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View Full Version : Heartbreak bill from Elway's glory now is coming due



Denver Native (Carol)
11-27-2007, 03:05 PM
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/nov/27/heartbreak-bill-from-elways-glory-now-is-coming/

Heartbreak bill from Elway's glory now is coming due


Those 47 game-winning or game-saving drives one Mr. Elway had in his Hall of Fame career, the ones that led to 47 day-afters in some other NFL city when those gathered around the water cooler - or their broadband, as the case may be - wanted to fire everyone involved.

Wanted to load the buses, start over, get somebody, anybody, who could make things different.

Apparently those weren't all free. Apparently, the heartbreak bill comes due from time to time.

Which brings us to Devin Hester on Sunday. It's clear the Broncos could have done things better defensively, despite some quality stats here and there, like get a fourth-quarter stop with the game on the line. And it's clear they could have done things better offensively, despite some quality stats here and there, like put together a few first downs in the fourth quarter to slam the door when it needed slamming.

And it's clear the prevailing wisdom inside and outside the Broncos locker room was that Hester was the one who fueled the Bears, in all of their underwhelming glory for much of the game, to a 37-34 overtime victory at Soldier Field.

"A guy like that, he's going to show up on the scoreboard," Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said.

"Devin Hester won that game," Broncos cornerback Dre Bly said.

"The guy is a great player," Broncos punter Todd Sauerbrun said. "He belongs in the Pro Bowl and all of that fun stuff."

Yes, the Broncos surrendered to Hester a punt return for a touchdown and a kickoff return for a touchdown. Yes, the Broncos kicked the ball to Hester in the second half, and that certainly didn't work.

They tried to squib the ball in the quagmire that was Soldier Field, and that didn't work.

They tried to kick away from Hester, and that didn't work, either.

It didn't work because Hester does this to people. He has yet to complete two full NFL seasons and he already has 10 career kickoff and punt returns for touchdowns.

That's only three from tying the all-time record. An all-time record that took Brian Mitchell 13 seasons to set. And, at last count, 13 seasons includes a lot more games, a lot more poorly placed kicks and far more missed tackles than Hester's 27-game career to this point.

So, perhaps Hester isn't just an NFL-quality player who took advantage of some mistakes to make something happen.

He did do that, but perhaps he is a little more as well. Perhaps, and football people are considering this already, Hester just might be the best kick returner anyone has seen in decades. Maybe ever.

Not some accidental tourist on the errors of fate, but a player who is better at what he does than anyone else. No, he doesn't return kickoffs or punts every game for a touchdown, and yes, some people stop him from breaking their will week to week.

But sometimes, on some days, some players are too good to keep from their appointed rounds.

Even if it one guy does it, say, 47 times.