Are the Bears Using Devin Hester Correctly?

Since Devin Hester exploded on the scene for the Chicago Bears, the Bears have been trying to figure out ways to get the ball into his hands more.  

The answer they came up? Put him at wide receiver.  

Now, as I'm sure most of you remember, for a short time this took away from his return duties because they wanted him to be "fresh" on offense. While I will give the coaching staff credit for recognizing the error of their ways and getting Hester back to what he does best, I feel they are still misusing one of the teams most explosive players.

The best way I can describe it is akin to a square peg in a round hole.  

In recent weeks, I have noticed how Hester has improved his route running as well as fighting for balls and finishing routes. But that is only part of the story.

First, at 5-11 he is undersized. I know what you are thinking: Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers is the same height and most corner backs in the league are not much taller then that. Steve Smith is a unique individual who is probably in the top 10 if not top five in the NFL. While he may not be as fast as Hester (although he is close), he is a much more refined, all-around player. Hester is much more dangerous in the open field but the trick is getting him into that open field.

Second, the go route only works when your quarterback has time to throw it. No one is mistaking this offensive line with the hogs from the old Washington Redskins teams of the 80s.

So what do you do with him you ask? I think the best way to use Hester is the way Da Coach Ditka used Dennis Gentry back in the 80s. Gentry was the return man for the Bears when they went to the Super Bowl.

While Gentry was a receiver, he was the teams third or fourth option. But like Hester (but not nearly as good), he was dangerous with the ball in his hands so the Bears used him unlike any other receiver. They would put him in the backfield and give him a draw, they would use him on screen passes (the Bears use Hester on some receiver screens), the screens they used Gentry on where more commonly used with running backs. They did what they could to get him into space and let him do his thing.  

What I am getting at is the Bears do not need to have Hester 15-plus yards down field for him to be productive.  

Get him in space and let him do his thing. That can be on a two yard out or a middle screen. If you look at some of his big plays this year this is what they did. Let him turn nothing into something.  

Let me know what you think and as always BEAR DOWN!