MILO MIGHT NOT GET KICKS IN EAST FINAL
Injury could force Redblacks veteran to sit out showdown against Eskimos
Absent from the football field two days before the Ottawa Redblacks go toe-to-toe with the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL East championship game, kicker Chris Milo said he’ll do “whatever is best for the team.”
That means there’s a chance he won’t be in the lineup Sunday in the battle to determine who advances to the Grey Cup.
Milo was on the sidelines while kickers Ray Early and Zach Medeiros took all the reps at practice Friday at TD Place. It’s believed the injury is related to a setback Milo had three weeks ago in Winnipeg where he had an issue in his groin and hip flexor area.
“I re-aggravated something, so it was precautionary,” Milo said over the phone a couple of hours after practice. “I didn’t want to take any risks, I didn’t want to push it. We’ll go day by day.
“It’s definitely frustrating, especially at this time of year.”
There’s no doubt he’s itching to play, he wants to be the guy who steps up and boots a field goal with the game on the line. But he’s being straight up with the team about the injury.
“It’s not about me, it’s about us, it’s always been about us,” said Milo, a 30-year-old in his second season as the Redblacks kicker. “The team comes first, I come second. It’s a long season, we’ve worked too hard to get to this point.
“These are games you’re always going to remember and you never know when the next one’s going to show up, but if I’m not 100 per cent, I’m not going to play. I want what’s best for the team and for my teammates. I want to win the championship and if I feel like I can’t give my all, I won’t risk it.”
“In the Winnipeg game, he had a little challenge and that kind of acted up today,” Redblacks special teams co-ordinator Bob Dyce said. “It’s the same as the Winnipeg game. Obviously we wouldn’t have dressed him that game if we didn’t think he was ready to go.”
“I’m getting old too, but it is what it is,” Milo said. “Something happened in Winnipeg, it was a strange feeling. I’d never felt that before. I didn’t feel comfortable and powerful.”
Milo is hoping a bit of extra rest — he hasn’t kicked in a game in a month — along with some physio and massaging will give him the opportunity to play. He’s been criticized for missed kicks this season — he successfully hit on 47-of-58 field-goal attempts.
“I don’t think it’s a bad year, any time you’re over 80 per cent, I think you’re doing pretty good,” said Milo, whose kicking role model was New England Patriots/Indianapolis Colts legend Adam Vinatieri. “I’ve had a couple of blocks, a couple of goalposts, take those away and I’m over 90 per cent. I’m not perfect, nobody’s perfect. There are some I would like back.
“We’re going to miss, it’s just a matter of not worrying about how many you’ve missed or how many you’ve made. You don’t go out there to miss, you want to make all your extra points and all of your field goals. Look at Justin Medlock, probably one of the best kickers in the history of this game. He’s missed, but he’s made quite a few, too.”
A decision will likely be made by the coaching staff Saturday. If Milo can’t go, look for both Early (kicker) and Medeiros (punter) to play Sunday.
The Redblacks believe Early brings plenty to the table.
“We have to have a plan, so Ray took most of the kicks today,” Dyce said. “It’s actually his strength … as a field-goal kicker, it’s where he made his name. He’s got a strong leg and he’s an accurate kicker.”
If Early gets the call, his resumé says he’s ready. As a kicker, he was a second-team all-American at Furman University in 2014.