Devin Hester?

[dude82]

So there's a story going around right now that the Seahawks have signed or are going to sign Devin Hester to presumably return both punts and kicks. He seemed kinda washed up in Baltimore, but I didn't necessarily like our options before either. Thoughts?

Seahawks signing veteran return man Devin Hester

 

[Itsmytime]

Better than Sherman returning punts.

 

[jerseyhawksfan79]

So there's a story going around right now that the Seahawks have signed or are going to sign Devin Hester to presumably return both punts and kicks. He seemed kinda washed up in Baltimore, but I didn't necessarily like our options before either. Thoughts?

Seahawks signing veteran return man Devin Hester

He's lost a step but maybe being on a playoff team with a chance at a SB will re-energize him.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Eh whatever, I'll take it at this point. Sherman is just going to fair catch EVERYTHING and we don't have anything via kick returner to do us justice.

Hester will probably do nothing or try and do something and ultimately result in a loss of yards or some abysmal play, but the team needs all the 'hope' it can get, and putting Sherman back to return punts is surely not adding anything.

 

[Anointed One]

Can't be any worse than what we have now...

 

[Mariners_44]

Sherman was instructed to fare catch everything on Sunday; even if he had space which he did a time or two. When you consider bad field position and the risk of losing Sherman this was a no brainer for special teams. Add this to the new long snapper we signed and it's clear that Pete isn't comfortable with special teams heading into the playoffs. Too bad we can't get Norv Turner on short notice.

 

[dude82]

I don't think there was ever a chance of Sherman remaining our punt returner for the playoffs either way. Hester doesn't need to take it to the house to be an effective returner either. If the Lions go on reputation rather than recent output when deciding whether to punt in Hester's direction, just having him back there could force bad punts. Richard Sherman, as much as he scares quarterbacks into throwing the ball away from him on defense, does not bring that same fear factor as a punt returner. Hester, even if he is washed up at this point, still might. I mentioned that I presume that Hester will be returning kicks as well. I said that because I just can't see Carroll using a rookie who has literally one game under his belt as a pro in such an important role in such an important game. Hester's been there and done that a couple of times in situations like this, even if it's been a while.

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

Isn't Walter Thurmond a free agent right now ? I wouldn't hate having him back... He did a good job for us... I hear he might retire though...

 

[Anointed One]

Sherman was instructed to fare catch everything on Sunday;.

Did Pete say that?

 

[Mariners_44]

Did Pete say that?

Sherman said something to the effect after the game.

 

[Mariners_44]

Isn't Walter Thurmond a free agent right now ? I wouldn't hate having him back... He did a good job for us... I hear he might retire though...

I thought of that earlier this year, but not only is he retired but I believe he is still Philadelphia property; I could be wrong.

 

[blstoker]

Isn't Walter Thurmond a free agent right now ? I wouldn't hate having him back... He did a good job for us... I hear he might retire though...

He retired, as 3 said, but as a free agent. He was in line to make $4 million a year (according to reports) but decided to retire instead. So, not sure if he would want to come out of retirement even if Hawks were interested.

 

[MKHawk]

I'd just as soon let McKissic or someone already here return kicks, but Hester keeping Sherman off punt return duty makes sense.

 

[WizardHawk]

Hester has a long history of catching balls in the air. I doubt they expect him to get yards after the catch, but you cannot afford to drop balls or fumble returns. There would be a much higher risk taking other guys from the team that haven't been doing it long and putting them in playoff pressure situations.

Even if he's told to fair catch everything it's still a good pickup knowing he has a lot of history making those catches.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

Hester has a long history of catching balls in the air. I doubt they expect him to get yards after the catch, but you cannot afford to drop balls or fumble returns. There would be a much higher risk taking other guys from the team that haven't been doing it long and putting them in playoff pressure situations.

Even if he's told to fair catch everything it's still a good pickup knowing he has a lot of history making those catches.

He's still a better option than risking a star player back there. However, one of the reasons he was released was he had 5 fumbles this year in 12 games. His longest ko return was 60 yards while his longest punt return was 28.

 

[antone112]

Better than Sherman returning punts.

Credentials revoked.

 

[chf]

Hester will probably do nothing or try and do something and ultimately result in a loss of yards or some abysmal play, .