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Heading into the 49ers and Broncos clash on Sunday morning, it was impossible to ignore the fervour and furore that surrounded Jarryd Hayne.
He had seemingly become the one topic that all questions revolved around heading into the match – the former Parramatta Eel had become an NFL sensation.
But it took until there was only 3 minutes and 22 seconds remaining in the third quarter for him to receive his first touch, returning a punt from Spencer Lanning. The crowd at Sports Authority Field in Denver rose to their feet, awaiting a performance of footwork and finesse as defenders tried helplessly to stop the shifty speedster from Australia known as the Hayne Plane.
He received the punt… and returned it all of 12 yards.
This uneventful play was not only representative of the game itself, but of the way Hayne played. Whether it was the fact that it was the third preseason game, meaning Hayne had less of a chance to play as the starters got more reps, or whether it came down to simply not having a good outing, Hayne failed to impress as his San Francisco 49ers lost to the Denver Broncos 19-12.
Hayne finished with a punt return of 12 yards, 2 runs for 0 yards and a catch of 18 yards. He can find solace in the fact that he caught his first NFL pass, the lone bright spot in an otherwise disappointing game.
The reason the other passes thrown towards him weren’t caught were either the result of the quarterback overthrowing the ball, or the result of Hayne not being positioned properly to catch a pass.
After watching Hayne’s spectacle over the past few games, it’s clear there’s plenty of things to like. As a returner, he displays the vision to see holes and the adeptness to escape from tackles.
As a runner, he has the quickness to take off on a long run down the field. If he put a bit more weight on, he could add versatility to his ground game and start running a more ‘north-south’ downhill style as well.
But there’s also plenty of things he needs to improve. He tends to lean towards making defenders miss on the run rather than utilising his great size and just pushing them aside. In the first catch, he showed good awareness; in the final drive of the game, his inexperience was highlighted.
He stood waiting for the pass from Dylan Thompson, rather than continuing to run and trying to lose his man. The play may have called for him to run a short route and then stop, but if he wants to show he can play football at the highest level, there will be times when he needs to improvise so as to put his team in a better position. Sticking rigidly to the play when it’s not working won’t get you anywhere.
Maybe the playbook didn’t call for him to stop, and maybe he did improvise – only it didn’t work out as he planned. Maybe he ran the wrong route and thought it too late to change the play. Whatever the reason for his inability to catch the pass or for his unwillingness to try and move around, he cost the 49ers a play as he did his best ‘living statue’ impression, and got chewed out by his rookie quarterback for it.
When a rookie starts lecturing you, you know you need to learn the nuances of the game better.
If his best role is as a returner, why did 49ers coach Jim Tomsula not utilise Hayne more? His rushing numbers may be dropping, but his return numbers were only getting better. After 2 punts returned for 24 yards and a kickoff returned for 33 in his first game, he exploded against the Cowboys by returning 3 punts for a total of 84 yards and an average of 28 yards, with one punt return totalling 34 yards.
Surely the best chance to evaluate Hayne would’ve been in this third preseason game, when he’s playing against more of the competition that he will face if he makes the squad. He might be able to put up big numbers on second and third stringers, but yesterday’s game would have been a good test to see if he can hold his own against the big boys.
For now, Hayne’s latest performance hurts his chances of making the squad, as he produced little against the toughest competition he’s faced so far. But his performance needs to be put into perspective too – he didn’t have nearly as many chances last game as he did in the first two.
If the Hayne Plane wants to get soaring again, he’ll need to take off next week to make the squad.
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