The Near-Impending, Mind-Exploding Return Of That ‘Windy City Flyer’ Fellow
If only because: this is the third anniversary of one of the most depressing days of my young life, the offseason thus far has been unconvincing, and the decline of the Bears since the 2006 season has been so abrupt, I’m pretty excited to hear today that Devin Hester “would love to get back in that situation with the return game.”
Hester also went on to say, while on The Waddle & Silvy Show, “but at the same time, I’m a team player so wherever y’all want me to go, I’m ready to do it.” So, maybe, he isn’t dying to return kicks again, but at least he understands that’s what he probably should be doing.
“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.” Okay. So, maybe he is dying to return kicks again.
Listen, Johnny Knox and Danieal Manning are both solid, solid return men. But, they are no Devin Hester. This is the man who broke records in 2006 and 2007; who returned the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI for a touchdown; who was, simply put, ridiculous.
With the breakout of Devin Aromashodu, and Earl Bennett, Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox filling out the roster at receiver, there isn’t a huge need to have Hester play a significant role there. Seriously, there isn’t. However, what there is a significant need for is the Bears to quickly revert back to what made them successful just a few short years ago.
Part of that, is this:
/does teary-eyed Superman pose
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I agree with you, but I came to this conclusion by some rather circular logic.
Devin Hester is not a #1 WR. He will never be a #1. We have a logjam (maybe) at WR, so move Hester outta there.
However, I see a lot of problems too. Hester’s returning skills have incredibly dimished throughout the past couple seasons. Danieal Manning has been an awesome replacement, at least in term of field position. The second is that Hester’s still getting some nice money from his contract…can we afford to have a highly-paid player at KR?
I’m not sure if his return skills have diminished that much, or if it’s just because he’s not as fresh. When all he does is return kicks, he doesn’t have to deal with the fatigue that comes along with being an every-down player like he has been the last couple seasons. I do agree with the contract situation though. I thought it was ridiculous when they gave it to him to start with, knowing damn well he’d shown no real inclination towards being a top-level receiver.