What's absurd or nonsensical? I thought it was a very well argued opinion. I take it you don't actually have a reasoned argument, then?

All based on the false premise that U.S. NFL athletes are all bigger, faster, more agile, more explosive and more powerfull than Hayne which simply isn't true!

Hayne will have technicalities to master and understanding the game will be his biggest challenge but to write him off on the basis that he just won't measure up athletically is wrong.

He may have the same athletic raw materials as some NFL starters, and if he'd have been coached and honing himself athletically for the specifics of gridiron since he was 18 then he'd be on a level playing field with them, but he hasn't so he isn't. It's not about NFL players being natural athletic supermen, it's about them being gifted athletes (like Hayne) who have been specifically developed for the sport (unlike Hayne).

I suppose it's not impossible he'll make a fist of it and good luck to him for trying, but it's very, very unlikely.

Hopefully we'll get to see his NFL Draft Combine Test results to see how he matches up with other NFL guys.

His Emotional Intelligence (EQ) will be far higher than most of those he's competing against. His self management as an athlete will be in advance of theirs, his ability to handle all levels of anxiety, understand his body, diet, prehab, rehab, hydration and a multitude of psychological skills will all be an advantage to him.

Rather than being a raw athlete he is exactly the opposite and could well be ahead of many of his peers in the trials. Indeed his uniqueness due to his background could be his biggest asset.

Personally haven't a clue if he'll make it.... but I really hope he does.

As far as the comment I said about the Combine Test, imo is advantage is that is he's older than most he'll be competeing with, he's in his prime they're 22/23 fpr the most.

You've lost me with the EI bit tbh but there's no doubt he's played RL at the very top level and has all that comes with that on his side. But American Footballl is a different game, like posters before have said before and it comes down to finding him a position and him learning it.

I also think you under kind of underestimate College Football and the height it's played in the US. Huge amounts of Cash they have behind them and the quality number of athletes that leave their progammes.

Are you the same "The Avenger" who just one page back accused someone of talking out of their ?

....based on what? Emotionally he was welling up at a press conference FFS......US Football players have short careers and they are honed to play 1 position from an early age. They know what to do, how to do it and "emotions" rarely get in their way.
You base this on what? The US kids will have spent years getting themselves into peak condition in the hope of stepping up from college ball to the NFL.......they will be dedicated and well versed as to what goes into their bodies. NRL players ( the sharks) seem happy to take what's given to them.....

Utter tosh based on your opinion and nothing more.....when he goes missing, he GOES MISSING. In the NFL, there are a dozen players for each position waiting in the wings to take your spot.....getting back is rarely an option once you're out on form.

How so? He uses the "threat" of offloading to another player beside him to make space......in NFL offence tacklers don't fall for dummies.....they make hits. In defense, his technique would be useless against a bigger player.

I wish him well, but I am with those who say he'll never get a first team game over there........

Have you even got a clue what Emotional Intelligence within sport is or what an athletes EQ tells a coach about that athlete?

As for the rest , the same question

Yeah, why is Hayne's better?

Why is Haynes better than a 20 year old who's had limited experience, due to his age, in how to expertly understand how his body and mind work together in the multitude of situations that he'll experience as he reaches higher standards of sport?

If you understand it then I'm puzzled as to why you're asking that question.

But the post didn't say anything like that at all! It explained in a very reasoned way why the poster thinks Hayne personally falls short of qualities required to be an NFL starter in specified roles. It never made any wider point such as you invent at all, but then again there is no doubt whatsoever that among NFL rosters there are very many athletes bigger, faster, more agile, more explosive and more powerful than Hayne.


To suggest he may have a role in special teams in the NFL is hardly "writing him off", though, now is it?


What is it you are saying? That you think Hayne will be a starter in the NFL? Just state your point, instead of waffling on about EQ or whatever.

He falls short only in his experience and understanding of playing the game, that's a universal given. Therefore, that aside, all that's left to physically compare is athletic ability, size, weight, speed, agility, quickness, power and explosiveness.

When comparing Hayne with other 'Trial Camp' hopefuls in those categories he measures up favourably, of course they'll be some who outgun him in certain areas but therll be more who don't.

What comes next is his experience of living and working in high intensity environments such as NRL matches, SoO and Test Matches. Forget the sport, the demands Physicaly and Psychologically are very similar and coping with those demands are an acquired skill which a 20/21 year old won't have developed to the same extent that Hayne has.

Understanding how your body reacts and responds to the demands is another acquired skill which matures through experience and evolves right up to the day you retire. In that sense Hayne has years more development than some of his peers will have.

The EQ factor is massive in elite sport, nowhere more so than the NFL! Some players have great Emotional Intelligence and it is as big of an advantage as is athleticism. Some players have poor Emotional Intelligence and they will struggle to ever reach their full potential because of it, that's not to say they won't be great players just not as good as their athletic potential might have suggested.

Everything about Hayne suggests that his EQ is very very high, add to that the fact that he has had a number of years to develop that EQ within an Elite environment and the conclusion has to be that it gives him an advantage over most, not everyone but most.

I know he's got a huge challenge ahead of him, I'm not contesting that view. I know that because of his late start in the game he'll never have the time served in the game to play certain positions, im not contesting that view either.

What I'm contesting is the assertion that as an athlete he will somehow be inadequate, outmatched and under developed when compared with other Trial Camp hopefuls. I beleive his development to date, both Physicaly, Psychologically and emotionally will offer him an advantage in those disciplines.

I've seen nothing from Hayne that makes him any better in this context than any other top NRL player.

What makes you think Hayne expertly understands how his body and mind work together? Unless you've coached him for a decent period of time in the last year or 2 then you're in no real position to adequately assess him either way.
Not to mention the fact that just because he's an elite sportsman in one sport that doesn't necessarily immediately transfer to another sport in very different situations and a very different context.

You're also ignoring the size, standard and pressures of college football. The top 25 colleges bring in a revenue (from football only) of $1.2bn (£750m). That's roughly 5-6 times bigger than the NRL clubs and that's only the top 25. Oh and they play in front of average crowds of 45,000.

I read with interest your detailed post and it is just a pity you didn't respond to the Op with that instead of bagging that reasoned view as "claptrap".

I think your summary though is in danger of being a straw man. I don't think anyone is calling him "inadequate"; and he IS "underdeveloped" in many major areas, the biggest by far is failing to have many long and hard years of experience of how to play American football. That is the issue. If he was bigger, stronger or faster than any other player then that would counter his total lack of experience but he isn't. Please don't think that means he's the worst, because he won't be that either. It's just that he'd need to be better than any other of the elite NFL players who have spent years working in that sport to reach that level, to displace the best of all those as a starter.

I think you massively overplay your "EQ" point. Hayne has many fine attributes that combine to make him one mean RL player and had he been raised in the USA and worked his way through college ranks he may well have developed into a fine NFL player but that's not the issue now.
Teh issue is whether he has better attributes than those competing for a starting spot. Outmatched? Well, just to illustrate he IS well outmatched by (for example) nthe 29 year old Reggie Bush, a put returner who in one comparison was timed (whilst wearing helmet and pads and changing direction) at fully rl1 METRE PER SECOND FASTER than Hayne.rl. It's just one snapshot and it doesn't make Hayne slow - far from it - but yes he is in that comparison very considerably "outmatched".

I think people are under-estimating Hayne's chances and similarly over-estimating the NFL.

Firstly, the specialization people speak of isnt as pronounced as the say. Cornerbacks havent been specialized as CB's since they were 5 years old. Many, if not most, of the best ones will play CB and WR and a multitude of other positions all the way up through high-school. Because they are such talented athletes, and because winning is so important americans even at schools level, they will be used in the same way our best youngsters sometimes are. Just get them involved because they are so much better than their counterparts. Ryan Tannehill played mostly WR in college but is QB for the Dolphins. Julian Edelman was a QB in college who has played defence for the Patriots, and lined up at WR last night.

Secondly, NFL teams often pick athletes and find a position for them. Lawrence Okoye was a discus thrower and is with the 49ers. Basketball players, sprinters and wrestlers have made the jump.

Thirdly, sometimes thing can be learned from other sports. Personally even as a an NFL fan, it frustrates me to watch some attempts at tackling with players far too concerned with making a hit than actually bringing a player down. You see a lot of tackles broken which looked at with league eyes we would criticise the tackler for 'going high', Perhaps Hayne would take advantage of that causing a rethink in how to actually tackle.

lastly, sometimes we see, a certain naivete can be a huge plus. Jason Robinson tore up union because he didnt play like a union player. Everything union players had spent their careers learning wasnt applicable to him. he didnt run where they expected him to go, he didnt go in to contact how they expected him to. Sports, especially like the NFL, are so structured now, and so planned out that someone seeing things entirely differently gets a huge advantage, especially an athlete like Hayne. There is a chance that after seeing a 13 man NRL defensive line rushing towards him a blocked and broken NFL special teams defence looks full of huge holes to him.

Will he make it? god knows. he probably should have done it a couple of years ago to give himself the best chance but i know he is a world class athlete by any measure, i know he is a world class broken field runner and i know he is used to carrying and contact. Good Luck to him.