Post by Guvmintcheeze on Oct 8, 2014 17:24:49 GMT
Brian Urlacher: Devin Hester was a great teammate
By Vaughn McClure | ESPN.com
Atlanta Falcons receiver/return specialist Devin Hester is sure to have plenty of emotions this Sunday when he faces his former team, the Chicago Bears, at the Georgia Dome.
One of his ex-teammates, retired linebacker Brian Urlacher, raved about what Hester brought to the Bears in eight seasons, outside of his dynamic return ability.
"Devin was a great teammate," Urlacher said. "Devin was fun. He was fun in the locker room. He was fun at practice because he would yap, which kept practice fun. You know how practice would be boring and stuff, especially during training camp. And Devin was competitive, so it made it more fun to go against him every day. You didn't want him catching balls. You didn't want to get juked and look stupid. It was competitive, but you could yap back at Devin because you knew it wasn't going to go beyond that."
Hester weighed in on Urlacher's assessment.
"That’s when I was having fun," Hester said with a laugh. "I was killing them in practice. I was always sparking the practice up."
But Hester didn't have as much fun as he wanted because he didn't always see eye to eye with quarterback Jay Cutler.
Urlacher was asked if he thought Cutler was unfair to Hester.
"To be honest, I was doing my thing on defense," Urlacher said. "I just know that Devin didn't get enough plays on offense. I'm not sure if that was because of Jay or because of the situation.
"It's obvious Devin can go off on offense, like what he's done in Atlanta, being used properly and being looked for as a target. I honestly can't say that they blackballed him there in Chicago because I don't know. I just know the last couple of years, he was a returner -- one of the most explosive guys in the NFL being used as just a returner."
Urlacher expects Hester to continue to have success with the Falcons.
"It helps when you have Julio (Jones) and Roddy White, I would think," Urlacher said. "I would think that takes some attention away from Hes. But he still has to get open. He's proven to everyone what his value is as an offensive player."
By Vaughn McClure | ESPN.com
Atlanta Falcons receiver/return specialist Devin Hester is sure to have plenty of emotions this Sunday when he faces his former team, the Chicago Bears, at the Georgia Dome.
One of his ex-teammates, retired linebacker Brian Urlacher, raved about what Hester brought to the Bears in eight seasons, outside of his dynamic return ability.
"Devin was a great teammate," Urlacher said. "Devin was fun. He was fun in the locker room. He was fun at practice because he would yap, which kept practice fun. You know how practice would be boring and stuff, especially during training camp. And Devin was competitive, so it made it more fun to go against him every day. You didn't want him catching balls. You didn't want to get juked and look stupid. It was competitive, but you could yap back at Devin because you knew it wasn't going to go beyond that."
Hester weighed in on Urlacher's assessment.
"That’s when I was having fun," Hester said with a laugh. "I was killing them in practice. I was always sparking the practice up."
But Hester didn't have as much fun as he wanted because he didn't always see eye to eye with quarterback Jay Cutler.
Urlacher was asked if he thought Cutler was unfair to Hester.
"To be honest, I was doing my thing on defense," Urlacher said. "I just know that Devin didn't get enough plays on offense. I'm not sure if that was because of Jay or because of the situation.
"It's obvious Devin can go off on offense, like what he's done in Atlanta, being used properly and being looked for as a target. I honestly can't say that they blackballed him there in Chicago because I don't know. I just know the last couple of years, he was a returner -- one of the most explosive guys in the NFL being used as just a returner."
Urlacher expects Hester to continue to have success with the Falcons.
"It helps when you have Julio (Jones) and Roddy White, I would think," Urlacher said. "I would think that takes some attention away from Hes. But he still has to get open. He's proven to everyone what his value is as an offensive player."