Thread: Hester contemplating retirement

Originally Posted by Butka

Maybe Hester understands he likely won't be able to convince a new coaching staff that he's an all-pro WR in practice alone. I don't know what it's been with this regime, but Hester, like Grossman and Rashied Davis before him, and Kellen Davis after him, have these guys slobbering over practice field all-stars. A contributing reason to the failure of this offense has been the fact they've tried to make Hester into something he's not year after year, eating up reps from other guys.

Amen brother. It seems to me that there are a lot of guys who catch Lovie's eye in practice and his as you practice you play way of making personnel decisions has cost us games and Lovie his job.

There are practice players and then there are game players and for far too long the Bears offense has been full of the former. Every year for five years we hear about what a great camp Hester is having and then the season starts and you begin to wonder if someone else had been playing the role of Hester in camp. He hasn't evolved one bit in five years.

It was somewhat the same with Davis. If there are a few players on this team who cost Lovie his job then my list would include him as well as Hester and then add half the offensive line and there are your offensive coach killers. The frosting on the cake was promoting Tice to OC and not insisting on more change or allowing Bates more authority in play calling weeks ago when he still had a chance to save the season.

Once he refused to make any changes before we lost that game in Minny you knew the end was near. You can't win championships when you can't even control must win games in your own division and for three years now Lovie has failed to get his team in a position to win those games. That just doesn't cut it.

I'm sure many of the defensive standouts are upset and they have a right to be but Lovie is not a DC. He's a HC and he has to take charge of all of it and take responsibility for all of it and he didn't take charge so the axe falls. Most of them know that at their age they won't get much of an opportunity to play elsewhere and I think with the right moves Emery and a new HC can convince them to keep putting out max effort for a new regime and they'll get over it.

Multimillion dollar salaries have a lot of pull after the emotions of the moment subside.

Originally Posted by Bearkev

Want to retire? Buh-bye! There is only ONE player on his team I would be upset to see gone. It ain't Hester. It ain't Urlacher. It ain't Briggs. It ain't even Cutler or P-Nut. It' Marshall!!! Hester should've been traded years ago. Urlacher is done. Briggs is nearing the end & I don't feel like dealing with his annual contract complaints anymore. P-Nut is coming to the end. Marshall though is the best WR I've ever seen in a Bears uni.

Sorry brother but I don't agree with you as far as those players are concerned. Hester is nearing the end of his career. The magic is diminishing and may soon be gone. If Emery could get value for him he should think of trading him.

But the others? No. With the exception of Urlacher none of those guys have shown one sign of age affecting their play. In fact along with Pep and Izzy Briggs and Peanut had one of the best years they've ever had as Bears and Urlacher may show better with an entire season off to rest that knee. Even with a gimp he's still a difference maker out there and we should keep him on for another year or two while we find his eventual replacement. Roach ain't him.

Cutler deserves a decent offense around him before we decide whether or not he's the guy who can take us all the way and as for Marshall, well he looked like shit yesterday, but the other half of Marshall and the year he had is Cutler. It's that passing combo that's effective and it's that passing combo the next guy needs to make the cornerstone of his passing offense too. It works and there's no sense fixing what isn't broke when there so much else that is.

Originally Posted by soulman

Sorry brother but I don't agree with you as far as those players are concerned. Hester is nearing the end of his career. The magic is diminishing and may soon be gone. If Emery could get value for him he should think of trading him.

But the others? No. With the exception of Urlacher none of those guys have shown one sign of age affecting their play. In fact along with Pep and Izzy Briggs and Peanut had one of the best years they've ever had as Bears and Urlacher may show better with an entire season off to rest that knee. Even with a gimp he's still a difference maker out there and we should keep him on for another year or two while we find his eventual replacement. Roach ain't him.

Cutler deserves a decent offense around him before we decide whether or not he's the guy who can take us all the way and as for Marshall, well he looked like shit yesterday, but the other half of Marshall and the year he had is Cutler. It's that passing combo that's effective and it's that passing combo the next guy needs to make the cornerstone of his passing offense too. It works and there's no sense fixing what isn't broke when there so much else that is.

Pep, Izzy, Briggs, Peanut...they are all expendable as far as I am concerned....IF we have to trade some of our best defensive talent to help improve the Offense, then so be it...any defensive player over 30 with trade value should be on the table...we are old and have too much talent on the wrong side of the ball to compete in today's NFL...

Saw the actual quote, and he said he's been thinking of retiring for two years now. I hope he stays, because he's still capable, and maybe the next regime uses him only on st. Either way, his wanting to retire the past two years is of bigger concern for me