Enough of the Horrendous Nate Kaeding Suicide Jokes

I suppose if I were a Chargers fan then these jokes would be funny. Or acceptable. Or true. They’re not any of those things. I was disgusted by a host who told one of these jokes on the radio Monday afternoon. It was much worse to read on Deadspin that several of these “jokes” have been said since the game ended. What is so funny about suicide and what is so funny about making someone so miserable that they actually contemplate it? I’m not claiming to be holier than thou or above criticizing the performance of a professional athlete but I do realize when lines have been crossed. Suicide jokes are completely inappropriate and have no place in the minds of fans or media members.

Furthermore, I want to revisit Norv Turner’s decision to attempt the onside kick against the Jets. The guy was in a terrible spot and he’s receiving criticism because his decision didn’t work out. He would have been criticized just as much had the Jets run for a first down following a kickoff and the game ended — people would have wondered why they didn’t try the onside kick. Additionally, I’ll continue to defend the onside kick decision by reminding folks that Nate Kaeding had missed three field goals and that assuming the Chargers could stop the Jets, they probably would have relied on a Kaeding field goal to send it to overtime. Had they recovered an onside kick, they would have had a more reasonable shot at the end zone, thereby bypassing Kaeding.

Lastly, just like Rumors and Rants points out in their detailed analysis of what went wrong with the Chargers, so much more contributed to the loss than Nate Kaeding’s misses; it’s just that he’s easy to blame because we need our scapegoats. What about the dropped passes, missed blocks, shoddy tackling and turnovers? Why aren’t those errors and issues pointed out as criticism? I also agree with Rumors and Rants in their assessment of Norv Turner. He should be fired because he has underachieved with this team. The Chargers should grow a sack and pay Jon Gruden or Tony Dungy top dollar to come coach them to a Super Bowl while they still have the talent.