Hester remains Bears' No. 1 kickoff returner
Hester remains Bears' No. 1 kickoff returner
By: Larry Mayer | Last Updated: 6/14/2012 1:09 PM
The Bears landed a Pro Bowl kick returner in March when they signed free agent Eric Weems to a three-year contract. But Devin Hester remains atop the team’s depth chart.
“He’s still our No. 1 kickoff returner,” said special teams coordinator Dave Toub. “So when we need a big one, Devin is going to be in there.”
Widely considered the best return specialist in NFL history, Hester owns the league record with 17 return touchdowns (12 on punts and five on kickoffs). He has led the NFL in punt return average each of the past two seasons and his 12.9-yard career average is tops in league history.
Weems also boasts an impressive résumé, highlighted by his Pro Bowl selection in 2010 as the NFC’s special teams representative. In five seasons with the Falcons, the 5-9, 195-pounder averaged 25.6 yards on 113 kickoff returns with one touchdown and 10.6 yards on 77 punt returns with one TD. In addition, he returned a kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown in a 2011 playoff game against the Packers.
“We have the luxury of having Eric Weems, so there will be times we have them both back there and we’ll kind of trick people with exactly who is getting the ball,” Toub said. “We’ll kind of move one guy up late. We’ll also try to make them kick it away from Devin. We’ll make them get the ball to Weems at times. Then there will be times just Weems will be back there with a fullback.
“He’s definitely a luxury for us. But this guy can take it to the house. He’s scored touchdowns. He went to the Pro Bowl before, so we’re fortunate to have him.”
Hester and Weems should complement each other given their different running styles.
“Hester is more of an outside guy,” Toub said. “He wants to make you miss and get outside. Weems is a north-and-south physical type returner. He’s going to break a lot of tackles. He really fits our scheme really well in what we do. We try to block people and have a point of attack and he’s going to be able to hit that thing exactly where we want it. So we’re excited about Eric Weems.”
Even though Hester has performed at an unprecedented level since he entered the NFL in 2006, there are still aspects of his game he can improve.
“We’ve been working on him catching the really short punts, going up and getting those instead of letting them drop,” Toub said. “That’s been our emphasis during the OTAs and minicamp. He’s done a good job. Devin has had a great camp, not only as a wide receiver but as a returner for us too.”
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