To Kick at Hester, or Not To Kick at Hester

That is the question posed by Vic Carucci. The better question is, should that even be a question?

For nearly two seasons, every Chicago Bears opponent has grappled with the same questions:

Kick to Devin Hester and risk a touchdown return?

Kick away from Hester and risk giving the Bears' offense a short field?

Fair enough, Vic Carucci. The ball is in your court, explain to us why the NFL has been stumped by this dilemma: Do we give the Bears 7 as a freebie, or make them earn it? Hmm...

The Denver Broncos ... chose to kick to Hester and he returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns.

Ok... that makes sense, if you kick to Hester he scores touchdowns.

Hester has 10 scores on punts and kickoffs in 28 regular-season games, which is remarkable considering that Mitchell’s all-time leading total of 13 was achieved in 223 games.

So what you're saying is, Hester has already almost matched the all-time record in about 1/10th of the games the other guy played in to do it. Great point, Vic!

Hester's greatest attribute is incredible speed, but it isn't the only reason he causes opponents to lose sleep in the week leading up to a game against the Bears. Hester also creates problems with his ability to set up his returns by knowing when, where, and how to change directions to dodge would-be tacklers.

Right, he's really fast, he cuts back well, and he has good vision. You are correct, Vic, these are all great qualities for a returner to have.

Hester has returned line-drive deep kicks, the easiest for him to handle because the coverage doesn't have enough time to get downfield, but he also has returned kicks with excellent hang time. He has returned squib kicks that are supposed to be difficult to field and intended to be returned by one of his much slower blockers. You name it, and Hester has returned it.

All good reasons to avoid putting the ball in Hester's hands on a punt or kickoff, right?

Yes, Vic, that is an extensive and detailed list of why you should never kick to Devin Hester. Now, I'm sure you've got an equally compelling argument as to why you should kick to Hester, right? I mean, after all... what's the point of asking a question that has an obvious answer?

Although many NFL analysts, including former Bears coach Mike Ditka, have said the game plan should be not to kick to Hester under any circumstance, that is much easier said than done.

For instance, punting out of bounds is a challenge because, for one thing, it involves kicking the ball at an angle that adds 7 or 8 yards to the distance it must cover and creates the likelihood that it will be shorter than usual. Some punters struggle with that more than others.

It's hard to punt out of bounds, so we should kick to Hester... Well, I'll accept that one, but only because I'm sure you have better reasons that you're just saving for last.

A second problem is that once the punt is in the air, outside blockers establishing the width and depth of the punter's pocket have to worry about the added burden of running as quickly as possible toward one of the sidelines, rather than going straight upfield, to cover the punt.

Huh? Vic, if the gameplan is to kick the ball out of bounds, there's not necessarily a great rush to cover a return. Obviously you don't want to be caught napping if the ball somehow stays in bounds and Hester catches it, but I don't think this counts as a reason. Rejected.

On kickoffs, there are no protection concerns, but putting the ball out of bounds before it reaches the end zone results in a penalty that puts the opposing offense on its 40-yard line.

Oh, I see what you're getting at, Vic! You're saying that kicking the ball out of bounds gives that awesome Bears offense a shorter field! Well, let's take a look at that there scoring machine then.

2007 Chicago Bears, offense:
301.0 yds/game (24th)
217.2 pass yds/game (14th)
83.8 rush yds/game (31st)
19.8 PPG (20th)
28:28 Avg. ToP/G (29th)
35% 3rd down efficiency (28th)

And just for kicks and giggles, let's look at their defense too.

2007 Chicago Bears, defense:
355.9 yds/game (28th)
225.1 pass yds/game (25th)
130.8 rush yds/game (27th)
22.7 PPG (T-19)

It's not like you'd be handing the ball to the New England Patriots at their own 40. We're talking about a team that doesn't control the clock well on offense, can't convert on 3rd downs, has extreme difficulty gaining yards on the ground and a veritable circus at quarterback, which just does wonders for the passing game (as a matter of fact, giving the Bears a short field would do one thing for them: when Grossman eventually coughs it up, it actually gives your team worse field position). And to top it all off, the defense is porous like a sponge. So, in the rare event that you actually need to punt the ball away against the Bears, not only should you probably already have a sizable lead (unless your team's defense is as bad as theirs), the fact is that even with a short field, the Chicago Bears will do most likely do one of three things on offense:

a) Rex Grossman interception
b) Rex Grossman fumbled snap
c) Stalled drive, ball is punted back to you

But, maybe you have another reason, Vic... something that trumps all of this evidence?

Another dilemma when punting to Hester is deciding whether to have members of the coverage unit disregard their lanes and simply swarm to the ball. The problem with that is he can bounce to the outside and find clear sailing. If members of the coverage unit remain in their lanes, a key block or two could allow Hester to break free up the middle.

Tell your guys to tackle Hester, and he runs around them... Tell your guys to play zone coverage and they'll get blocked. This is not exactly the right way to argue a point, Vic. In fact, I'd label this as counter-intuitive to your over-all point in the second half of the article: teams should kick to Hester.

Teams also must consider Hester when attempting a long field goal because if the ball falls short of the uprights, he can return it. For most Bears opponents, the decision to try such a field goal would likely only be in a make-it-or-lose situation when trailing by three points or less at the end of the game.

You might have something here, Vic. You're telling me that, if my team is in a position to score points by means of a field goal of considerable distance, me and my co-ordinators should pause and take thought to the matter that, if the field goal falls short of the cross-bar, Hester could totally burn us for a TD. Well, I guess we should give up on field goals past 50 yards, Vic! Wait, our kicker's got a weak leg, let's agree to just kneel it on 4th down unless we're closer than 45. Honestly, who would sacrifice the opportunity to score points just on the possibility that your kicker, the guy who is paid to kick footballs, can't even kick the ball as far as the crossbar? If your guy can't do that, get a new kicker, because for most teams in the NFL, every score counts, and not a single team, with the likely exception of the SuperPats, would pass up the chance to kick a FG on fear of that. Rejected.

Of course, regardless of whatever tactic a team uses against Hester, chances are he will find a way to go the distance.

Except for the tactic where you... don't kick him the ball... Wait, is this the end of the article? Because I think somewhere along the way you edited out the part where you gave your reasons for kicking to Hester.

Wait, you couldn't have. THERE AREN'T ANY.

DON'T KICK TO HESTER.

IT'S NOT A QUESTION.

And thus ends the inaugural post.