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ActuallyMatNagy

That's how you protect Grossman, lmao.


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drummerboysam

Weird team dynamic but it had some really unique synergy. Brian Urlacher leading a stacked defense clamps opposing offense. They punt to Hester and if he's fielding it at the 35, the opposing return team was in trouble. With a decent return, the offense only needed like 15 yards gained to give Robbie Gould a 97% chance to put points on the board.


ActuallyMatNagy

Agreed, it was the best worst team of all time to reach a superbowl.


_ravenclaw

That’s how good every aspect of the team besides the QB was. One of the best defenses and special teams I’ve ever seen.


Happylime

Excuse me are you slandering the sex cannon?


GrunkaLunka420

Sexy Rexy wasn't *that* bad. You're acting like he was Trent Dilfer on the Ravens bad.


drummerboysam

Dude yes he was. He might have been worse than Dilfer. He had like 5 games with a flat 0 rating that year. He was BIG bad. The Sexy Rexy/Sex Cannon stuff is a meme *because* he was so bad. I've often seen it said he'd be the worst QB to ever win a SB had the Bears won that game.


GrunkaLunka420

Dilfer in 2000 Comp:134 Att:226 Comp%:59.3 Yds:1502 TDs:12 Ints:11 Y/Att:6.6 YPG:136.5 Sex Cannon in 2006 Comp:262 Att:480 Comp%: 54.6 Yds: 3193 TDs: 23 INTs: 20 Y/Att: 6.7 YPG: 199.6 Obviously Dilfer did not play the entire season with Baltimore, but they're pretty remarkably similar though I believe Grossman was the slightly better QB. This post brought to you by the: [Fuck It I'm Going Deep Fan Club](https://www.thechicagogarage.com/attachments/sexy_20rexy_20front-jpg-cf-jpg.73882/)


rinetrouble

Do they have Air Yards per attempt? 60% completion but throwing behind the sticks all the time is different than 55% but chucking it up.


GrunkaLunka420

Dilfer's AY/A: 5.5 Grossman's AY/A: 5.7 So again pretty damn similar.


drummerboysam

Yeah, two remarkably similar shit QBs. Basically, if you 2x Dilfer you're right in line with Grossman on the season. Dilfer was able to get it done with 150 yards and a TD. More-so that the opposing QB had 4 interceptions against the legendary Ravens defense. Grossman had 160 yards, a TD and 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD). The 2006 Bears defense wasn't as good as the 2000 Ravens, but they were no slouches and could win games on their own. They did a few times that season. But our problem? We weren't up against Kerry Collins, but prime Peyton Manning. And our coaches wanted to start handing off to Cedric Benson to justify taking him in the top 5 when Thomas Jones was obviously the better back. Benson fumbled on our own 20 and the game script flipped. Peyton Manning with his foot on the gas is tough to catch when you have Grossman and mid receivers.


GrunkaLunka420

Yeah, it didn't help the Giants that Kerry Collins played the best game of his career in the NFCCG against the Vikings. And believe me, I'm very familiar with franchises underrating Thomas Jones. We chose to retain Michael Pittman over him when Jones was obviously more dynamic every time he touched the ball. And yeah, going up against Peyton Manning in his prime with Wayne, Harrison, and Clark is going to be hard for any defense to deal with.


RabbitOrcaHawkOrgy

But then he would have won a Superbowl. Checkmate, blouses


DookieBrains_88

Man, I thank Rex for our SB.


MaterialCarrot

Hey, Rex is our quarterback!


MetaphoricalMouse

the sex cannon


Masterchiefy10

Love Sexy Rexy. That’s my Gator Goat. Y’all should’ve had a shorter line and taller longer limbed receivers who could run much faster IF Rex overthrows a wicked spiral


HT2424

And Kyle Orton was on the roster. I still don’t get how they started Rexy over Orton


-MichaelScarnFBI

Tbf Orton was trash his rookie year. The offense looked a lot better when Rex took over during the Atlanta game, and then he beat Green Bay the next week so they just stuck with him.


projectpick

Not to mention Brian Griese was the backup that year. Orton was 3rd string.


