Bombers’ kicker hoping to make impact
Veteran Medlock likes Winnipeg’s chances to play spoiler against Calgary in West final
WINNIPEG — Justin Medlock is glad he’s not watching the CFL playoffs from his couch.
The Blue Bombers kicker contemplated retiring after last season, but he instead signed a one-year contract with Winnipeg after a chat with head coach Mike O’Shea reinforced his desire to continue playing.
Now the eight-year veteran will try to give the Bombers points and great field position in Sunday’s West Division final in Calgary.
“Once I decided to come back, I was 100 per cent committed,” Medlock said this week. “It looks like I’ve had a really solid season. That was kind of my whole goal. I’ll try to keep it up the rest of the way.”
Winnipeg defeated Saskatchewan 23-18 in last weekend’s semifinal, the club’s first playoff victory since the East Division final in 2011. That was also the last year the Bombers made it to the Grey Cup, losing to B.C.
Winnipeg hasn’t won a CFL title since 1990.
“It was good to get a win for the team and city. Now we’re on to the next one,” said Medlock, who made three field goals against the Roughriders and missed a 54-yard attempt.
“Obviously we’ve got to beat the big dogs, and Calgary’s the big dogs.”
In his third season with the Bombers, the 35-year-old Medlock connected on 42-of-47 field-goal attempts (89.4 per cent), with the longest from 50 yards out.
It tied his career-high percentage from 2015 when he was with Hamilton. Last year, Medlock was good on 80 per cent of his field-goal tries (56 of 70).
Medlock was also the league’s only regular kicker to make every one of his 52 converts.
Doubling as Winnipeg’s punter, he finished with a career-best average of 44.5 yards while his net went up about a yard to 36.7 yards. Many of his punts pinned the opposition deep in their own territory. “I was able to lead the league in inside 10-yard punts, so I helped in different ways,” Medlock said. “I’m just trying to hit balls that we can cover.”
The way Calgary and Winnipeg rolled into the playoffs has set the stage for a close match.
The Stampeders, who lost the past two Grey Cup games, led the league with a 13-5 regular-season record, but lost three straight before winning their season finale against B.C. that clinched first place. Winnipeg won five in a row and then lost to Edmonton to finish with a 10-8 record.
Calgary beat the Bombers 39-26 in late August, but Winnipeg secured its third straight playoff berth with a 29-21 victory over the Stamps at home on Oct. 26.
Medlock doesn’t put a lot of stock in that win, nor the theory that Calgary has shown some cracks and may be vulnerable.
“I don’t even look at it like that,” he said. “We’re the underdogs.”
Bombers offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice also dismissed that assumption.
“They’re still statistically the best team in the Canadian Football League over 18 games and play hard,” LaPolice said.
“We know this is an outstanding group. We’ve got to be ready to play,” he added.
Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols appears to be ready. He’s been confident and careful down the stretch, throwing his last interception on Sept. 29.
History suggests he’ll protect the ball well on Sunday. He’s now 2-2 as a playoff starter, and over those four games, he hasn’t thrown a pick in 133 pass attempts.
Calgary pivot Bo Levi Mitchell, the West finalist for most outstanding player, is 5-3 in eight playoff starts, including a win in the 2014 Grey Cup final. He has 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions in those games.
The West final kicks off at 1:30 p.m. PT, following the East final that has the Ottawa Redblacks hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at 10 a.m. on Sunday.