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Hester signs 4 year extension


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Posted: 6 minutes ago

Hester, Bears agree on four-year extension

Chicago Bears

LAKE FOREST, IL — The Chicago Bears agreed to terms with return specialist Devin Hester on a four-year contract extension on Sunday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Hester’s new contract runs through the 2013 season. The Bears have now extended the contracts of nine players this year.

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Devin Hester, KR/WR

Chicago Bears

2007 statistics:

Receptions: 20

Yards: 299

Touchdowns: 2

The two-time Pro Bowler stands just two kick return touchdowns shy from tying the all-time NFL career record of 13 set by Brian Mitchell (14 seasons, 1070 returns). In two seasons, Hester has 89 punt returns for 1,251 yards, seven touchdowns and a 14.1 average - highest in NFL history. On 63 kickoff returns Hester has 1,462 yards, four touchdowns and a 23.2 average. He has also recorded a 108-yard missed field goal return touchdown (tying a then-NFL record for longest play in league history) and a 92-yard kickoff return score on the opening play of Super Bowl XLI.

In 2007, Hester received his second straight Associated Press All-Pro honors after setting the single-season NFL record with six kick return touchdowns. Hester’s four punt return touchdowns tied an NFL single-season record and his 651 punt return yards (42 returns) and 15.5 average are best in Bears annals.

Along with his return duties, the University of Miami (FL) product looks to expand his role on offense for the Bears this season. In 2007 he finished with 20 receptions for 299 yards, two touchdowns and a team-high 14.0 yards per catch average. Hester became just the third player in franchise history whose first career touchdown reception was 80-plus yards after hauling in an 81-yard touchdown vs. Minnesota (10/14), the fifth longest pass play in the NFL in 2007 and longest for the Bears since 1994.

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Good job by Chicago, but if they are now paying $6 million a year thats just crazy. I understand what he does in the return game but thats all he does. Teams can take him away most of the time by punting out of bounds.

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Jimmy Johnson in his glory years said that he considered special teams as 1/3 of the game.

I guess Hester was able to make the Bears see it that way.

Also, about punting out of bounds to take Hester out of the game:

1) You lose yardage by doing that, since the football is travelling at an angle instead of straight. Figure that the punter is 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage when his foot contacts the ball and that the average punt ends up being 40 yards from scrimmage. That's 50 yards off the punter's foot. If the punter is in the middle of the field, (40 yards sideline to sideline), that 50 yard punt goes out of bounds 45.8 yard downfield. Subtract the 10 yards the punter was behind the line of scrimmage, and it means that a punt against Chicago is only good for 36 yards at best. That adds up to a big advantage for Chicago over the course of a season.

2) That 36 yards for a punt out of bounds is only good if the ball goes over the sideline just before it lands. That will happen only a small percentage of the time, though. You've seen what happens with the punter shanks the ball by accident-the official marks the ball 15 yards or more back from where the ball lands, because that is where the football went out of bounds. Realistically, even if the punter is aiming for the sideline, you can count on the ball being marked 5 yards or more from where it lands. So that brings the average punt play against Chicago down to 31`yards. That means that if Chicago stops a team at it's own 20 yard line and the team punts out of bounds because of Hester, the Bears start their drive at their own 49 yard line. That's going to result in a lot of extra touchdowns and field goals.

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