For the first time ever, the Chicago Bears‘ special teams knows how it feels to prepare for Devin Hester, the greatest returner in the history of the NFL. If the inside of the locker room sounds anything like sports talk radio in the city this week, stopping the nine-year veteran may seem impossible — and it just might be.
The Bears’ special teams unit is ranked in the bottom third of the league and has displayed some truly embarrassing lack of awareness in recent weeks. Hester is not the guy you want to be unaware against, because before you know it he’s past you and high-stepping his way to the end zone.
All phases of the Bears have been pretty undisciplined thus far, but special teams has provided more head-scratching moments than either the offense or defense. Penalties, missed field goals, botched punt coverage and kick returning stupidity has left special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis with the hottest seat in the organization. With Hester next on the schedule, DeCamillis has plenty to prove.
The Bears will likely kick away from Hester as often as possible, but that’s easier said than done. Rookie punter Pat O’Donnell had struggled in the first few games of the season, but he actually put together a nice performance last week in Carolina. The problem is he’s never prepped for a headache like Hester, and directional kicking is a lot tougher than one would expect. The rookie out of Miami (FL) has a lot on his plate this weekend. A poor performance from him could cost the Bears a must-win game.
Kicker Robbie Gould has it a bit easier than O’Donnell. Playing in a dome, he should be able to send the ball deep enough for a touchback if he so chooses. The concern with that is, if he doesn’t get into the ball 100 percent, Hester has a minimal hang-time, line drive kick to return.
Hester seems extraordinarily motivated for Sunday’s showdown with his former team. He spent nine seasons donning blue and orange, including Super Bowl XLI. With the Atlanta Falcons, he has returned 12 kickoffs for 290 yards and five punts for 115 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown return.
Hester has recorded 21 return scores against 14 teams off of 16 kickers and punters. Here’s to hoping his former team and teammates are not added to that list on Sunday afternoon.
Andrew Pappas is a Chicago Bears writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @AndrewPappas24.
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