Devin Hester HOFer? (1 Viewer)

I saw multiple articles this week suggesting that Hester is Canton bound. How realistic is that, as I have never even considered him as a candidate?

He didn’t do much on offense or defense but clearly was a return game weapon. Is that enough to get him in the Hall?

More non offensive TDs than anyone else in history. 

Well, have any players similar ever been inducted for eligible? If not, I'd say no.

always a first...no punter went in before Guy.  

Seems like there was a long thread about this before...

I'm going to say no.  Hard to put a one trick pony (not counting punters and kickers) into the HOF IMO.  But one thing in his favor is that he was truly a game changer and teams had to game plan not to kick to him.  I still don't know why the Colts kicked to him against the Bears in the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl.

Let’s face it, guys play special teams because they for the most part aren’t good enough to play elsewhere. A great returner but not a HOFer. 

He played a more explosive/exciting position, but in my opinion being the best punt returner in league history is like being the best long snapper in league history.  It's an accomplishment you can hang your hat on, but by itself is not worthy of induction.

Why not?  IMO like a good closer/relief pitcher.

Sure...he didn't do everything else...but what he did do as a returner...he was without peer.

sho nuff said:

Why not?  IMO like a good closer/relief pitcher.

Sure...he didn't do everything else...but what he did do as a returner...he was without peer.

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I would still take Gayle Sayers over Devin Hester as just a returner, forget about Sayers the RB.

If we are going to put a one-trick-pony into the HOF, then we have to consider others who would fall into this same category

Some WRs were amazing at catching the fly route. That's all they could do, but man if they got separation they were long gone.

Mike Alstott? Should be belong? He was a force to be reckoned with. IMO he was used as a HB more than FB, but he was amazing at his job.

Should we start putting Long Snappers in? There's got to be one out there who never had a bad snap...

To answer the original question, no, I don't think Devin Hester is HOF worthy. He was amazing at being a kick returner but in all of his seasons he only had 4 amazing years statistically speaking. Other than that, he was kind of average TBH... Should HOFers only have 4-5 good seasons? If that's the case, then there's a lot of others we should be discussing at various positions. 

He deserves an honorable mention as the best at his position in nfl history. No more than that. Loved watching him return but don’t think he belongs in the hall. 

Dr. Dan said:

If we are going to put a one-trick-pony into the HOF, then we have to consider others who would fall into this same category

Some WRs were amazing at catching the fly route. That's all they could do, but man if they got separation they were long gone.

Mike Alstott? Should be belong? He was a force to be reckoned with. IMO he was used as a HB more than FB, but he was amazing at his job.

Should we start putting Long Snappers in? There's got to be one out there who never had a bad snap...

To answer the original question, no, I don't think Devin Hester is HOF worthy. He was amazing at being a kick returner but in all of his seasons he only had 4 amazing years statistically speaking. Other than that, he was kind of average TBH... Should HOFers only have 4-5 good seasons? If that's the case, then there's a lot of others we should be discussing at various positions. 

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Speaking of long snappers, Tom Goode might have been the most important pick up by the Colts in 1970.  That laser to Morrall that enabled Jim O'Brien to kick the winning field goal in Super Bowl V showed just how important Goode was that day.  Especially since O'Brien said he cannot kick on artificial turf and had already missed an extra point.  O'Brien was a straight on kicker, not soccer style. 

I remember there being a different thread on Hester in the past but couldn't find it. My issue is his Career AV is only 57 in his 11 year career. By comparison, Cam Newton has a Career AV of 94 through his first 6 years. I get Career AV isn't exactly the end all of stats, but it sort of illustrates Hester's limited overall value in the grand scheme of things.

I guess if we want to say a yard is a yard no matter how you gain it, Hester ranks 43rd all-time in all purpose yards. ADP is 41st. Matt Forte is 44th. Dante Hall is 45th. Brian Mitchell is 2nd all time in all purpose yards (and I don't see a clamoring for his induction).

Some will point to the special team kicker inductions of Morten Anderson (Career AV of 97) and Ray Guy (Career AV of 44). Hester was shifted to offense and defense and really only excelled in the return game. Sure, one big return could change a game. He played in 163 total games (regular and post season) and scored 37 TD's (20 in the return game). If we were debating other players and the HOF that only scored 37 TD's in that many games at a skill position, we would pretty much rule them out on that alone.

