Devin Hester Just broke the Record!

[toooverbearing]

What was the roster like at that time?

Pretty sure Hester replaced by full time receivers. We know it was Marshall, bennett, sanzenbacher was a great receiver that could not make the cut Wasnt the drug dealer brought in here by then?

Just saying the writing was on the wall, I think Hester got ahead of it and saved alot of face instead of having people think he was not good enough to break in to the lineup as a receiver anymore. Couldnt understand Devin, but that doesnt mean he didnt get ahead of the questions of why he was not playing offense.

This was last year. Sam Hurd wasn't here. It was Marshall, Jeffrey, Bennett, Wilson, Weems and probably one or two more guys I'm not remembering. But that's not relevant really. The point is he kinda slammed the Bears for not using him on offense last night, but he at least seemed to be complicit with it last season (unless he was just saying that publicly to be a company guy).

 

[JoeyTourettes]

I'm not defending him- or blasting him. I just posted an article from last April. With his quotes.
In april of 2013 Alshon Jeffery was entering his 2nd year, on the verge of becoming somebody. They also had M. Wilson as a rookie- (or will draft him that month)

We all saw how Devin didn't know where to line up or what route to run- (had Marshall pointing to spots on field while Devin looked confused with his hands up in a "what?" jester.) This was in just about every OC's offense they tried to put him in. Turner/Martz/Tice. It's gotta be on Devin a little to learn the offense. He didn't/couldn't.
Great Return man, Good guy... not too bright.
Congrats on the return record.

 

[toooverbearing]

April 8th, 2013
At the time, Trestman said that reporters would have to ask Hester how he felt about that and that’s just what happened when Hester did an interview on WLS in Chicago Sunday. The answer is that Hester’s just fine with making returning his full-time job in 2013. Hester said it was “kind of” his idea to concentrate on returning after a disappointing 2012 season across the board so that he could get back to being the player he wants to be.

“My door is not closed on the offensive side of the ball. I’m still open to it,” Hester said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “But as of right now, I know that I’m going here first into this season as the main kickoff return man. As of right now, that’s my main focus — to get my swagger back.”

Concentrating on what Hester does best seems like a good idea for both the Bears and Hester, especially with Hester sounding totally on board with the decision to try to build on his 18 career return touchdowns. It was a potent part of the Bears mix that was missing in 2012 and one they could really use in 2013.

Thanks for digging this up JT. I wasn't delusional after all.

 

[Mikefive]

The KFFL guys are very familiar with "Mikefive's Theory", which is...

Anything that pro athletes say which is "the company line" or simply uncontroversial cannot be trusted to be true. It may be true. Or it may not be. But it's impossible to know which it is, because they are directed to say those things and subject to consequences if they don't.

OTOH, anything that a pro athlete says that deviates from "the company line" or is indeed controversial is absolutely true, at least from that players point of view. Why? Because they know that they will have to answer to the coaching staff and possibly management for deviating from their orders. Thus, they must feel very strongly about it to defy their bosses.

Hence, what Devin Hester said last year... you can't count on that being truth. But what Brandon Marshall said in his press conference yesterday was absolute truth.

 

[Aussie77]

Good on him it was deserved don't underestimate how much playing on turf is helping Hester this season his game thrives on speed something Soldier Field is not designed for

 

[toooverbearing]

The KFFL guys are very familiar with "Mikefive's Theory", which is...

Anything that pro athletes say which is "the company line" or simply uncontroversial cannot be trusted to be true. It may be true. Or it may not be. But it's impossible to know which it is, because they are directed to say those things and subject to consequences if they don't.

OTOH, anything that a pro athlete says that deviates from "the company line" or is indeed controversial is absolutely true, at least from that players point of view. Why? Because they know that they will have to answer to the coaching staff and possibly management for deviating from their orders. Thus, they must feel very strongly about it to defy their bosses.

Hence, what Devin Hester said last year... you can't count on that being truth. But what Brandon Marshall said in his press conference yesterday was absolute truth.

True that M5.

 

[nomoreshoop]

with the current state of our special teams, even the road runner or speedy Gonzales couldn't get a return. Hester had to go to a stronger team to get the record before he gets the injury bug again.

 

[richig07]

with the current state of our special teams, even the road runner or speedy Gonzales couldn't get a return. Hester had to go to a stronger team to get the record before he gets the injury bug again.

What?

Hester has never had problems with injuries.

 

[averagejoe]

Does This Make Hester a Hall of Fame Candidate?

Now that the return record is his, does this make Hester a Hall of Fame candidate?

Deion Sanders is in the HOF. And Sanders has 5722 career return yards. By comparison, Hester is currently sitting at 8989 career return yards.

 

[toooverbearing]

Now that the return record is his, does this make Hester a Hall of Fame candidate?

Deion Sanders is in the HOF. And Sanders has 5722 career return yards. By comparison, Hester is currently sitting at 8989 career return yards.

I think he is a candidate for the HOF, but not because of how he compares to Sanders. Sanders was one of the GOAT CBs. He erased half the field on defense. Even if he never returned a punt, he'd be in the HOF based on his CB play.

But yes... Hester has made a career out of giving his team supreme field position all game long even when he wasn't outright scoring TDs. The Bears had an edge even in his off years because we were constantly starting at the 35 yard line.

On another note... someone said that "he finally is on a strong team" in regards to the Falcons. I don't think I'm being a homer when I say this, but the Bears were hands down the better team last season and I'd argue, despite their upset of the Saints in week one... we're still the better team.

