Devin Hester's spark already missed

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Through the first five games of the rest of his career, Devin Hester, erstwhile Chicago Bears legend and current Atlanta Falcon, has 14 receptions for 212 yards and a touchdown.

Against his former boss Lovie Smith, Hester, still the most dangerous kick returner in football, took a punt 62 yards to the house, setting yet another return record. He has set so many, but I believe this was for total TD returns, which includes kicks, punts, interceptions and the Michigan Avenue Louis Vuitton store.

Against Lovie's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 31-year-old Hester added a 20-yard rushing touchdown, which means he has equaled the number of Bears' rushing touchdowns this season.

"We're just having fun out there," Hester said in a conference call with Chicago reporters. "Having fun."

Fun was not a word in Hester's vocabulary as his Bears career winded down. Fun is not a word in our vocabulary as we watch the Bears' special teams without him.

I miss fun. I miss Hester.

But as Hester likes to say, "at the end of the day" it made sense for the Bears to say goodbye, given Hester's salary and his seeming indifference to playing wide receiver. That's life in the NFL. That he lasted eight years with one team as a return man/wide receiver says a lot about his value.

Like Liam Neeson, Hester has a "very particular set of skills," meaning he could return really, really fast in tight spaces, creating yardage out of thin air. There are few athletes who have been more enjoyable to watch when they were on. Hester was Navy Pier fireworks in Nikes.

As the Bears travel to Atlanta of play the Falcons on Sunday, there is no question they miss Hester as much as this columnist. Perhaps they miss him more than they anticipated, though that's on Bears general manager Phil Emery and coach Marc Trestman for all but ignoring the special teams personnel. No one is afraid of whoever the Bears put back on kick returns.

Hester says he is better off with the Falcons, who are 2-3, like the Bears. But Chicago isn't better off without him, salary cap hit or not.

"Sometimes things are meant for a new start, a fresh start," Hester said. "Kind of like a relationship. Sometimes you might be fortunate when the relationship is not meant [to be], and you just move on. That's the situation I'm now in. I'm in a relationship where I'm happy now."

It's not as if Bears fans are crying for Hester, who could be as teasing as he was talented. But sometimes you don't know what you've got 'til he's a Falcon.

Hester is a sensitive sort, and there has been insinuation that the Bears had to convince him to play last year in Trestman's first season, even though Hester was under contract.

Hester did tell Trestman he didn't want to play offense, and the worst-kept secret at Halas Hall was that Hester didn't feel comfortable with Jay Cutler's tough-love style.

Despite a good year of returning kicks, Hester says the Bears never contacted him to offer a contract to return, and he left in free agency. Everyone thought he would wind up in Tampa Bay with Smith, but Atlanta has proven to be a soft landing spot. The feeling around Halas Hall is that Hester wanted a fresh start. Money likely played a role, as well.

"You could slowly but surely see it coming," Hester said of the turnover. "I saw you guys writing stories about it. You could tell it was coming."

Hester said he doesn't think the Bears thought he was washed up and knows he was appreciated during his time in Chicago. But he's still not over the breakup.

Devin Hester

#17 WR
Atlanta Falcons

2014 STATS

• Rec14

• Yds212

• TD1

• Avg15.1

• Long36

• YAC112

"It bothers every player that's been around in this league and has played football," Hester said. "If you've been with a team for over six, seven, eight years, if you've been there for a long time, it bothers you when your contract is up and the team doesn't even come to offer you anything. So it bothered me, but at the same time everything happens for a reason. I believe in God and, like I said, everything happens for a reason. Sometimes what you want might not be the best fit for you."

Hester will face his former team as the Bears' special teams unit -- now populated by rookies and no-names -- is seen as a negative, not a threat.

The Bears keep cycling in new kick returners, but none is any good. The Bears' average starting point after a kick is the 19.3-yard line, the second-worst in the NFC. The Falcons are fifth-best at 21.4. In a game of inches, every yard helps.

Hester is eighth in kickoff return average at 24.2 yards on 12 returns. His longest is 36 yards. Hester has returned three kicks for 30 yards, while another was 29 yards.

The Bears don't have any kickoff returns for 30 or more yards. (But they haven't given up one of that distance, either.)

Hester's 14.4-yard punt return average is fourth in the NFL, and he's one of three guys with a touchdown. He has taken two punts for more than 20, including the 62-yard score. He had a 48-yard punt return called back.

That's why his skill set is so valuable. There is a reason he has "Any" and "Time" stitched on the back of his cleats. All it takes is one. One kick could decide a season, where tiebreakers can determine playoff berths.

Will the Bears kick to Hester? We laughed at Lovie for doing so, but I'm guessing Hester gets a couple of chances on Sunday.

Bears kicker Robbie Gould said he has a few tricks up his sleeve for his old teammate. Special teams coach Joe DeCamillis reminded reporters how difficult it is to kick away from guys, especially on punts, though Trestman countered that it's something they must be able to do, especially in a dome. But there's a human element involved, too. Rookie punter Pat O'Donnell has a strong leg, but will he be able to angle away from Hester under pressure?