Hester is Madden's first 100-speed man

  • By TimSpot, GameSpot
  • Posted Apr 6, 2007 2:38 pm PT

Professional football players covet two things in each annual installment of Madden NFL--the cherished role of cover athlete and good in-game ratings. There is still a bit of time left until all we find out which player can boast about being on the cover, but we do know one player who is going to...

Professional football players covet two things in each annual installment of Madden NFL--the cherished role of cover athlete and good in-game ratings. There is still a bit of time left until all we find out which player can boast about being on the cover, but we do know one player who is going to be happy with at least one of his ratings.

Devin Hester, the kick returner for the Chicago Bears, is the first player in the series' history to land a perfect rating in speed. An Electronic Arts representative confirmed to GameSpot a report on ESPN.com saying that Hester was given a 100 rating in speed in the upcoming Madden NFL 08, beating the previous mark of 99 set by Deion Sanders, Charles Woodson, Randy Moss, and others.

"That's just about the best thing you could have told me," Hester told ESPN. "It's an honor. I don't know what to say, really."

Hester tore up opposing special teams last year, returning an NFL-record six kicks for touchdowns in his rookie season. For good measure, he returned the first kickoff of this year's Super Bowl for a touchdown, the first time the feat has ever been accomplished.

As for the rest of the speedster's ratings? "My defensive awareness was low--too low," Hester said, "and I definitely need to break more tackles. On a few of my returns last year I feel like I showed what I can do in that category."

308 Comments

  • Nagy0617

    Posted Aug 11, 2007 10:52 am PT

    I think Devin deserves it. Who else in NFL history has returned 7 touchdowns in a season. The answer would be nobody. It will be interesting to see if madden has Hester as a WR or a CB in the game. By the way i think in real life football Hester is gonna suck on offense

  • tnugent488

    Posted Jun 27, 2007 6:24 pm PT

    3 returns, 3 games: that's B.J. Samms of the Baltimore Ravens before his season ending injury last year. I can't wait til he gets better and puts all of these chumps (sorry, dramatic effect Hestor is good) in their collective place. We would have won thew Superbowl last year if Samms wasn't injured, every little bit counts. At least were still good enough to win this year due to our usual awesome drafting.

  • jonsta

    Posted Jun 12, 2007 11:36 am PT

    That's so kickass. If anyone deserves it, it's this guy. He is a hard-working, humble player. NFL needs more guys like these

  • Vicktimized

    Posted May 27, 2007 7:32 am PT

    Did they just make him impossible to catch? Not kicking to him!

  • Falconsfan60

    Posted May 10, 2007 7:12 am PT

    whoa! and here i thought vick could get to 99, but hester? they gotta make vick higher than 93.

  • matt_tabb48

    Posted May 2, 2007 1:19 pm PT

    Dam right that's my boy right there. he's dam good and h3ll yes he deserves getting that one. Taking over Randy Moss and everyone else who had 99 speed which is fcking incredible. Good Job Devin Hester we hope 2 see U brake some huge returning records for the Bears this season

  • shalashaska994

    Posted Apr 29, 2007 12:19 pm PT

    NJviking is one of the dumbest and ignorant people in the NFL world...all people who agree say, II

  • tH3_cH3a7_027

    Posted Apr 22, 2007 9:50 am PT

    He's still got nothin' on Prime Time. He's not even the fastest in the league, but maybe a 100 acceleration rating.

  • JoetheMoe

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 10:30 pm PT

    what's his 40 time?

  • DudeInABox

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 6:42 pm PT

    Hester is great at what he does kick returning and punts of course. so yea i suppose the 100 is prefect and he completly deserves it, but at the same time some1 can easly switch him to 1st or 2nd string at another skilled postion (cb, wr). Then thats where that 1 or 2 extra points of the 100 come into play, and then he out runs the person.... didn't think of all that did u?

  • Superbustacap

    Posted Apr 20, 2007 7:55 pm PT

    Anyone who underestimates Hester is a moron. He broke a freaking NFL record in his first season.

