Hester v. Bennett

[TennisMenace 156]

I was very frustrated and upset in watching the Bears-Pack game.

 

Cutler hardly even looked toward Hester all night. In fact, Hester was targeted only 4 times, and caught all 4 for 90 yards and a TD. He has really come on as a route runner, and we all know about his amazing break-a-way speed.

 

Compare that with Cutler's college friend, Bennett, who had 13 targets for 7 catches, 66 yards and no TDs.

 

Bennett got more than 3 times the looks while Hester was grabbing everything (100%) thrown to him.

 

I wonder if this trend will continue, which will hold back Hester's totals from being off the charts.

[16 and 33 0]

Why did you draft the wrong guy?

[RamslovaMartzhata 3]

I am a Hester owner... and I thought Bennett looks like the better WR. I don't know which game you are watching... but I saw Hester run what I would call lazy routes anytime he was underneath. Meanwhile I saw Bennett run nice crisp routes like a normal wide reciver should.

 

I think we'll see two things out of Hester... quick hitches/wr screens and streaks. If the Bennett owner offered me a trade in my PPR league that I own Hester in... I'd think about taking it straight up (And the league I speak of also gives you points for punt/ko return yards). But of course I'd try and sell Hester high and get more than just Bennett in return.

[16 and 33 0]

I am a Hester owner... and I thought Bennett looks like the better WR. I don't know which game you are watching... but I saw Hester run what I would call lazy routes anytime he was underneath. Meanwhile I saw Bennett run nice crisp routes like a normal wide reciver should.

 

I think we'll see two things out of Hester... quick hitches/wr screens and streaks. If the Bennett owner offered me a trade in my PPR league that I own Hester in... I'd think about taking it straight up (And the league I speak of also gives you points for punt/ko return yards). But of course I'd try and sell Hester high and get more than just Bennett in return.

 

This right here.

 

Hester is a square peg trying to fit into a round hole.

 

Bennett is a terrific route runner, has better hands (one easy drop last night, but in general...).

 

I could see folks hanging onto Hester in a dynasty because they're having trouble with the sunk cost concept.

 

I cannot fathom why anyone would buy into the annual hype and take him in a redraft.

 

Bennett didn't come out of nowhere. Great OTAs, terrific camp, has an established rapport/chemistry with the QB, et al. If you start thinking about football around August 20th every year, I could see why someone missed it, but Earl has been the guy to own for awhile now.

 

What happened last night in terms of targets should have surprised no one.

[TennisMenace 156]

Some of you guys should read the stats before you talk. Hester: 4-90, 1 TD He outproduced your man Bennett with only 4 looks.

 

Am I missing something here?

[RaiderHaters Revenge 3,584]

even more frustrating is that Cutlet targeted the Packers DB's 14 times while only completing 4 of them

[16 and 33 0]

even more frustrating is that Cutlet targeted the Packers DB's 14 times while only completing 4 of them

 

 

You have to admire his persistence.

 

Cutler gets into tendencies like that. First preseason game, tried to force everything into Hester (didn't work out so great). Second game, Bennett. In Denver it was usually Marshall or Scheffler, and last year in the 1st two games it was Royal.

 

Its like he has a one-track mind, can't go through his progressions. He def has a cannon, and he doesn't lack confidence, so he thinks he can zip a ball into anywhere to anyone.

[Jonny_P 0]

Some of you guys should read the stats before you talk. Hester: 4-90, 1 TD He outproduced your man Bennett with only 4 looks.

 

Am I missing something here?

 

 

The point is to look beyond the stat line to infer who is likely to produce more going forward. Hester had the better day stats-wise, but the number of targets suggests that Bennet is likely the better play going forward, especially in PPR formats.

[Militia 0]

I just don't like Hester. I don't think he has what it takes to be a great WR. Eventually the "name" is going to wear off. I don't think he's done anything to prove he can be a solid WR in the NFL. Only time will tell.

[TennisMenace 156]

 

You have to admire his persistence.

 

Cutler gets into tendencies like that. First preseason game, tried to force everything into Hester (didn't work out so great). Second game, Bennett. In Denver it was usually Marshall or Scheffler, and last year in the 1st two games it was Royal.

 

Its like he has a one-track mind, can't go through his progressions. He def has a cannon, and he doesn't lack confidence, so he thinks he can zip a ball into anywhere to anyone.

