Devin Hester, which is worse?

[ugadevil]

After yesterday, Devin Hester, of the Chicago Bears, now has 10 touchdowns from returns after 27 games in his NFL career. He is now 3 away from the record for TD returns, which is held by Brian Mitchell. I saw a stat on ESPN today that said it took Mitchell over 200 games to get that record. Hester might have it after 30 games!

My question is now this...who is making the bigger mistake..the Bears coaching staff for not getting Hester the ball more, or opposing teams who kick the ball to him? I know Hester has a bit of a problem with fumbles, and this could be a factor for both sides...opposing teams kick to him because they could recover a fumble...Bears coaches don't get him the ball because he could fumble it. However, doesn't the reward outweigh the risk?

For opposing teams, it's not a bad thing to just kick the ball out of bounds, even on a kickoff. There's a difference between having pride and being stupid and teams still don't seem to get it. To me, it's the same situation as pitching to David Ortiz in a close game with first base open. Don't let the one person beat you who has proven over and over again that he can do it.

For the Bears coaches, he's proven he can make the big play...why not give him more chances to do it?

[billybreen]

Long snap the ball to Devin on every play.

[Mal]

Didn't I read today in the paper that he's at 11 now? I think that was not including the Super Bowl opening kickoff (which was definitely in the top 10 coolest sports moments I've ever witnessed). But maybe it was counting that, I'm not sure.

It would be ironic if no one kicked to him anymore and he ends up not breaking Mitchell's record, or not absolutely destroying it as he should. Sort of like a great arm in right field - it's almost impossible to set a new record in outfield assists because once it's known you've got a gun out there, no one will ever run on you anymore.

I agree with the general sentiment of giving him more opportunities to torch people, but I don't think it's quite as simple as just lining him up on offense and throwing to him a lot. Catching passes for TDs is a very different thing from returning punts and kickoffs for TDs. Especially on a team with poor QB play. Remember, Hester was drafted as a cornerback. If he were a better receiver than Muhammed or Berrian, he'd be in there more often. Plus, every time you try to get the big hit with him and fail (or get little gain from it), it's a lost down, so if you're running a lot of trick plays or wide receiver screens for Hester, every time it doesn't work you're putting a drive and possession of the ball at risk. He'd be a lot more valuable on a team with a reliable offense, where they can afford to throw away downs every once in a while. But on the Bears, where they're scrapping for every first down, he's not that useful.

[bjornolf]

Returning kicks is a TOTALLY different ball of wax than lining up as an offensive player. The defense is spread out over the whole field and often disorganized, you have a kicker who is usually not much of an athlete or tackler out there, and you have time to analyze the field. There are a LOT more one or two on one situations instead of bunches. If the kicking team maintains their lanes properly, half the defense doesn't get a whiff of the returner unless he cuts back, which Hester seldom seems to do, from what I've seen. One good block and one good move and it's a footrace, which Hester doesn't lose too often.

It's kind of like a fast break vs. a half-court offense in basketball. There are some great fast break players who are pretty useless in the half-court, set offense, and vice versa.

Still, he's a cool player. I think he'd be a scary player in arena ball. I do like the idea of finding a 25-yard long snapper and direct snapping it to him. That would be hysterical, and might even work once or twice. Or have the QB pooch-punt the ball back over his head to him!

[ugadevil]

Returning kicks is a TOTALLY different ball of wax than lining up as an offensive player. The defense is spread out over the whole field and often disorganized, you have a kicker who is usually not much of an athlete or tackler out there, and you have time to analyze the field. There are a LOT more one or two on one situations instead of bunches. If the kicking team maintains their lanes properly, half the defense doesn't get a whiff of the returner unless he cuts back, which Hester seldom seems to do, from what I've seen. One good block and one good move and it's a footrace, which Hester doesn't lose too often.

I agree with this and usually watch his returns and think that he has the best blocking of any kick returner I've ever seen. I think that's a testament to how fast he is because it seems like he has to make maybe one move and then he's got the sideline open.

I know the Bears offense is improving, but they're still not exactly a dominant force. Giving Hester a few possessions couldn't be much more wasteful than the 25 carries that Cedric Benson was receiving for most of the season. It could be a reverse, direct snap, screen pass, deep ball. If it doesn't work, can't say you didn't try. Even get him out there more just as a decoy.