Come To Think of It...Where Have You Gone, Devin Hester?

Bears Nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Woo, woo, woo...

Actually, our eyes aren't that lonely these days, what with the Bears actually clinging to a 4-3 record and displaying a real, honest-to-goodness NFL offense. Hey, no kidding.

The defense? Ah...don't ask.

Yet, despite the relatively good times, there is one thing Bears fans miss, and that's the sight of No. 23 returning a kick or punt to the house for six points.

It used to be something you could count on with regularity. Like death and taxes, it was inevitable that every Sunday (or so), Devin Hester would take the ball, do a couple jukes, maybe a reverse or two, and before long, he'd be off to the races. 

It was a sight to behold.

But unless I'm mistaken, I don't believe it has happened yet this season. Not once. And that's disturbing because that is still the young man's primary job.

Look, I know we're asking Hester to do other things in the offense now, but let's face it, we're not talking about a normal football player here. He was on a track to be a Hall-of-Fame return man; that's how good he is.

Look at the numbers: In his first 32 games over two seasons in the NFL, Hester returned seven punts and four kicks for touchdowns, amassing 2,713 return yards in total.

That's just sick.

In fact, that puts him only two off the career record of 13 TDs set by Brian Mitchell from 1990 to 2003.

Now, one reason for Hester's relative lack of production is the fact that teams simply don't want to kick to him any more. Which is understandable.

Hester has returned 19 kickoffs for an average of 22.6 yards and 11 punts (with four fair catches) for an average of 5.4 yards this season.

Last year at this time, he had returned 19 kickoffs for a 23.6-yard average and 20 punts (with four fair catches) for a 19.4-yard average

Another reason just might be the changes in special teams personnel on the Bears.

Special teams standout Brendon Ayanbadejo left for greener pastures in the offseason. So, maybe Hester isn't getting the blocks he used to get.

Some have speculated that his new contract, which he signed in the offseason, is partially to blame. It compensates Hester more for receiving the football than for returning it. Yet Hester laughs that idea off as ridiculous. As he does when questions about his previous rib injury comes up.

Maybe we're just expecting too much. After all, he is human. He was so good, we sometimes forget that he's not a robot. And teams are preparing for him better, too.

So how is Devin holding up?

''I am getting frustrated,'' Hester said. ''It is frustrating because we set a high expectation for ourselves as a return game, and when we're not doing it, then...I feel like it's all on me. Maybe I'm not getting the job done. You never know. It is frustrating when you don't get the big returns you got last year and the year before.''

Yet, he has been more productive as a receiver. Hester caught 20 passes all of last season, but he already has 16 catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns in five games this season.

But now the biggest challenge facing the speedster from Miami is the bruised quadriceps he suffered in Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings. That, and unrealistic expectations, come to think of it...