 

LOL! I think he is sooooo overrated. Broncos are better off without this head case....but not with Orton.

[TennisMenace 156]

I am a Hester owner... and I thought Bennett looks like the better WR. I don't know which game you are watching... but I saw Hester run what I would call lazy routes anytime he was underneath. Meanwhile I saw Bennett run nice crisp routes like a normal wide reciver should.

 

I think we'll see two things out of Hester... quick hitches/wr screens and streaks. If the Bennett owner offered me a trade in my PPR league that I own Hester in... I'd think about taking it straight up (And the league I speak of also gives you points for punt/ko return yards). But of course I'd try and sell Hester high and get more than just Bennett in return.

 

You would be a wee bit lazy too if you knew all your effort was going to be in vain!

[WR Guru 31]

He needs 13 targets to produce a measly 66 yards and that's supposed to be impressive? Sorry, my league doesn't give points for targets. And those targets seemed to be mostly little dinks and dunks over the middle. Once Cutler discovers that Greg Olsen is his tight end, we'll see if Bennett continues to get that many looks.

 

As for Hester, he will be inconsistent and will not catch 90 balls, but he certainly has the ability to be one of the top homerun hitters in the league.

[TennisMenace 156]

He needs 13 targets to produce a measly 66 yards and that's supposed to be impressive? Sorry, my league doesn't give points for targets. And those targets seemed to be mostly little dinks and dunks over the middle. Once Cutler discovers that Greg Olsen is his tight end, we'll see if Bennett continues to get that many looks.

 

As for Hester, he will be inconsistent and will not catch 90 balls, but he certainly has the ability to be one of the top homerun hitters in the league.

 

Finally, someone who knows football.....

[mambokings 0]

He needs 13 targets to produce a measly 66 yards and that's supposed to be impressive? Sorry, my league doesn't give points for targets. And those targets seemed to be mostly little dinks and dunks over the middle.

Several of those "missed" targets were down the field. Dink and dunk? What game were you watching? One of Bennett's "missed" receptions was a caught ball for 20+ yards called back due to a penalty. You're looking at 8 catches for close to 90 yards that were connected on. The other "misses" were bad throws by Cutler down the field, with only a couple in the check down category.

[HenryChinaski 1]

He needs 13 targets to produce a measly 66 yards and that's supposed to be impressive? Sorry, my league doesn't give points for targets. And those targets seemed to be mostly little dinks and dunks over the middle. Once Cutler discovers that Greg Olsen is his tight end, we'll see if Bennett continues to get that many looks.

 

As for Hester, he will be inconsistent and will not catch 90 balls, but he certainly has the ability to be one of the top homerun hitters in the league.

 

That is pretty ignorant.

 

Let me guess? Earl Bennett isn't on any of your fantasy teams, right?

 

Just for future reference: Targets is one of the most important ways of telling what is really going on in a football game, if you weren't able to watch it. The WR who leads his team in targets, is most likely going to lead that team in fantasy points. The two go hand in hand, sorry if you don't feel the same way.

 

And so what if Earl Bennett didn't seem like he stretched the field? So I guess Wes Welker doesn't have much fantasy value either, right?

 

Regardless of how people perceived Cutler to play Monday night, it is pretty obvious that they didn't trade for him just so he can hand the ball off. They are going to pass the ball a ton, which tends to lead to gaudy stats. The Packers have one of the better secondaries in the league, especially their CBs. So as Cutler gets more acquainted with his WRs, and his schedule lightens up, he still should have a pretty damn good fantasy season.

 

And if your league gets heavily penalized for INTs, then he probably shouldn't have been on your team in the first place. But for all other leagues, he and Earl Bennett are going to be some very nice players to have as the season progresses.

[skinsrule05 30]

Some of you guys should read the stats before you talk. Hester: 4-90, 1 TD He outproduced your man Bennett with only 4 looks.

 

Am I missing something here?

 

I will give you a stat line from the Denver game:

 

Stokley: 1-87, 1 TD

Marshall: 4-27

 

By your logic I am assuming you would rather have Stokley then Marshall. I mean look what he did with only 1 look. Project that out over the season and he is gold.

