Chargers Find Strength in Their Reserve to Down Eagles : Thomas Shows Charger Fans That He Belongs

The idea of Bob Thomas being selected as the kicker on any sort of all-time team might evoke considerable snickering among Charger fans.

Cynics will say that Thomas should be on a select team of kickers who have had two straight game-winning field goal attempts blocked. Remember San Diego’s painful 30-24 loss in Denver?

Thomas? Isn’t he the guy who made only three of nine field goal attempts at one point this season? Following the game in Denver, didn’t the Chargers hold an audition for kickers? That was not exactly a vote of confidence for Thomas.

Guess who had the last laugh Sunday?

Two weeks after the Chicago Tribune selected Thomas as the kicker on their all-time Chicago Bears team, Thomas kicked 45- and 46-yard field goals to provide the winning margin in the Chargers’ 20-14 win over Philadelphia Sunday.

“If there is one thing I’ve done, it is persevere,” Thomas said. “If you worry about criticism and pressure, you will not be effective. You can’t take yourself too seriously. This is just a game.”

It is a game that Thomas played quite well for 10 seasons in Chicago.

“Being named to the all-time Bears team is quite an honor,” Thomas said. “I think they won’t pick another all-time Bears team for a while. It really made my dad’s day. He was a professional soccer player and he’s responsible for me being a kicker. It’s a real thrill for him to watch his son play.”

Unfortunately for the Thomas family, Bob wasn’t kicking in the National Football League when this season began. Even though he made 22 of 28 field goal attempts last season and was coming off his best year, Thomas was looking for work.

The Bears let Thomas go when they decided to stick with rookie Kevin Butler.

“I questioned the timing of that draft pick after the season I had,” Thomas said.

It was only after Rolf Benirschke was injured in the Chargers’ first game that Thomas came to San Diego.

It has been a roller coaster of a season for Thomas, who kicked a game-winning field goal in Cincinnati and then had a very memorable and disappointing day in Denver.

“The game-winner against Cincinnati was the high point because I had just come to the team,” Thomas said. “The Denver game was the low point because we lost the ballgame. But I sincerely believe there wasn’t a chance of getting off either kick that was blocked. And when I saw the films, I felt vindicated.”

After a line like that, is it any surprise that Thomas is a practicing lawyer during the off-season?

It is safe to say Thomas was on trial coming into the game against the Eagles, but he says he remained confident.

So what if he had made only one of five field goals attempts between 40 and 49 yards and had missed both of his attempts from beyond 50 yards?

He had made 14 of 23 field goal attempts. And he has been around the league long enough to deal with the inevitable peaks and valleys a kicker must endure.

“You have to be a little of a ham and want to get back in there,” Thomas said. “If you don’t have that attitude, you won’t last long. Each week, I continued to look forward to kicking the game winner.”

Against the Eagles, Thomas boomed a 45-yarder in the second quarter that cut the Eagles’ lead to 7-3.

“I think I can still kick in this league, and I think this is testimony I can still kick over 40 yards,” Thomas said. “That first kick probably had at another eight or 10 yards on it. This old leg still has some long kicks in it.”

The second field goal was very important and equally accurate, but less powerful. Thomas’ 46-yarder that barely made it over the cross bar extended the Charger lead to 20-14 with 5:16 to play.

“On the second kick, I had to double clutch,” Thomas said. “That means I had to hold back after my first step. The snap was up and took Mojo (holder Ralf Mojsiejenko) a while to get it down.”

Working with Mojsiejenko has been an adventure for Thomas. Against Pittsburgh, Thomas did not get off two field goal attempts because the snaps weren’t handled cleanly.

“There have been some problems in the field goal kicking unit this year,” Thomas said. “We had a new snapper, a new holder and a new kicker.”

Mojsiejenko was not only a new holder. He was a virgin holder.

He was drafted out of Michigan State as a punter and kicker, and was pressed into service as a holder because of trades and injuries.

“He was here and he was available,” Thomas explained.

Honestly, that’s the story behind the Chargers’ selection of a holder.

“One time, I told coach (Marv) Braden that I would donate my services as a holder if they needed me,” Mojsiejenko said. “I have pretty good hands and I know the way kickers like the ball because I am a kicker.”

Next thing he knew, Mojsiejenko was the holder.

“He has worked very hard, and he made two perfect holds today,” Thomas said.

Any kicker knows the value of enjoying the moment. After all, he never knows where he will be next.

With the expected return of Benirschke next season, where does that leave the 34-year-old Thomas?

“I take it one day at a time,” Thomas said. “If there ever was a season I thought I’d be with a team, it was this season with Chicago. I had my finest year with the Bears and I was released.”