NFL return men are much like leggy supermodels.
They tantalize us with their beauty, sometimes making it hard to look at anything else. We gaze at their youthful appearance, their sleek ways and their exciting ability to show off in front of crowds.
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| We haven't seen the same explosiveness from Hester this season. (Getty Images) |
"It is like getting some curves," longtime NFL returner Brian Mitchell said laughing.
Age catches up to pretty models. So what happens to the return men?
Why are they here today and long gone tomorrow?
"That's a really good question," Buffalo Bills special teams coach Bobby April said.
The return men can be a phenomenon for a moment, making the national media stand up and pay attention, and opposing special-teams coaches cringe with fear. And, in an instant, nobody remembers their name.
What happened to that guy named Dante Hall? Eddie Drummond? Tamarick Vanover? Tony Horne?
They come and they go, which begs this question: Is Chicago Bears return man Devin Hester, the 2007 flavor of the year, the latest to do so?
Hester had six returns for touchdowns last season and 11 in his career, which doesn't count the return of missed field goal and one in the Super Bowl. He is two back of the NFL record of 13 held by Mitchell.
We couldn't get enough of him. The highlight shows should have paid him residual fees he was on so much.
But this season he has the same number of returns for scores that you do. None. Hester's punt-return average is 5.4 yards, while he's averaging 22.1 on his 16 kickoff returns.
