is still paying dividends in terms of confidence and comfort at the controls.
“In terms of feeling like a starter, I don’t know if that’s how I’d put it,” he said after playing a significant role in the Bombers’ West semifinal win in Regina. “I just want to do the best I can for my teammates and be the best leader I can be.
“We’ve got great leaders who helped me out with my process, staying positive and being really supportive. No matter who is playing at whatever position, everybody does a great job of picking you up, making sure you’re ready to rock and roll.”
It didn’t take him long to gain the trust of those teammates.
“He’s an animal, man,” said Winnipeg receiver Drew Wolitarsky, who was also a teammate of Streveler’s at the University of Minnesota.
“He’s just a trustworthy guy. I trust the team with him. When he comes in, there’s no like ‘Oh, our starter is out.’ It’s ‘OK Strev, let’s roll, man. Let’s make something happen.’ We have big trust in him and he’s been a huge part of this offence. “
He played a significant role in place of or in support of Nichols this season. He ran the ball at least once in all 18 regular season games, and attempted at least one pass in 12 games. And he came into the West semifinal basically as another running back, finishing with 41 yards on seven carries. He also went 0-for-2 passing.
“Streveler has wheels and he uses his feet to get first downs,” said Wolitarsky. “For us, when Streveler is in, we’ve got to change our offence a little bit, just because he has a different skill set.”
It took some finesse and patience from Winnipeg head coach Mike O’Shea to tamp down any talk of a quarterback controversy when Nichols went through his debilitating mid-season slump. He constantly threw his No. 1 guy back into the fire, but also used Streveler regularly, whether Nichols was playing well or not. It became the norm to deploy both. And you can bet the Stamps will have to prepare to defend against Streveler.
“It’s a bonus for us,” O’Shea said following the West semifinal. “He’s a great team guy, he goes in there for his select plays, and he takes a lot of pride in it.”