What if the Chargers never became enamored by a UDFA kicker from Georgia Southern Womens Virgil Green Jersey , whose highlights lit up the imagination of team officials and fellow players, alike? What if his spiral, whirly-twirly field goal didn¡¯t exist? Would the Chargers have fallen so hard for Younghoe Koo?What if the team decided it was the smarter, safer option to stick with the kicker who had been with the team the last several years instead of trusting a pivotal role, in a pivotal year with the unproven Koo? Recency bias aside, after seeing how early and often the kicking game caused the fans head-splitting frustration and agony, I knew it would be the perfect topic for the ¡°What if?¡± articles. There are three specific games that ended in a loss with some pretty obvious ties to the kicker of the team, and we are going to relive each one of them.Sorry in advance, Charger fans.The first loss of the three may be the least affected directly by the cut of Lambo as you could argue the kicker at the time is irrelevant as the kick was blocked. However, I¡¯m going to stretch this one and argue that a more experienced kicker in the NFL would have, maybe, purposely kicked the ball at a steeper angle in order to minimize the chance of it getting blocked.The way the Chargers fell to the Broncos on opening weekend likely hurts the most of this trio. It was a divisional rival, in a Monday night primetime match-up between two first-year head coaches. It had to be demoralizing. It¡¯s tough to think of worse ways in which to start a season as both fan bases unsurprisingly had lofty expectations for 2017.In their second game, the Chargers faced off against the Miami Dolphins, the team that beat them in Qualcomm the prior season en route to them making the playoffs. In this game, the Bolts could hardly contain Jay Ajayi on the ground while simultaneously allowing recently un-retired Jay Cutler make too many clutch plays on money downs.All of the defensive frustration throughout this game led to a 19-17 Dolphins¡¯ advantage late into the fourth quarter. With only mere ticks remaining on the clock, Philip Rivers and company were able to run a seamless two-minute drill to get within field goal range. For the second time in as many games, Younghoe Koo was brought out with the game on the line. Bringing about a feeling Chargers fans know all too well, Koo¡¯s kick sailed off-target http://www.sandiegochargersteamonline.com/kyzir-white-jersey , and the Bolts fell to 0-2. Another blunder stemming from the decision to keep the young UDFA over Lambo.The downward spiral only continued from there as the Chargers dropped the next two games to the Kansas City Chiefs and the eventual Super Champs, the Philadelphia Eagles. The latter game was also another gut-wrencher as they fell 26-24.At this point, the Chargers had released Younghoe Koo and decided to resign a familiar face in Nick Novak. I assume the team was hoping the familiarity would maybe fix the lapses in special teams performance. This move would later be the equivalent to putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. Regardless, this move did jump-start the team on a path in the right direction as they went on to win their next three games before dropping a 21-13 bout against the New England Patriots.In their next match-up against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the error in the decision to cut Josh Lambo not only became more prevalent, but it might as well have materialized into a human form and smacked the Chargers between the eyes.The game itself was a defensive standoff between two teams that boasted ferocious pass rushers to go along with their own pairs of shutdown corners. By the fourth quarter, it was 17-17, and the Jags were currently driving deep into LA territory. For those of you who weren¡¯t aware before this moment, the Jaguars were the team to scoop up Josh Lambo after he was released. And if you¡¯re a fan of immense karma, you¡¯ll love what happens next.With the clock running out, the Jaguars called a timeout and let their new kicker trot out to attempt what would be the dagger in this game. It was a picture-perfect revenge game, and you could not have scripted it any better. As time expired, the kick was up and in. The Bolts fell to 3-7, and the irony was not lost on anyone for quite some time.The hole that was dug for the team went on to be too deep for them to climb out of, even with the late surge to finish out the year. But just imagine...If those first two games go the other direction with Lambo as the Chargers¡¯ kicker, if he wasn¡¯t the kicker for the Jaguars in week 10, and the team¡¯s record was upped from 9-7 to 12-4, we could all be talking about what a great first season that Anthony Lynn had. We would all be celebrating his NFL Coach of the Year honor. Maybe we would be looking back on the fond memories of playing in the AFC Championship Game, or even the Super Bowl itself? In the end  http://www.sandiegochargersteamonline.com/melvin-gordon-jers ey , the ¡°what ifs¡± in life can give us headaches or hope. I hope you all choose hope.What do you guys think of this ¡°what if?