The Falcons added Devin Hester as a returner. Now, they have to get the other 10 players on the field to work in unison with him. It’s a work in progress, according to special teams coach Keith Armstrong.
“That is the biggest key is when you look at Devin Hester, when you say tell me about Devin Hester, the thing you have to realize is he had a great core in Chicago. It’s imperative that we develop. He didn’t do it all on his own. He is a talented guy, extremely talented, but he had some work around him. It’s imperative that we develop our guys and they understand that we are all in this together. It’s not going to be one of those things where they punt the ball and we say ‘OK Devin, let’s see what you got.’ It don’t work that way.”
Armstrong did acknowledge that having a speedster like Hester will help mask coverage mistakes. The coach is also aware that the opposition may not give Hester a chance to use that speed against them.
“I will tell you this, you get away with more mistakes with a guy with that type of speed, who is exceptional, can make people miss and can wiggle. You can get away with some things. What we have to be prepared for is they aren’t going to kick it to you. That is what starts happening. I had Wes Welker in Miami. He wasn’t Devin Hester but he was playmaker and he could hurt you. I had Glyn Milburn in Chicago before Devin. Devin broke his records. I’ve been in this situation before. Those guys have a tendency to make up for a mistake. They can take something that didn’t get blocked right and fix it.”
