Hester to no longer return kicks

[Rush23]

http://www.chicitysports.com/2009/08/07/hester-to-concentrate-on-wr/

Devin Hester isn't going to be returning kicks any longer (kicks) so he can concentrate on WR. How do you think that's going to turn out? He had 51 catches, 650 yards+, 3 TD's in his first season at WR with Orton. I expect him to do better with Cutler.

[pstall]

*marks Bears Special Teams from fantasy list*

[Nicbsbll2]

Bad move. He's a great returner, but only an average receiver.

[Darth Biscuit]

He will be better with Cutler throwing to him... his bread and butter was returning though and he was arguably the best of all-time at it.. hmmm, he would have to be one hell of a receiver for me to give up using him on returns if I was coach (see Steve Smith).

Dimbee what do you think of this?

[KillerKat]

This is a stupid move.

[John Fox]

Lovie Smiths last year, lol

[Skew]

Bad move. He's a great returner, but only an average receiver.

^^^^

says it all

[Mr. Scot]

Bad move. He's a great returner, but only an average receiver.

Pretty much. I think they should have done just the opposite.

The hope is that he becomes the next Steve Smith. Personally, I'm not convinced Hester can take the pounding of being a full time receiver. And he brings so much to ST and the field position game. I just can't see losing that.

[KillerKat]

Pretty much. I think they should have done just the opposite.

The hope is that he becomes the next Steve Smith. Personally, I'm not convinced Hester can take the pounding of being a full time receiver. And he brings so much to ST and the field position game. I just can't see losing that.

He was the best returner in the league till they put him at WR last year. They just need to get a legit WR and let him just come in on the slot and keep him back there to return kicks. This is a very stupid move. When I think of Hester, I remember when he won the game for the Bears against the Cards.

[Delhommey]

Dumb move overall but it comes out of having nothing at wide receiver.

I know what they're thinking: we've got Manning to return, so let's have Hester focus on WR, but you just don't take a guy who very well might have been the best returner of all time out of that position unless he is showing he can be just as amazing somewhere else.

[Fireball77]

I think I was the only one who thought it was a good idea to put him @ WR to begin with. He looks to me like he could be a decent one. Haven't changed my mind yet.

Maybe it has something to do with the wedge thing too? Don't know how often Chi used it.

[Dingo_ate_Babies]

They should of never let Bernard Berrian go in the first place...if they did that..they could of kept Hester as the full-time return man and bring him in the offense in certain packages..much like Joshua Cribbs.

[Darth Hater]

They should of never let Bernard Berrian go in the first place...if they did that..they could of kept Hester as the full-time return man and bring him in the offense in certain packages..much like Joshua Cribbs.

Bernard Berrian was not worth the contract he signed in minny. there's was no way Chicago was going to pay #1 WR money to a a career #2 WR. Daniel Manning, who led the league in KR average in 08, will be taking over the KR duties this season and Hester will still be fielding punts(when they kick it to him).

Sounds like Hester is really taking his WR position and his criticism very seriously this offseason according to this article.

After off-season of hard work, Bears' Hester has grown into legit receiver

BOURBONNAIS -- Whether he is ready to become a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver, a Pro Bowl caliber offensive player or a transcendent icon for the ages is for wiser minds to ponder.

But this much is clear: Devin Hester is not the same No. 23 he was a year ago.

You can see it in his routes and you can see it in his eyes. Hester isn't an athlete trying to act like a wide receiver anymore. He is a wide receiver.

I have been skeptical about Hester becoming a legitimate, well-rounded receiver. But what he's doing on the practice fields during training camp at Olivet Nazarene is convincing me that he is taking to the position in his second year as a full-time pass catcher.

In which areas has Hester improved since last year?

"It would be better to figure out an area he hasn't improved in," wide receivers coach Darryl Drake said. "He has improved in all facets, from route running to understanding concepts, understanding defenses. In every possible aspect of playing the position, he has really grown."

The first thing we have to understand is Hester has worked at it. He wants it.

He said in the off-season he dedicated himself to getting in the best shape of his life. He dropped his body fat from a ridiculous 4.3 percent to a preposterous 1.5 percent.

He spent more time running cone drills to improve his play speed and doing ball drills to help his hands. He put in overtime on the practice fields developing chemistry with Jay Cutler.

And he spent hours and hours in the classroom with Drake, watching tape, talking concepts and studying defenses. Drake calls him a "gym rat" and says he has become a student of the game.

The result is that Hester now can line up at all four wide receiver positions and run somewhere in the vicinity of 110 routes. Last year, he played only one position, flanker, and ran no more than 10 or 11 routes.

Drake said Hester rarely has "busted" an assignment in camp.

"He's not one that busts," Drake said. "Even a couple of years ago, people thought he didn't understand the playbook. What was happening was we were playing a lot of no-huddle. He was the widest receiver in these really loud stadiums. He would come in and get a play. [Muhsin Muhammad] would tell him a play, and then everybody said he didn't know what to do. That hurt the kid because he has been labeled then."

So contrary to some opinions, Hester is not as impenetrable as granite.

"The truth is he picks up things as well as anybody I've ever been around," Drake said.

Drake also said Hester's football instincts are as good as any player he has coached, and he subsequently has been able to pick up things quickly.

None of us has wanted to be patient with a player who gave us instant points. But the truth is, Hester has needed time, and still might. Receivers typically need years, not months, to make the transition to the NFL. It was true of Bernard Berrian, Calvin Johnson, Brandon Marshall, Steve Smith, Roddy White and many others -- and those are players who had extensive backgrounds at the position, unlike Hester.

What Hester has found is the more he knows, the more dangerous he is.

"My knowledge of the game is starting to come around, so I can go out and play fast," he said. "I am playing faster."

Bears cornerback Nathan Vasher has learned the danger of Hester's knowledge as well.

"He has been so much faster, so much more explosive coming in and out of his breaks," said Vasher, who often tries to cover Hester in practice.

But the growth of Hester isn't all about running by defensive backs. It's about using that speed to make corners play him more honestly, which will help him create space all over the field.

And really, where Hester should be drawing the most blood from defenses is over the middle. That's where the biggest potential for mismatches lies, and that is where Hester has done some of his best work in camp.

Vasher has noticed Hester using his arms better at the top of his routes to give the illusion he's going deep.

"Early on he was a little out of control, not knowing how to deal with all that talent and speed," Vasher said. "Not anymore."

Hester is not who he used to be. He'll start reintroducing himself formally Sept. 13 in Green Bay.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/wire/chi-ap-fbn-bears-hester,0,14179.story

[Nicbsbll2]

If they wanted to use Hester on offense they should have tried to use him like the Saints use Reggie Bush (screens, dump off passes etc.)

Plus, there's a reason that Hester came into the NFL labeled as a DB instead of a WR. If you're going to use him on offense then you need to find a creative way to use him instead of using him as an every down WR, which he showed in college he wasn't very good at.