He shouldn’t be in for the same reason middle relievers don’t get in. You’re a middle reliever because you weren’t good enough to be a starter or a closer. 

How many Hall Of Fame players could be neutralized by simply kicking the ball out of bounds?

JohnnyU said:

I would still take Gayle Sayers over Devin Hester as just a returner, forget about Sayers the RB.

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Agree 100% and have posted this in these discussions in the past.

Should Hester be a HOFer given current HOF rules? No, because it is required that he be voted in over other players who had much more impact. If they were to designate a category for special teams, similar to dedicating a category for contributors, then it would be much easier to recognize elite specialists, but otherwise I would vote no.

I would not have voted for Guy or Andersen under current rules either, so obviously the voters don't share my view.

Anarchy99 said:

I remember there being a different thread on Hester in the past but couldn't find it. My issue is his Career AV is only 57 in his 11 year career. By comparison, Cam Newton has a Career AV of 94 through his first 6 years. I get Career AV isn't exactly the end all of stats, but it sort of illustrates Hester's limited overall value in the grand scheme of things.

I guess if we want to say a yard is a yard no matter how you gain it, Hester ranks 43rd all-time in all purpose yards. ADP is 41st. Matt Forte is 44th. Dante Hall is 45th. Brian Mitchell is 2nd all time in all purpose yards (and I don't see a clamoring for his induction).

Some will point to the special team kicker inductions of Morten Anderson (Career AV of 97) and Ray Guy (Career AV of 44). Hester was shifted to offense and defense and really only excelled in the return game. Sure, one big return could change a game. He played in 163 total games (regular and post season) and scored 37 TD's (20 in the return game). If we were debating other players and the HOF that only scored 37 TD's in that many games at a skill position, we would pretty much rule them out on that alone.

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I love the idea of career AV as a stat, but sort of dislike how its reached. it gives WAY too much credit to certain positions, way too much value for longevity, and nowhere near enough credit for pre-1980's football.  

My general criteria for HOF worthiness, is if my team was facing this player, would I be terrified of him? Hester absolutely fits that description. My 2nd criteria is, was this guy the best at what he did for several seasons. Hester fits that description as well. 

i understand not having him in the HOF, but he'd get my vote. I was also in favor of Morten Anderson and Ray Guy. Special teams matters a lot, and many games are won and lost solely on that aspect of the game. That said, I'd be hard pressed to make a case for a long snapper.

He had three really good years as a kick returner, three maybe four great years as a punt returner. 

No. Deserves mention but no.

travdogg said:

I love the idea of career AV as a stat, but sort of dislike how its reached. it gives WAY too much credit to certain positions, way too much value for longevity, and nowhere near enough credit for pre-1980's football.  

My general criteria for HOF worthiness, is if my team was facing this player, would I be terrified of him? Hester absolutely fits that description. My 2nd criteria is, was this guy the best at what he did for several seasons. Hester fits that description as well. 

i understand not having him in the HOF, but he'd get my vote. I was also in favor of Morten Anderson and Ray Guy. Special teams matters a lot, and many games are won and lost solely on that aspect of the game. That said, I'd be hard pressed to make a case for a long snapper.

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That's debatable. 

Joe Summer said:

How many Hall Of Fame players could be neutralized by simply kicking the ball out of bounds?

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Did you forget the part where when you kick out of bounds you usually end up with worse field position? When you punt the ball out of bounds you have to kick short.

-OZ- said:

That's debatable. 

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I'll take 5 elite years over 10 very good ones. Gronk>Witten for example.

How many special teams roleplayers are in the Hall?  Any?

Hester was amazing and set the bar for what a returner could do, but I don't think that gets him into the HOF. 

I'm not sure if non Bears fans quite get how dominant of a punt returner he was. Great kickoff returner but the greatest punt returner by a wide margin. Teams that punted to him got burned. Consistently. And it is MUCH harder to kick away than people realize. He should be in. He changed games. He changed THE game. I don't care what the owners say about safety, the kickoff from the 35 was because of Hester. If they change the rules to stop you you deserve a bust and a jacket. He also came in as a DB and managed to carve a solid role as a WR for a few years. 

barackdhouse said:

I'm not sure if non Bears fans quite get how dominant of a punt returner he was. Great kickoff returner but the greatest punt returner by a wide margin. Teams that punted to him got burned. Consistently. And it is MUCH harder to kick away than people realize. He should be in. He changed games. He changed THE game. I don't care what the owners say about safety, the kickoff from the 35 was because of Hester. If they change the rules to stop you you deserve a bust and a jacket. He also came in as a DB and managed to carve a solid role as a WR for a few years. 

