Hester To Offense

by Adam T on May 14, 2007 2:24 PM CDT in News

Credit to Rob G for pointing this one out.

Coach Lovie Smith has revealed that starting with this weekend's full-squad minicamp, CB and return man Devin Hester will practice with the offense.

Hester will work with the wide receivers at minicamp, but he's also expected to line up in the backfield at times and could be utilized like the New Orleans Saints' Reggie Bush.

"Right now we're not going to put any limits on it," Smith said. "We have a new piece to the puzzle. We're anxious to see what we can do with him and the role that he'll develop into.

"There are a lot of different ways we can go. You can make a case for him being a slot receiver. You can make a case for him being a single receiver when we go to our two-tight end, two-running back packages. You can make a case for him from the running back position.

"He's an offensive weapon right now. That's the only limit we put on him.

What else do we need to say here. Between the speed that we can bring with Hester, Berrian and Wolfe and the possession guys we have with Muhammad, Clark and Olsen and then just for fun throw in Davis and we have everything in place to have an outstanding offense as long as Grossman ca step up.

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Thnx for the credit

They must really think he's a horrible cornerback though. It's not like we're swimming in talent at that position right now.

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by thecubreporter on May 14, 2007 5:11 PM CDT reply actions

The word on him was always

he has amazing talent, but never had a position. Easier to just have him run a small route and give him the ball and tell him to run instead of waiting 4-5 years for him to fully learn the CB position, I guess.

by Adam T on May 14, 2007 11:00 PM CDT up reply actions

Well...

last year he sat 5th on the depth chart at Cornerback and rarely ever got in the game.

by lopey986 on May 15, 2007 12:17 AM CDT up reply actions

That is what I am saying

he had no position coming in, so he is going to have to learn one. It is easy to setup specific plays on offense while he learns the position than it is on defense.

by Adam T on May 15, 2007 7:28 AM CDT up reply actions

man

i don't see him holding on to the ball if he takes a big hit though.

this has the potential to be a fast talented offense as long as they don't get overthrown.

by mike b on May 15, 2007 12:18 AM CDT reply actions

I think it comes to this...

This guy, in one short year, has proven that he has legit game-breaking ability. Therefore, you get the ball in his hands. Let's face it, Reggie Bush has that same ability. I don't think for one second that he'll ever be a serviceable running back (i.e. turn around and it off to him 25 times a game) but I see that if he gets the ball in the flat or on a toss or reverse, big things can happen.

Think about him in the old Dennis Gentry role. Except Devin's much better. Third and long? Line him up in the backfield and basically its a four wide set. Swing him out of the backfield, make a linebacker try to cover him and we got our selves a mismatch.

by Chad @ Windy City Gridiron on May 15, 2007 1:03 AM CDT reply actions

Bo Jackson be Damned

Does this give him a shot to be the greatest video game athlete of all time?

by SouthernSlam on May 15, 2007 8:21 AM CDT reply actions

Not a chance

As well documented at ESPN, Bo Jackson on Super Tecmo Bowl (or original Techmo, whatever) was the digital embodiment of what Jesus Christ would be like if he traded his sandals and tunic for cleats and mesh jersey.

by Chad @ Windy City Gridiron on May 15, 2007 12:22 PM CDT up reply actions

Decoy....

....he'll be on the field for 7-8 plays per game max, and run a reverse or two to him every now and then to keep D's honest.

I don't think there's a solid chance of more than 2 hail mary type throws to him all year. They're better off brining him onto the field and then running plays with Olsen as the primary.

by PopeFlick on May 15, 2007 9:51 AM CDT reply actions

to maximize his potential

hester needs the ball in his hands. he's a gamebreaker. i'd love to see him turn into a shut-down corner (w/ his speed, it should be possible), but again, he's so damn good in the open field that he could kill on offense. at best, he'd be 4th on the CB depth chart this year, anyway, behind peanut, vasher, and rmj.

by guy incognito on May 15, 2007 10:15 AM CDT reply actions

And to clarify

I'm all for the move.

And Chad? Still think he was drafted as cornerback first and foremost?

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by thecubreporter on May 15, 2007 12:47 PM CDT reply actions

yes

We had zero depth at CB and he fit a lot of holes for us. If he only played wide receiver and return guy in college I think we would have passed him up.

by Chad @ Windy City Gridiron on May 15, 2007 1:40 PM CDT up reply actions

Hmm..

http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/2006/05/chicago-bears-hester050506.html

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20060430/ai_n16509303

"You can say we drafted him as an athlete,"

By all accounts, the Hester pick was a big gamble for the Bears. Although considered by many scouts to be one of the best all-around athletes in the entire draft, Hester doesn't have a true position. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound speedster was listed as a wide receiver on the official Hurricanes roster, but saw very little action in that capacity. In fact, through three seasons at Miami, Hester had a total of 10 receptions. He also appeared at cornerback, but again didn't get many opportunities to contribute. Instead, he created a niche for himself as the Hurricanes' primary return man on both kickoffs and punts.

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by thecubreporter on May 15, 2007 2:50 PM CDT up reply actions

OK

I see that they looked at him and thought 'gamebreaker' but being that we were skeleton thin at CB (as Steve Smith pointed out in the playoffs) they saw this kid and knew that he would give up better depth at a spot we sorely needed. They also know that we were having big problems in the return game and that he would fill that hole. But I really don't think they ever thought he would play offense. I think he exploded onto the scene and then they realized that they needed to get the ball in his hands at all costs.

by Chad @ Windy City Gridiron on May 15, 2007 5:29 PM CDT up reply actions