¡± Do you think keeping Lambo would have helped anything or would it have not mattered at all?Top 5 2019 Draft Prospects from California Schools The state of California is home to a handful of universities that always seem to have one or two teams each year in the national spotlight. This past year, Stanford running back Bryce Love was the Heisman runner-up. Two of the top three quarterbacks in the 2018 NFL Draft also hailed from the west coast in Sam Darnold (USC) and Josh Rosen (UCLA).There is always a plethora of talent in the Chargers¡¯ backyard, something we¡¯ve seen the team take advantage of recently with the selection of former-Trojan Uchenna Nwosu in this year¡¯s second round.Below I¡¯ve listed my top-5 NFL Draft prospect from the state of California in order to give you all some names to jot down prior to the 2018 college football season.RB Bryce Love - Stanford- 5¡¯10 196 poundsJohn Hefti-USA TODAY SportsLove found himself joining the ¡°Stanford-Heisman Runner-Up Club¡± with notable alumni Andrew Luck, Christian McCafferey, and Toby Gerhart. However, without a lower-body injury towards the end of the season, Love may have ran away with the award over Baker Mayfield.Love finished second in the nation with 2,118 rushing yards and 162.9 yards per game. His 19 rushing touchdowns were fifth-best while his 8.05 ypc were fourth best among FBS backs.A unanimous All-American, Love also took home the Doak Walker Award for the nation¡¯s top running back and was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year.After the 2018 season comes and goes, the more important question will not be what round Love goes in but will the prolific running back choose football over his dream of being a doctor?OG Nate Herbig - Stanford - 6¡¯4 350 poundsSergio Estrada-USA TODAY SportsI affectionately refer to Herbig as ¡°The Hawaiian Hogmolly¡± because he is one HUGE piggy. At a svelte 350 pounds, Herbig is a load to move and an absolute pain in the rear end to try and get past.Herbig saw significant playing time as a true freshman in Palo Alto. He suited up in all 13 games while earning six starts at the left guard position, en route to being named an ESPN Freshman All-American. As a sophomore, he solidified his starting job and started all 13 games. He was unsurprisingly selected to the All-Pac-12 First Team.Heading into 2018, the Hawaii-native is a Preseason First-Team All-American by Phil Steele and will play an integral part in Bryce Love¡¯s campaign for the Heisman Trophy.TE Kaden Smith - Stanford - 6¡¯5 253 poundsJohn Hefti-USA TODAY SportsSmith is a former 4-star recruit from Marcus (Texas) that was rated the second-best tight end in the country by ESPN. After taking a redshirt year in 2016, Smith was an efficient option in the passing game as he had to split reps with Dalton Shultz, who is now a member of the Dallas Cowboys.In 14 games this past year, Smith hauled in 23 catches for 414 yards and five touchdowns. With the departure of Shultz, Smith is expected to take a prominent role in the passing game as he looks to establish himself as the next great Cardinal tight end. Expectations will be high as Smith was recently named a Preseason Third-Team All-American by Athlon Sports.OLB Porter Gustin - USC - 6¡¯5 255 poundsMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsAfter leading the Trojans in tackles during the 2016 season, Gustin¡¯s junior season was cut short after four games following a toe injury suffered in the second game of the season. In those four games http://www.sandiegochargersteamonline.com/joey-bosa-jersey , Gustin was still able to collect 16 tackles and three sacks before he needed to shut things down.When healthy, Gustin is the top pass-rusher on USC¡¯s roster and one of the best in the entire Pac-12. As a former five-star recruit out of high school, expect Gustin to wreak havoc as one of the most ¡°freaky¡± athletes in college football.LB Cameron Smith - USC - 6¡¯2 250 poundsMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsSmith is the prototypical linebacker that all NFL teams should covet in the present day.Not just seen as a tackling machine, Smith makes plays all over the field in every possible aspect.In 9 starts as a true freshman, Smith stuffed the stat sheet as he collected 78 tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery, six passes defended, and three interceptions (one for a touchdown). As a sophomore, Smith upped his overall game as he increased his total tackles to 83 to go along with 7 tackles-for-loss, another sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and four passes defended. He was named a Second-Team All-Pac-12 selection for his efforts.In 2017, Smith kept the production arrow pointing up as he totaled 112 tackles, 11 tackles-for-loss, and four passes defended en route to being named a Third-Team All-American.