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You think they changed the rules so that kickoffs would come from the 35 starting in 2011 because Hester had scored...zero kick return TDs in 2008, 2009, and 2010? (He scored only 5 in his career.)

He finished in the top 5 in punt return yardage only three times in his career. He's only eighth all time in yards per punt return, 67th in yards per kick return. No, no, and no.

 People can argue, and say what they want.

 The fact is, over the course of his career, he was one of, if not THE best NFL pro-football returner of all time. He at least would be in the top 2-3 conversation no? 

I just snagged this off a SI site, and I won't bother to research it any further.  "The prolific return man started his NFL career in 2006 and broke the record for career combined kickoff and punt return touchdowns in 2010."

Just because he wasn't at a more popular "skill position", doesn't mean he is any less deserving.

 We are talking about including him into the pro-football HOF right?   (not the QB HOF, the RB HOF etc)

The fact that he spent some time at wide out, is only a cherry on top.  Thats what the club asked him to do, and he did so. (I'm not saying he was a great wide out by any stretch)

He was an excellent football player overall, and a HALL-OF-FAME caliber returner. 

If you don't want to put Hester in, then you might as well chuck out a number of the "less popular" skill positions, and just tell them no matter how good those players are, they aren't eligible either, and confine the HOF to only a select few positions.

 TZM

If they changed the rules so that voters could elect as many players as deemed worthy each year, Hester would probably get in.

But since they elect a fixed number, putting him in means keeping someone else out who played a more "significant" position.  This system favors the visible skill positions that are on the field for far more plays.

TZMarkie said:

If you don't want to put Hester in, then you might as well chuck out a number of the "less popular" skill positions, and just tell them no matter how good those players are, they aren't eligible either, and confine the HOF to only a select few positions.

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In effect they do this.  Look at how few kickers and punters are in, despite being clearly acknowledged at among the best at their position for years.  We put QB, WR, etc. in who may at best be the 4th or 5th best at that "more important" position, while leaving out kickers that dominated for a decade.

Arodin said:

If they changed the rules so that voters could elect as many players as deemed worthy each year, Hester would probably get in.

But since they elect a fixed number, putting him in means keeping someone else out who played a more "significant" position.  This system favors the visible skill positions that are on the field for far more plays.

In effect they do this.  Look at how few kickers and punters are in, despite being clearly acknowledged at among the best at their position for years.  We put QB, WR, etc. in who may at best be the 4th or 5th best at that "more important" position, while leaving out kickers that dominated for a decade.

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I know, the actual odds of someone getting in is pretty slim, even if they are widely accepted as "great players".   I know its not quite as "watered down" as say Cooperstown, but I have long thought that some of the "lesser positions" have been neglected.

At this point, there isn't much of a way to fairly fix it, and even if they could, then they would have to go back and reconsider some guys passed over for inclusion long ago.

 This is one of those arguments, which both sides have valid points...and it will always be a debate.

Kind of like those that argue Frank Gore, and whether or not he should be in. (I believe he should, but thats another matter) All the while people are debating it, he is quietly yet again putting up another solid season. He is approaching 1,000 yards yet again, between his rushing and receiving. Not sure if he will hit the 1,000 mark for pure rushing though..... his injury tonight may stop that. I do believe he came back in late game though.

You know, while I am on the subject, I think many times a player who "rises to the occasion" and has several strong performances in key matchups/Super Bowls, they tend to get looked at more favorably. I think thats important, but overall performance should be paramount in my opinion.  Like look at Gore again, he is a much better blocker than people give him credit for.  He came out earlier this season and stated point blank "I want to be remembered for ALL I DO on the field, not just rushing" and that made me even more of a fan. Like, had Gore been on 2 Super Bowl winning squads , everyone would be shouting "He is a dead LOCK for the HOF". As it stands, people argue "This isn't the Hall-of-Very Good" , he isn't worthy and all that rubbish.

 Both deserve to be in the HOF as far as I'm concerned.