  • sevenrains

    Posted Apr 20, 2007 10:44 am PT

    He has the best blockers in the league

  • KINGSLIMM

    Posted Apr 20, 2007 8:30 am PT

    Madden football gets worse every year. they need to focus on making a game with less cheats and glitches. All you have to do to be a good gamer in madden is subscibe to madden authority and they will sell u the cheats and glitches and how to counter each one. That is a shame EA iuse to expect more out of this game. now its about who knows the most cheats. they should just try making a glitch free game one year and see how many more copies of madden they would sell. people would appreciate and respect the madden name more. it is a shame that they would rather sell you the cheats and glitches through Madden Authority , rather than selling you a glitch free game. some peple just want a real football simulation. dont let me get started on that NBA LIVE franchise that I used to love. now you can dunk through the back board. tony parker can push shaq under the rim. Shaq cant even hold his ground without being pushed under the rim. weight does not even seem to matter with EA. THEY had a spark when they first started,now they are just garbage.

  • KINGxZEUS

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 6:24 pm PT

    40 time and on the field speed is two different things. He had a good forty time, but great on the field speed. I dont think he should have had the 100 speed, i think the only player who should have ever had that was Neon Deon Sanders

  • gogojesuz

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 8:45 am PT

    thas not entirely tru ..cuz before MADDEN used the 1-100 scale they used 1-15 scale on madden 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 ...and JJ birden (KC chiefs) was the first player to have the highest speed which was a perfect 15 equal to the current 100

  • cdodder

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 1:13 pm PT

    verstadt said:
    "Honestly how much of a difference is there between 99 and 100. Probably not enough to be able to notice it. File this in the Lamest News Ever cabinet." The difference is only one man in around 20 years of the madden franchise has acheived this. Might not be that big a difference between 99 and 100, but you know damn well everyone is gonna fear kicking it to Hester. HaHaHa, da bears baby!!!!!! Can't wait to run all over people with hester.

  • MetalExtasy88

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 2:06 am PT

    Tedd Ginn should be the only 100. Followed by Hester and Hall at 99's. Reggie, I'll give him a 98, he's bulked up since USC.

  • DGFreak

    Posted Apr 17, 2007 11:24 pm PT

    His other stats are probably lower than they ought be; they only made them that way to keep him from being unfairly unbalanced.

  • themanster

    Posted Apr 17, 2007 5:08 pm PT

    wow that isnt that speical

  • samandtesh

    Posted Apr 17, 2007 4:21 pm PT

    Yeah, that will be crazy, but I am sure the difference in speed will not be drastic. But, with my special team skills I am sure will can use him to beat you all. LOL............. I do agree with some of the other people like champ and deangelo and another guy that is about to get drafted from a HBCU that ran a 4.2-4.1, which I am sure he is faster than Hester................

    AND TO ALL YO MIAMI HATERS, WE WILL BE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • atticusg47

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 10:38 pm PT

    in the 40 yard dash

  • atticusg47

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 10:37 pm PT

    whatever i just found it his best time was 4.27. madden your an embarrassment best time ive heard in the recent past was a 4.13 by michael bennett.

  • atticusg47

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 10:29 pm PT

    the bears suck, and yeah hes fast but he also has really good blocking on that bears team. hes nowhere near the best when it comes to making someone miss.

  • Grphq-Rbn

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 7:44 pm PT

    Sweet choice, he should be on the cover also!

  • stunna0416

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 6:32 pm PT

    all of you that say hester doesnt deserve it. yall are some haters. just because ure favorite players didnt get the 100 doesnt mean yall gotta go hatin on the man. you got to give it to him. he is fast.

  • pikachukirby

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 12:34 pm PT

    "bizuit I wonder how many morons will put him in as a qb"
    you can't put him as qb even if you wanted to

  • bagoodlewarrior

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 12:26 pm PT

    EA should go beyond 100. They did in Tiger Woods 07, like 110 or so would be nice. Just for guys with sick skills though. Like Peyton Manning's awareness would be jacked to 110. Just a thought.

