I agree that Toub is an idiot for not thinking about this earlier (say, the Seattle game), but I do want to add this: Hester hurt his hamstring at the Pro Bowl after his remarkable season a few years back. I believe that injury reduced his effectiveness for at least 1 season, which ruined his confidence. Kickoffs and especially Punt Returns is all about instinct and reflex. If you don’t have the confidence, you think too much, and you hesitate. Hesitate and you get killed. And that’s what was happening to Devin. It’s great to see him back to his confident self.

But, I wouldn’t put him exclusively on special teams. He is always going to be a downfield threat, which opens lanes for everyone else (though I would like to see Cutler hit him long once in awhile).

Reality is, both Manning and Knox are excellent return guys.

Put Devin in the slot, one on one with safeties and occasionally linebackers and let him redefine “run after catch”. Expecting him to run precise routes downfield as a wide out isn’t taking advantage of his strengths. You can always shadow him deep with a safety and let the corner try to keep up because he’s not running routes, just flies.

Good game tonight boys. We’ll see where we are, that’s for sure.