ESPN's All-decade special teams

Returner, Devin Hester: Hester's impact has been relatively brief but nonetheless historic. He set an NFL record for touchdown returns during a season in both 2006 and 2007, and his total of 11 over that span ranks him fourth all-time in the NFL.

You could make an argument for the consistency of Dante Hall, who returned 12 kicks for scores while playing for Kansas City and St. Louis from 2000 to 2007. When the Bears made Hester a full-time receiver last year, his production as a returner evaporated.

But most of the observers we spoke with suggested Hester made a superior impact on games during the two years he was a full-time returner. From squib kicks to intentionally punting out of bounds, opponents went to great lengths to keep the ball out of his hands.

At the end of the 2007 season, Hester was averaging a touchdown for every 13.8 returns. He was also the second player in NFL history to surpass 500 yards in both kickoff and punt returns in consecutive seasons.

The Bears have removed Hester from kickoff returns but he is expected to remain their primary punt returner in 2009. In either event, from 2006 to 2007, Hester altered games like no other returner in league history.

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(espn.com)