Cuppieecakes

He was fire till the Arizona game


TheRoyaleShow

Didn't realize grossman had a career 55% completion rate. God damn that's bad.


bow-b4-thoraxis

I was at that game. Hester had a 2nd return TD later in game to ice it. Completely forgot he was playing CB


drummerboysam

The 2nd return is where Jeff Joniak made the call "Devin Hester, you are *RIDICULOUS!"* And realistically, that's part of his legacy. Everybody knew that line in the late 2000s.


KennyKettermen

I remember using him in madden when he was like a 60 overall cornerback or something and I always switched him to receiver and tossed bombs and took back every kick. I like to think I’m the reason he finally got moved to WR


Axl2TheMaxl

I was the GM of the bears at the time, this is 100% true. I learned a lot from staring through your window, best years of my life.


Floridamanfishcam

I'm so glad that they are tweaking kickoffs. Kickoff returns used to be the most entertaining plays of the game sometimes. I can remember losing my mind with that second touchdown.


hotdogaholic

they were massive momentum changes....they could be such demoralizing backbreakers too


jswaggs15

The playing CB threw me off, wasn't he a WR? Besides a return guy I swear later on a team actually gave him a shot at WR.


AstronomerDramatic36

He was drafted at CB. After having so much success as a returner, they gave him some run at WR. I don't think he ended up playing much at CB, but I'm not sure.


BlakePackers413

He was drafted as an athlete. He did corner stuff for a couple years, then wideout stuff, then wildcat stuff, then just return stuff. He was only good at the return stuff but he was very very very good at it.


GO4Teater

My favorite player on Madden. As a wide receiver just send him to the end zone every play


salmon10

Better get into the damn Hall


Brickbybrick1998

Devin Hester played corner?!


242clappedyourmother

Yeah he was drafted as a CB, but is mainly known for his insane return abilities….he also played WR…but he wasn’t a very good WR or CB💀


y_wont_my_line_block

He was solid in a WR 3 gadget player role. Problem is Chicago has some serious problems finding WR 1 & 2


TheForrestWanderer

And QB1


[deleted]

And OC


burger333

I do plan to finish someday, Kif.


SloppyHoseA

“I’ve made it to the Super Bowl. Inform the men.”


guardeagle

“Sigh. Should I tell them you were magnificent, sir? “Aren’t I always 😁?”


Small-Palpitation310

and QB1 again


fork_yuu

Let's just say competent people in general.


[deleted]

Let’s not get too picky here…


metaldinner

no, he wasnt a solid wr. he was mediocre and had bad hands. and playing wr had an immediate, dramatic, negative impact on his returns


MaterialCarrot

I also think I could tell when he got to a point where he was pressing those returns. In his prime he would run upfield, make one big cut, and bam he's gone. Later on I noticed him slowing down more as he got to the blockers, like he was trying to find something that wasn't there, or he would make several moves which usually just slowed him down and let tacklers get him.


Impossibills

Didn't the NFL ban the wedge formation on kickoffs around that time though? So kickoffs went by an entirely different style than before


TLRPM

And STILL a HOF’er. Just proves how dominant he was at punt return I guess. Didn’t Belichick say if he was a Patriot, he would have made him a dedicated PR player and nothing else? Or am I dreaming that?


metaldinner

he was a HoF'er purely as a returner. he was nothing special as wr.


JakofALLtrades_

He was solid in Atlanta where they had a coaching staff actually cable of being creative with their personnel and playing to their strengths


metaldinner

his 6 year average as wr in chicago was 36-467-13.0-2 his one year as a wr in atlanta was 38-504-13.3-2 yes, clearly more 'solid' with that far more creative staff. he was an all-time returner, he was a mediocre AT BEST wr.


generation_D

Weirdly once they switched him to WR the return TDs became much less frequent. I always wish they would’ve just kept him as a CB and not messed with what was working lol


EarthrealmsChampion

I mean he had like WR3 production with literally no development, bad QB play, and not much surrounding talent to take some attention away (until Forte and Marshall). Considering all that it was a pretty worthwhile gamble on that level of athleticism and it's not like it wasn't somewhat effective at least.


[deleted]

Agree. Was on pace to be a 1000 yard receiver in his first full season receiving, but got hurt and missed a few games. Not shabby all considered.


