Hester vows not to let pressure affect him next season

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – As each week passed during the 2008 season without Devin Hester returning a punt or a kickoff for a touchdown, the pressure intensified and he started to press.

With a record-breaking 11 TD returns in his first two NFL seasons, Hester had set the bar so high that he needed a stepladder to reach it. He also had signed a long-term contract extension at the start of training camp, which ratcheted up already high expectations.

During an interview on WSCR-AM 670 Friday in Tampa at the site of Super Bowl XLIII, Hester vowed that he would no longer allow outside influences to affect him.

“This year I felt I had a lot of pressure on myself, contract-wise, and then the past two years the high expectations I had on my back,” Hester told Mike Mulligan and Brian Hanley on the Score.

“But I was trying to please man instead of the man up above. I found myself trying to please everybody and sidetracking myself [instead of] giving all the glory to God. This year I’m not out to try to please man. I’m going to go ahead and please the man up above.”

Hester also said that he believes he's capable of being the Bears' No. 1 receiver in 2009 and that he felt much more comfortable on offense late in the 2008 season than he had previously.

Hester caught 25 passes for 347 yards in the last six games after registering 26 receptions for 318 yards in his first nine contests. In the finale in Houston, he equaled a career high with six catches for 85 yards, his second-highest yardage total of the year.

“Toward the end of the season I really started understanding the game on the offensive side of the ball as far as reading coverages and knowing when the ball is coming to me,” Hester said.

“It was just [a matter of] getting the feel of the game. You can’t really try to overplay every play, but just be relaxed and play the game that you know and everything will speak for itself. Don’t go out and try to do too much; just relax and play football. That’s what you get paid for.

“Just go out and have fun. When you understand the game and start having fun, that’s when all the big plays come.”

Hester also revealed that he thinks the Arizona Cardinals will upset the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII.

“I know the Steelers will try to put a lot of pressure on Kurt Warner,” Hester said. “He has a lot of experience in this game. He’s been in this game for over 10 years, and that’s the type of ballgame he wants to have. There’s going to be a lot of quick slants and hot routes that could go the distance.”

Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin is upset with his contract situation and may seek a trade in the offseason. Hester deftly sidestepped a question about the possibility of the Bears acquiring Boldin.

“Right now we’re in the process of gradually getting better,” Hester said. “We made a couple changes with the coaching staff. I know we’re going to go out and get a couple players who are going to help out and try to get back to where we were when we were in the Super Bowl.”

(chicagobears.com)