In the few NFL games Jarryd Hayne has played in so far, he has spent more time on the sidelines than he has in the game.
In four pre-season appearances, Hayne had 25 carries for 175 yards. That gave him an astounding seven yard per carry average. He caught three passes for 35 yards, returned nine punts for a total of 163 yards and had a kick-off return of 33 yards.
Hayne led the team in both rushing yards and carries in his first two games.
Then the regular season rolled around, with the 49ers facing the Minnesota Vikings at home to start their season. Hayne was back to receive the punt… and he fumbled it.
In his very first regular season game, he muffed the punt, diving for it instead of calling for a fair catch. The Vikings recovered, and it seemed like a nightmare start for someone who’d been so promising in the pre-season.
In the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he very smartly called for a fair catch on his first possible punt return. In the third quarter, he got his opportunity, but only made seven yards on the return.
Going into the game this morning against the Arizona Cardinals, nobody really knew what to expect. Fellow running back Reggie Bush was out, injured with a calf problem. Would this injury mean that Hayne got some extra opportunities, a chance to finally prove his worth in the regular season?
No.
Much like the previous week, the 49ers got blown out, and Hayne barely took the field. On his lone opportunity on return duties, he flashed the brilliance we all saw in the pre-season. The Hayne Plane caught the punt head on, and ran it 37 yards. That 37-yard return put the 49ers into position to score.
Through three games, he’s had six carries for 16 yards – his 2.7 yards per carry average is a far cry from what he put up in the pre-season. He’s returned two punts for a total of 44 yards. His sharp drop-off in production isn’t due to a lack of work on Hayne’s part, or the fact that he’s now facing first team defences as opposed to the third string scrubs he matched up against in the pre-season.
The reason we haven’t seen him produce like we know he’s capable of is down to one man, and one man only: 49ers coach Jim Tomsula.
There will be people who will say that Hayne’s still a rookie and that he’s still unproven, that a few pre-season performances does not justify a bigger role in the offence. But there is no reason to not play Jarryd Hayne right now.
Mike Davis is not a better player than Hayne. I don’t care what he did in college – this is the NFL we’re talking about, and in the NFL, Hayne has shown more than Davis on all fronts. The pre-season may not count for anything, and the players may be playing against lesser competition, but Hayne still played out of his mind in the first four weeks before the season started and deserves a bigger role.
Hayne is better than Reggie Bush, though many would disagree. I’m still undecided on Carlos Hyde; before the season started, I also said Hayne was better than Hyde. Hyde proved me wrong in the first game, but over the last two he’s looked sluggish and ineffective. I’ll double down on my ‘Hayne trumps Hyde’ theory if the number one back doesn’t start producing.
Why Tomsula hasn’t given Hayne a chance yet is beyond my understanding. Why he keeps playing Davis, when Hayne is actually ahead of Davis on the depth chart, is unbeknownst to me. Why he refuses to allow the Hayne Plane to take off in the running game – even if he only gives him five to seven carries a game, especially when other running backs are injured – I can’t grasp.
All I know is that if Tomsula wants to keep his job, and the 49ers want to keep Hayne for the long term, they need to start winning more games. How do you win more games? You play Jarryd Hayne.
If they keep him relegated to the sidelines, the 49ers will miss out on an incredible talent, and Hayne will be taking his talent somewhere else – and I wouldn’t blame him one bit.
Jason Pollock
Roar Guru
No, my argument is based on what I explained to you. I'll repeat myself, since you only read the first two sentences. "He’s been in the league a long time, and he’s never made a single Pro Bowl or All Pro team". THAT'S what my argument is based on.
jimmy walker
Guest
So you're argument is based on who you 'like' more...Enough said.
RDG
Guest
I think you nailed it there jason with you comment 'If hayne studies the playbook a bit better" I think thats the issue and why he isn't getting enough game time. I don't think toomsula trusts havne enough yet especially with block protection can you imagine if hayne doesn't pick up a blitz and their franchise (multi million dollar) qb gets injured?? I think everyone needs to take a chill pill hayne is a work in progress, he will get more game time as he learns the playbook and trains better. I think next season he will shine and will get more opportunities and be a bigger threat. This year he will just be learning and will make a minimal impact maybe get a touchdown from a return but nothing more.
tigranes
Guest
Mundine says a lot of things...
Super-Human
Guest
......................... Well he is lucky to get a carry to be honest. A lot of third RB hardly ever touch the ball unless a game is pretty much over. 49rs season will be over soon enough, so I am sure they will give him time.
KingKongBundy
Guest
Hey fellas I saw Anthony Mundine come out today and say he is the greatest 2 code sportsman this country has ever seen and Hayne is nowhere near as good as him as a code hopper bla bla anyway I no absolutely nothing about NFL but to those who do will Jarred Hayne one day become the better 2 sport sportsman Oz has ever produced? obviously he is very early on in his move but how far do you's think he will go??? cheers
Matt
Guest
Jason What you haven't considered is how Hayne performs relative to other backs on two inter-related fronts - pass-protection and knowledge of the playbook / adjustments. While you've ranked Hayne as a "better" running back (ahead of at least Davis) this only considers performance once he physically has the ball in his hands. Given that NFL offenses (depending on the offense) pass the ball upwards of 55% + of the time; and when down by more than a couple of touchdowns, you are going to be passing the ball moreso - pass protection is a critical element of playing the position. It's difficult to tell from the tape how effective Hayne vs other running backs is in pass protection (given that we don't know the 49ers specific playbook) - and how horrible (Staley aside) the 49ers offensive line is, but this is something that the coaching staff would assess on a continuing basis and be best placed to determine. Related to this is Hayne's knowledge of the playbook and specific / situation-specific adjustments - given Hayne's relative inexperience it's something that all of the other running backs may have a leg up on him on. If these are holding true, this is probably why we aren't seeing Hayne get many snaps at running back (for now at least). If he's just then on the field in situations where he doesn't need to pass protect (which would generally see him have the ball), the defense will be quick to key in on him. The other possibility is a closer assessment of Davis. Reggie Bush is currently injured - when he returns either Hayne or Davis may not dress for any given game. We know Hayne can return punts - and can be effective once he has the ball in hand, but it could simply be a case of depth-chart positioning and wanting to see more of what Davis can do. Quality of the 49ers O-line has alot to do with the performance of the SF running backs - a good performance against the Vikings, then sub-par in the next two games (especially from a run-blocking perspective), which, as you note, Hayne has been good in space, but if there isn't any space to work in, how effective is he going to be? Equally, it's difficult to consider a back to be ineffective or sluggish when he's behind an O-line that's getting beaten badly - and certainly premature to draw conclusions to this versus Hayne's performances in either pre-season or returning punts to date. Nonetheless, it was odd the limited work Hayne actually got, given both the scoreline and the individual spark provided by the punt return. I agree - it would be good to see Hayne get say 8 - 10 snaps a game where he actually gets the ball and see what he can deliver.
