The kick and punt return. There’s always that big play on the football field whether it was a big pass down the field, but a kick return, it’s the most exciting thing that can take place in a game because it can give you the lead or it can get you back into the football game if you’re losing. I’ve seen a few “explosive” return men in the NFL over the years. I know you all remember Dante Hall, right? The man referred to as the human joystick with the ability to make a ton of moves just to make a defender miss at tackling him in the open field. Deion Sanders was pretty good at a lot of things such as playing defensive back, but his versatility always stood out and he could make a return to put his team in a good position or he could take it to the house. In 2006, we were all introduced to a guy out of Miami by the name of Devin Hester and he was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2006 draft with the 57th pick. Today, a guy who was considered by many to be one of the more electrifying players in the NFL has decided to call it a career.
When Devin Hester was drafted by the Bears in 2006, he was originally drafted as a corner, but the team had intended to play him as a return specialist. The team’s decision to draft him was initially criticized by the fans and many sports analysts. Making him the team’s return-man was hands down the best decision they could’ve made. During his rookie season in his first 13 weeks, Hester had scored a total of six touchdowns, including a punt return in his NFL debut against the Green Bay Packers. Some of his returns at times left me absolutely speechless. One that comes to mind is the 108-yard return against the New York Giants on a Sunday night in November. The Giants had lined up for a field goal, the kick was short and Devin was standing eight yards deep in the end zone. He caught it, faked as if he wasn’t going to return it and used his speed to run it back and extend the lead for the Bears. Of course, I would mention that and how about the return in Super Bowl 41 against the Indianapolis Colts on the opening kickoff?! One of the best opening sequences to begin a Super Bowl in my opinion. What made this guy special was his incredible field vision. He had the sight to see everything and he allowed the open space to come to him and then he attacked and ran. He was truly a game-changer and he definitely impacted the game as a whole.
He’s the best kick returner I’ve ever seen. Any football that plays any position can be the talk of your team’s defensive meetings and when coaches are electing to purposely kick the football out of bounds knowing it’ll be a penalty and teams would simply state a few words: DON”T KICK THE FOOTBALL TO DEVIN HESTER! Because if you did, he would find a way to make you pay for it each time you touched the football. I’ve never seen such a prolific guy in the special teams aspect of the game like this guy was and I really think he’ll be in Canton, Ohio in the near future as a member of the Hall Of Fame.
