Need to Know | Week 19

Justin Medlock has made a career out of avoiding exactly these types of situations.

There was the Winnipeg Blue Bombers kicker early Tuesday afternoon, staring at the crowd of media which had gathered around him for the second time in less than a month, wanting to know the what, the why and the how behind a recent slump that has seen him go seven for his last 13 field goal attempts.

And yes, there was a definite sense of déjà vu with it all, as the veteran hoofer said many of the exact same things after going 0-for-3 and missing a convert in the win over Edmonton late last month.

“I’m supposed to make those kicks,” said Medlock, reliving the potential 39-yard game winner he missed in Saturday’s 29-28 loss to the Toronto Argonauts and the 40 yarder he missed earlier in the game.

“They brought me in here to make those kicks. I was telling somebody today that’s what’s disappointing… we make those kicks. We didn’t. We didn’t come through.”

Medlock did hit on two other attempts against the Argos, connecting from 53 and 31 yards, but it was the last one that has many wondering if he is in some sort of mental or physical rut.

The veteran kicker said he has watched film, but wanted to keep his thoughts on what he saw ‘in-house.’ A perfectionist in every sense of the word, he also said there was nothing technically wrong with his mechanics on the last try.

“I was definitely ready to go make that kick. I definitely was proud of that,” he said. “I had the right mindset.

“… you want to make those kicks. That’s what I pride myself on: to make those kicks. I’ve done a pretty good job on those in the last few years. Unfortunately, that was just one that, in my opinion, I need to make.”

Now, before everyone attempts to theorize as to how Medlock is handling all this and how he seems to bare his soul to the media after his off-games, remember he was hardly a chest thumper when things were cruising last year.

In fact, he was just as quick last season in being named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player to make sure long snapper Chad Rempel, as well as Weston Dressler and Matt Nichols, who held for him last year, were included in all the praise.

“I’m just trying to move on,” he said. “We have two games here and the playoffs and I’m just focusing on that. I don’t even care about anything I’ve done in the past, whether I made 60 field goals or that I started the season off really well or had a great camp… it doesn’t matter.

“I’ve got two games left, plus the playoffs. I’ve got to be a difference maker, whether I’ve got to help the team out with punts and put the ball inside the 10 (yard line), kickoffs, field goals… hey, if we get another chance in that opportunity, I know we’ll come through.”

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea, after being asked about Medlock’s 76.7 percentage this year – lowest in the league – countered by pointing out he has made the second most field goals this year (Calgary’s Rene Paredes has 50 to his 46). It’s worth noting that Medlock also leads the CFL in scoring and the average distance on his make is 34.8 yards is second only to Hamilton’s Sergio Castillo at 35.2.

“Honestly, I don’t look at the percentage. When we trot him out there I just know he’s going to make it,” said O’Shea. “He’s as professional as they come and he’s been at the top of the heap for a long time.

“I generally leave him alone. I let him know that I’m going to keep trotting him out there. He’s our guy. He’s a good teammate… he’s damn good. So, I just leave him alone and let him do his work. And he does work extremely hard.”

More on some of the news and notes on the Bombers first day back at work in this week’s installment of Need to Know…

SICK-BAY UPDATE

Not practising on Tuesday were OL Travis Bond, CB Chris Randle, FB Mike Miller and LB Jesse Briggs. O’Shea has some doubt about Bond’s availability this weekend, but Flanders is close to returning while Randle, Miller and Briggs should all be green-lighted.

The club also got a scare midway through practice when right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick dropped in a drill and had to be attended to by the training staff. After getting back up to his feet, he had great difficulty in moving and headed to the locker room without returning.

Patrick Neufeld replaced Bond in Saturday’s loss to Toronto and drew praise from O’Shea for his work, while Manase Foketi stepped in for Hardrick during Tuesday’s practice.

ON SECOND THOUGHT

Bomber players like Matt Nichols and Andrew Harris were frustrated with the offensive performance in the immediate aftermath of the loss to the Argos – the club ran only 47 plays to Toronto’s 73 – but found some positive signs after watching the game film.

“Looking back at the film, we only had 10 total possessions and scored or had chances to score on in five or six of the drives,” said Nichols. “Ultimately, we did some good things on offence and a few things we want to build on. We made some big plays.

“… Overall, I felt like we played pretty well and put up points when we need to, went on some good drives and answered some of their scores. We did a good job, there’s just a few things we’d like to do a bit better.”

As for the time of possession number – the Argos held the ball for 37:55 to Winnipeg’s 22:05 – offensive coordinator Paul LaPolice offered up this:

“I really don’t try to look at time of possession. We had a two-play drive for a touchdown. I’d rather score on a one-play drive touchdown. The important thing is you have to make the most of your opportunities when you have your opportunities on the field.

“We had 10 drives in the game. We had seven opportunities, whether they be field goals or touchdowns. We only had two two-and-outs the whole game.”

One of the silver linings in the defeat was the CFL debut of Chris Givens, the former St. Louis Rams draft pick with 60 NFL games under his belt. Givens finished with four receptions for 41 yards, including a second down conversion on the Bombers’ last drive.

“The first thing I said to him was, ‘We’re not looking for you to have nine catches for 180 yards. We want you to be at the right spot at the right time for the quarterback and be open. And when he throws you the ball catch it and make plays,’” said LaPolice. “I thought he did that. He showed some good speed. He broke a tackle to get a first down. When guys do that you can build on what he did and just keep adding to what he can do offensively.”

BRING IT

O’Shea said he felt his team wasn’t physical enough in Toronto, particularly early. And he and the coaching staff weren’t thrilled to see some defenders jogging on one play in particular – a fourth-quarter play in which the Bombers were clearly offside and seemed to gear down before Ricky Ray hit Jimmy Ralph for a 40-yard gainer.

“We all understand when we watch film what mistakes were made,” said O’Shea. “So we have to get back to the communication level that’s needed, to the focus level that’s needed to play like we have in those few games where we’ve been pretty damn good. They’re capable of it. They know they are. We’ll see it again.”

COMINGS/GOINGS

The Bombers tinkered with their practice roster on Tuesday, adding defensive end Chris Casher and quarterback Philip Nelson, both imports, and releasing defensive back Abu Conteh and quarterback Josh Straughan. Straughan, FYI, has signed a futures contract with the club, meaning he will be in training camp next year.

• Casher (6-4, 265, Faulkner University) played four seasons with the Florida State Seminoles and was part of the 2014 National Championship team. He later transferred to Faulkner for his final year of eligibility and started in all 10 games registering 60 total tackles and 8.5 sacks.
  Casher spent time with the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants in the past year.
• Nelson (6-3, 220, East Carolina) played two years for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and later finished his collegiate career with the East Carolina University Pirates. At ECU, Nelson threw for 2,621 yards and 16 touchdowns and a 68 per cent completion rate.