A new generation of returners has reshaped the NFL

In less than two full seasons, Chicago's Devin Hester has already returned 10 punts and kickoffs for touchdowns. Rich Gabrielson/Icon SMI

RELATED • BROOKS: Five reasons kickoff returns are up • REACT: Who is the best returner of all time? • JENKINS: Ranking top 10 returners in NFL • Top 10 returners in NFL history

The NFL has been taken over by little people. They stand alone on the field, in the shadow of their own goal post, sequestered behind 10 bodyguards. The smallest measures no taller than 5 foot 6 (San Diego's Darren Sproles) and weighs no more than 175 pounds (Baltimore's Yamon Figurs). They apparently are not sturdy enough to be trusted on offense or defense. They are allowed on the field only for a handful of special plays.

But those plays are what make today's NFL worth watching. To see one of the little people backpedal toward his own end zone, pluck a ball out of the sky, run figure eights around an onrush of giants, and leave them hyperventilating in his wake, is to witness the most exciting spectacle in football. It happens about twice a weekend.

The NFL's main attraction used to be its quarterbacks and tailbacks, the guys who always had the ball in their hands. Now, the main attraction is the return men, guys who rarely have the ball in their hands. With offenses failing to solve complex defenses, the little people often make the difference. They do not need a perfect pass or a carefully cultivated game plan to score a touchdown. They just need to get the ball and run.

While teams have had difficulty identifying star quarterbacks in recent years, they have had no such issue with return men. Players once relegated to the fringes of the depth chart have become part of the mainstream: Chicago's Devin Hester, Cleveland's Josh Cribbs, Buffalo's Roscoe Parrish, the Jets' Leon Washington -- the list is 100 yards long.

Playmaker, a term overused in sports and especially in football, can refer to almost anyone outside the offensive line. But increasingly, playmaker is synonymous with return man. These little people are the ones most likely to generate a game-changing, momentum-swinging, did-you-see-that and can-you-believe-it moment.

Most teams have such a player on the roster. Those who do not are searching feverishly for one. Last year, the Miami Dolphins drafted Ted Ginn Jr. with the ninth overall pick, partly because he could catch passes, but mainly because he could return kicks.

We have entered the golden age of the kick return. This season has already seen 22 kickoff returns for touchdowns, a new record. Six of those have gone for 100 yards or more. In contrast, over the past two seasons, there were only two for 100 yards or more.

Touchdown returns have become so prevalent, even Tampa Bay got one. Micheal Spurlock went 90 yards against Atlanta on Sunday, the first time the Buccaneers returned a kickoff for a touchdown since they entered the league in 1976, a span of 1,864 kickoffs.

1 of 2