Hester open to cutting back receiver role
Posted by GameSetMatch on February 4th, 2010
For two seasons, the Chicago Bears’ Devin Hester was the most electrifying return man in the NFL. Now Hester, the receiver, wouldn’t mind getting back to his roots.
“I know what I’m best at,” Hester said Thursday on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000. “The return game is my bread and butter, so if I had to cut back on my receiving and go back to returning, that’s something I would love to do.”
Hester scored 11 regular-season touchdowns on punt and kickoff returns from 2006 to 2007, and brought a kick back for a score in the Super Bowl in 2007. In an effort to get his play-making ability on the field more, Bears coaches turned Hester into a receiver before the 2008 season, and the experiment has had mixed results.
Hester has averaged 54 catches for 711 yards in his two full seasons as a receiver, but his return game has suffered. He hasn’t scored a touchdown on a return since Dec. 30, 2007 against the New Orleans Saints. After returning 31 kicks without a score in 2008, Hester returned just seven in 2009 as Danieal Manning and Johnny Knox got the bulk of the work.
Hester said the coaching staff makes the decisions, and he is willing to do whatever they ask.
Click here to read the full article – By of ESPNChicago.com
