Nichols not easy to replace

Chris Streveler is filling in but he doesn’t believe he can ever replace Matt Nichols.

The rookie quarterback will start for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Thursday night against the Edmonton Eskimos at Investors Group Field, with Nichols (pictured) sidelined for four to six weeks due to a knee injury.

“I’m not going to be able to replace what he means to this team as a leader or the player that he is,” Streveler said Tuesday. “He’s been in the league for a really long time and I’m really thankful to have been able to learn from him in the short time I’ve been here. I’m not going to be able to replace that but hopefully I can fill in and do as well as I can and give the team a chance to win.”

The Bombers coaches believe Streveler gives them the best chance to win and picked him ahead of Alex Ross and Bryan Bennett for the start. One of the men in Streveler’s corner is Buck Pierce, the Bombers current quarterbacks coach, who made his own CFL debut 13 years ago and has some solid advice for the rookie.

“My first ever CFL start was in Winnipeg in 2005,” he said. “We ended up winning the game but I remember making some bad decisions with the football. But learning from those decisions was a big help.

“You trust your preparation. The guy has had a very good camp. Then it’s just understanding that the biggest job of a quarterback is making good decisions with the football.”