Devin Hester Wants To Return The Ball More
The quotes, from today’s Waddle and Silvy Show on AM 1000:
“I would love to get back in that situation with the return game,” Hester told “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on WMVP-AM 1000. “But at the same time, I’m a team player so wherever y’all want me to go, I’m ready to do it.”
Hester hasn’t scored a touchdown on a kick or punt return since 2007 after running back 12 for TDs in 2006 and ‘07, including a kickoff return in Super Bowl XLI. He said becoming a full-time receiver has taken its toll.
“I know what I’m best at,” Hester said. “The return game is my bread and butter, so if I had to cut back on receiving and go back to returns, that’s something I would love to do.”
Look, I understand why the Bears moved Hester to receiver: they saw a guy with immense talent in the open field, and tried putting it into their offense. Hester’s not the greatest receiver, but he improved a good amount this year over last. If the Bears had a legit No. 1, Hester is a solid No. 2-, No. 3-type receiver.
But can we honestly say he’s impacting the team more positively as a wide receiver instead of a full-time return man? Tough to say.
On the one hand, the guy was an unbelievable force before he moved to more of a full-time receiver. Teams literally had to work their game plan around how to kick to him. Or they didn’t kick to him at all and booted it out of bounds, and the Bears got better field position because of it. He gave them a better chance to punch the ball in the end zone, because the Bears got great field position on most of their possessions.


(UPDATE:
Hey, kids: the Winter Olympics are right around the corner! Be honest, now: I know you are really excited for the curling and the bobsledding and the figure skating. Yeah. See. I knew it. (Actually, I’m only kinda kidding here. This stuff might not be on TV every Sunday in the fall, but it’s incredibly interesting to watch when the Winter Olympics come around. I’ll be watching.)
You know what’s awesome? Sleeping in on weekdays. Days off.