A free-agent rookie from Hawaii, Bess finishedsixth in the AFC and 10th overall in punt returns with an 11-yardaverage. He proved a significant upgrade over fellow receiver Ted GinnJr., who averaged just 7.8 yards on seven returns.
"And we haven't seen his best yet," special teams coach JohnBonamego said of Bess. "He's improved and he'll continue to improve."
A solidly built 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, Bess, 23, brings similarattributes to the job as Reggie Bush, whom Bonamego had in his lastcoaching stop at New Orleans before coming to Miami last season.
"Davone's a guy who's built low to the ground, who's got very goodinitial quickness, and he's strong," Bonamego said after one of theDolphins' final practices before their summer break. "For a guy who'snot really big, he's built more like a running back. He's not easy toknock off his feet."
Bess didn't fumble any punt returns and he employed the same surehands to catch 54 passes as a rookie - just two fewer than Ginn, theteam leader.
Asked if that surprised him, he replied, "I wouldn't say itsurprises me because I expect perfection. I'm my toughest critic. I cancontrol the situation and I'm trying to make the most of it."
That reliability is big with Bonamego, whose 10 seasons in the NFLhave been spent coaching special teams in Jacksonville (1999-2002),Green Bay (2003-05), New Orleans (2006-07) and Miami.
"There's so much at stake," Bonamego said. "We talk about it withall the guys: We're out there because the defense did its job. The nextplay can be only one of two things, either Chad Pennington taking thesnap under center or, once or twice a year when the stars align, we'regoing out to kick an extra point."
Bonamego calls returning punts "one of the hardest jobs there is infootball," and it's hard to argue. Before the ball leaves the punter'sfoot, the returner has 10 defenders running at him full speed with theintention hitting him as hard and as quickly as possible.
"I'm not worried about them," Bess said. "I'm worried about securingthe ball first, and then visualizing who's here and there. When I dropback I'm looking at the ball, and I'll take a peek for a quick secondand then my eyes are right back on the ball. That's the No. 1objective, to make sure the ball comes in clean."
Once the ball is secured, the job of getting upfield is soinstinctive that neither Bonamego nor Bess have found it instructive towatch tapes of top returners such as Bush or Chicago's Devin Hester.
"What Devin Hester can do well and Davone Bess can do well are two different things," Bonamego said.
"When I watch film it looks like they're freelancing," Bess added."It looks like they're just getting the ball and going. To be honestthat's something I need to work on - just attacking. Attack thedefenders and let my technique take over."
While every top 10 punt returner last season had a runback of 40yards or more, Bess' longest was a 27-yarder against San Francisco.Bonamego said he had two others of 20-plus yards called back bypenalties, but Bess recalled a few that he could have taken all the way.
"I was either one guy away, or two tackles away," he said. "It'sjust a situation where we all have to be on the same page. We've got tokeep working to get better."