 TZM

TZMarkie said:

I know, the actual odds of someone getting in is pretty slim, even if they are widely accepted as "great players".   I know its not quite as "watered down" as say Cooperstown, but I have long thought that some of the "lesser positions" have been neglected.

At this point, there isn't much of a way to fairly fix it, and even if they could, then they would have to go back and reconsider some guys passed over for inclusion long ago.

 This is one of those arguments, which both sides have valid points...and it will always be a debate.

Kind of like those that argue Frank Gore, and whether or not he should be in. (I believe he should, but thats another matter) All the while people are debating it, he is quietly yet again putting up another solid season. He is approaching 1,000 yards yet again, between his rushing and receiving. Not sure if he will hit the 1,000 mark for pure rushing though..... his injury tonight may stop that. I do believe he came back in late game though.

You know, while I am on the subject, I think many times a player who "rises to the occasion" and has several strong performances in key matchups/Super Bowls, they tend to get looked at more favorably. I think thats important, but overall performance should be paramount in my opinion.  Like look at Gore again, he is a much better blocker than people give him credit for.  He came out earlier this season and stated point blank "I want to be remembered for ALL I DO on the field, not just rushing" and that made me even more of a fan. Like, had Gore been on 2 Super Bowl winning squads , everyone would be shouting "He is a dead LOCK for the HOF". As it stands, people argue "This isn't the Hall-of-Very Good" , he isn't worthy and all that rubbish.

 Both deserve to be in the HOF as far as I'm concerned.

 TZM

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Completely agree that Gore belongs in the hall. But the argument for his inclusion is virtually opposite of Hester's. I'm more on the Gore side. 12 straight years of really good play, which as you state includes being a "whole", multi faceted player, means a lot more to me than being elite at one specific skill but nothing else for a handful of years.  

Most would probably laugh at the thought of Mike Tolbert making the HOF, but he was, at least arguably, as good a fullback as Hester was a return specialist. He just didn't get many highlight plays and his role is harder to quantify.

barackdhouse said:

I'm not sure if non Bears fans quite get how dominant of a punt returner he was. Great kickoff returner but the greatest punt returner by a wide margin. Teams that punted to him got burned. Consistently. And it is MUCH harder to kick away than people realize. He should be in. He changed games. He changed THE game. I don't care what the owners say about safety, the kickoff from the 35 was because of Hester. If they change the rules to stop you you deserve a bust and a jacket. He also came in as a DB and managed to carve a solid role as a WR for a few years. 

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The kickoff from the 35 had nothing to do with Hester, sorry. 

sho nuff said:

Why not?  IMO like a good closer/relief pitcher.

Sure...he didn't do everything else...but what he did do as a returner...he was without peer.

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Um Deion and Brian Mitchell come to mind.  

TZMarkie said:

I know, the actual odds of someone getting in is pretty slim, even if they are widely accepted as "great players".   I know its not quite as "watered down" as say Cooperstown, but I have long thought that some of the "lesser positions" have been neglected.

At this point, there isn't much of a way to fairly fix it, and even if they could, then they would have to go back and reconsider some guys passed over for inclusion long ago.

 This is one of those arguments, which both sides have valid points...and it will always be a debate.

Kind of like those that argue Frank Gore, and whether or not he should be in. (I believe he should, but thats another matter) All the while people are debating it, he is quietly yet again putting up another solid season. He is approaching 1,000 yards yet again, between his rushing and receiving. Not sure if he will hit the 1,000 mark for pure rushing though..... his injury tonight may stop that. I do believe he came back in late game though.

You know, while I am on the subject, I think many times a player who "rises to the occasion" and has several strong performances in key matchups/Super Bowls, they tend to get looked at more favorably. I think thats important, but overall performance should be paramount in my opinion.  Like look at Gore again, he is a much better blocker than people give him credit for.  He came out earlier this season and stated point blank "I want to be remembered for ALL I DO on the field, not just rushing" and that made me even more of a fan. Like, had Gore been on 2 Super Bowl winning squads , everyone would be shouting "He is a dead LOCK for the HOF". As it stands, people argue "This isn't the Hall-of-Very Good" , he isn't worthy and all that rubbish.

 Both deserve to be in the HOF as far as I'm concerned.

 TZM

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Gore not only has HOF numbers, but he has torn his ACL in both knees and still had a remarkable career.  If that doesn't deserve the HOF then no one does.