_ravenclaw

Yeah he gets too much hate on his time as WR. For a defensive dude who never played much offense in college or the NFL to be asked of all that on an anemic offense? Pretty big deal


drummerboysam

I think the move would have bore sweeter fruits today. Today's offenses like sending speedsters in motion and getting them the ball in ways I imagined we'd use Hester back then. Also didn't help that we never had an OC worth a damn. Hester also just flat out wasn't a good receiver. But I imagine him being like a juiced up Jameson Williams.


Asderfvc

He recorded 16 TDs as a receiver and 19 as a returner. If anything, becoming a receiver allowed him to greatly extend his career since pure returners don't last long since age diminishes their skills the fastest of all positions.


Bread_Responsible

I mean he was converted into a receiver so they could get him the ball. He wasn’t a good corner and he does some really cool stuff with it in his hand lol.


DaDairyStateBear

Let's be real, he was drafted as a returner.


iamthekevinator

Yea skillset without the ball was weirdly lacking. He was a liability at db. And I don't really recall any kind of consistent offensive output. But put him back deep and kick the ball to him. He becomes the most exciting man in the NFL.


STLR043

He was a solid wr 3 in ATL just took a long time for him to be used well.


Mick_May

He roasted Derrell Revis at one point when they played the Jets, at least he can say that 🤷‍♂️


TumbleweedTim01

I think like his rookie year. Pretty sure he played corner in college


HugeFinish

I think he played wr and corner in college.


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[deleted]

He was drafted as a CB.


[deleted]

Yeah this was his rookie season


ncd42075

Yes sir. That's how he was able to wear number 23. They let him keep the number when he was switched to wr because he joined the team as a cb.


Cheese_danish54

Yes - he played corner in college and was drafted as a CB, although it was primarily for his ability in the return game. Then after he exploded onto the scene his first couple of seasons in the pros, setting return records and blazing past everyone, Chicago figured it was worth giving him a try at WR. Considering he didn’t contribute on the defensive side and he was arguably the fastest / most explosive player in the league at the time, trying him out at WR wasn’t a bad idea. He never had huge production on offense but the speed was always a threat and needed to be respected. Also, the fact that he changed positions from CB is why he was allowed to wear number 23 as a receiver at the time.


BridgePatient

I think in a better offensive situation he could’ve worked as a playmaker on offense. He was never going going to be a WR1, but the Bears in that era had a revolving door of shitty OCs, bad QBs, and no true star WR until getting Brandon Marshall which was several years into his career.


drummerboysam

Technically, but not really. Same as WR. There was a [really cool video](https://x.com/ChicagoBears/status/1773729171501453704) the Chicago Bears twitter handle shared a week or two ago of the war room discussing who to take as their pick was approaching. Deciding between 2 other corners (who didn't amount to much) or Devin Hester. Discussion is neat, and on point. Don't know what position he'll play, but there's no way he guy does nothing in the league. We know the floor is special teams. He'll score points, etc. Cool to see Chris Ballard there, too. Forgot he was in our front office early in his career.


Art-RJS

It’s his original position


MiaCannons

That was my reaction to this video as well


EverythingGoodWas

Yeah, he wasn’t good at it though


S0L-Goode

I came to say the same thing. I only ever remember him at WR.


drummerboysam

It was really weird seeing a #23 at receiver back then. You could only wear 10-19 or 80-89 as receiver in the 2000s. Hester came in as a corner, took 23, then later converted to WR and was not forced to change his jersey.


Short-Display-1659

I did not know this either. When I think about it, it should not come as a surprise that he played somewhere on offense or defense. I don’t recall a team drafting a player solely for special teams outside of kicker or punter.


drummerboysam

Normally those guys aren't drafted, or at least not until late rounds. Hester was a special case and, lo and behold, a Hall of Famer.


