Jarryd Hayne

[kruddler]

I reckon this bloke should know what he is talking about so I'll go with his assessment of Hayne's prospects.

Jarryd Hayne will prove to be a nightmare for opponents asIF he finds his feet in the game, according to the NFL's director of football development Matt Birk.

For Hayne, being used as a running back, he needs to get past the line of scrimmage first. To do that he has to hope his offensive line can make a big enough hole for him to get through. If they do, like any running back, he will do well.

If they cannot make a big enough hole for him, he will struggle to pick the right gaps and get the right timing to break through the line and get into the secondary, where he will be taking on the defensive backs and linebackers mentioned in the article which he might have an advantage over.

Football is a team game. He will rarely be one-on-one in the secondary and will have up to 6 players trying to tackle him at once. Doesn't matter how big and strong you are in 1-on-1 if you face those numbers.

For any casual NFL fans out there, you may know the name Tim Tebow. If not, look it up.

He is/was a quarterback who did tremendous things out on the turf when given a go. He won the heismann trophy (MVP of all college players). He was the great white hope. 'Tebow Time' was coined and the whole world had Tebowmania. He was talked up by everyone in NFL circles.

He has been cut by 4 teams since and is currently without a team at all. Tebowmania has come from nowhere, reached the highest of heights and disappeared into obscurity in the space of 5 years.

Hayne as good as he is, hasn't got a quarter of the talent that Tebow has. Hasn't got a hundredth of the hype. Everyone needs to lower their expectations on what to expect from him.

49ers first game of the year is against my vikings. I will be watching every second of that and will be happy to report on how well he did/does if/when he actually gets out there.