124 Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 History not working in Hester's favor By Jeffri Chadiha ESPN.com There is already so much hype surrounding the transition of Chicago Bears kick returner Devin Hester into an offensive player that I'm hoping he lives up to the expectations. The real question, however, isn't whether Hester can make a significant contribution on that side of the football. It's whether he'll still be able to produce those breathtaking returns that made him a Pro Bowler during his rookie season in the NFL. After all, it's hard enough to be an electrifying return man in this league. To do it year after year, well, that's proven to be fairly difficult for most players. This isn't to knock Hester, who scored an NFL-record six return touchdowns in 2006. It's just a fact. Returning kicks takes guts and guile, and recent history really hasn't been very kind to players who make their names with that specialty. For those who want to bring up the Billy "White Shoes" Johnsons and Brian Mitchells of the world, please remember that times have changed. In today's NFL, anything can hamper a return man's dominance, whether it's the loss of a couple key blockers, the departure of a special-teams coach, or in the case of Hester, added responsibilities. If you want examples, let's point to the most obvious: Dante Hall. The St. Louis Rams recently acquired him in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs, and you'd be hard pressed to find a returner with a stronger reputation in the league. The man was so dominant during the 2003 season -- when he scored on a return in four consecutive games -- that he received consideration for league MVP honors. Hall was doing Letterman, for God's sake, and his nickname, "X Factor," was a testament to how immediately and substantially he could impact a game. But as good as Hall was then, there's a reason why Kansas City felt comfortable dealing him to St. Louis for a fifth-round pick. The Chiefs used Hall more as a receiver over the last four years, and though he caught 125 passes during that time, he wasn't much of a difference maker. What's more, that added duty ultimately affected his return skills. After averaging a league-high 16.3 yards per punt return in 2003, Hall averaged just 6.6 in 2005 and 8.9 in 2006. His new head coach, Scott Linehan, said to local reporters that having Hall focus solely on returns again "will enhance [Hall's] ability to get back to where he was." The second example of a kick returner gone south is Desmond Howard. Playing offense wasn't really his problem because he was never much used as a wide receiver in the first place. It was switching teams that ultimately did him in. Howard went from being the Super Bowl MVP with the Green Bay Packers in 1996 to being just another overpaid, overhyped trophy on Al Davis' roster in Oakland a year later. The Raiders dumped him after two years and he managed to generate only one more impressive season -- a Pro Bowl year in Detroit in 2001 -- before retirement. Those are just two noteworthy examples for this argument, but I could easily list countless others. Some players, like Carolina's Steve Smith and Baltimore's Derrick Mason, transformed themselves into go-to wide receivers. Others, like New Orleans Saints return man Michael Lewis or Detroit's Eddie Drummond, were just nice stories for a year or two. There are a select few who have managed to generate eye-popping numbers year after year -- Buffalo's Terrence McGee, a cornerback who has made to two trips to the Pro Bowl as a returner, comes to mind -- but even they will fall off eventually. As for a guy like Hester, it will be interesting to see what affects his productivity in the coming years. He'll certainly have to deal with more directional kicks, better schemes by opponents who will have had a full year to prepare for him and the fact that Chicago already is experimenting with safety Danieal Manning on kick returns. There's also this reality: Hester had a season for the ages. Waiting for him to terrorize opponents in his second year is like waiting for LaDainian Tomlinson to score 31 touchdowns again. It's a rare occurrence and one that we should feel privileged to have witnessed. Still, you can also see what Hester's success has done to the league. There's no way his impact didn't factor into the Miami Dolphins' decision to use the ninth overall selection in this year's draft on Ohio State's Ted Ginn Jr., whose explosive return ability eclipsed the fact that he's an unpolished receiver at this stage of his career. There's a good chance that move will give the Dolphins the same type of jolt Hester provided Chicago in 2006. However, the odds of Ginn providing that type of excitement over the course of his career are fairly slim. Sooner or later, even the best returners become mortal. It's just the reality of working a job that requires a player to hurl his body through waves of men who are basically trying to knock him through the turf. That's why I'm hoping Hester really makes a splash with his new opportunity on offense. If history tells us anything, it's that it will be pretty hard for him to keep thrilling us with his play on special teams. Jeffri Chadiha is a senior writer for ESPN.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangenious420 Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 He's going to break his leg week 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetCane Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Hester didnt do real well playing positions at Miami. Part of that was coaching, and also they moved him around too much and didnt let him get comfortable in one position and grow into it. He is electrifying when he touches the ball, but he did a dumb thing once on offense and was yanked from the rotation. I guess we'll see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.S. Dylan Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 he better stay off the madden cover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbok Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 drums i believe you are correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#27TheDominator Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Kind of a silly article. "When a kick returner spends more time at another position his play suffers." Duh. That's why the league has specialized players for every down and distance now instead of Chuck Bednarik. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 He's going to break his leg week 3. I hope you could say that about Tom Brady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryno the Jet Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Why have I not wished for this before. It is so simple! :dohslap: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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