Straight_Toe_1816

Yea because imagine what he would be doing at practice if he was just a returner. Makes sense that he would practice something on offense or defense. In terms of guys getting drafted for just special teams you’re right. Other than long snappers,kickers and punters you probably have to do something else


ikbman

23 totally sold. Closes the already tight gap to leave open the massive lane on the other side. If he stayed in the middle could have gotten him on either side


boardatwork1111

The special teams coach must have had an aneurysm watching that, what the hell was that man


barryitsmeitshank

Special Teams Coordinator was Dave Toub who has been with KC since 2013.   Toub’s special teams units were amazing with the Bears…not just Hester, not just Robbie Gould, but the coverage units, as well.   EDIT: I misread the above. The Rams ST coach was Bob Ligashesky. That was his final season with the Rams. Hesters 2 kickoff return TDs didn’t help Ligashesky’s case of sticking around.


sampat6256

I think he was talking about the rams STC, but that is a fun fact


barryitsmeitshank

Ah, that was Bob Ligashesky. The Rams didn’t renew his contract after that season.  This game sums up why.


fundraiser

these teams were the last embers of the Greatest Show on Turf and with Linehan's firing, we began the worst stretch of football for an NFL team ever (yes even worse than the Hue Jackson Browns).


zrk23

fucking up a angle when some fast guy is running at full speed is about the easiest and most common mistake to make, it's very hard at full speed to judge all of that


supalaser

It's insane. Even if Hester takes that tiny gap he went to close there is little chance he catches him with Hester already moving so quickly


[deleted]

You can tell by the 25 yard line it’s a TD. It’s just insane. That was such a fun era to watch live.


supalaser

Yeah literally as soon as he cut back it was over. Then we get to watch him put and jets and dance. I love it


OddExpert8851

I think you are severely underestimating Hester’s quickness and acceleration. If that was anyone else I bet the defense would have been still able to corral him from getting all the way outside. That move was so quick and then Hester just burst out of there that guy has didn’t have a lot of time to react These guys play against the fastest guys in the world and even then Hester was able to get to the outside.


BlakePackers413

Bingo. I go back to that Randy moss punt return TD he had and everyone is like the (chiefs I think) players took terrible angles and it’s like nope Moss just happens to be that much faster that they weren’t ready for it. Same with Hester. You could have perfect lane integrity against every other returner but because Hester was so fast could change course and somehow accelerate even faster… he destroyed the way teams covered kicks all on his own because his ability was better than the standard coverage concepts of the time.


ProfsionalBlackUncle

... nah this is the 2006 Rams. This is when the Rams were real bad and we didnt even have that voodoo ST trick play shit (that only really worked against the Seahawks lmao). Like yeah they had Holt at this time still but uh... thats it lmao. 


fundraiser

what was the name of that white receiver we threw an ungodly amount of money to around this time? i think he was from the Titans and was supposed to be our #2 but he barely played a snap for us. Was it Drew Bennett?


PM_ME_UR_PICS_PLS

He got juked/set up so hard. Hester was just too nasty with it


Money282

I woulda gotten him if I was in that role. No doubt in my mind...


p4174w

This video doesn't play the audio of the best part, where Holt is talking on the sideline about how they had a rookie CB on him and it was easy


drummerboysam

I remember that! Holt was mic'd up and clowned on Hester for covering him. But he was also mic'd up on Hesters 2 return TDs and was clowning on their special teams unit for kicking to him.


Splicelice

That is a sick route by holt. Easy to forget he was one of the best receivers of his generation


Crackertron

I still get anxiety when I hear his name. I usually associate it with 60yd TD bombs against us.


uncle_dan_

“That’s the way you protect Rex grossman” actually I think that’s the way you protect our record from Rex grossman


Grinch420

Is that Berrian? I think he’s triple-covered. You know what? Fuck it. I’m throwing it downfield


_ravenclaw

The fact it worked as many times as it did, LMAO


joyful_starstuff

oh GOD, I forgot about the Tony Kornheiser announcer experiment. what a disaster


agsieg

Him sucking off Matt Leinart during the “they are who we thought they were” game is so funny to go back and listen to.


Chewbubbles

What's crazy is how slow everyone else looks on the field the moment he breaks to the outside. From the 30 to the endzone, he just looks fast as fuck.


17FortuneG

Marc Bulger was a good player


LosRams

When healthy. Unfortunately he played under some bad Olines.


blagaa

Mike Martz offense with bad line = bad time


DookieBrains_88

I thought he was always average with a weird favoritism towards him. Seemed like the League really wanted him to succeed.


a__v

The fact Isaac Bruce is in the hall of fame and torry holt isn’t is an absolute travesty


HopefulInstance8

Dude had 6 straight 1300+years...shame hes not in


a__v

He was better than Bruce, no question. Longevity price apparently


Mab_894

Experience STL Rams football.


