The Chargers Are Mad At Their Kicker For A Stupid Reason

The San Diego Chargers lost a game in embarrassing fashion on Sunday, blowing a shot at a game-tying field goal with a botched snap. After the game, Chargers kicker Josh Lambo was seen sharing a laugh with Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski, and now he’s in trouble with his teammates and coaches because of it. This is so stupid.

Here’s what has Lambo in hot water:

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Chargers head coach Mike McCoy and and special teams coach Craig Aukerman had a meeting with Lambo on Monday in order to admonish him for his behavior. McCoy and Aukerman also seem to have sent Lambo on a locker-room apology tour:

“Everybody on your team is looking at you and looking at everything you do at all times,” McCoy said. “When a teammate sees you in a situation like this and you get caught, laughing it up, people take it differently. Everybody is different. Some players will look at it and say, ‘It’s not a big deal.’ Other players, it pisses you off. You were involved in a critical play in the game, and it wasn’t executed properly, and we lost. Just understand what it means.

“I think he’s handled it the right way, talking to his teammates, talking to different coaches on the staff, apologizing and what he’s learned from it.”

This is an impossibly silly thing for Chargers to get upset about. A football player smiling and yukking it up with an opponent after a loss is one of the most common sights in the NFL. It took me 35 seconds to find these pictures:

If Lambo’s teammates and coaches are upset with him, it’s not because he lacks a competitive spirit or because he broke some sacred code of conduct. It’s because the Chargers are a trash team, and the easiest thing for any trash team to do is blame its troubles on the kicker.

[ San Diego Union Tribune]