MVN - Most Valuable Network

Don’t Forget Devin Hester

…because I almost did.

We all know how he has changed the faces of games in his brief but impressive career as a returner. One of the debates that has raged on this season is whether any team should kick it to Devin Hester. The arguments seemed to weigh in favor against it until the Oakland Raiders successfully corralled Hester not too long ago.

One man will be responsible for all contact Hester has with the ball—Todd Sauerbrun. I’ve always felt that Sauerbrun’s leg is still great for punts, but not terrific on kickoffs. Thus, I see Hester as the bigger threat on kick returns, and if the Broncos are to have a successful day on offense, they will have to subsequently kick it off to the Bears.

Sauerbrun’s kickoffs tend to be more line drives than anything else, so I’m curious if he can make a slight adjustment to get the ball to bounce just at the right time so that Hester has to take some time to field it.

Whatever the case, at least Mike Shanahan has some experience against deadly returners, thanks to Dante Hall terrorizing the league a few years ago—including an infamous touchdown return against the Broncos that was arguably assisted by a block in the back that sealed the game for the Chiefs. I’m not sure what he think will be the best approach to Hester, but I trust he and special teams coach Scott O’Brien have got a plan.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 25th, 2007 at 9:26 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.