  • Nismoskyline200

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 9:29 am PT

    Yeah I do agree with alot of people on the previously only being able to get 99, but he's just so fast that they needed to make it 100 to be right, and to Pyrox4414, the bears will definetly make back before the seahawks do cause if you didnt notice, the bears are switching to a shotgun style offense, so Rex will be more Comfortable thats the style offense he played back in college

  • rockybob

    Posted Apr 15, 2007 10:23 am PT

    pretty sure randy moss is faster.

  • AceCometh

    Posted Apr 14, 2007 10:44 am PT

    The Madden series has become the epitome of what the videogame industry doesn't need. Mediocre games that sell millions of copies.

  • Turisman4

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 7:16 pm PT

    Somebody tell all the Manning fans that he isn't the fastest man alive. Put him up in a 100 yard dash against a guy like Hines Ward or Rodney Harrison, and see who wins.

  • assassinX01

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 2:52 pm PT

    So what'll they do it Justin Gatlin start playin ball?

  • Gatorelk

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 9:37 am PT

    the only reason he is the first is because in previous games it wasnt even possible. 99 has always been the highest any attibute can be. if his speed is 100 shouldnt peyton manning's awareness be 100 or ed reed's awareness be 100. this is the first time 100 has been possible for anything, not the first time someone got it

  • BlueDemon3

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 6:27 am PT

    yea... thats pretty fast... maybe....

  • FRIZZ3L

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 5:12 pm PT

    Devin Hester Wat Else To Say But You Deserve iT

  • Sharvie

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 3:56 pm PT

    Awesome. That's damn fast.

  • e1337prodigy

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 9:56 am PT

    LOL. Gratz to him. He's not the only fastest player in NFL though.

  • PyroX4414

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 8:57 am PT

    Oh and coolcole, your Bears aren't getting to the Bowl again with your stank azz QB. NFC will be Seahawks this year, though I wish my Giants would do something to make me smile in this offseason...

  • PyroX4414

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 8:29 am PT

    I wish I could run like that guy. But I agree with him, speed alone doesn't get you a TD on returns, the break tackle skill rating should be really high too.

  • FortWhatever

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 6:59 am PT

    Since he is so fast they should let him do special moves that slower people can't do

  • el3fitness

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 6:43 am PT

    wow, he realy scared me with that return in the superbowl !

  • LookOutSnake

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 11:53 pm PT

    LMAO @ him saying his defensive awareness was too low. How many downs of defense did he play last year...maybe 5 the entire season? This is quite a disappointment, it proves that the Madden staff has about as much knowledge of the game as the average know-nothing fan. 100 speed for Hester? MAYBE 100 agility and 100 acceleration (which should also go to a few other players), but not 100 speed. He's not the fastest man in the league, it's all hype...I'm pretty sure there are at least 10 guys who can beat him in a straight-ahead footrace.

    It's kind of like Reggie Bush. Dude is fast, but he's not as fast as people seem to think he is. He runs in the 4.4-flat range, which is nice, but sure as hell not close to record breaking...but some of you commenting have even said he deserves 100 too. How about you actually WATCH football sometime instead of playing Madden and listening to Sean Salisbury and Michael Irvin ride Bush's jock...

    Whatever, Madden ratings can be as broken as they'd like every year, just give me back the option to alter them myself.

  • lannyboy334

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 7:25 pm PT

    100 is perfect you moron, PERFECT! That's like saying what is the difference between a 9.9 rating and a 10. Go home son.

  • biglewiss

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 6:13 pm PT

    right on

  • Dvorack

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 4:28 pm PT

    this is bullsht

  • PlayedThemAll

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 8:58 am PT

    I don't think it really matters. I find most of the madden ratings aren't that accurate compared to these players actual numbers.

  • WorstGameEver

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 6:14 am PT

    BOO THIS MAN!

  • wii-man28

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 7:48 pm PT

    why does he get it! hes fast but not break the record for the mile fast

  • cliff122316

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 6:10 pm PT

    so this means that no human can ever possibly be faster than him right?

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