Hester signs one year deal with SD

[JoeMcRugby]

Originally Posted by drangus

I'll surely take heat for this, but I don't like this signing. I think this signing was premature, but before you rip into me hear me out.

How can a non-guaranteed one year contract for a backup - special team captain at-or-near the vet's minimum who knows every nuance of the offense for both the tailback and fullback positions be considered "premature" with OTAs starting in the next week?

If he doesn't make the opening week's roster, they've wasted nothing.

Hester is a special teamer who will back up multiple positions for emergency situations ... if he makes the final roster, and there's no guarantee that it happens.

Competition is a good thing and in my mind it's never premature to bring competition to the forefront.

[Chargerfreak]

Originally Posted by JoeMcRugby

How can a non-guaranteed one year contract for a backup - special team captain at-or-near the vet's minimum who knows every nuance of the offense for both the tailback and fullback positions be considered "premature" with OTAs starting in the next week?

If he doesn't make the opening week's roster, they've wasted nothing.

Hester is a special teamer who will back up multiple positions for emergency situations ... if he makes the final roster, and there's no guarantee that it happens.

Competition is a good thing and in my mind it's never premature to bring competition to the forefront.

You have a unique way of sticking up for players you like and stabbing the ones that you do not. It's subtle, and I am the only one on here that catches it. Example: I wish you had stuck up for Pro Bowl ST Osgood the way you do for Hester.

Now having said that, I agree with where you are trying to head with your post. Don't try to give me that ol "IF he makes the roster" jazz, because you can't trick me. Norv loves Hester. I have never figured out why, but he does. On offense I completely trust Norv. This is probably the only guy that he and I disagree on. He has below average talent IMO. I don't hate the guy, and I love him on ST. But you might as well have kemp17 run the ball. You will get just as far.

[showbe]

Originally Posted by drangus

I'll surely take heat for this, but I don't like this signing. I think this signing was premature, but before you rip into me hear me out.

I know that Hester is a good kid and all of that type of thing, but the smarter thing in our situation would be to sign a veteran TB for the following two reasons.

1> If Mathews gets hurt you don't have to turn to a rookie TB as they are notorious for taking a year or two to learn blitz pickup.

2> It is just a simple fact that we have a better shot at landing a stud FB in the middle to late rounds than a stud RB because FBs just don't start getting picked until late in the 3rd to late in the 4th.

Thus, picking up a vet TB would make more sense in terms of having a legit option in case mathews goes down, but also a more legit option should McClain go down. It seems to me by our recent signings that we are trying to get back to being a more physical style squad so getting Hester back does not mesh with that.

Perhaps at this point he is strictly seen as a STs guy only, but why not see what we can get in the draft in the later rounds in terms of a kid who can actually play FB and will contribute on STs, then if we were not happy then bring in this kid before the season.

Why would we need a stud FB when we got Mcclain. There are stilll a lot of FA RB's on the market. Drafting a guy to be a ST only will put us back IMO. We dont need a rookie FB who needs to learn our system and get use to the speed of the game, when we already have hester who is IMO above average FB. He can do anything you ask of him since he is a multi dimensional player.

Hester also contributes ALOT on special teams, Theres a reason why he is a ST captain. If he doesnt do anything on ST then he wouldnt of gotten taht in the first place. He also provides leadership which a rookie will not bring. Hester has a lot of upside to him. He is great in short yardage situations and can catch really well out of the backfield.

He was suppose to be a RB but then they made him gain weight to be a FB and that slowed him down. I believe if given the chance Hester would be good enough to be a back up RB if mathews goes down. Having both Mcclain and Hester in the backfield would be nice.

another thing is that if you pick up a rookie FB he will also have to get use to the game just as a rookie RB would. AJ isnt going to just not get a back up. He has already stated that he has his eyes on 3-4 rb's. And will probably pick them up later.

[El Tee]

Originally Posted by Chargerfreak

You have a unique way of sticking up for players you like and stabbing the ones that you do not. It's subtle, and I am the only one on here that catches it. Example: I wish you had stuck up for Pro Bowl ST Osgood the way you do for Hester.

It has been shown numerous times with links that just like the Tolbert deal, we had offered Osgood more money. He actually took LESS to go to Jax because one team was honest and said he'd never be a serious WR and another team gave him a false promise, a lame duck camp, and threw him a few balls in the 4th Q of lopsided games early in his deal.

You can say Hester isn't good, that he received no other offers. We don't k ow if he did or didn't. He claims he had other trips scheduled but cancelled them. He had an interest in Seattle but his heart was in SD.

Look, a huge percentage of the "top 100" FAs remain unsigned. The rookie wage deal makes a lot of good vet players not as desirable.


.

[country boy]

With all the one year contracts, if we win the SB this year, with the one year contract players being a major contributing factor , the off season dealings next year will be movie material.

[sonorajim]

Originally Posted by Chargerfreak

You have a unique way of sticking up for players you like and stabbing the ones that you do not. It's subtle, and I am the only one on here that catches it. Example: I wish you had stuck up for Pro Bowl ST Osgood the way you do for Hester.

Now having said that, I agree with where you are trying to head with your post. Don't try to give me that ol "IF he makes the roster" jazz, because you can't trick me. Norv loves Hester. I have never figured out why, but he does. On offense I completely trust Norv. This is probably the only guy that he and I disagree on. He has below average talent IMO. I don't hate the guy, and I love him on ST. But you might as well have kemp17 run the ball. You will get just as far.

He hasn't made the roster and there will be RB/FB cuts in the final trim. It depends on who's there and how they've performed, what shape they're in when preseason winds down. I like Hester but doubt Norv will cut a superior player to keep him and there will probably be a RB in the draft and other challenges.
Hester is insurance at this point.

[CharginDC]

1. knows the system. B. special teams hustler. 3. pass protection/blocker

[boltstrike25]

Originally Posted by CharginDC

1. knows the system. B. special teams hustler. 3. pass protection/blocker

Good move, I think he has a good chance to make the team

[drangus]

Originally Posted by JoeMcRugby

How can a non-guaranteed one year contract for a backup - special team captain at-or-near the vet's minimum who knows every nuance of the offense for both the tailback and fullback positions be considered "premature" with OTAs starting in the next week?

If he doesn't make the opening week's roster, they've wasted nothing.

Hester is a special teamer who will back up multiple positions for emergency situations ... if he makes the final roster, and there's no guarantee that it happens.

Competition is a good thing and in my mind it's never premature to bring competition to the forefront.

Joe, I feel it is safe to say that if they went through the trouble of signing him and unless he suffers some kind of setback, he will make the roster opening weekend, regardless of cuts etc.

I think this staff and FO is really infatuated with the kid. Perhaps, they are grooming him for a future with the organization. I just don't see how it makes money (expensive if he makes the cut for STs guy) or football sense (STs guys are regularly depth/developmental guys, not case here) to extend his career here with the pretext that he can help in an emergency. I would not call the drunk from down the street to put out a fire in my house. In an real emergency you want someone who can actually help.

As for the competition thing, this kid hasn't exactly had to do that in the past, his draft status and rapore with the staff took care of that problem for him until his rookie deal expired. It would be disengenous to assert that he beat out any real fullbacks to retain his job these last few years. I only speak for myself, but I am sure others will agree that we could have had an actual fullback these last few years if we had only bothered to bring in some "competition"

[Dutch Charger]

Just a thought. What if the front office is planning to have a package (perhaps for if RM goes down) with Hester as FB and McClain as TB? McClain had a great rushing season in 2008?