More should be less in Chicago's Hester experiment

Chicago coach Lovie Smith plans to have Devin Hester more involved in the Bears' offense this year. In fact, at last week's NFL owners' meetings, Smith said Hester had asked for more turns at wide receiver, with Smith seeing no reason not to grant his request.

Well, I do. Smith risks losing what he has, and what he has is the best return man in the business. 

"We're not going to risk anything special-teams wise," Smith insisted when I brought up the subject. "I know what you're saying, and, yeah, there's a danger. But we're not going to do that.

"We know he's special as a returner, and we're going to try not to mess with that as much as we can. But I still I see him being able to make an impact as a returner (while) giving him a few more reps on the offensive side of the ball."

For Smith's sake, and for the sake of the Bears, I hope he's right. Because if he's not this could be a disaster.

Look, we all know what Chicago has in Hester as a return specialist. What we don't know is how playing more like a full-time wide receiver will affect him. But I know how it could.

It could exhaust him. He could be injured. And it could influence what he does best. But don't take it from me; take it from another NFC special teams coach who has to face Hester during the season.

"There is no question that, as an opponent, you would much prefer to kick the ball to someone who plays a lot more than someone who's more of a part-time player or a specialist," he said. "I don't know what the odds are, but my experience is that guys who play a lot are more apt to fair-catch the ball.

"The quickness isn't the same, and sometimes the speed isn't, either. I don't know, but when guys play a lot on offense or defense they're just not the same."

Hester didn't play a lot on offense last year, but he did play enough to qualify as a weapon. He caught 20 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns and was the deep threat the Bears needed when they rallied to catch Minnesota in the dying minutes of a game they eventually lost.

If you're looking for a wide receiver, Hester is hard to resist. He's fast. He's elusive. And he knows how to find the end zone.

But look what Chicago gained from him last year as a return specialist: He scored a league-high six times, including four by punt returns. His eight TDs led the Bears and were more than full-time stars like Edgerrin James, Steven Jackson and Frank Gore each produced.

More importantly, they were enough to have people question if he's the best returner of all time.

But it's not just that Hester can beat you with his legs. He can change games just by taking the field. Look back at Seattle's defeat of the Bears last season, and see how the Seahawks covered Hester on his last punt return

They didn't. They kicked the ball out of bounds.

"I'm pretty sure I never told a punter to intentionally kick the ball out of bounds -- and I mean in my career -- until that game," said Seattle special teams coordinator Bruce DeHaven. "I've told him to kick to one side, to directional kick or to punt to the end zone, but I'm pretty sure I never told anyone to kick the ball out of bounds until that Chicago game. Devin Hester is a tremendous weapon who can change a game."
Precisely. So why risk sacrificing that? I understand what Smith is saying, but I also understand what he's looking at for wide receivers: Marty Booker, Brandon Lloyd and Mark Bradley. If they were my top pass catchers I'd be dialing 911, too.

Except I'm not sure you call Hester. When you have the top return man in the league, why tap him to bail out a mediocre passing attack?
No offense, Bears' fans, but have you taken a look at your quarterbacks lately? Before thinking about Hester as an outside receiver maybe you should think about a quarterback who can throw as many touchdown passes as interceptions or a running game that ranks higher than 30th.

Hester is not the answer unless, of course, you're talking about beating someone with your special teams. The guy is so dangerous, so intimidating, so downright frightening that I have no idea why anyone kicks to him. But they do, and ask Mike Shanahan how that worked out for Denver.

Once you start tinkering with him as something more than a bit player at wide receiver, though, you risk losing what you have as a returner. And what you have is something no one else does.

"I think there were more plays we could've given him last year," said Smith. "Yes, there is a risk involved with it, but we won't worry about that."

Maybe they should.

"As much as anything," said Smith, "this is what he wants to do, too. He is working very hard right now to be a receiver. That's what he sees himself becoming -- a receiver we can go to and make an impact."

Devin Hester already makes an impact -- as a special teams star. Why not leave it at that?

(cbs.sportsline.com)