Thread: Is the Bears’ Devin Hester a Hall of Famer? (Good Info)

When NFL films finally does do the HOF feature on him I hope they include the play where the Pack was so focused on Hester that they didn't even look at the ball and focused on him out of fear and Knox ran it back but was nullified by a penalty.

Originally Posted by 4th and 26

I think a player should have a minimum of 10 years be considered a HOFer.

Gale Sayers? I'll just assume you consider him as an exception to your rule.

Edit: Now that I think about it real quick, how 'bout Jim Brown or Dick Butkus?

Is Bears' Devin Hester a Hall of Famer? Here's what NFL voters say

By Sean Jensen sjensen@suntimes.com November 17, 2011 10:34PMUpdated: November 18, 2011 8:17PM


Brian Mitchell, the most prolific return specialist in NFL history, marvels at the magical moves of Devin Hester.

“Every time I see him, it’s like, ‘Damn,’ ” Mitchell told the Sun-Times. “He’s jaw-dropping.”

On Dec. 20, 2010, in Minneapolis, Hester passed Mitchell for most combined kick return touchdowns with his 14th against the Minnesota Vikings on “Monday Night Football.” This season, Hester has tacked on three more, prompting a popular question: Does he belong in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Many believe Mitchell has a strong case, and the three-time All-Pro selection says he and other return specialists, such as Mel Gray and Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, deserve a football player’s greatest individual honor.

But Hester rises above that distinguished pack.

“Ultimately, when he gets the ball in his hands, he’s much better than I was,” said Mitchell, who still owns several NFL records, including most combined kickoff and punt return yards with 19,013. “When you look at Deion [Sanders] and Devin and Gale Sayers and Mel Gray and myself, all of us had a different style.

“But at this point, he is the guy. He’s done it, and he’s shown it.”Those who determine that aren’t convinced — not yet, anyway.

Of the current 44 Hall of Fame voters, 26 of them responded and one declined an interview request from the Sun-Times about Hester. Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer was the only voter reached by the Sun-Times to say he doesn’t believe specialists should be in the Hall of Fame.

“If we recognize a player solely based on his specialty, then where do we draw the line? The best long-snapper of all time? The best coverage linebacker? The best short-yardage blocker?” Grossi said in an e-mail. “I would not elect Hester based exclusively on his returns record. He’s a spectacular touchdown-maker in that role, but I just think a Hall of Famer needs to be a complete football player.” (Grossi is an idiot but we have to cut him some slack. He's from Cleveland and doesn't know what a good football player or a good football team even look like. Rock and Roll Stars yes, football stars no!)

The remainder of the voters were open-minded to players whose merits were primarily as a specialist, even though Jan Stenerud is the only one in the Hall of Fame. Several others — including Lou Groza, former Bears running back Gale Sayers and perennial All-Pro cornerback Deion Sanders — distinguished themselves at offensive and defensive positions, as well as on special teams.

But ESPN NFL analyst John Clayton represented the opinion of many of his peers. “It’s hard for just a special teams player to make it because they have to beat out every-down players who may have six or seven trips to the Pro Bowl,” Clayton said in an e-mail. “The current backlog would make it tougher.”

Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News, respected throughout the NFL for his annual special-teams rankings, suggested that Hester may need at least 20 return touchdowns to ensure his induction.
“If you’re a specialist,” Gosselin said, “you have to put numbers that are out of the ballpark.”

Several voters lamented that Ray Guy, a six-time All-Pro who was the only punter ever taken in the first round, hasn’t been immortalized yet. Others even mentioned Mitchell and former Northwestern receiver and special teams ace Steve Tasker as worthy Hall of Fame specialists.

Len Pasquarelli of the Sports Xchange said the voters will be challenged next year on the topic, because he will be “actively supporting” kicker Morten Andersen, the NFL’s all-time leading scorer.“I hope the selectors keep an open mind about specialists,” Pasquarelli said in an e-mail.

As for whether Hester has already done enough to get into the Hall of Fame, nearly all the voters insisted they would not decide until his career is over.

“One of the best parts of Hall of Fame deliberation is the fact that you have to wait until the end of a man’s career, and then wait an five additional years,” Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King said. “Then, you can let his accomplishments sink in and consider them without emotion.”

Hester, though, has already earned two votes, from Bob Glauber of Newsday and Gary Myers of the New York Daily News.

