October 25, 2007
Lions' plan to keep ball from Hester may be all wet
By Larry Mayer
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – After watching Devin Hester run wild against his team Sept. 30 in Detroit, Lions coach Rod Marinelli has devised a surefire plan to contain the Bears’ All-Pro return specialist.
“I thought if we went out and worked really hard trying to kick the ball into Lake Michigan and make sure it floats to the bottom,” Marinelli said in advance of Sunday’s game at Soldier Field.
Devin Hester strikes a pose after returning a kickoff 97 yards for a TD Sept. 30 in Detroit.
Informed of the comment, Bears special teams coordinator Dave Toub joked that “we’re going to put in our speedboat left return.”
Hester was also amused, saying Thursday that “I heard he said that and I was thinking about the baseball games where they have guys out there in the boat waiting for the ball to land in the water.”
Hester can relate to the man who hits baseballs into the water in San Francisco, Barry Bonds, from this standpoint: the Bears star likely will receive the football equivalent of an intentional walk Sunday.
It doesn't appear that the Lions intend to let Hester beat them after he set a Bears record with 314 return yards in the first meeting between the teams four weeks ago at Ford Field.
The second-year pro returned a kickoff 97 yards for a TD and averaged 19.0 yards on five punt returns in that game, but the Lions scored 34 points in the fourth quarter to rally for a 37-27 win.
“I don’t think they’re going to give me as many opportunities as they did,” Hester said. “We look forward to them kicking to me, but I don’t think I’m going to get many opportunities.”
“I’m sure they’re going to batten down the hatches in this game,” Toub said. “It’s going to be a lot tougher.”
While Hester is a threat to go the distance every time he touches the ball, it’s debatable whether it’s wise to kick the ball away from him. The Bears’ average starting field position on nine kickoffs that have been kicked away from Hester this season is the 34.4-yard line. Chicago’s average starting field position on Hester’s 19 kickoff returns is the 28.2-yard line.
Last Sunday in Philadelphia, the Bears took a 12-9 lead on Robbie Gould’s 45-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter after an Eagles’ 27-yard punt went out of bounds at the 50-yard line.
FULL STORY
Lions' plan to keep ball from Hester may be all wet - Chicago Bears
Lions' plan to keep ball from Hester may be all wet
Lions' plan to keep ball from Hester may be all wet
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