Terry
Guest
reggie is overrated..he wouldn't cut it in the nrl..
no one in particular
Roar Guru
So Tomasula will put parochialism over winning and job security? yeh, ok
Jameswm
Guest
Hayne is humble.
Jason Pollock
Roar Guru
It's personal opinion. You like Reggie Bush, I don't. He's been in the league a long time, and he's never made a single Pro Bowl or All Pro team. IMO, he's not a good player.
jimmy walker
Guest
"Hayne is better than Reggie Bush, though many would disagree." Even Hayne himself would disagree! I'm as big a fan of Hayne and what he's doing in the NFL as anyone, but seriously, comments like that are just ridiculous. Especially when they are supported by zero facts. Bush has over 5000 career rushing yards...Hayne has 16. How on earth could you consider him as 'better' than Reggie?
Nate
Guest
Another article lamenting the lack of Hayne. Again, I reckon the coaches probably have a better idea of where Hayne is at than we do. That's not just Tomsula, but the offensive coaching staff as well. As I have stated previously, Hayne still has a lot to learn. The playbook, blocking assignments, precise route running, lower pad level, etc are all things that he will be working on but obviously the coaching staff don't think he is there yet. As for comments regarding Hayne being impatient with his opportunities, I think he knew what he was getting himself into and was prepared to work hard with minimal opportunities up front. That's what it is going to take. It's a brand new ball game for him, give the guy a chance!
pete bloor
Guest
Are you meaning to hit the reply button?
pete bloor
Guest
It kind of is sensationalist as assuming equal possession every player spends more time on the sideline than in the game
Terry
Guest
way I see it..American football is a very American-centric sport..don't believe all the nice things Hayne's coach and team mates are saying about him, it's all bs, they probably hate him..esp, with all the Australian media that's drawn to him..they probably going, who the f- does he think he is? walks into our sport and thinks he can dominate?..tomsula is definitely no bill parcels, he is your typical all-American boofhead coach and he aint going to make foreigner hayne a star..not on my team no sireee! this is America..land of the home-grown super atheletes..he will continue t0 roll out the rookie, unproven and work-in-progress excuses to keep him on the bench..
Jason Pollock
Roar Guru
Thankyou Parrafan and Terry. I agree - if Hayne studies the playbook a bit better, and he actually plays the amount of snaps he should be playing relative to his position on the depth chart, we might actually see him do some things. All it takes is Tomsula giving him the opportunity.
Jason Pollock
Roar Guru
Kaepernick is one of those up-and-down players - he was game manager for the 49ers in their first game, then he looked impressive (although he took 5 sacks) against Pittsburgh, then he had a nightmare day against Arizona. He's not throwing very well as you said, and it doesn't even look like he wants to throw; against Arizona yesterday, he kept running and running and running, rather than dropping back, setting his feet and throwing. I understand he's a mobile QB, and not a pocket passer, but his over reliance to run suggests that he's not even confident in his own ability to throw the football. I was very surprised he was not pulled from the game yesterday after his 4th pick, but I think that's indicative of the way this franchise feels about their QB: he can do no wrong, so we'll leave him in the game despite the fact he's playing atrociously. I've never thought Colin Kaepernick was a very good QB, and if he doesn't start playing well soon, the 49ers will have to think long and hard about their options at QB going forward. Good point about their 1st down defense - their inability to stop anyone means less opportunity to Hayne. One could guess that when Ellington comes back it would mean even less chances for Hayne. They really have to start using him more, otherwise he will just languish on the sideline. I think Hayne has made a mistake choosing San Francisco although nobody could have seen that at the start of the season. As I said in the article, I think Hayne is better than two of the running backs on the roster, and possibly better than the starting one, and it's just Tomsula's fault that he's not getting the minutes he deserves. I think Detroit would have been his best option - Ameer Abdullah, Joique Bell and Theo Roddick are even less competition than what he's up against in San Francisco. To your final point, I'm not being inflammatory, I'm merely voicing my opinion. It may not be one with which a lot of people agree, but that doesn't mean it's wrong or that I don't know anything about the NFL as some other commenters here have said. As I said in the article, Hayne is not worse than he was in the preseason - he's just not getting the chances to show his talent.
no one in particular
Roar Guru
And I have no idea how any of this is relevant to my comment
Terry
Guest
if you been watching the nfl as long as I have, it means defences and offences don't improve overnight..the 49ers will probably end the season 6-10 or if lucky 7-9 and tomsula will be looking for a job next year..they certainly aint gonna beat the packers this weekend..