[CBFF] My Sportsman: Devin Hester

[Kenny Claxton]

I've thought about it, but the term potential disaster keeps popping up.

On 11/27/07, Steve Behrens <steve.behrens at gmail.com> wrote:
> Question:  Does anyone else on the list feel the secondary kick
> rec's/blockers (those immediately in front of Hester on kicks) should try to
> lateral back the Devin when they field a squib or short kick?  Most of those
> could easily be lateraled back, giving our best option more touches.
>
> Just think if Hester scores on a couple of lateraled returns.... what the
> hell are the opponents going to do then?  On-sides kick every down?  Kick it
> out of bounds every down?    It needs to be tried, and I think if Hester
> goes a couple of games without seeing any kick returns, you'll start seeing
> some laterals...
>
> -Behr
>
>
> On 11/26/07, Kenny Claxton <kenny.claxton at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > I can guarantee you Coughlin kicks away from him this weekend.
> >
> > On 11/26/07, Phil DeNomme <pdenomme at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > How many does he have this year alone?  5 or 6?  I think he has one
> > every 5
> > > chances he gets.  I might have to check in to that....
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: cbff-bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com
> > > [mailto:cbff-bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com] On Behalf Of Kevin
> > Gertsen
> > > Sent: Monday, November 26, 2007 12:50 PM
> > > To: Bears
> > > Subject: [CBFF] My Sportsman: Devin Hester
> > >
> > > My Sportsman: Devin Hester
> > > In a bearish season, a star shines brightly in Chicago
> > > Posted: Sunday November 25, 2007 8:28PM; Updated: Sunday November 25,
> > 2007
> > > 8:28PM
> > >
> > > By Adam Duerson
> > >
> > > Sports Illustrated will announce its choice for Sportsman of the Year on
> > > Dec. 3. Here's one of the nominations for that honor by an SI writer.
> > For
> > > more essays, click here.
> > >
> > > One of the greatest obstacles facing the modern athlete is the heap of
> > > expectations he or she creates through performance. Mediocrity can be
> > > acceptable until you have flashed brilliance. Then there is no turning
> > back.
> > >
> > > For Devin Hester, my 2007 Sportsman of the Year, such expectations come
> > > daily following a brilliant rookie campaign in which he obliterated the
> > NFL
> > > record for return touchdowns. He had six. No other player had ever
> > notched
> > > more than four.
> > >
> > > As 2007 set in, Hester added a seventh return score in the opening
> > moments
> > > of Super Bowl XLI. Lesson learned, Indianapolis kicked away from him on
> > five
> > >
> > > subsequent occasions. The Bears lost, but in doing so, they saw the
> > light:
> > > They needed to get the ball to Hester even more -- preferably at wide
> > > receiver.
> > >
> > > So began Hester's and the Bears' season of expectations. Of course, it
> > > started with a steady dose of cynicism. Hester wouldn't fit in at
> > receiver
> > > right away, critics said. His gaudy return stats would sag, and the
> > Bears
> > > wouldn't repeat their 13-3 record. Only one third of that has proved to
> > be
> > > correct.
> > >
> > > Opponents have wisely kicked away from Hester nearly 45 percent of the
> > time
> > > this year, yet he is the lone upside of a dreary season in Chicago. He
> > has
> > > five scores on returns, which put him on pace to pass Brian Mitchell's
> > > career return touchdown record (13) later this season. (It took Mitchell
> > 14
> > > seasons to set his mark). Hester has scored more often than any other
> > Bears
> > > receiver or running back and accounted for 14 percent of the team's
> > total
> > > points.
> > >
> > > A lesser man might snap. Put yourself in Hester's shoes Oct. 14: You've
> > > already scored on a zig-zagging 89-yard punt return against the Vikings,
> > but
> > >
> > > when the fourth quarter rolls around your team trails by seven. So you
> > do
> > > what you do best, run like hell, right underneath Brian Griese's 81-yard
> > > bomb. You're in the middle of a chest bump when you notice Minnesota's
> > > Adrian Peterson has taken the subsequent kickoff 53 yards. The Bears
> > lose
> > > 34-31. There was the Week 2 game against Kansas City, which you would
> > have
> > > won single-handedly had the second of your two return scores not been
> > called
> > >
> > > back for holding. There was the 97-yard fourth-quarter kick return
> > against
> > > Detroit on Sept. 30 that would have been the game-winner, if only
> > Chicago
> > > played defense. Most recently, there was Sunday's game against Denver,
> > in
> > > which the second of your two touchdown returns was immediately offset by
> > a
> > > 68-yard touchdown reception by Denver's Brandon Marshall. Groan. Had
> > your
> > > team not won 37-34 in overtime, you might be tempted to alert
> > quarterback
> > > Rex Grossman that your 232 return yards surpassed his passing yards by
> > > nearly 40.
> > >
> > > I had the chance to ask Hester about these situations earlier this
> > month.
> > > "This has to be driving you nuts, right?" I said. "Nuts," he said. "I
> > only
> > > wish I could do more. It's so frustrating, and I feel like it's my
> > fault,
> > > like I studied all week long for a huge exam and just got a C." The guy
> > is
> > > the best player on his team and he feels like it's his fault. There's
> > not a
> > > T.O. bone in his body.
> > >
> > > There's a popular rumor in Chicago these days that has Eagles'
> > quarterback
> > > Donovan McNabb -- allegedly one of the most sincere and focused guys in
> > > sports -- going to Chicago through free agency. If McNabb ever gets
> > there,
> > > there's a certain Sportsman of the Year he'll be happy to work with.
> > >
> > >
> > >
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