Peter King visited Chargers camp and spent some time chatting with kicker Nate Kaeding.
Kaeding –in case you forgot– imploded against the Jets in the playoffs last season missing all three of his field goal attempts (36, 57, and 40).
That wasn’t the first time he’s choked in the playoffs. Back in 2004, he missed a 40 yard attempt in overtime against the Jets and in 2007 he missed kicks from 45 and 48 yards out in a loss to the Patriots.
His postseason kicking percentage stands at 53.3% (8-15), while hi regular season percentage is 87.2% (150-172).
So to try and help clear his head Kaeding has been meeting with a sports psychologist this offseason (about six times).
“Keep the game in perspective,” Kaeding said the message was. “Don’t make it bigger than it is. There’s going to be peaks and valleys, and just accept them.”
I asked Kaeding: Will there be a hangover this year?
I don’t know,” he said. “I can’t kick a playoff field goal in August, or October.”A kicker has to be like a cornerback. Give up a long completion, corners are told, and you’ve just got to move on blindly to the next snap. Same with kickers, who can’t carry one miss into the next kick. The problem against the Jets, Kaeding said, was carrying over the first miss, and you can tell, standing here on the field of the Chargers’ practice facility, that it still bugs him.“Mentally, I wasn’t able to flush that first kick,” he said. “As a kicker, you know you’re going to miss. What disappoints me is not being able to put that one behind me.” The second one was a long prayer. No harm, no foul. But the third one, in a tight game, was inexcusable.
“I was completely blindsided by that,” he said. “Shame on me for ever thinking I’ve got this game figured out. I just didn’t approach that kick right.”
And the fact that Kaeding can’t make it right today or tomorrow is probably the worst part. It’s going to eat at him until January, and there won’t be a player in the NFL with more pressure on him entering the playoffs (if the Chargers make it) than Kaeding.
“Quite honestly, it still bugs the crap out of me,” he said.
That’s not the attitude I want to see from my kicker. How do you say you “don’t know” if there will be a hangover this year. Even if you don’t believe it, you have to say that it’s behind you and you can’t wait to go out there and nail that kick.
What are his teammates suppose to think about him after he said that? How are they going to trust him in a close game?
If I’m A.J. Smith (Chargers G.M.) I’d cut him right now. I actually would have cut him earlier in the offseason, but you almost have to now.
The Chargers have been trying to to get over the playoff hump for years now and having a kicker with the yips is going to hurt you. He’s already cost them three games in the playoffs. I don’t care how good he has been in the regular season. He’s a kicker, he’s replaceable.
It would also do good for Kaeding, who could finally put all of this behind him as he gets a fresh start with a new team in a new city.
Until the divorce between the Chargers and Kaeding happens (irreconcilable differences), his playoff past will always haunt him and doom the Chargers.
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