February 4, 2007, surrounded by my family and friends with our eyes glued to the TV screen, Super Bowl XLI between my beloved Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts is about to kick-off. My older brother jokes about our exciting rookie return-man Devin Hester returning the opening kick-off for a touchdown. We all laughed at the possibility, as it was never done before in Super Bowl history. Then the ball jolted off of Adam Vinatieri’s foot and landed into Hester’s hands, and the rest is 92 yards of history. The most electrifying play I’ve ever witnessed in my sports-viewing-life was executed by none other than greatest kick/punt returner to ever field kicks.
Sure, as a Bears fan, I may be biased, but Hester’s case for Canton is certainly one to ponder. Here’s why:
A lot of fans don’t know that Devin Hester was originally drafted as a cornerback. Dave Toub, the genius of a special teams coordinator of the Bears at the time, and head coach Lovie Smith drafted Hester in the second round with the intention of making him a “return specialist.” They were quick to find out that it may have been one of the greatest draft choices the franchise had made.
How many guys in league history can you say never played a snap on offense or defense their rookie year but still have one of the greatest rookie seasons of all-time? I’ll let that one sink in a bit…
Hester’s rookie season consisted of five regular-season returns for touchdowns, which tied the NFL record. Within those five returns was an 108-yard return off of a missed field goal against the Giants, which tied for the longest return in NFL history (which has since been broken). Devin also scored a game-winning punt return touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals in a classic comeback win, which resulted in the infamous “they are who we thought they were” post-game tirade by then-Cardinals coach Dennis Green. Then came a game against the Rams in which Devin returned not one, but two kickoffs for touchdowns. And of course, the cherry was definitively placed on top when he became the only player to ever return the opening kick of a Super Bowl for a score.
Oh, then he came back his second year only to do it all over again, but this time, break the single-season return record and score six touchdowns, to make a long story short.
But let’t put aside the numbers and look at it from an X’s n’ O’s perspective.
Hester gave special team coordinators sleepless nights, forcing them to ensure they had a solid game-plan and that their coverage units were focused. It’s hard enough for a head coach that they need to develop a serious, winning-football game-plan for their offense and defense. Now, they have to spend extra time in practice with their special teams units. All because of #23.
Another overlooked factor of Hester’s effect on the game is field position. One of the criticisms I often hear of Devin’s career is his lack of return touchdowns since his breakout two season (no TD’s in ’08 and ’09, and a combined 5 TD’s in his final five years as a player). I find this criticism hardly justified, because, first and foremost, returning the football is one of the hardest “specialties” to stay great at. Second, teams just flat out refused to kick to him. In the 2007 season, Hester had a combined 85 kickoff and punt return attempts. The next two years? 2008 he fielded 63 returns and in 2009, that number dropped all the way down to only 31. Teams did everything possible to keep Devin away from the touching the ball. From squib kicks on kickoffs, to extremely short punts, teams evidently got the memo.
The reason why this effect on the game that Hester had is so overlooked is, because the Bears’ offenses were so dismal. They weren’t able to convert the gifted field positions into points. Hence, why opposing teams weren’t afraid to give up 20 yards of field position in order to keep from falling victim to Hester’s electrifying abilities.
Another typical condemnation against Hester’s HOF case is his career as a wide receiver. Which, again, I feel is unwarranted. People again need to realize that he was a cornerback turned specialist. Don’t crucify the man for Lovie Smith’s mistake in thinking that Hester could be a full-time, #1 receiver for an NFL football team.
In fact, there were rumors that Devin never wanted the full-time role at wide out, and that he wanted to focus on his bread-and-butter, returning kicks. Considering his under-achieved career as a pass-catcher, I do believe that if Lovie knew anything about the offensive side of the ball and put Hester in an appropriate position on offense, he could have been much more effective than he was. Maybe as a third or fourth option for Cutler to throw to would have been more ideal, allowing him to be mismatched against opposing linebackers, safeties, and nickel-backs, rather than the defense’s best corner.
Now, with Devin Hester announcing his retirement from the game of football, the discussion will remain (until it happens), does he deserve to be a Hall-of-Famer? The simple answer is yes. And besides the points made above in regards to why I believe so, I’ll leave you with this notion:
The Hall of Fame is meant to honor players that were the best at what they did and players that revolutionized the game. Devin Hester did both. He is the best return man to ever play, and he revolutionized the return game as we know it. Get him in there.
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