Devin Hester to move to Offense for Bears

[hagansp]

BEARS MOVING HESTER TO OFFENSE

The Chicago Bears have announced that, as of this weekend's full-squad minicamp, Pro Bowl kick returner Devin Hester will be moved from defense to offense.

Hester will work with the receivers during the minicamp, but he is also expected to be utilized in the backfield, in a manner similar to Reggie Bush of the Saints.

"I think Devin Hester is one of the most exciting players in the NFL with his hands on the football," coach Lovie Smith said. "I think he would be an excellent defensive back also. We just feel that this is in the best interest of us and him for him to achieve his full potential as a football player."

"Right now we're not going to put any limits on it," Smith said. "We have a new piece to the puzzle. We're anxious to see what we can do with him and the role that he'll develop into.

"There are a lot of different ways we can go. You can make a case for him being a slot receiver. You can make a case for him being a single receiver when we go to our two-tight end, two-running back packages. You can make a case for him from the running back position.

"He's an offensive weapon right now. That's the only limit we put on him."

Said offensive coordinator Ron Turner: "I've been recruiting him for about 13 months and I finally got him."

"He's an elite player when he gets the ball in his hands and I'm excited about the opportunity to help him get the ball in his hands, not just returning punts and kickoffs, which is a few times a game. Hopefully we can get it in his hands 5-6-7 times different ways -- use him out of the backfield, as a receiver, in the slot."

In our view, the move is a no-brainer. In the Bears' Tampa 2 defense, his athletic skills would be wasted -- and his health would be unnecessarily jeopardized -- if he were to play cornerback. In that specific defense, corners cover short zones and make tackles in the running game.

But it remains to be seen whether this D.H.'s stellar performances on special teams will translate into success on offense. Two other D.H.'s have teased us in the past: Desmond Howard and Dante Hall. Neither could do much at the receiver position despite dazzling performances in the return game.

For the Bears, the hope is that they've found another G.S.

[Bondsaway]

WOW I think thats a really good move for him and the Bears! Its nice to see teams looking for better ways to utilize some players like Hester.

BTW people may want to stockup on his cards now!!!!!