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Mining the Gold Rush
Make or break season for Jason Hill
A post about Jason Hill and I won’t rag on him. The 49ers took Hill in last year’s NFL draft in the third round. But since the team was battling offensive problems, we didn’t get a chance to see Hill do much of anything. He had one catch last year and I don’t remember him being an impact at all.
Of course, you need to factor in the arrival or then 49er Darrell Jackson and Ashley Lelie. There was also Bryan Gilmore fighting for playing time. So with that, Jason Hill had to try to find some place to fit in. The only consistent wide out last year was Arnaz Battle, but there will be big changes for the 49ers this season.
Jackson is gone, and so is Gilmore. Enter Bryant Johnson and Isaac Bruce. With those two, along with Battle and Lelie, we see Hill once again stuck in the five-spot. Could he be the guy that will be that difference maker?
Let’s take a quick look at what he can do.
He is talented, no doubt. But I wonder how the team can use him. Remember, the team is on a very short leash. If the 49ers don’t succeed offensively, there goes Mike Nolan’s job. And with that goes a lot of his draft picks. Hill may not provide everything you want in a receiver, but he clearly has the hands to make an impact. He also can catch the short passes and along with his rather lengthy frame, go for the deep balls.
But that’s only if he can get a chance to play. Last year is no different for him this year. In most cases, you’d probably see Hill sit on the bench and rot away. But not this year. I believe that Mike Martz will find something for him. Maybe during the exhibition games we might see Hill get a lot of opportuntiies to shine.
Remember Thomas Clayton? The rookie running back from last year? He had an amazing preseason, but was put on the practice squad. Now, I don’t know what he will do this season, but he really has potential. If he doesn’t make the team again this year, I hope he finds another team maybe. I am not saying the Niners need to rid of him, but it could be something that allows him to excel. It’s going to be hard to have Gore and Foster as the 1-2 punch. Along with Michael Robinson as possibly the third down back.
But this situation may be the same for Hill. He may be left out of the blue even if he has a good preseason. He might be sent to the practice squad. Even though that isn’t likely, his position in the depth chart is difficult for him. The best hope for him is to just play hard. And if he’s good, he’ll play if not for the Niners, some other team.
But this season is going to be one of those “make or break” years for many players. Hill has that for him right now. He’s still young and maybe he has that chance to stick around. But for a team that is in desparate needs to succeed, he needs to make it or else the team will break ties with him.
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on Saturday, May 10th, 2008 at 4:12 pm and is filed under 49ers, Jason Hill, General.
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8 Responses to “Make or break season for Jason Hill”
May 10th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Kind of hard to say. He looked great at that senior bowl. But I kind of felt like if he was that good, the 9ers would of noticed that and played him alot more since they never got the kind of production they were looking for there from the other wr’s. But then again, like I said earlier, the Qb is a major part of a wr’s stats for the year. With better play at the qb position this year as we all expect coming out of Mike Martz, we should see better numbers from the wr’s so long as the pass protection is there. With that in mind, Issacc Bruce, Bryant Johnson, Arnaz Battle all improved for this year, Jason Hill better hope that Lelie doesn’t recapture anything close to what he did at Hawaii that made him a 1st rouder by Denver. I don’t see Hill over taking Johnson or Battle though. UH is my fav team which makes me a fan of Lelie by default, but ho, its gonna be a tough battle.
May 11th, 2008 at 12:08 am
Lelie to me is the more talented receiver and I think he will do so well in the Mike Martz system. With that said, Hill might get little to no time. And who knows? Rookie Josh Morgan or Robert Jordan could overtake the spot for Hill. It’s a tough battle for him. If he doesn’t impress this year, that may be it for him.
May 11th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Lelie may be “more talented” but he is not a finisher. Going back to his last year in Denver, he had an impressive number of receptions over 20 yards — and one TD. That suggests a lot of running out of bounds instead of either fighting for extra yards or an inability to “make people miss.”
I suggest that Lelie simply isn’t physical enough to be a 3-down difference maker at the NFL level. If Hill or Morgan show that they can both get deep and not be as much as a liability on crossing patterns or in the running game, Lelie is less of an asset on the roster.
May 11th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
What I like about Lelie is the fact that he can go that 20+ yards. Yeah, his inability to fight for the extra yard is a concern. However, he has the experience to make an impact as a deep threat.
But right now, Lelie has the advantage simply because he is the veteran. It’s going to take a lot for Morgan, Hill and Jordan to beat him out.
But I can sense the team will take whomever they like the most, so Lelie has to work just as hard to maintain in the depth chart
May 13th, 2008 at 5:32 am
Any update on Takeo Spikes?
May 13th, 2008 at 8:57 am
There are rumors of the Niners having interest, but to this point I have not heard anything about progress
May 15th, 2008 at 5:53 am
I heard Nolan interviewed and he was asked about Hill and why he wasn’t use more and Nolan said people forgot he was hurt a lot. A lot of little injuries but it kept him from practice and the games, but we should see a lot more of him this year.
May 15th, 2008 at 9:39 am
I wouldn’t have expected Hill to play much last year anyway with the huge load of receievers and struggling offense.
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