The Edmonton Eskimos now know who they will be facing at quarterback when they visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Thursday night to open the CFL regular season.
Twenty-three-year-old Chris Streveler will start for the Bombers in place of the injured Matt Nichols who is out for the next four to six weeks with a knee injury.
On Monday, Eskimos head coach Jason Maas said he remembers a good performance from Streveler during the preseason.
“He played well against us in the preseason — obviously regular season is a little bit of a different ball game, “Maas said. “We’re playing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, we’re not playing one guy. We’re looking forward to going in there and competing and that’s — more than anything — what we’re worried about.”
On June 1, Streveler played against the Eskimos in the preseason when he went 10 for 10 for 140 passing yards and threw for one touchdown. Defensive back Nick Taylor played against Streveler in that game and said that experience is now valuable.
“It’s actually important. You get to know his cadence, his throwing rhythm and what he wants to do with the ball,” Taylor said. “At the end of the day, it’s what Winnipeg is going to do regardless of who’s in or not, so just got to keep to our basic rules and play ball.”
Linebacker J.C. Sherritt said it’s hard to prepare for a quarterback you know little about but the Eskimos’ defence needs to focus on someone they know very well and that’s Bombers running back Andrew Harris.
“If you look across this league, historically, quarterbacks in their first games have a lot of success because they’re unpredictable,” Sherritt said. “No one really has a good eye for them, their second game not so much. Game one, they’re wildcards and that made them dangerous but it revolves around Andrew Harris. We’ve got to stop him and that’s never going to change no matter who’s taking the snaps.”
Harris finished first in rushing yards in the CFL last season with 1,035 yards. He also added 660 receiving yards and led the league in receptions with 105.
Listen below: Defensive coordinator Mike Benevides on having the benefit of facing Bombers QB Chris Streveler in the pre-season
Streveler will become the first rookie quarterback in the CFL to start Week 1 straight out of college since Anthony Calvillo did so with Las Vegas in 1994. Steveler played two seasons at South Dakota State and in 2017, he was named the NCAA Missouri Valley Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year.
Roster notes
Eskimos defensive back Aaron Grymes has returned home to deal with a personal matter and has been placed on the team’s suspended list. He’s doubtful to play on Thursday. Defensive backs Johnny Adams and Arjen Colquhoun missed practice for the second-straight day.
Kickoff on Thursday from Investors Group Field in Winnipeg is set for 6:30 p.m. 630 CHED will have Countdown to Kickoff starting at 5 p.m.
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