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**RoyWilliams** · 08-09-2007, 02:58 PM

Not so fast -- Hester not there yet :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Bears

Quote:

There is a cartoon element to Devin Hester's ability on the football field that comes just the requisite ''beep-beep'' sound effect short of satire.

It's farcical, really, that a mere human can be so fast, so talented, so natural at any athletic endeavor.

Hester defied hyperbole during his glorious rookie campaign -- from his NFL record six return touchdowns to scoring -- what else? -- the fastest touchdown in Super Bowl history.

Simply put, with a football in his hands, the man is as elusive as world peace.

Enough. If the early days of training camp has taught the Bears anything it's that their return-ace-turned-receiver is indeed a mortal. Hester missed a few practices with a sore hamstring last week, a reminder to move carefully with a quick-twitch athlete who needs to be around at the end of the season and not just the beginning.

The coaching staff recognizes this fact. They moved him along slowly last year, using him first as a punt returner before extending his role to kickoff returns and eventually trying him a few plays on offense. Now that he's a full-time receiver things shouldn't be much different.

''He might be a Pro Bowl receiver some day, but he's a Hall of Fame returner and we can't lose sight of that,'' wide receivers coach Darryl Drake said.

Still a return man first
While it's difficult not to get caught up in the possibilities of Hester on offense, it's important to remember he might have been the most important player on that unit last year when the Bears made it to the Super Bowl. Field position is everything in the NFL, especially for a team like the Bears. Hester supplied it. Repeatedly.

He can't be expected to play a role on offense on a series that comes after a long return. Frankly, the Bears understand that and won't ask him to do much following returns. In fact, he probably won't be doing nearly as much on offense as some people think. While adding such an elusive player to right side of the ball has been a big move for the Bears, way too much has been made of the transition.

The team's press release for the preseason opener at Houston contains 25 feature stories, mostly harmless personality profiles by a variety of sportswriters. Five of those 25 stories are on Hester. That's three more than quarterback Rex Grossman. Amazing stuff for a guy who is currently running as the fifth wide receiver.

''I'm just going to play my game,'' Hester said. ''This team has a lot of weapons, so anybody we put out there we know they can go out and make good plays. The coaches are going to put me in a good position, and by game time we'll know everything we have to do.''

Hester will have a role on offense, perhaps an important one. But it will be more of a package of plays that may increase as the season goes on than the sort of feed-him-the-ball routine people have come to expect of Steve Smith, Santana Moss or any of the number of receivers Hester is compared to.

Technique is raw
In fact, there are elements of the game that Hester is still learning. While he's a much better player on offense than defense because he's such a natural with the ball in his hands, there are still issues to address. It remains to be seen, for instance, if the guy can get off the line against a jam.

Hester seems to line up quite a bit opposite cornerback Charles Tillman during practices, a matchup created by the position he plays and not one created by coaches, according to Drake.

Tillman is the biggest, most physical cornerback on the roster and when he comes up to jam Hester a couple of different things happen. Sometimes, Hester gets overelaborate with his head and body fakes, changing direction a number of times before getting his release. He might end up too far outside and have to cut back in after getting around the jam. A couple of times Tillman has shoved him and knocked him off stride or to the ground.

Hester is still learning how to get off the line, but it's a dangerous way to cover him. Drake says the Bears would love to see teams jam him because they are rolling the dice and if he gets off the jam he could score a touchdown. Passing rules allow cornerbacks to jam a receiver only over the first five yards, anyway and that creates a sort of clock in their head that will sometimes cause them to release a jam early.

Still, while Hester has shown remarkable hands and excellent run-after-the-catch ability, he's still learning the position and the tricks of the trade that even accomplished college receivers have to learn. The idea is to stay as low as possible and get underneath the jam. If you use a swim move, go low.

The instinct is to pop up and take a guy on, but that just opens the body and gives the defender a larger target.

''It's going to take a couple of years, it's not going to happen overnight,'' Drake said. ''The more he plays the more he understands body control. When you watched Bernard [Berrian] in his first year they killed him. When they pressed him they killed him. He was high off the line, he couldn't get off of it. Now you have defensive coaches saying: ''Hmmm,'' because he's so much better.''

Hester will be a work in progress, but Tillman is expecting great things.

''I guarantee you the Bears fans will be impressed with his performance returning kicks and catching the ball on offense,'' Tillman said. ''He won't fail. He will please.''

Beep-beep.

**Serrated Shadow** · 08-09-2007, 04:42 PM

To me this along with the Benson story is by far the biggest reasons why i'd watch the Bears this season..

**BU54** · 08-09-2007, 04:46 PM

Anybody can say what they want I don't care.
My worst nightmare would be Hester with a season ending injury.

**Serrated Shadow** · 08-09-2007, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BU54

Anybody can say what they want I don't care.
My worst nightmare would be Hester with a season ending injury.

I really doubt they'd let him sniff the middle of the field. I feel you on that sentiment though. I'm praying that our rookie tackles protect Romo tonight.

**RoyWilliams** · 08-09-2007, 04:52 PM

They would use him like Reggie in the wr set up, imo.

**Professor** · 08-09-2007, 09:44 PM

game was pretty boring tonight, LOL

**RoyWilliams** · 08-09-2007, 09:48 PM

Wrong thread?

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