Should we kick to Hester?

[Greg C.]

I think the Packers should kick directionally and try to pin Hester against the sidelines. If the ball goes out of bounds, fine. But I really hate the idea of kicking it out of bounds or short on kickoffs and giving them the 40 yard line every single time. And I don't like 20 yard punts either.

What do you think?

 

[tromadz]

We have a good ST unit, plus Hester is a fumbler(when he isn't scoring).

So I can see a 'kick to Hester' argument.

The Bears offense sucks really bad, so giving them good field position isn't a big deal.

So I can see a "Avoid Hester' argument.





I say kick it to him and let the boys play.

 

[NDPackerFan]

I think a lot depends on the wind. If there's a strong wind at Crosby's back, I say kick the ball through the endzone if you can. On punts, direction kick and pin him against the sidelines. I hate the idea of them having the ball on a short field all the time because even their offense could put a couple first downs together and Gould is an excellent kicker.

 

[Murgen]

Denver made a mistake kicking to Hester and paid big time for is. No way we kick to him.

The philosophy was sound last time. The 5 turnover cost us the game against the Bears. If we do what we did last time without turning the ball over, game in hand and a W.

Kicking to Hester is too big a risk of an easy touchdown momentum shift. Also a big return regardless gets the crowd fired up. Don't give the crowd any reason to get into the game. MM was right not to kick to him.

 

[abztractmynd]

well, in the first game it seems to have worked technically. if u look closer you'll realize we gave the bears great field positioning because of the kicks and punts.

just kick it straight to the guy and stop him. that should be the philosophy. the specials teams should mark hester for extinction.

 

[IronMan]

No. I want to win.

 

[c_mac]

What if we kick to him and he runs one back for a score and we lose by 3? No thank you.

We can control whether or not their best scorer gets the ball so why on earth would we give it to him?

 

[NDPackerFan]

What if we kick to him and he runs one back for a score and we lose by 3? No thank you.

We can control whether or not their best scorer gets the ball so why on earth would we give it to him?

Our special teams have played outstanding this year. I don't say you kick it to him straight away and give him tons of real estate in which to work. Kick it through the endzone or directional kick the ball and surround him. I look for GB to score in the high 20's to low 30's in the game anyway. One Hester TD isn't going to be the game-changer (at least I hope).

 

[KGB94SACKEM]

IMO, I'd kick it to him every time. To me it's a pride thing. You lineup and say "Bring It Big Boy." I don't like giving him the satisfction of kicking away from him. It's a powerful "I'm scared" statement. It's like in basketball when you are up by 3 and you foul with a few seconds left. Hell no, make them beat you.

Hester is amazing but if you play good special teams, tackle well, use pursuit angles and swarm to the ball you should negate him. So kick to hm for pride's sake and just bring your best game.

 

[Obi1]

yep!

How else are the Bears going to keep the game semi-interesting?

 

[Packerfan4Life]

If we want to give the Bears a chance to win, we'll kick to Hester. We saw how anemic the Bears offense was against Minnesota, an inferior defense to the Packers. I'll take giving them the ball at the 35-40 on every possession and watching them go 3 and out or get 2 first downs if their lucky rather than Hester possibly breaking off a long one to get them back in the game. DONT KICK TO HESTER, PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!!!

 

[cheesey]

What i would like to see is, squib kick it right down the middle of the field. That makes the ball take weird bounces, and might result in him botching it.

 

[Buckeyepackfan]

NO! NO! NO! :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall:

In case you don't get how I feel about kicking to Hester.

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!

 

[Tiger]

YES! Of course kick it to Hester, if the coverage unit is good (The Packers coverage unit is good) then there should be no problem.

 

[yooperfan]

Chalk my vote up as a NO.
This guy is scary good,

 

[Tiger]

I really think we should be bullish about playing Hester, the ST coverage unit shud be chomping at the bit to get a hit on him.

 

[Greg C.]

As bad as the Bears offense was last week, I can understand the "avoid Hester" argument. But I still think the Packers could kick it to him at least some of the time, as long as they're careful to keep it near the sidelines. Denver kicked it straight down the middle of the field, almost every time. It was unbelievably stupid, and it may be part of the reason why their punter is no longer on the team.

 

[HomerJay]

What i would like to see is, squib kick it right down the middle of the field. That makes the ball take weird bounces, and might result in him botching it.

Agreed. A few good squibs over the course of the game could make for a fumble or two.

 

[NDPackerFan]

It's all about field position. If GB can have as good of field position like they did against StL, then it's not an issue. I love it when teams can punt from the 50 yard line against Hester b/c then he's a mute point. You directional punt the ball out of bounds and try to get it inside the 15 yard line. The Bears anemic offense gets 1 first down if they're lucky and then you turn around and start your offense again at the 40 or so...all game long baby!

Packers 34
Bears 10

 

[PackerLegend]

No even if you have pretty good coverage this kid can make something happen and you will pay. We need to try kicking it at an angle but not out of bounds. Do whatever is working but I dont think kicking to like the only player the Bears have that actually scores is a good idea.

 

[Green_Bay_Packers]

why not just kick it to him and tackle him? its not what your meant to do?

 

[Tiger]

if The ViQueens can kick and cover then there's no reason The Packers cant do the same. I really dont like the idea of chickening out of the duel with him. I know MM is a very intelligent coach but part of me justs wishes we would just swarm down there and creal Hester!

 

[Buckeyepackfan]

See...Todd Saurbaum(sp?)(K Denver Broncos)...he made a big deal about how good their special teams were and how they would kick to Hester, check the stats..not good.

There are time to be macho...this is not one of them, as stated in previous posts, The Bears have no offense if we give them an extra 10-15 yds so be it,the defense will shut them down!!!
Play to YOUR strengths not your opponents.

 

[DGB454]

No.

 

[spardo62]

What i would like to see is, squib kick it right down the middle of the field. That makes the ball take weird bounces, and might result in him botching it.

Right on Cheese man, I have a feeling that field conditions may make kicking directionally difficult and field/weather will also limit distance on kicks anyway - so squib sounds like the best approach. On punts, however, I think directional may be the way to go even if it costs you a few yards.