LeGere: Bitter Hester ready to face Bears

It doesn't sound as if Devin Hester misses the place he called home for the previous eight seasons.

"Sometimes things are meant for a fresh start," Hester said on a conference call from Atlanta, where he is enjoying a rebirth as a wide receiver with the Falcons. "Kind of like a relationship. Sometimes you might be fortunate when the relationship is not meant (to be) and you just move on. That's the situation I'm now in. I'm in a relationship where I'm happy now."

The implication is that Hester was not happy last season when, by mutual consent, he was dropped from his role as a backup wide receiver so he could focus on returning kicks.

He was even less happy with the interest the Bears showed in him in late February as his contract was about to expire.

"Chicago didn't offer me anything," Hester said. "They didn't call me or nothing. I didn't hear from Chicago. All I know is that they were going to go in a different direction."

In fairness to the Bears, Hester was seeking money similar to the $9 million, three-year deal the Falcons offered, and his old team wasn't about to pay that much for a return specialist.

"I just had to take it the way it was," Hester said. "It was simple. I felt they just went in a new direction, so it gave me options to go and explore and see what other teams were interested in me."

It's obvious Hester still hasn't gotten past what he considers a slight.

"If you've been with a team for a long time, it bothers you when your contract is up and the team doesn't even come to offer you anything," he said.

Now, Hester is flourishing as a wide receiver and return specialist. He's fourth in the NFL with a 14.4-yard punt-return average and eighth with a 24.2-yard kickoff-return average. In Week 3 he became the NFL's all-time leader with his 20th return touchdown, scoring on a 62-yard punt return.

Hester says he's looking forward to Sunday afternoon at the Georgia Dome when his new team and his old team match 2-3 records.

"It's going to be fun, kind of exciting," he said. "I'm so used to going against these guys in practice. It'll be the first time for me against them live. It's kind of like playing against your brother. That's the way it seems now."

Long before Hester was completely eliminated from the Bears' offense, he was gradually phased out. After career bests of 57 receptions and 757 yards in 2009, his totals dropped to 40 and 475 the next season, 26 and 369 in 2011 and 23 and 242 in '12.

What's changed since then?

"I'm pretty much the same guy," Hester said. "Just more opportunities for me, getting me in matchups. The coaches did a great job of that, finding plays that fit me and getting me out in space.

"Y'all covered me for eight years. You know if you get me out in space, I can do damage. It's a no-brainer."

It was no secret that Hester and Bears quarterback Jay Cutler were not on the same page, and that their connection deteriorated over the years.

He has a much better rapport with Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.

"He's just a great guy to lead," Hester said of Ryan. "He puts in the time before and after practice with his players; his receivers most definitely. He spends more time with them, extra time, as much as possible, even in the meeting room when we're going over plays wanting his opinion on things that we can do to make a play even better."

Hester declined to bad-mouth Cutler, but he was effusive in his praise of Ryan.

"I've got a quarterback that I'm dealing with now where I'm working out some things," Hester said. "The chemistry is great; great quarterback. Being around him, I'm just happy here."

Falcons coach Mike Smith is happy to have Hester on his team.

"Devin's a guy where, if you get him enough touches, he's gonna make some plays," Smith said. "That was really the thought process behind (signing him). Devin had a whole lot to do with it, in terms of his eagerness to come out and compete."

"We have three solid wide receivers (Julio Jones, White and Harry Douglas), and he felt very good about coming in and competing with those guys and finding a role."

Hester has found a lot of things in Atlanta that escaped him as a Bear.

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