If he does it should be after Steve Tasker.

Frank Gore is another example of why I feel longevity is overvalued. Gore was never at any point the best player at his position. But because he was very good for a long time, his career stats look great. But I was never scared of Frank Gore. I wouldn't even consider him as a HOF RB. Just off the top off my head, I'd take the following RB's of his era over him:

Peterson, Holmes, McCoy, Charles, Lynch, Foster, Alexander, Barber, C. Johnson, MJD, Le'Veon

Guys in the same tier:

George, J. Lewis, Westbrook, Turner, D. Murray, L. Johnson, Edge, Portis, S. Jackson

Guys who will likely pass him soon:

Elliott, Gurley

-OZ- said:

Completely agree that Gore belongs in the hall. But the argument for his inclusion is virtually opposite of Hester's. I'm more on the Gore side. 12 straight years of really good play, which as you state includes being a "whole", multi faceted player, means a lot more to me than being elite at one specific skill but nothing else for a handful of years.  

Most would probably laugh at the thought of Mike Tolbert making the HOF, but he was, at least arguably, as good a fullback as Hester was a return specialist. He just didn't get many highlight plays and his role is harder to quantify.

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I wouldn't agree with Tolbert, but maybe Vonta Leach if you want to make an argument for a FB. He was extremely important for Foster and Rice's success. 

Personally, I am not buying the "he was always a threat" argument. If we judge players on what each guy COULD have done on any play, then the sky is the limit for players to induct in the HOF. There have been other returners teams tried to avoid kicking to. But how many receivers have been double or triple teamed on basically every play (not just a handful of punts). How many great RB's did teams stack 8 or 9 players in the box to hope to slow him down?

Put another way . . . Devin Hester has the same yards per punt return average as Julian Edelman. Edelman has won rings and obviously has done way more on offense than Hester ever did. Where is the Edelman for HOF thread (and there shouldn't be one)?

I realize that Hester has returned twice as many punts as Edelman has, but the point remains that there have been other good returners. Hester took more back for TD's, but that also means he did less on the times that he didn't go the distance.

Anarchy99 said:

Personally, I am not buying the "he was always a threat" argument. If we judge players on what each guy COULD have done on any play, then the sky is the limit for players to induct in the HOF. There have been other returners teams tried to avoid kicking to. But how many receivers have been double or triple teamed on basically every play (not just a handful of punts). How many great RB's did teams stack 8 or 9 players in the box to hope to slow him down?

Put another way . . . Devin Hester has the same yards per punt return average as Julian Edelman. Edelman has won rings and obviously has done way more on offense than Hester ever did. Where is the Edelman for HOF thread (and there shouldn't be one)?

I realize that Hester has returned twice as many punts as Edelman has, but the point remains that there have been other good returners. Hester took more back for TD's, but that also means he did less on the times that he didn't go the distance.

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The thing is that teams would game plan to keep the ball out of his hands on punt/kick returns.  Just my opinion, but if a team game plans to keep the ball out of your hands you were probably pretty special.  I think I put him in the Hall of Fame because of his record setting ways in punt and kick returns.

Wasn’t there already a thread asking this? 

Meh, can’t find it, pretty sure I asked a couple years ago

the correct answer is absolutely 

No.

I don't think this has anything to do with a kicker or punter getting voted in. If you want to, then % of times they touched the ball and did something impressive would be far higher than Hester.

I like the discussion of Steve Tasker- best ace I can ever recall. He also had a unique way of firing up the team. This is the heart of football and how things should be. Someone makes a hustle play and nice tackle and the team gets pumped. 

When Hester was injured and/or left Chicago, their return game posted better or similar numbers. I remember someone pointing that out here. Totally making up stats, but if he averaged 18 per return then the next guy up averaged 19. That leads me to lean on the other special teamers blocking very well and coached very well.

I think Hester has a good amount of plays that are memorable and sensational. I don't think he was the top returner very often. 3? 4? times I would guess. Dante Hall has a similar amount of sensational memorable plays in my mind. I can watch either of these two's highlight reels all day and enjoy. 

