THE CANADIAN PRESS
We knew heading into Semi-Final Sunday that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats had extreme confidence in their special teams. The biggest edge Hamilton had in its East Division Semi-Final showdown with Toronto was on special teams, and it ended up winning them the game. Justin Medlock was automatic all season long, so of course he authored the biggest play of Sunday afternoon.
Mr. Money
When Hamilton got Medlock into position for a game winning field goal, it didn’t matter much to me that it was 47 yards. Sure, the Ticats would have liked to make it an easier kick, but then again, they know better than anyone that it probably wouldn’t have mattered. Medlock has made money kick after money kick all season long, and now he’s booted his team into the Eastern Final.
When it comes to individual recognition, Medlock has the unfortunate circumstance of being teammates with Brandon Banks. In reality, Hamilton has two potential finalists for the league’s Most Outstanding Special Teams player. Banks got the East Division nod this year, but no one would have batted an eye if the honour had gone to Medlock.
| Relive Semi-Final Sunday |
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What didn’t Medlock do for the Tiger-Cats this year? He led the league with 42 field goals made and he kicked the league’s longest field goal at 57 yards. No one attempted more field goal tries than Medlock, and only Montreal’s Boris Bede was more accurate than his 89.4 per cent efficiency rate. Those numbers speak for themselves, I do believe.
Most importantly for Hamilton, the Ticats wouldn’t be where they are right now without Medlock. That’s not just because he kicked the game winning field goal on Sunday, either. If Medlock isn’t the ace that he was all year long, the Ticats are likely not hosting a playoff game this year.
When Zach Collaros went down, Medlock became the CFL’s most important kicker. So much of the point-scoring onus fell on his shoulders as a result and he handled it in stride. Things will be no different next weekend in Ottawa, and this time the Tiger-Cats will be on the road. The REDBLACKS are a good team, but I’m giving the special teams edge to Hamilton one more time.
Missed opportunities
I had zero rooting interest in either of the games on Sunday, but I did find myself screaming at the television as Hamilton drove down the field for the final time. I will take nothing away from the Ticats, because they got the job done with the game on the line. But the Toronto Argonauts will be kicking themselves for the next little while, and they should be.
The Argos had every opportunity to win this football game, but they failed to get the job done. Two things jump off the page to me as to why that is:
First, in stark contrast to our last subject, Toronto left six points on the field when they needed them the most. I don’t want to be too hard on Swayze Waters, because the guy was asked to kick two tough field goals into the wind in the fourth quarter. Waters missed from 48 and 49 yards before finally nailing a 43 yarder to tie the game at 22 and set up Hamilton’s game winning drive.
I know the circumstances were tough, and I know that Waters is feeling awful about things, but one of those missed tries has to split the uprights. The Argos didn’t put him in the best of spots, and the execution in the kicking game wasn’t what it was on the other side.
But that wasn’t the reason why I was screaming at my television. Nope, the yelling was because I couldn’t believe we saw a roughing the passer penalty when the game was destined to go to overtime. Martin Wright just can’t allow that to happen, whether it was borderline or not. The ball was away and the follow through didn’t need to happen. Instead, Hamilton got 15 free yards which were crucial for them in winning the game.
I’m not saying the Ticats didn’t deserve to win, because they absolutely did. But if the Argos are lamenting missed opportunities for the next number of weeks, you can understand why. They had an opportunity to go toe to toe in overtime, at the very least. Instead, Toronto is going home early.
Defensive statement
I know for a fact the Calgary Stampeders have gotten a little weary of hearing about the vaunted defence of the Edmonton Eskimos. The Stamps have a pretty darn good defensive group themselves. Well, if they were looking to make a statement going into the Western Final, they certainly did that and they did it with a terrifying defensive performance on Sunday.
Use any adjective you want: suffocating, dominant, impenetrable, whatever. That’s how good the Stamps were on the defensive side of the ball in a 35-9 win over the BC Lions in the Western Semi-Final.
| CFL heavyweights square off in Western Final |
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The Stampeders took care of business in Sunday’s Western Semi-Final, so now they can look forward to a chance to get even with the Edmonton Eskimos. The league’s top two teams record-wise will square off in the Western Final on Nov. 22. » Buy Tickets |
Now, the cynic would tell me that Calgary looked a whole lot more dominant because BC didn’t have its starting quarterback for more than half of the game. I would counter that, however, by two points.
First, it’s not like Jonothan Jennings was shooting the lights out prior to breaking his collarbone. He was okay, but the Lions were already down big when the injury occurred. Second, let’s not forget how that injury happened. It was on a quarterback sack, one of four for Calgary on Sunday. So yeah, BC didn’t have Jennings in the second half, but that’s because that Stamps D was too much to contain.
Edmonton was incredible defensively this year, but Calgary wasn’t that far off over an 18-game regular season. After what I saw against a potentially explosive BC attack on Sunday, I’m gearing up for an absolute slugfest next weekend.
What now?
The man who replaced Jennings at quarterback has likely taken his last snap with the Lions. Travis Lulay finished the Western Semi-Final, but his future is now very uncertain. Is Lulay going to be a starter next season? And if so, where is that going to be?
The way Lulay’s career has gone over the last number of years really is too bad. Once one of the brightest, most marketable stars in the league, Lulay ran into a rash of injuries that derailed things in very unfortunate fashion. When healthy, I still believe Lulay can be an effective pivot in this league. Finding out where is a different story, though.
Right now, there aren’t really any openings for starting quarterbacks. There are places where Lulay could go to fight for a job, or to be a great number two option upon injury. But every team in this league has a desired starting quarterback for 2016, which makes things tough for Lulay.
The most feasible locations I could see Lulay landing are Saskatchewan or Winnipeg. The Riders have seen Darian Durant go down long term in two straight seasons, so having a veteran option as a fallback could be attractive. The same would be true in Winnipeg after the Bombers floundered without Drew Willy this season.
Regardless of what happens for Lulay this offseason, I do look back on his time in BC fondly. He was so, so dominant in 2011 and 2012 and would likely have continued down that path had it not been for injuries. Unfortunately, some things you just can’t control.
Looking ahead
Okay, let’s do some early scouting for next weekend’s showdowns. While I was impressed by the Tiger-Cats against Toronto, I still think the Eastern Final is Ottawa’s to win or lose. The REDBLACKS are explosive offensively and will make you pay. If Hamilton struggles with the ball like it did for vast portions of the game against Toronto, I believe Ottawa will capitalize far more often.
As for the Western Final, I think we all have a pretty good idea how this game is going to go. If either team scores more than 25 points, I’d be surprised, because we’re talking about the league’s two best defensive groups. I worry a little about the two injuries Calgary suffered on the offensive line. When we find out more about Shane Bergman and Pierre Lavertu, I’ll feel a little better about picking a winner.
