Yup. It would be far more appropriate to compare Alberta (particularly southern Alberta) to Alabama. Don't try to take that distinction away from them.
To me it looked as much mental as physical. Nichols was hesitant and confused since the beginning of the season and it all culminated in those two horrible games against the Riders. It did not turn around until the bye week where he went home and reprogrammed his head.
Masoli has not looked good, but he is not alone on the TiCat team in that. I would not discount him on the basis of two games- look how poor Nichols looked in the losing skid the team went through. Harris, on the other hand, is pretty streaky so its a tossup as to who the Bombers would be better off playing in the semi-final.
No matter who the credit goes to, the second half was the best (IMO) half Nichols has played. Ever. He showed that he could ad lib and throw the long bomb. I still think he could have used Wolitarsky more, but a win is a win.
The Stamps have to be in a snarly mood after the loss to the Riders. This is not only a must-win game(duh) but will also give us a preview into to mindset of the Big Blue at this point in the season. Time to stock up on munchies for the game.
Disagree to an extent. Nichols has played well most often but has also had games where he was ineffective or just terrible. He could be another quarterback who can play well enough to keep a job (AKA Kevin Glenn) but just not well enough to win the Big Games.