Originally posted by Ute66:
Which examples can you provide of him struggling as a pass blocker? Kap got sacked once with Hayne on the field because of an atrocious effort from Devey.
Its not necessarily a matter of sacks given up but rather having the right technique and awareness of what was going on out on the football field. From what I saw Hayne doesn't possess the instincts or awareness of what NFL defenses will attempt to do in a given situation. Frank Gore was a great pass blocker for so many years because his instincts were off the charts, he could see the blitzes coming and put himself in the right position to hold up pass rushers. You can be a downright s**tty pass blocker and not give up many sacks but because the RB is generally the last line of defense, that one time that you do completely whiff and the QB gets hit, those are often the kind that can knock a QB out of the game....or end their career.
49ers fans in particular have an unfortunately intimate understanding of the importance of a RB's ability to pass protect, having seen one of the greatest QB's in NFL history in Steve Young get leveled on a corner blitz where the RB whiffed and allowed Young to get crushed, ultimately being the hit that ended his career. It doesn't take much, a split second and you're done.
Its not any slight on Hayne that he's behind the curve in terms of pass blocking, you have RB's that have played their entire lives struggle in that regard but it is something that will prevent him from being a three down player in the NFL until he fully masters it. It is something that will take time and a lot of hard work on his part, we'll see how well he has improved by how willing the coaching staff is to have him playing out there on third downs.
Davis has the pedigree to be a productive player because of his performance in college, but that doesn't always translate to the NFL. Look at Trent Richardson as an example. 3rd pick overall and 3.3 career YPC.
It doesn't always translate, but it certainly helps having that background. Davis has played in a similar offense to what Kelly runs with Steve Spurrier in South Carolina, he's faced some of the best defenders in college football, quite a few that went on to the NFL, he has years of experience in pass blocking, running from both under the center and shotgun, studying various defenses and their approaches. None of that guarantees success but it certainly helps.
Looking at it objectively, do you think Hayne would be better off right now, worse off or the same if he had 3 years of playing as a RB in the SEC before making the leap to the NFL?
We will all have to wait and see how preseason pans out. Davis may get out there and kill it. It all depends on who best fits Chip's offense and you won't know until they are out on the field executing plays.
Davis might play terribly and fail to show any improvement. Hayne might come in and light up and make a tremendous impact, only time will tell but because of his background and experience, as well as draft status, I see Davis as the prohibitive favorite to backup Hyde. As far as Hayne goes, I think he has to distinguish himself on special teams as a returner to hang on. The opportunity is there for him but he has to seize it and show that he has made substantial improvement over what we saw in the regular season last year. He especially can't put the football on the ground like he did last year. Doing that with Kelly as the HC, a guy who hates anything that f**ks with his offenses ability to move the ball, will end his 49ers career in a flash.
[ Edited by Phoenix49ers on May 12, 2016 at 4:48 PM ]
Harris and Draughn
