Admittedly, tonight’s Green Bay-Chicago match-up turned out to be much more of a game than I anticipated. 

Appropriately, the week after giving the Packers top billing in my Top 10, they respond with an outing marred by mediocrity.  Poor decision-making on special teams.  Costly personal foul penalties after the whistle (a team-record total of 17 penalties).  Fumbles by wide receivers carrying the ball with the arm closest to the defensive player.  Dropped interceptions looking as if they were thrown directly to Green Bay defenders.

And the Bears…well, even though they opened their season by winning their first two games, they did not make the cut for my best teams through Week 2.  About 25 minutes into the contest, the game was going somewhat as I expected.  Cutler was losing his effectiveness.  Although they weren’t putting points on the board, Green Bay was moving the ball.  Aaron Rodgers seemed to be gaining momentum.  But, once again, the Pack wasn’t lighting up the scoreboard.

The 20-17 win was certainly a statement to the media (and people like me) who still don’t feel that they should be among the ranks of undefeated teams, but nevertheless, Chicago hung in the game long enough to allow Green Bay to beat itself.

And of all the mistakes that Green Bay made, they can point the finger at their decision to kick the ball to one of the all-time great return men.

Throughout the history of the NFL, we have seen some extremely talented and memorable players returning kicks.  Michigan alum Desmond Howard parlayed his explosive abilities  into a successful 11-year career that saw him win a Super Bowl MVP Award.  Former Kansas City Chiefs standout Dante Hall was so electrifying that the fifth-round draft pick became a weekly fixture on ESPN SportsCenter.

That's right..."Anytime" had two game-changing returns against Green Bay tonight.

In 2006, we were introduced to Devin Hester.  The University of Miami product burst onto the scene that year, returning five kicks (3 punts, 2 kickoffs) for touchdowns.  In the following season, “Anytime” returned six kicks for scores. 

Tonight, Hester picked the perfect time to end a two-year hiatus.  Having not returned a kick in over two years, Hester was responsible for 10 Chicago points. 

Green Bay punter Tim Masthay didn’t try to avoid the dangerous Hester, and in the second quarter, he ran back a punt for a 28-yard gain.  Masthay had to make the tackle on Hester, but the return set the Bears up with great filed position, and they managed a field goal.

The Packers didn’t learn their lesson, and punted to Hester again in the fourth quarter.  This time, Hester was able to take the punt to the house for a 62-yard score.

Just how special is the special teams performer?  Very.  Standing out on the special teams unit is not an easy thing to do.  Unlike regular offensive or defensive units, their is no ability to disguise what you are attempting to do.  One team kicks off and hunts down the ball carrier.  The other team receives and blocks.  The eleven players on defense are all coming for the ball handler.  They know what the return team is trying to do, yet they still have to do their best to execute.

And based on his performance in tonight’s game, you can call Hester – “The Executioner.”

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