Tyreek Hill"s Explosive 95-Yard Punt Return TD! | Chiefs vs. Chargers | NFL Wk 17 Highlights
If the Chiefs are going to win a home playoff game for the first time in 22 years against the Steelers on Sunday, there"s a good chance Tyreek Hill will have a major role in victory.
The fifth-round pick from West Alabama has added a big-play dimension to the Chiefs as a throwback to a different era, a player who can do it all. Hill has evoked comparisons to Devin Hester as a returner special teams coordinator Dave Toub has declared Hill the fastest player he ever has coached and Gale Sayers as an offensive threat.
He leads the team with 12 touchdowns and has scored four different ways, the first rookie since Sayers in 1965 to have at least two rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns and punt and kick return scores. He went on a tear to help the Chiefs win the AFC West, scoring eight touchdowns since Week 12 as his offensive role increased with wide receiver Jeremy Maclin sidelined four games with a groin injury.
Hill"s highlight tapes are stunning. He"s a blur turning the corner and heading upfield against coverage units and he has enough power at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds that he can"t be tackled easily. He scored on a kickoff return, reception and run in a nationally televised Sunday night victory over the Broncos Nov. 27.
"The first time I saw him on tape I said, "Wow, this is another Devin-like player,"" said former Broncos special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis, who the Jaguars hired Friday for the same position. "He went off against us. This guy is so explosive. You"re not catching him in the open spaces."
As much as Hill"s phenomenal athletic ability is dissected (he ran a 4.24-second, 40-yard dash at his pro day) so is his past, which made him a controversial selection when the Chiefs drafted him. Hill was arrested in December 2014 while at Oklahoma State, the week after his punt return touchdown helped lift the Cowboys to a victory over rival Oklahoma. He was charged with felony domestic abuse by strangulation for attacking his girlfriend, who was eight weeks pregnant at the time. He was accused of throwing his girlfriend like a "rag doll" to the floor before putting her in a headlock and punching her in the stomach.
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy kicked Hill off the team and he eventually pleaded guilty to domestic abuse, receiving a deferred prison sentence of three years. If he completes the terms of his probation without incident, his record will be cleared. Hill was ordered to complete a domestic-abuse evaluation, an anger-management course and enroll in a batterer"s program. The district attorney consulted with the victim before reaching the plea agreement.
The more the Chiefs have won, the more the national spotlight has shined on Hill the electric player and Hill the domestic abuser. General manager John Dorsey implored fans to "trust us" after drafting Hill following a vetting that Toub said involved area scout Ryne Nutt and assistant general manager Chris Ballard. Remember, Chiefs coach Andy Reid created a home for Michael Vick with the Eagles after the quarterback did 19 months in federal prison for a dogfighting conviction.
It"s a hot-button topic in the NFL, which has been rocked by domestic violence cases since video of former Ravens running back Ray Rice slugging his then-fiancee surfaced in September 2014 and Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy was accused of beating his girlfriend. Some have suggested the only difference between Rice, who hasn"t played a down since then, and Hill is the existence of the video. Those with that view overlook the fact that Rice averaged 3.1 yards per carry in 2013 and was a declining talent at a position teams increasingly believe the scheme is more important than the talent. If Rice averaged 4.5 yards per carry in his last season, it"s likely some team would have signed him.
A lot of teams don"t want players with domestic abuse history on their rosters but there is an old adage that you don"t build a competitive roster with only choir boys. It"s interesting to juxtapose the Chiefs" selection of Hill and the Seahawks" choice of defensive end Frank Clark in the second round in 2015 against the Bears" signing of defensive end Ray McDonald in March 2015.
Clark was kicked off the team at Michigan in November 2014 after he was charged with first-degree misdemeanor domestic violence. He had 10 sacks this season. McDonald was a declining veteran when the Bears signed him to fortify the line as the team converted to a 3-4 defense. He didn"t last two months before he was released after getting in trouble again.
Perhaps it reinforces the idea that if you"re going to take a risk on a player with serious character issues, he should be a home run for the roster if he stays out of trouble. Would the Bears have been any better than the 6-10 team they were in 2015 if McDonald had been on the roster? Probably not. Hill has become an offensive player like Hester never was and he"s as dangerous as a returner. Clark is a young pass rusher for the Seahawks to build around.
It"s worth wondering if Bears general manager Ryan Pace will get an opportunity to add a player with a checkered past in the future after swinging and missing with McDonald, an addition that required the approval of Chairman George McCaskey.
The Chiefs declined to make Hill available to media on Wednesday and Thursday this week but shielding him from microphones and cameras isn"t going to make the storyline go away.
Hill wasn"t a secret coming out of West Alabama. Every team knew about him after his one season at Oklahoma State. What has been eye-opening is the way Hill has contributed on offense, something the Bears couldn"t do with Hester during his rookie season in 2006. Hill had 860 yards from scrimmage, 103 more than Hester"s career-best year on offense.
"He was a guy from the jump who was getting sprinkled in," quarterback Alex Smith said. "Going back to OTAs, everyone was aware of him from Day 1. He seemed to be making plays and never really slowed down. Never hit the wall. Then, I think a big turning point was when (Maclin) went down for those few weeks, it was kind of an opportunity for Tyreek to play a little more on all downs and not just specialty stuff. He didn"t skip a beat there. We ask a lot of him."
Hill led the NFL with a 15.2-yard average on punt returns. Hester was better than that in three seasons and the test of time isn"t one many elite returners pass.
"Some guys burn out," Toub said. "It"s a flash-in-the-pan position. Obviously, Tyreek has a long row to hoe to even talk about him in the same conversation as Devin (as a returner)."
The conversation regarding Hill is multifaceted and it"s going to remain that way whether the Chiefs keep him under wraps or not. There always is going to be a sliding scale when it comes to off-field transgressions, including domestic abuse, and what teams will tolerate and it"s based on talent. That"s what makes signing such players so polarizing.
"The good thing about tyreek is he is a legit football player," Maclin said. "You can"t take anything away from the greatest returner to play the game (in Hester), but this kid right here is special."
bmbiggs@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BradBiggs
Sam Farmer"s pick
The Steelers are hot, and they pounded the Chiefs in their last meeting. But the Chiefs play Ben Roethlisberger tough at home and they are consistent. Chiefs 23, Steelers 21.
Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-tyreek-hill-biggs-nfl-playoffs-spt-0115-20170114-column.html