 

[richig07]

Now that the return record is his, does this make Hester a Hall of Fame candidate?

Deion Sanders is in the HOF. And Sanders has 5722 career return yards. By comparison, Hester is currently sitting at 8989 career return yards.

Deion Sanders being in the HOF has very, very little to do with him being a kick return man. He's the GOAT CB to ever play.

 

[averagejoe]

the GOAT CB

Sanders' speed made him an above-average corner and very difficult to throw against. But to label Sanders with the GOAT title for a CB who rarely tackled anyone head-on is too much praise IMO. He was a terrible tackler who rarely went for the knock-out, ball-jarring hit. Career-wise, Sanders had 53 interceptions which ranks him tied for 24th all-time. Excellent but not outstanding.

His speed - and only his speed - made him exceptional at the CB position and as a return specialist. GOAT? Not in my opinion.

 

[toooverbearing]

Sanders' speed made him an above-average corner and very difficult to throw against. But to label Sanders with the GOAT title for a CB who rarely tackled anyone head-on is too much praise IMO. He was a terrible tackler who rarely went for the knock-out, ball-jarring hit. Career-wise, Sanders had 53 interceptions which ranks him tied for 24th all-time. Excellent but not outstanding.

His speed - and only his speed - made him exceptional at the CB position and as a return specialist. GOAT? Not in my opinion.

Seriously? The man was the poster child for shutdown corner. GOAT is definitely the correct label for him as a corner. He didn't get into the hall of fame for returning kicks.

 

[thunderspirit]

Sanders' speed made him an above-average corner and very difficult to throw against. But to label Sanders with the GOAT title for a CB who rarely tackled anyone head-on is too much praise IMO. He was a terrible tackler who rarely went for the knock-out, ball-jarring hit. Career-wise, Sanders had 53 interceptions which ranks him tied for 24th all-time. Excellent but not outstanding.

His speed - and only his speed - made him exceptional at the CB position and as a return specialist. GOAT? Not in my opinion.

Seriously? The man was the poster child for shutdown corner. GOAT is definitely the correct label for him as a corner. He didn't get into the hall of fame for returning kicks.

Sanders' speed was exceptional.
So was his technique, though.

He was a terrible tackler. But run support wasn't what teams hired him to do.
He didn't have gaudy interception numbers. But most teams threw away from him, and had good reason to do so.

He's an ass.
He's thoroughly stuck on himself.
He's also the best CB I've ever seen play the game, and it's not close.

 

[anotheridiot]

Deions bonus was being a punt return guy. I consider him in the hall because of the cornerback skills.

Yeah, had no desire to tackle, but no doubt the best cover corner ever, no matter how many richard sherman commercials I see.

 

[JoeyTourettes]

Wait.... GOAT...means? Greatest Of All Time?

Cause I was reading that very differently and could not figure out the context.
man, I'm feeling old.

 

[toooverbearing]

Wait.... GOAT...means? Greatest Of All Time?

Cause I was reading that very differently and could not figure out the context.
man, I'm feeling old.

Yup!

 

[Mikefive]

Interesting debate.

Somebody pointed out that he never went for the knockout hit. That's something you rarely see from ANY CBs. It's just not in their job description. I'm calling that an unrealistic expectation.

Sanders' poor tackling is a legit criticism. But I'm not sure that's such a major deal. CBs generally aren't the best tacklers although in fairness, Neon Deion was REALLY bad. In coverage, #21 was the definition of a lock down, man to man CB. And he was probably the 2nd most feared KR guy ever. Best of all time? He's gotta be in the team photo at least. But I'll leave that for someone else to decide.

I think the tackling criticism brings up an interesting point. I wonder how you could evaluate CBs based on ALL football criteria. As an example, how would a comparison go between Sanders and Charles Tillman? Sanders blows him away in coverage, interceptions and return ability. But it's advantage Tillman in tackling and overwhelmingly better when it comes to forcing fumbles. I'm not saying Tillman was as valuable as Sanders. He's not. But how much better was he, all things considered?

 

[beardown07]

for argument's sake...

Tillman

36 INTs
8 TD's+1 fumble return(9total)
42 FFs
675 return yds

Sanders

53 ints
9 TDs
0 FF
1,331 return yds


A few more picks...double the yards, but overwhelmingly behind in FFs


Someone on here stated that they don't think Tillman is HOF-worthy. I actually think he is. Not first-ballot, but I think he gets in there eventually.

 

[toooverbearing]

I wonder if there is a "targets/game" metric on them. That is another huge factor. Shut down corners eventually stop getting tested and therefore stop racking up picks and defensed passes. It's still a badge of effectiveness. In fact, the best metaphor for this IS DEVIN HESTER as a kick returner. Even when he wasn't returning kicks for TDs, his effectiveness was felt by the offense starting at the 35 or 40 yard line because teams were kicking the ball out of bounds.

I have a theory on "impact players". My theory is there are four different kinds: imbalancers (guys who need to be double teamed every down and turn it into a 11 on 10 game), erasers (guys who can flat out erase an opposing player or a large section of the field), and playmakers (guys who turn picks into pick sixes, or four yard gains into 80 yard TDs, or always execute the perfect pass in the last 2 minutes of a game). Deion was an "eraser"... maybe one of the best at his position ever. Daryl Green? Maybe. Peanut I'd say was a "playmaker" CB... and a dynamite one at that. Dieon was a playmaker as well when the balls were being thrown to him and as a returner. I still think he's a legit GOAT candidate at his position.