Isaac Bruce and Joey Galloway had the most dominating game I've ever seen. I think Bruce was against the Niners and Galloway was against the Jets. I think a large percent of this board never saw these two as us regulars are getting old here. IIRC Bruce had 150-200 yards receiving and more than 100 returning that week. The Hawks were losing and really didn't seem to have a shot against the Jets. Maybe 2-3 TD lead? Galloway had a long receiving TD, a punt return TD, then several key catches on another drive. I remember Parcells laying the praise on thick, don't remember specifics. Back to Bruce, and me being old, y'all don't realize how rare 200 yard games are and how dominating it is until you've watched one. The D is about ready to quit as nothing has worked on this WR and he keeps catching everything. Bruce has more 200 yard games than anyone, last I looked. Young Bruce had almost 1800 yards and 120ish receptions in one season. PFR doesn't list his return stats. Poor guy had a best ever season yet Rice did even better that year so it's kind of buried and minimized in people's memories. Anyhow, rambling a bit....there have been a number of WRs that have had dominating games as a WR and oh by the way returned the rock well too. 

I'd take young Galloway over young Hester 100 out of 100 times. His value to the Hawks so far surpasses Hester's value to the Bears. (PFR doesn't have good stats on Bruce's returns or Tasker's forced fumbles, ESPN has some data)  I don't think Galloway ever made a pro bowl but he every time I got to see a team play the Hawks on TV (different era) the announcers and opposing coach talked of him plenty. He was well respected and I guess the young guys are gonna have to take my word for it. It's simple for me- do you want 1000 yards receiving and a return threat or just a return threat?

Galloway doesn't belong in the Hall. If he can wreck Hester's value then Hester doesn't. If Dante Hall can mirror Hester's impact then he doesn't either. 

Special teams value- never seen a non-punter affect field position the way Tasker did. Hester pales greatly in comparison to Tasker IMO. It's a shame we don't know how many yards lost and forced fumbles he created. 

The best year of his career (2010), he had seven TDs (3 return, 4 receiving).

Seven.

That placed him tied for 21st in the league that year for TDs by a WR, tied with Mike Sims-Walker and Jacoby Ford, among others. He was behind Lance Moore, Austin Collie, Mario Manningham, and Steve Johnson, among others.

That was his best season. In six years of his 11-year career, he scored zero return TDs.

In total, he had over 600 kick and punt returns, and scored 19 TDs in 11 years. He had one post-season return TD. That's better than other kick and punt returners but it just doesn't indicate a huge impact on his team's success.

If any player is going to be elected to the HOF primarily based on kickoff/punt returns, it should be Brian Mitchell.

• Mitchell had 14 career kickoff/punt return TDs, 6 fewer than Hester. But Mitchell scored at least one return TD in 10 different seasons, compared to 6 for Hester.
  
• Mitchell is #1 all time in combined kick/punt return yards (19,013); Hester is #8 (11,028).
  
• Mitchell had 4 seasons in which he was in the top 10 in yards per kick return; Hester had 3.
  
• Mitchell had 9 seasons in which he was in the top 10 in yards per punt return; Hester had 4.
  
• Mitchell is #1 all time in number of punts returned (463); Hester is #5 (315).
  
• Mitchell is #1 all time in number of kickoffs returned (607); Hester is #12 (295).
  

But Mitchell has never sniffed the HOF, and rightfully so. Neither should Hester.

Here is another comparison. Consider Darren Sproles:

• Sproles has more combined kickoff/punt return yardage than Hester
  
• Sproles averaged more yards per kickoff and returned more kickoffs than Hester
  
• Sproles had 9 total return TDs, compared to 20 for Hester
  
• Sproles has 8022 YFS and 52 rushing/receiving TDs in the regular season, plus another 715/7 in 10 career playoff games; Hester had 3427/17 in the regular season and a paltry 4/0 (yes, 4 yards) in 7 career playoff games
  
• Sproles had 6 seasons with more YFS than Hester's highest single season total (756)
  
• Sproles has been a significant contributor to top 5 offenses for 3 different teams (SD, NO, PHI)
  

Sproles clearly was a better football player and clearly made more positive impact for his teams during his career. Yet he will not even be considered for HOF, nor should he be.

There is a long list of players who are more deserving of the HOF than Hester but are not in. He shouldn't get serious consideration.

zero chance imo. To many better players that aren't in

Couple other notes. After his 2nd season teams stopped punting to him. The perceived dip in production was due to respect. Also, tons of shanked punts that resulted in great field position for the team. I'd REALLY like to see a list of his returns that didn't quite make it to the house but still flipped the field, because there were a ton of those, too.