[da_mane_man 1]

cutler will be throwing deep to hester a lot this year. if he throws it 3 or 4 times a game, one has to connect. and by connect, i mean a 50 yard td pass. i don't think hester will be exactly greg jennings, but he'll be a poor man's jennings. cutler loves to sling it downfield, and hester is probably the fastest guy in the league. throw in a couple of screens or short passes that could go a long way, and i'm looking at a receiver that i want on my team(s) this year.

 

we're not building a real team here folks. who cares if hester can run clean, crisp, professional routes? as long as he puts up stats, i'm cool.

[titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745]

I will give you a stat line from the Denver game:

 

Stokley: 1-87, 1 TD

Marshall: 4-27

 

By your logic I am assuming you would rather have Stokley then Marshall. I mean look what he did with only 1 look. Project that out over the season and he is gold.

 

Actually, the "look" stokely scored on was to Marshall. So technically, Stokely had 87 and a score on 0 looks.

[skinsrule05 30]

Actually, the "look" stokely scored on was to Marshall. So technically, Stokely had 87 and a score on 0 looks.

 

Are you insinuating that the play wasn't designed to go off Marshall's hand?

[PATSSOX 22]

i hope Bennett keeps getting all the looks because i just picked him up off waivers But the fact that, like someone else said, cutler targeted the GB defenders as many times as his own team scares me. with Cutler you know he gonna keep slinging it. once he figures out Olsen and Forte can catch and are good football players, those looks to Bennett are going to go down. hopefully not too much though or he will be back on waivers....

[madd futher mucker 36]

i hope Bennett keeps getting all the looks because i just picked him up off waivers But the fact that, like someone else said, cutler targeted the GB defenders as many times as his own team scares me. with Cutler you know he gonna keep slinging it. once he figures out Olsen and Forte can catch and are good football players, those looks to Bennett are going to go down. hopefully not too much though or he will be back on waivers....

 

Ill weigh in here as I've watched the Bears for some time and I can personally attest for the development of Devin Hester during last season. I'll also tell you that Cutler WAY TOO OFTEN "locks on" to his Buddy, Earl Bennett who is not nearly as good of a route runner or overall WR as Hester is. Cutler did the same thing with Marshall in Denver - the difference wass that Marshall is a stud.

 

But rather than interject what you might think is my bias toward Hester, I'll quote from the football expert I admire the most: (this is subscriber content used without his express permission - although I'm pretty sure he won't mind much since I'm about to send his soon-to-be 1st newborn boy a Pittsburgh Steelers stadium/crib blanket -but I should acknowledge that this is FBGs content tho):

 

"Hester had two very impressive catches, starting with a great over the shoulder grab on the first drive for Chicago that showed how developed of a wideout he is becoming for the Bears. Hester later added a 36-yard touchdown sprint on a go route where Cutler hit him clean in stride. Hester adds more work as a kick returner and continues to be a big play threat every time he touches the ball. As Cutler and Hester get more comfortable and other receiving options become more of a threat on a weekly basis, Hester will push to be a true NFL WR1 for the Bears and become a starting caliber fantasy receiver."

 

Bennett showed flashes of upside as the second starting wideout for the Bears in Week 1. Bennett topped was targeted typically 10-20 yards downfield between the numbers and the sideline but some of the passes from Cutler were either just off the mark or too difficult for Bennett to reel in. Bennett has better upside against weaker competition or against defenses that dominate against the ground game (such as Minnesota) so he is more of a fantasy spot starter with some upside. His value could also go down once TE Greg Olsen gets more involved in the passing attack or if Matt Forte gets more work as a receiver."

 

I loved Cutler as my deep keeper QB for his last 3 yearrs in Denver, even though he seldom goes through progressive reads in the pocket. He'd rather throw on the run to his "favorite" receiver, even if it is into a double team, and often misses the open receiver on the field, But now he is targeting a mediocre possession receiver and his talented TE Olsen instead of Marshall and Scheffler. But he is NOT reading the whole field and misses opportunities to throw to some real talents on his team.

 

The plain truth is - whether you want to admit it or not - Hester, not Bennett is the most talented receiver on the Bears team. But unless Cutler overcomes his own ineptitiude in his read progressions, Bennett will likely get the most targets.

 

Trivia question - How many times was Forte even looked at as a target?

[einstein2u 0]

there are 10 million reason why hester will get the ball. not to mention, hester kickoff returns, punt returns...i love that for a wr#3. bennett was a better value but in the long run, give me the home run hitter.