Would Bears consider relieving Hester of punt return duty?

With an extra day to prepare for Monday night's meeting with the Packers, there are sure to be some new wrinkles from the Bears.

It will be interesting to see if one of them involves a change of pace in the return game. Devin Hester hasn't hit his stride and the Bears have several options for special teams coordinator Dave Toub to consider.

Hester has gained 12 yards on six returns through the first two games, and he lost five yards on a return in the fourth quarter Sunday at Dallas that backed the Bears up on their own 9-yard line.

The record setter from his first two seasons in the league has gone 30 games without a special teams touchdown, a span that includes 62 punt returns. Consider that he had seven touchdowns on the first 89 punt returns of his career and you can see that much has changed, including the blockers around him. He has had two punt returns of more than 25 yards — 33 and 32 last season — since a 64-yard touchdown in the 2007 season finale against the Saints at Soldier Field.

There has been this recurring idea floated that the team should remove the 27-year-old from receiver duties and let him focus on being a return man, but that's simply never going to happen. In fact, maybe the Bears will do the opposite. Letting him share punt return chores with someone else might make more sense now.

Toub worked to prepare Johnny Knox as a potential punt returner in the offseason although he didn't get any tries in exhibitions. The more logical choice would be Earl Bennett, who is listed as the backup. He had a 49-yard return for a touchdown last season at Baltimore and returned from a hamstring injury to play on offense at Dallas. Cornerback D.J. Moore and receiver Rashied Davis are also options.

Hester averaged 7.8 yards on 24 returns last season. There were several where he was one block away from going the distance and just one would have pushed his average to double-digits. Then no one would have complained he had lost his mojo. The Packers have been solid covering punts through two games but were among the worst in the NFL at it last season.

The good news is the Bears are sixth in the league in kickoff returns, averaging 25.8 yards.

(chicagotribune.com)