updated 12:25 a.m. ET Dec. 1, 2007

CHICAGO - Go ahead and kick to Devin Hester. If he catches the ball and spies a tiny opening on a field full of swiftly moving bodies, the play could be over in a matter of seconds.

His instincts take over. Hester might cut, juke, hurdle a tackler, wait for a block or reverse fields before his speed kicks in. By then it’s too way late to catch him as he takes off like a jet rolling down the runway to reach liftoff.

Or don’t kick to him.

Squib it, pooch it, angle it or bounce it and take the chance an up man will fetch the ball on a kickoff and run about 10 yards to midfield. Or maybe the ball will roll out of bounds, travel a short distance or be placed on the 40. Whatever. The Chicago Bears will get better field position, something their erratic offense craves.

That’s the dilemma when facing Hester, who in less than two seasons has become one of the great kick returners in NFL history, a player who can have an impact even when he doesn’t touch the ball.

“It’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it from that position,” said New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, who’s in his 15th season. “He’s such a game-changer, and he’s not a starter on defense or offense. ... We’ve seen some dangerous guys in the past, but there’s no one — no one — who does what he does and makes it look so effortless.”

At age 25, Hester’s resume is bulging. This year, he has returned three punts and two kickoffs for touchdowns. In his short but spectacular career, he’s scored 10 touchdowns on conventional returns — six by carrying back a punt and four by taking a kickoff the distance.

Add in the 108-yard return of a missed field goal that stunned the Giants last season and he’s got 11 returns for scores.

Ed Degasero / AP

And don’t forget the 92-yard TD return on the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl that doesn’t count in regular-season stats. And, oh yeah, this season he also caught an 81-yard TD pass, showing why the Bears wisely decided to let him play some offense.

The Denver Broncos kicked to Hester most of the game last week and he burned them for two TDs on a 75-yard punt return and an 88-yard kickoff return, helping rally the Bears to victory.

He showed plenty of style, too. Hester hurdled fallen punter Todd Sauerbrun on the punt return and after he hit the end zone, he was going so fast he ran all the way into the tunnel the Bears use to enter the field.

And once his kickoff return was a sure TD, he emulated his mentor, Deion Sanders, by carrying the ball in one hand and putting his other hand behind his helmet in a high-stepping final few yards to the end zone.

“It’s a combination of everything that he has: the vision, the strength and then the first-step quickness and the top-end speed,” said Bears special teams coach Dave Toub. “He’ll start a return and then he has another gear. People think they have an angle on him and then they don’t. They try to and then he’s gone.”

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Pain on the skating rink, flying high on the hardwood, upsets on the football field, and more. more photos

There have been many happy returns this season: 18 kickoff returns for TDs, tying the NFL record for a single season set in 1998. And there have been 13 punt returns for scores, nine shy of the record set in 2002.

Hester’s 10 combined punt and kickoff returns for TDs are three shy of Brian Mitchell’s NFL-record 13. Mitchell got his in 223 games and 1,070 total returns. Hester has played in only 27 regular-season games and has 131 total punt and kickoff returns.

The average length of touchdown for Hester is 84.4 yards.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin wasn’t saying what he’ll do Sunday at Soldier Field. Oakland did kick to Hester earlier this month and held him to 48 yards on six combined returns while keeping him out of the end zone.

The Lions kicked to him in the first meeting this season and after he posted a franchise record 314 yards on returns, including a TD return of 97 yards on a kickoff, they kicked away from him in the second game.

“We treat every game as if the return team is going to get the ball this week. We’re hoping to get our hands on the ball a couple of times and try to go out and make plays,” Hester said this week.

“Right now we’re used to it. We already know what to expect. We know there are going to be some teams out there that aren’t going to kick it to us. And the teams that do, we want to make sure we make the best of our opportunity.”

MORE FROM NFL

NFL Section Front

Texans boot chances to beat rolling Titans   PFT: Chargers on rise in latest power rankings   PFT: Ryan thinks Patriots ‘disrespected’ Jets   PFT: Cooley probably headed for injured reserve Trash Talk: Thanksgiving games are just turkeys   PFT: Cowboys downplay Campo-Newman spat PFT: Jets say someone hacked Clowney’s Twitter account PFT: Roethlisberger ‘appears well enough’ to play PFT: Lions coach takes issue with Mangini’s comments PFT: Bills contact Cowher, who says no ... for now NFL Section Front   Add NFL headlines to your news reader: