49ers must have Hayne and Purcell
Jarryd Hayne and Mike Purcellin are ready for the 53-man roster
SANTA CLARA – Jarryd Hayne and Mike Purcell continued to make their case to be – a must have – in the 53 man roster for the San Francisco 49ers.
Hayne impressed everyone with a long run at tailback and with three consecutive punt returns against Dallas. And Purcell intercepted and rambled for the first touchdown in the 49ers’ 23-6 win on Sunday night.Playing as tail back, Hayne wound up with eight carries for 54 yards, including a 34-yard sprint through numerous Cowboys.
As a punt returner on the first half, he made a risky decision to haul the ball Willie Mays-style over one shoulder on a punt that shot over his head — but did so successfully, then sprinted left to go up the sideline for 27 yards.
On the next return, he made the first Dallas tackler miss badly before sprinting and darting past defenders for 34 yards. On the third, he sidestepped the initial defender before going for 23 yards.
2015.09.04 – The 49ers with The Hayne Plane Pre Season game
2015.09.04 – The 49ers with The Hayne Plane Pre Season game
Mike Purcell went undrafted two years ago, but this is his year. The nose tackle Purcell grabbed the pass of Cowboys backup quarterback Dustin Vaughn, broke two tackles and rambled for a 37-yard touchdown.
“How about my man, a pick six” said Jim Tomsula, “That’s as fast as I’ve seen him run.”The nose tackle spent the last two seasons on the 49ers’ practice squad, and he has become a promising young defensive lineman the 49ers must consider squeezing onto the 53-man roster in two weeks.
“By the height and the way it was rotating, I knew it was long,” Hayne said. “I said, ‘Shoot, that’s going a long way.’ I turned my back, got the read (on the ball) on the way down and put my hands out and thought it would roll off backward, because how much ground I had to cover. I just had to do my best.”
Last week, in the exhibition opener, Hayne entered at running back late in the first quarter and had a 53-yard run on his second carry.
On Sunday, he capitalized on his chances, gaining positive yards in traffic and breaking a third-and-short run for 34 yards that included an effective stiff-arm on a would-be tackler.
Hayne whose first padded NFL practice came just this month, has racked up 258 all-purpose yards. The 27-year-old rookie has probably sealed his roster spot with all the above explosive plays.
“Obviously the guy is doing really well and making a great case for himself,” Coach Tomsula said. “That’s the story. He’s never played the game and is in the conversation to make the 53 man roster. That’s the story. That speaks to who he is.”
“He’s constantly improving — he’s building a very strong resume for himself in a very short amount of time,” quarterback Colin Kaepernick said. “He’s very calm on the field and very confident in what he’s doing, and it shows.”
Colin Kaepernick, Carlos Hyde, and the first-team offense drove 51 yards on the first drive. But it ended at the Dallas 7 on a Kaepernick pass in the end zone to Torrey Smith that was knocked down by Dallas cornerback Corey White.
The 49ers settled for Phil Dawson’s 25-yard field goal, one of three 49ers field goals. Dawson also converted a 33-yarder in the second quarter, and rookie Corey Acosta made a 38-yard field goal in the third quarter.
Kaepernick left after two series. He was 2 of 5 for 13 yards and gained 9 yards on a designed run to the left.
San Francisco’s other touchdown came on special teams when Quinton Patton blocked a fourth-quarter punt and grabbed the bouncing ball in the end zone.
While Smith’s lone rap when he played for the Baltimore Ravens, was that sometimes he had trouble holding on to the ball. Not so for Hayne. He is not guaranteed to make the 53-man squad. But he is guaranteed to make the 49ers think about leaving him off the roster. If the team doesn’t sign him, do you want to see him returning punts against the 49ers?
Read more at: San Francisco 49ers Media Services / More AP NFL: www.apnews.com/tag/NFL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Francisco 49ers, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
EMI Sports Central – EMI Sports Bay Area: Join the conversation on sports news for SF Bay Area teams: Follow @EMIsports on Twitter, “Like” us on Facebook and sign up for our FREE email newsletters.