Coverage units keep hot rookie in check Joanne Korth, The St.Petersburg Times, published 18 December 2006 As if the Bucs were not inspired enough to play well against Bears return man Devin Hester, they got some extra incentive just before kickoff. Chicago introduced its special teams. Not the NFC's top-ranked defense. Not the big-play offense. The Bears gave fans the rare chance to cheer their special-teams players. They saved Hester for last. "That kind of sparked us, gave us some more motivation to go out there and do our jobs," said linebacker Ryan Nece, the Bucs' special-teams captain. "We weren't really fearful of Hester. It was a matter of us doing our jobs and displaying our talents as well. He obviously came in with a lot of hype, and he deserved it. He did some great things. But we're pretty confident in our team as well." Hester, who has an NFL-record six returns for touchdowns this season, came into the game averaging a league-high 14.4 yards on punt returns and 35.1 on kickoffs. He returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in a victory against the Rams last week on Monday Night Football. But the Bucs' coverage teams made it a long day for the rookie sensation, limiting him to 10.5 yards on six punt returns and 15.2 yards on five kickoffs. "We had good lane integrity, got off blocks and tackled," Blue Adams said. "These are some crazy guys, man. They're nuts. They run fast, light their hair on fire and hit everything that moves. That's been the key for us." Hester's fumble of a kickoff, forced by Adams and recovered by Wesly Mallard, sparked the Bucs' rally. He fumbled twice more, one he recovered and one that went out of bounds. "We knew he'd put it on the ground," Adams said. "So we just tried to put our helmets on the ball." Lost in Tampa Bay's dismal 3-11 season is some pretty good special-teams play. Entering Week 15, the Bucs were tied for the league lead, allowing 19.2 yards on kickoffs. Sunday, the average improved to 18.4. Hester's longest kick return was 28 yards, his longest punt return 32. The effort becomes even more impressive considering Josh Bidwell tied the team record for punts with 11 in the overtime loss. It wasn't that Hester didn't have chances. "The game plan was to make it ugly, make him guess, make it a chess match," said Bidwell, who did a good job angling his kicks toward the sideline. "You won't see a guy any better than that. He's phenomenal. He's on a run right now. So it was our mission. The guys did a great job. They respected him and played hard." The closest Hester came to breaking free was the 32-yard punt return in the third quarter, but Bidwell was able to push him out of bounds at the Tampa Bay 42. "I get one of those a year," Bidwell said. "I was glad I was there, though."