His YPR is elite but has a baked in crutch due to teams not punting to him in predictable return situations. What I mean by that is when a punter kicks from roughly midfield, those are ALMOST always fair caught, and usually very well covered. Predictable returns would be when punter kicks from farther back in their own territory, like say the 25. Teams RARELY kicked to him in that context. If they were really backed up then kicking out of bounds is a bad idea and Hester feasted. But after his 2nd year his returns were characterized by mostly those short kicks from ~midfield.  

I still don't think non-Bears fans saw enough of him from week to week to understand. And obviously being a homer isn't going to help the argument, so my guess is he probably doesn't make it in. 

barackdhouse said:

Couple other notes. After his 2nd season teams stopped punting to him. The perceived dip in production was due to respect. Also, tons of shanked punts that resulted in great field position for the team. I'd REALLY like to see a list of his returns that didn't quite make it to the house but still flipped the field, because there were a ton of those, too.

His YPR is elite but has a baked in crutch due to teams not punting to him in predictable return situations. What I mean by that is when a punter kicks from roughly midfield, those are ALMOST always fair caught, and usually very well covered. Predictable returns would be when punter kicks from farther back in their own territory, like say the 25. Teams RARELY kicked to him in that context. If they were really backed up then kicking out of bounds is a bad idea and Hester feasted. But after his 2nd year his returns were characterized by mostly those short kicks from ~midfield.  

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Fair-caught kicks aren't included in kick return yardage.

And all of this stuff is measurable; net punting results, for example. Hester did not have a significantly bigger impact on his teams' success than other good returners, by any measurable statistic. Chicago led the league in (lowest) net punting yardage against only once during Hester's career (2010). Most of the time they were in the middle of the pack. 

Forgetting that there are better candidates not in the HOF who should be considered long before Hester, here's my 2 bits:

Will he be in the HOF? No.

Should he be? Yes -- I think there needs to be more focus on ST and other specialists who were dominant at what they did and changed the game. Hester did both.

He was unquestionably dominant -- the greatest returner in NFL history, with 20 return TDs, passing Deion Sanders.

And he changed the game. Given his success, most teams would kick the ball out of bounds or to another player other than Hester. The Bears Super Bowl vs the Colts was a prime example -- before the game, Dungy said he wasn't going to shy away from Hester, but after the opening kick was returned for a TD in spectacular fashion by Hester, they kicked the ball away from him/OOB from that point on. Other teams looked for similar burners to emulate that success, but with the rule changes that are forcing way more touchbacks, Hester not only was the greatest we ever saw, but might also be the greatest we ever will see.

If punters and kickers are eligible, why not returners?

Hester should be a HOFer, absolutely.

Stompin' Tom Connors said:

Forgetting that there are better candidates not in the HOF who should be considered long before Hester, here's my 2 bits:

Will he be in the HOF? No.

Should he be? Yes -- I think there needs to be more focus on ST and other specialists who were dominant at what they did and changed the game. Hester did both.

He was unquestionably dominant -- the greatest returner in NFL history, with 20 return TDs, passing Deion Sanders.

And he changed the game. Given his success, most teams would kick the ball out of bounds or to another player other than Hester. The Bears Super Bowl vs the Colts was a prime example -- before the game, Dungy said he wasn't going to shy away from Hester, but after the opening kick was returned for a TD in spectacular fashion by Hester, they kicked the ball away from him/OOB from that point on. Other teams looked for similar burners to emulate that success, but with the rule changes that are forcing way more touchbacks, Hester not only was the greatest we ever saw, but might also be the greatest we ever will see.

If punters and kickers are eligible, why not returners?

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Devin Hester returned a total of 4 kickoffs for TDs in his 11-year career (including that one postseason kick). If one TD every three years qualifies you as the greatest in NFL history, maybe your position just isn't very important.

5

ETA - 6 including the SB

We’ll never see another 6 return TD season again. Hester did it twice.

I wouldn’t have a problem with Hester in the HoF, but there are a ton of deserving returners & STers. Alvin Hammond, Speedy Duncan, Rick Upchurch, White Shoes Johnson, Mel Gray, Josh Cribbs, Brian Mitchell - those are some of the most exciting players the NFL has ever had. Bill Bates & Steve Tasker should go in as well.