It's been a heartbreaking start for Younghoe Koo's NFL story and the Los Angeles Chargers here in the beginning phases of the 2017 season.
Koo, an undrafted rookie from Georgia Southern, is the fourth Korean-born football player in NFL history. He didn't even know what football WAS until he was TWELVE. So, already, you're seeing how inexperienced he is . . . and his performance throughout the last week explains it all. Surprisingly, he beat out Josh Lambo, currently the kicker for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but since that, it's been a nightmare for Koo.
We start in Week 1, where the Los Angeles Chargers faced the Denver Broncos. The Chargers manage to get it to Broncos territory in the last 8 seconds, and the score is 21-24. A field goal will tie it up. Koo is summoned to kick it away and send the game to OT, but his kick was BLOCKED. It wasn't even a long one -- only 44 yards! Shelby Harrison got a piece, but this isn't something to lose a job for.
However, next week, the Los Angeles Chargers faced the Miami Dolphins. It should've been an easy win, because it was Miami's first game of the season, but the Dolphins led 19-17 towards the last 30 seconds of the game. Once again, the Chargers got into field goal range, but this time, it was for the WIN. Koo comes up, Kaser puts it, and he MISSES wide right.
Can we expect Koo to keep the job till next week? Probably not. Because if it wasn't for Koo, the Chargers could potentially be 2-0, worse case scenario being 1-1. Not bad for a start only if the kicker could make his field goals. But, we're still rooting for Koo in his next game -- hopefully he plays a heck of a game.
