Mike Nadel: Bears' offense or Hester? It's an easy call
Squib it, pooch it short, kick it out of bounds, punt it toward the sideline, boot it out of the end zone.
Anything to keep the Bears' only star from making a game-breaking play.
Those of us who watch the Bears regularly know that the best way to keep them from scoring is to kick the football nowhere near Devin Hester.
That flies in the face of a statistical analysis by footballoutsiders.com, which in a recent issue of ESPN The Magazine said a Chicago opponent "is actually doing itself more harm than good by ... kicking it away from the guy."
The reason: In the last year, the Bears have come away with better field position when Hester hasn't touched the ball on kickoffs than when he has. The story also talked about Hester's numerous fumbled punts and said playing keep-away with Devin is to deny him the chance to give away the football.
I don't doubt footballoutsider.com's stats. I merely dispute its conclusion. The second half of last Sunday's game against New York is the latest example supporting my belief.
The Giants refused to let Hester beat them; as a result, the Bears had outstanding field position. Twice, Lawrence Tynes booted kickoffs out of bounds, giving Chicago the football at its 40-yard line. Twice, while trying to punt away from Hester, Jeff Feagles did poorly and the Bears started near midfield.
And what did all that field position get the Bears?
Zero points, thanks to drives of 3, minus-3, minus-3 and minus-2 yards.
After the Giants scored to take the lead with 1:33 to play, they tempted fate and kicked to Hester -- who for a split second appeared ready to break away for the winning touchdown. Fortunately for New York, Chase Blackburn got enough of Hester to bring him down, and the Bears began their final, unsuccessful possession at their 41. Had Tynes simply kicked it out of bounds, the Bears would have had it at the 40 and millions of Giants fans wouldn't have suffered mild heart attacks.
See, the magazine piece failed to take Chicago's inept offense into account.
Yes, if the Patriots or Colts or Cowboys had Devin Hester, I'd value field position and take my chances with a return. But we're not talking about the Patriots or Colts or Cowboys. We're talking about the Bears, who are unlikely to score regardless of where they are on the field. In many games, a Hester TD is their only hope.
Sure, Hester fumbles sometimes. So? The Bears' quarterback, tailbacks and receivers don't fumble? The QB doesn't throw interceptions? At least Hester has a chance to turn a game on one play, as he's done over and over again.
Were I playing the Bears, I'd force their offense to beat me every time. I'd never give Devin Hester the chance.
And if the folks at footballoutsiders.com were insiders who knew the Bears, they'd probably agree.
Too smart
Several NFL coaches outsmarted themselves over the weekend.
Despite the success of the no-huddle attack the first time the Bears had the ball, Lovie Smith and his offensive coordinator, Ron Turner, didn't use it on the next three possessions. Each time, the Bears went nowhere and had to punt.
Smith and Turner later said they wanted to "mix it up." Shouldn't the coaches of an offense that has been as brutal as Chicago's stick with something that finally works -- at least for one more possession? An agitated Smith said no.
The Ravens played wonderfully Monday night and were poised to end the Patriots' perfection. On fourth-and-1 with 1:48 left, Baltimore defenders stuffed Tom Brady on a QB sneak and started celebrating. Then they learned that defensive coordinator Rex Ryan had called timeout just before the snap. Given new life, New England made the first down and went on to score the winning TD.
"We didn't feel we were in the right configuration," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "If he had gotten the first (down), you'd be screaming, 'Why didn't you call a timeout?' Let's make sure we don't have revisionist history here, OK?"
OK. And we won't revise history after Billick is fired, either.
Joe Gibbs, whose coaching career has been slightly more successful than those of Billick or Smith, called a second consecutive "freeze-the-kicker" timeout in the final seconds of the Redskins' game against the Bills. That's a violation, and the 15-yard penalty positioned Buffalo for the winning 36-yard field goal.
Unlike Billick and Smith, the classy Gibbs accepted responsibility and apologized for his gaffe.
Prediction
If any team has an excuse, it's the Redskins. They had to practice with heavy hearts after teammate Sean Taylor was murdered, they lost an emotional game to Buffalo on Sunday, they traveled as a team to Miami for Taylor's funeral on Monday and they will have had little time to prepare for Thursday night's game against the Bears.
Why do I still think Gibbs will have his team more ready than Smith will have the Bears?
Redskins 15, Bears 13.
Just prove it
Many in Baltimore and elsewhere claim the NFL wanted the Patriots to win Monday, and that's why New England "got all the calls."
Damn cheating NFL. Why did league officials make Ryan call that timeout? Why did they make Ryan Boller throw a goal-line interception? Why did they make Billick's play-calling go ultra-conservative? Why did they make the Ravens lose their composure?
Please, conspiracy theorists, get a life.
A real sport
Congratulations to Brett Favre, named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. Anybody who has seen the Packers' graying 38-year-old warrior celebrate after a big play can see how much pure joy he still gets out of playing a kid's game.
A great comeback season for an all-time great. And a great choice by SI.
QB Roulette
After watching Eli Manning's team beat the Bears, now I know how Chicago's opponents felt during the second half of last season when they were losing to Rex Grossman's team. (This was lifted from my blog, The Baldest Truth. To read more, check out www.thebaldesttruth.com <http://www.thebaldesttruth.com> .)
Mike Nadel (mikenadel@sbcglobal.net) is the Chicago sports columnist for GateHouse News Service.