A solid rookie season in the NFL ended on a sour note for San Diego Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding. The former Iowa Hawkeye All-American made 21 of 27 field goals this season as the Chargers surprised nearly everyone by winning the AFC West title. The first round of the playoffs ended with disappointment. Kaeding missed a 40-yard field goal in overtime against the New York Jets in a game the Chargers eventually lost 20-17. He says as a team they exceeded expectations cominging and he says it was a good first year experience. He says the last kick is tough to end the year on, but he says he knows how fragile kicking is as the makes sometimes just go in and there are misses. Kaeding says he just wants to build on the first season and get better next year. Kaeding says his teammates were supportive after the game. He says they were all excited at the opportunity, but upset that he missed the kick. Kaeding says coach Marty Schottenheimer was very sympathetic about the missed kick. Kaeding says the worst part about the miss is it was the last kick of the season. He says he’s been fortunate to have good things happen in his career, and this was the first time he’s had some adversity. Kaeding connected on 56 of 57 P-A-Ts on the season.