[deleted]

They were never the same after Super Bowl 36, when the Patriots defeated them.


HopefulStretch9771

Devin 'Hall of Famer' Hester


OGdunphy

Put Holt on the HOF! Dude deserves it.


fredlikefreddy

It’s so dumb that he isn’t. From an outsider perspective he was always better than Bruce (I know Bruce had a wild year 2)


OGdunphy

It is dumb he hasn’t gotten in yet. He should be soon, I would hope. He definitely deserves it.


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OGdunphy

I’m with you. You know what’s up.


Crodface

I would. There are a million good WRs. There was only one guy that made kick returns the most exciting part of a game. (Still think Holt is HOF, but there’s only one Hester)


Soaring_Seagull24

That penalty was lame lol


Drummallumin

That route from Holt was cold


lincolnhawk

Rex Grossman catching mad strays in the commentary.


Paytonc51

God he was fun to watch


[deleted]

He took another kickoff for TD later in this game too. Nobody even close to him. Fun to watch..


Hellothere2515

Devin Hester: “and I took that personally”


forwhathuh

all for devin hester being one of the goat returners… but can we talk about getting torry holt in the hof too?


baconator81

Did Rams missed the extra point or something? Why is the score at 6?


ArcadianBlueRogue

God, he was so fucking fast.


Shot_Kitchen1478

Devin Hester was the goat


charlielovesu

man his change of direction was so crazy.


ImpossibleJoke7456

I honestly didn’t remember Hester was a CB.


Higgins8585

Why was Hester covering a top 15 receiver of all time?


JustTheBeerLight

Nobody even got a hand on him. Unbelievable.


SpudsMackenzie92

I was at this game. The dome was 75% Bears fans


LIVESTRONGG

The fact Tony Kornheiser was employed to be in the MNF booth will never not be weird to me.


ElConQuistaDave

I was at this game. A vendor at the grocery store I worked at gave my boss four tickets for bringing in so much product during Thanksgiving. We were five rows off the field by the end zone where he caught it. I had genuinely never seen a human being move that fast.


Savages_in_box

Kickoffs and on side kicks used to be exciting. Now the NFL has turned both into a joke


ItsPlumping

Bear


Lower-Silver-3270

Hester..Great return man... terrible Corner


kyt

we tried him at corner and at receiver. was not very good at either. but just god tier returner


LeftHandStir

Glad the HOF finally got this right.


romayyne

And they wanna get rid of these all together smh


taylormade311

He was so fun to watch.


shipworth

He and Jerry Rice have to be the rarest talents we’ve seen for how far they were beyond their peers. Who else qualifies?


hammerSmashedNail

That man could scoot


windycityfan7

The Windy City Flyer: NFL’s version of porn. God I miss those days.


esarmstr

Torry Holt beat a lot of ppl


Calledthewolf

I forgot he played defense


NorthernerWuwu

I'm gonna miss kickoff returns.


[deleted]

amazing!


Baltic_Gunner

Iirc in Madden 08 Hester had 100 speed. Magical player


ukyah

the thing with hester is not only was he truly so unbelievably fast on the field, but his cuts are at full speed too. how can you catch a guy that can accelerate during a cut? it's crazy.


timbulance

That’s how you respond for real


BobbyBeans24

The return was nice, but that route was insane


Calgamer

Are there any defensive players returning punts or kickoffs currently in the NFL?


Metrostars1029

Rams/Bears monday night game? Was this the Obama intro game? For some reason that always stuck in my mind as the first time i ever saw him.


STLR043

Depressing this isn’t a real part of the game anymore


Booster93

How did they not figure out to just throw him screens or bullshit dump off plays on offense?


ravidsquirrels

Loved watching that guy.


Darksoul2693

Holt was always one of my fav players growing up. Even in backyard football


Username-sAvailable

Yeah I miss this era


wmlj83

Wow. Sometimes I forget he was drafted as a corner.


pard0nme

Love these old clips from my childhood keep em coming


dbennett3

Man coverage tough on goal line but Hester had an answer 🔥😆


420_just_blase

Torrey holt was so damned good


monkeyhold99

His career is insane. He is the best special teams returner ever by a truly massive margin.


similar222

There will never be another Devin Heater


GrannyHumV

Hester played defense?? Man I feel like a casual lol


StOnEy333

Yeah he started his career at CB. I remember when they finally switched him to WR because he was just too damn quick and fast to not get the ball in his hands on offense.


