Devin Hester, a Hall of Famer?

[Brian]

I don't see Hester as that much better than Cribbs.

Devin Hester: 16 touchdowns, 302 returns, 5.25 seasons

Josh Cribbs: 10 touchdowns, 428 returns, 6 seasons

Yes, he is that much better.

He is better...at punt returns. Cribbs is better on kickoffs and playing gunner...well, because Devin Hester can't tackle. Cribbs can.

 

[NickMordo]

Horrible receiver, great return man. So, with that logic, he is in between and, thus, a solid but not great player. And as someone else noted, Tasker is still waiting to get the call...

 

[Uncle.Ruckus]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-aikman-hester-merits-consideration-for-hall-of-fame-20111003,0,6167274.story

 

[That 1 Guy]

So because some games turned on a special teams play, that proves that special teams are 1/3 of the game?

Read the second half of my post as welll.

I read it, and wasn't impressed.

Yes, a missed field goal makes a drive worthless. But all NFL teams have kickers who make most of their kicks. Over the long run, the difference between kickers in terms of percentages made isn't even that big.

You might as well say "if the defense didn't know how to decline penalties, then the offense could commit massive violations every play and score easily. So being able to decline penalties is just as important as playing defense."

2010 San Diego Chargers: Superb offense, supberb defense .... but poor special teams. Didn't make playoffs.

By contrast, I saw Mike Scifres and Darren Sproles beat the Colts practically by themselves in the playoffs a couple of years ago. I think Scifres put five punts inside the 20, and most of them inside the 10, while Sproles was running wild on kick returns. I've never seen a performance like the one Scifres put on. Part of the Colts' playoff struggles have been a leaky defense that often has a short field to defend and Manning having to drive the length of the field every time out.

I wanted to mention Scifres before as a punter who has made an impact on the game. He didn't score any points, but he won that game for the Chargers.

 

[Machine Head]

For shirts and giggles we may as well start name-dropping every return man who showed a scintilla of decent return ability.
I already plucked Via Sikaheama from the pages of NFL history. And I saw Billy "White Shoes" Johnson mentioned - neither of which as on Hester's level by the way ...

No one has mentioned the Ice Cube Gerald McNeil?

Sigh.

Ok, did I say Johnson was the GREATEST OF ALL TIME? No, I didn't.

But he was selected as the punt returner for the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team:

http://www.nfl.com/photos/09000d5d808fe7f2#id:09000d5d808e876e

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_75th_Anniversary_All-Time_Team

While I realize most of the board never saw him play, being selected to be on the 75th anniversary team shows he had a little bit of ability, I would think, that makes mention of him acceptable. Or not.

But he did have the Funky Chicken.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

For shirts and giggles we may as well start name-dropping every return man who showed a scintilla of decent return ability.
I already plucked Via Sikaheama from the pages of NFL history. And I saw Billy "White Shoes" Johnson mentioned - neither of which as on Hester's level by the way ...

No one has mentioned the Ice Cube Gerald McNeil?

Sigh.

Ok, did I say Johnson was the GREATEST OF ALL TIME? No, I didn't.

But he was selected as the punt returner for the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team:

http://www.nfl.com/photos/09000d5d808fe7f2#id:09000d5d808e876e

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_75th_Anniversary_All-Time_Team

While I realize most of the board never saw him play, being selected to be on the 75th anniversary team shows he had a little bit of ability, I would think, that makes mention of him acceptable. Or not.

But he did have the Funky Chicken.

I'm surpised they included special teams on the all-time team. Prior to Hester, Johnson would be the man.

 

[joe king]

Shoes was a pretty damn good receiver, too, and a pleasure to deal with.

 

[Liut]

No. Didn't have to think about it.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Bump.

 

[bigpern23]

I haven't read the rest of the thread, but I'd say no. He's been a game changer as a punt returner, but it's hard to put someone in Hall of Fame who could have been an even greater asset to his team if he had even average hands as a receiver.

 

[The Basement]

I think so. And I think as time goes on and people really grasp what special teams means to an offense, that will only help him. If I'm understanding pro-football-reference's stats correctly, the Bears ranked fourth, first, second, second, first, 21st, third and 23rd in average starting offensive starting position (clearly you can tell the years he wasn't as effective).

Now, the Bears offense was largely terrible after the Super Bowl year, but I'm positive Lovie Smith and those offensive players will say in a HOF campaign they couldn't have scored enough points to go 73-55 in that time without Hester setting them up for "easier" points (someone else can do all the grunt work on direct correlation!)

Hester probably needed this late-career boost on national TV like this when the rules have changed, just to show he that transcended "eras." He's also had so many of these prime time moments - people can remember not just the Super Bowl, but the the multiple MNF and SNF highlights. That matters, too - especially when you're talking about a specialist.

 

[LongTimeListener]

First black man to moon the entire nation in prime time IIRC.