Monday, February 20, 2023

Why Is Devin Hester Not In The HOF?

WHY IS DEVIN HESTER NOT IN THE HOF?! 

2007 he became the first NFL player to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown. He holds the NFL record for most all-time return touchdowns (punt and kickoff combined) and most all-time punt return touchdowns. In his first 13 weeks as a professional football player, Hester recorded six return touchdowns, including a punt return in his NFL debut, and a then-record tying 108-yard touchdown from a missed field goal against the New York Giants.[20] He also returned a punt for a clutch 83-yard game-winning touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals to give the Bears the lead in a comeback win, and two kickoff returns in one game against the St. Louis Rams. It was when the league out of over caution of collisions (With the number of concussions going up in 2023-'23) during kick offs moved the kick off line back to the 35 yard line. Had that move not been made who knows how many touchdowns he would've finished his career and preferably with the Chicago Bears who drafted him. Here is what Hester had to say in 2011 about the rule change: 

"Bears return man Devin Hester thinks it was stupid of the NFL to move kickoffs up five yards, and he’s not afraid to say so.

After a Week One that saw more touchbacks than usual but also more touchdown returns than usual, Hester said nothing really changed, and that the NFL passed a rule that was ostensibly about player safety but didn’t really have an impact."

“It’s just showing the NFL that moving the line up five yards didn’t budge things a bit,” Hester told the Chicago Tribune. “They got a couple touchbacks but you’ve still got guys bringing it out and at the end of the day that rule is pointless. It’s not going to prevent concussions because guys are bringing it out five to eight yards deep in the end zone. We’re still coming out with it. And that’s taking away from some of the fun in the NFL because guys are going to bring it out regardless.”

Hester is far from alone. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell thinks more touchbacks will mean fewer injuries, but most of the players who are putting their bodies on the line seem to want to keep the game the way it is. While Hester was used sparingly on both sides of the ball, I compare it to a DH in baseball getting into the HOF and never touching the field. The NFL is more liberal in the amount of players it lets in.  Roger Goodell is as useless as Bud Selig as a sports commissioner.  


Some of this piece was from other sources. 

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