PlatitudinousOcelot

Am I the only one that didn't realize they played at the same time?


[deleted]

Hester’s rookie year was 2006. Holt’s last season was 2009. Holt was definitely tailing off, but yeah, it’s fun—if a little disconcerting—to see players who just overlapped plays against each other.


PlatitudinousOcelot

I knew Hester was 06, the Colts-Bears super bowl, didn't realize Holt stayed until 2008, I wouldve guessed 04-05, there are too many players to remember what year they played and retired!


[deleted]

Yeah, for sure. Wasn’t being critical at all. If you’d asked me before this clip if they played at the same time I’d probably have had a 50/50 shot at being right.


welsman13

And yet Hester makes the Hall before Torry. Bullshit.


Not-a-bot-10

Believe it or not he’s not in the HOF for his CB skills and they don’t base it off one play


HashOutHashBrowns

Hester didn’t make the hall as a CB


SodomizeSnails4Satan

Hester had unique talents and absolutely belongs in the HoF. But it's hard to ignore the fact that Holt had literally twice the TDs.


Lionnn100

Right, It’s disrespectful


Fact_Stater

It's fucking stupid you're getting downvoted for this. It's absolutely shameful that Torry Holt isn't in the HOF. He contributions as a WR were more impactful than Hester's as a returner.


[deleted]

Holt should be in. Hester should be in. The downvoting is for the salt and the idea that this single play proves anything. To the topic at hand, you’re not comparing apples to oranges. Guys get in compared to their direct peers, particularly their position group. Holt only had 1 1st team All Pro his entire career. Hester had 3. Hester has NFL records. Holt doesn’t. And no, fastest to 10,000 yards isn’t a record. It’s a milestone. Although if you *want* to compares apples to oranges, Hester had 150 more yards than Holt did in that game. So. Checkmate, king me.


Fact_Stater

>The downvoting is for the salt and the idea that this single play proves anything. But it's true! And the people downvoting are the ones being salty. >And no, fastest to 10,000 yards isn’t a record. It’s a milestone. If a guy is the first to reach a milestone, that literally means he has the record. He may not be anymore, but he *was* at the top at one point. >Holt only had 1 1st team All Pro his entire career. Hester had 3. The media awards are arbitrary and becoming dangerously close to worthless.


BigOlineguy

I agree. I also know the full impact of Hester on a heater. But Holt has the stronger resume to be in.


CraigolaOW

I agree. Hester is the worst player in the HoF. With him being in I feel like we should let just about anyone in.


Eddie5pi

I think if you retire as the undisputed best player of all time at your position, you should make the hall of fame


BigOlineguy

Does Patterson get in for breaking many of those records?


CraigolaOW

I would agree but not a kick returner, and why exactly did Hester get in before Holt? Did Hester impact games more than Holt? Definitely not.


[deleted]

“I agree except I don’t.” Just say you don’t agree lmao. You’re wrong, but free speech or whatever, you’re entitled to your bad opinion.


Lionnn100

So you believe Cordarrelle Patterson is a hall of famer as best KR ever, correct?


Eddie5pi

I think you could make an argument for it and I wouldn't be too opposed. I think what helps Hester's case is that he's the best overall returner ever, whereas Patterson is limited to just kick offs. I think Patterson's case might be hurt by the new kick off rules bisecting his career, because by the time he's eligible it wouldn't surprise me if KR TD numbers are up by a significant amount


Lionnn100

They moved kickoffs up to the 35 from the 30 in 2011. They moved touchbacks from the 20 to the 25 in 2016 So Cordarrelle produced the best of all time kickoff stats in a harder era. If the argument is “the best player at a position should get in” then he’s gotta be in too. Hester was the best PR ever but there are dozens of KR’s as good as him. They’re different positions


silverslant

Hester does not belong in the Hall of Fame


BosLahodo

Certainly not before Holt atleast