“I would most likely vote in favor of putting Hester into the Hall of Fame,” Glauber of Newsday said in an e-mail. “The idea is to select transcendent players, and Hester is the best of all-time in his role.”

Bob Gretz, who is Kansas City’s representative, and Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune also don’t need much convincing, although both stopped short of committing a vote to him. “It would depend who’s on the ballot when he comes up,” Canepa said. “But, yes, I definitely would consider him and more than likely vote for him. He’s unique in the history of football.”

After practicing Thursday, Hester said he — like many players — dreamed of being in the Hall.
“Every NFL player, at the end of their career, would hope to get an opportunity to be in the Hall of Fame,” he said. “That would be the ultimate icing on the cake.”

Hester suggested that his enshrinement should be a given. “If you get a guy — in the situation that I’m in — it would be unfair for him to not make the Hall of Fame, to go out and break every record that has to do with returns,” Hester said. “He should be in the Hall of Fame.”

The 29-year-old, though, is far from finished. “Our special-teams unit wants to add to our legacy,” Hester said.

Here we get a chance to see the opinions of Hoagie eating boneheads like Grossi who, with mayo dripping down his chin, theorizes that if we include record breaking scorers of special team TD we also have to consider long snappers as if somehow their contributions were the same. Hoo Boy!

And on the other side of the room intelligent voters like Gosselin who say it's tough and you have to put up some out of sight numbers but yeah, it can happen. And guys like Glauber, Gretz and Canepa who feels that canidate needs to transcend greatness and be truly unique at his position.

Well I agree with the last three that Devin Hester fits those requirements and should become a HOF canidate and to Mr. Grossi all I can say is Pat Mannelly our LS isn't even thinking about it. Oh and wipe that mayo off your chin will ya', it's making me nauseous.

A pretty good indicator of his impact on the game would be Jersey sales. I don't know actual numbers, but I'd say I see just as many Hester jerseys as I do Urlacher, and definitely more than Peppers, Forte, Cutler, and any other current player. I'm not saying that means he should be inducted, but it sure as hell means that his role is exciting enough to create many fans.

Hester has Marv Levy's vote as a HOF'er and Levy is a very well respected football guy. Somehow it's funny that here's a Chicago native and he's never had an association with the Bears. You'd think we could use or could have used him as a consultant to Martz. Even as egotistical as Martz is Levy is a sage when it comes to offensive football and he knows how to play and win with a cold weather outdoor team, something Martz seems to lack.

Special teams aficionado offers high praise for Hester

Levy says Bears returner merits Hall of Fame


Fred Mitchell 8:38 p.m. CST, November 18, 2011


No less an authority on the significance of special teams play than Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy endorses the worthiness of Bears kick returner Devin Hester for future enshrinement in Canton, Ohio.

Before leading the Bills to four straight Super Bowl appearances, Levy served as special teams coach for the Eagles, Rams and Redskins.

"I am blown away by his fantastic talent," Levy said of Hester, the NFL's all-time kick return record holder. "And, yes, I do think special teams, particularly the hard core part of it — the kick returners, the kick coverers — have been a little bit overlooked. The kicking game is one-third of the game, and that's not just words.

"One of the best hard-core special teamers whoever played the game — Steve Tasker — who went to Northwestern and who played for (me with the Bills). There is no one even close to what he was as a special teamer. He belongs (in the Hall of Fame), too."

Before coaching in the NFL, Levy, 86, served as the head coach at New Mexico, California and William & Mary.

Levy, a Chicago native who has written a novel entitled "Between the Lies," (Ascend Books, $24.95) had a book signing Thursday night at Harry Caray's Restaurant. At the center of the novel is a Super Bowl scandal in Indianapolis, which happens to be the real site of February's Super Bowl XLVI.

"People have always been intrigued and (wondering), 'Is something going on and has there been any cheating?'" Levy said. "The book is pure, total fiction. I am not hinting that there has been cheating.

"The protagonist in the book is a legendary sportswriter who uncovered that his home town team's coach has orchestrated a massive cheating plan to get his team to win the Super Bowl. Well, can he divulge it? Will it fly? Is his evidence right? Will he be sued for libel? And he agonizes over it.

"There is so much more to the book. There's a love story. There are some real characters in there. What's it like in the locker room? What is the coach, general manager, owner relationship like? What's it really like on draft day in that room when opinions are strongly expressed? So all of that's incorporated.

"But I want to point out it's fiction."

fmitchell@tribune.com

Twitter @kicker34