Ex-Eskimos rekindle groove in Winnipeg
For Bombers Nichols and Bowman, familiarity breeds contentment
What’s been a familiar WINNIPEG looking connection in Edmonton over the years is something Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans hope they can’t see enough of in 2018.
With quarterback Matt Nichols and receiver Adarius Bowman reunited in blue and gold after spending four and a half seasons together with the Eskimos, the two are looking to bring that familiarity to the next level.
“Just having A-D back, on and off the field, he’s a guy I feel like we’ve been really good friends in our time in Edmonton, and that continued and we’ve stayed in touch over the last couple years,” said Nichols, who was traded to Winnipeg by then-Eskimos general manager Ed Hervey midway through Edmonton’s run to the Grey Cup championship in 2015 in order to make room for thenEskimos head coach Chris Jones’s guy, James Franklin, as the No. 2 behind Mike Reilly. “And him signing here, the first time seeing him here in the building this offseason, it was all smiles and hugs and we picked up where we left off.
“I feel it’s great having him around just as a person, and then on the field, I think he immediately brings another threat to this offence that maybe we were lacking a little bit the last couple years and just something else the (opposition) has to worry about and another guy for me where you could have him covered but he could still make plays for you. He was one of the missing pieces for us in this offence and I think he’s fit right in immediately and he’s been making plays all camp.”
Bowman isn’t the only new Bombers receiver Nichols has a history with.
“Luckily, (Nic) Demski, since he lives here in the off-season, I’ve thrown with him a couple of times in the off-season when he was playing for Saskatchewan,” said Nichols, a 31-year-old Eastern Washington product entering his ninth Canadian Football League season. “So we had actually known each other a little bit.
“I’ve thrown routes to him, so we already had a little bit of familiarity with each other as well.”
ADAM FOOTBALL?
What was easily the most impactful free-agent acquisition of the entire off-season ended up flying under the radar when it was announced the same day former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel’s comeback season officially began in Hamilton.
But that’s not about to stop former B.C. Lions linebacker Adam Bighill from doing what he does best, piling up tackles with his new Bombers team.
“I got a lot of love from all the Winnipeg fans and a lot of people back in the CFL that were glad to see me back,” said Bighill, a five-foot-10, 230-pound Central Washington product who spent 2017 with the National Football League’s New Orleans Saints, before being waived on May 14 and signed by the Bombers five days later on the eve of training camp. “It was great to have such a following who enjoy watching me play the game up here.”
But you can bet more eyes were on the early pre-season game Friday — and not simply because the game in Winnipeg wasn’t televised — with hype machine Johnny Football taking to the field with the Tiger-Cats hosting the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts.
And you know what? Winnipeg is A- OK with flying under the radar for the moment.
“No problem,” said teammate Bowman. “We’ll keep it quiet until it’s time to do it.
“But Johnny Manziel coming up here, that’s amazing for the country and the league. I wish him the best until he comes and sees us.”
WARM WELCOME
Before becoming a member of the Blue Bombers again, Bowman was part of an Eskimos squad that put an end to Winnipeg ’s winning ways in last year’s playoffs.
After finishing second with a 12-6 record, ahead of third-place Edmonton by a tie-breaker, the Bombers fell 39-32 at Investors Group Field to the Eskimos in the West Division semifinal.
So, while the Bombers rolled out the red carpet for Bowman’s arrival, he may have been apologizing while walking it.
“It didn’t take me long,” Bowman said. “They actually welcomed me and said you coming here kind of voided everything.
“A couple defensive players were like, ‘Oh, man. I’m glad I don’t have to go against you. You tore us up for years.’ And I’m like, ‘You all made it tough on us for a few years too.’ But I’m glad it’s ‘us’ now.”
That part has taken time to get used to.
“They had to get on me because I kept saying, ‘You guys,’ and they’re like: ‘A-D, man, you’re on our team now,’ ” Bowman said. “That’s been one of the biggest things, but it’s a truly special thing going on right here.
“Nothing against my past, but we’re on other sides now.”