Bears Blitz

Published by Randy Chambers on February 4, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Devin Hester is without question the best return man this sport has ever seen. And every time I see him return a kick or a punt for a touchdown, I ask myself, “can this guy really make the Hall of Fame?”

The Hall of Fame is, of course, every sports highest plateau, and voting players in it can become very tricky. Often the first things we look at are numbers. We compare numbers to other players at the position that are in the Hall of Fame and see if they stack up.

Another thing we look at is the individual and team accomplishments. How many MVPs did that player win or Pro Bowls did he make? Did he win a Super Bowl? Did he increase his game when it mattered and did he play better in the bigger games? Other important thing includes, did he make his teammates better? Anybody can put up impressive statistics it’s the great players that make their teammates around them better. That’s what members of the Hall of Fame do.

When players are mentioned for the Hall of Fame, they are normally players that have had a huge impact at a certain position. They dominated that position for several years and are considered one of the greatest at that position. That’s when things get a little tricky when it comes to somebody like Hester.

Hester is a wide receiver for the Bears offense, but his numbers are nowhere near being worth mentioning. In five seasons he hasn’t had one year where he had over 800 receiving yards and only has 13 receiving touchdowns in his career. Even at the young age of 29, those numbers don’t look to improve much at all as he’s really not a sure-handed option.

This obviously means if he was to make the Hall of Fame, it would be for his accomplishments as a return man. This is where many have problems with entertaining the thought of him being in the Hall of Fame. Should somebody that contributes mainly in special teams earn the same respect as a player that contributes on every single play they’re on the field? No player in the history of the game has ever reached the Hall of Fame as a return man, should Hester be the first?

If it’s going to be anybody, it should be Hester. He’s only been in the league for six seasons and he already holds the record with an amazing 12 punt returns for a touchdown. He averages nearly 13 yards a punt return and is also tied for the record for punt return touchdowns with four in a single season. He’s also 16th all-time in punt return yards with 2,654. At 29 years old and averaging 424 punt return yards a season, he could easily push Brian Mitchell’s all-time record of 4,999 punt return yards.

He’s only returned 146 kicks in his career, but is tied for fourth all-time with five of those being returned for touchdowns. He’s only three away from tying Josh Cribbs for the most kickoffs returned for a touchdown in NFL history.

What makes these numbers even more impressive is that often many teams refuse to even kick to Hester. Making it that much more difficult to produce and limiting his opportunities to add on to his already impressive resume.  

If Hester isn’t considered for the Hall of Fame, simply because he’s mainly a special teams contributor, then why should special teams remain part of the sport? Denying him a spot into the Hall of Fame as a return man would basically say that special teams isn’t really an important part of the game of football, which we all know simply is not true.

So many games are won nowadays on special teams and field position. Nobody flips the field the way Hester does for the Bears. In fact, 16 of Hester’s touchdowns either gave the Bears the lead or tied the game when they were trailing. That’s a very valuable weapon to have on your team if you asked me.

Players that make an impact on the game and are one of the greatest at their position should be considered for the Hall of Fame. That goes for kickers, punters and long snappers as well. All of those positions should be considered.

The question is should a specialist as great as Hester actually be voted in? Well, that’s where things get a little tricky.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or Randy.Chambers7@yahoo.com

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