There are 31 other teams out there just hoping A.J. Hawk gets released next year.

The only thing the guy has done since joining The Packers is whatever he was asked to do.

The only time he somewhat complaine was when he was in on only 9 plays in a game The Packers lost.

I don't care how much A.J. Hawk makes, he is worth every penny, I laugh everytime one of these threads comes up.

Just because A.J. Hawk hasn't lived up to some peoples expectations, he is thrown under the bus whenever possible.

Led the team in tackles his rookie year, finished 2nd in tackles the next year, played through rib and groin injuries his third year when most guys would have been put on IR,let's not mention moving to middle linebacker(a position he had never played) when Barnett went out for the year.

He went through the same transition as every other defensive player did last year and IMHO played pretty damn well.

A. J. Hawk will be starting for The Packers in 2010, he will be there every game, just like the last 4 years, he will do as he is coached.

Just because he was drafted #5 and hasn't become the next LT(that would be Lawrence Taylor for those too young to remember) doesn't make him an average player or an all out bust as some have claimed the last couple of years.

Every player who is drafted by The Packers is not going to become the best at his position, I will take A.J. Hawk on my team anytime, hopefully Ted realizes how valuable he is next year when it comes to resigning him.

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Looking back at the 2006 draft, there is only one player drafted after him in the top20 or so i would say i would have taken over hawk, and that is Haloti Ngata. Hindsight being 20-20, i would say that it was a very good pick, and Hawk is getting paid fair market value among his peers.

I think the bigger issue here is the insane money that goes to the top10 picks in the draft, virtually garunteeing they will be overpaid for their level of play if they are anyone outside of Peyton Manning.

I mean really, look at these guys. Who isn't overpaid here?
1. Mario Williams, after a slot start has played great to good football, maybe overpaid for the #1 pick?
2. Reggie Bush highly overpayed
3. Vince Young, basically a bust until the last half of 09
4. D'Brickashaw Ferguson, OT on one of the best olines in football, probabbly earning his paycheck
5. AJ Hawk, Started nearly every game since being drafted, very consistant, solid player. Has a bajillion tackles
6. Vernon Davis, very slow start, bust lable on him until 09
7. Michael Huff, rumored to be on up for trade because of his high contract
8. Donte Whitner.... Who?
9. Ernie Sims, solid player, but no superstar
10. Matt Leinart still trying to fight off that bust lable, will have to see how he does in 2010
11. Jay Cutler, we know the story here
12. Haloti Ngata, Pro-Bowl/All Pro NT, this is about the only guy picked below hawk who is head-and-shoulders better than him

etc....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_NFL_Draft 

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If you remember that draft Ted was on the phone discussing trading down and took the full 15 minutes. He did not get enough offered to trade down.

Look at that first round:

1 Mario Williams DE North Carolina State Houston Texans
2 Reggie Bush RB USC New Orleans Saints
3 Vince Young QB Texas Tennessee Titans
4 D'Brickashaw Ferguson T Virginia New York Jets
5 A.J. Hawk OLB Ohio State Green Bay Packers
6 Vernon Davis TE Maryland San Francisco 49ers
7 Michael Huff SS Texas Oakland Raiders
8 Donte Whitner SS Ohio State Buffalo Bills
9 Ernie Sims OLB Florida State Detroit Lions
10 Matt Leinart QB USC Arizona Cardinals
11 Jay Cutler QB Vanderbilt Denver Broncos
12 Haloti Ngata DT Oregon Baltimore Ravens
13 Kamerion Wimbley OLB Florida State Cleveland Browns
14 Brodrick Bunkley DT Florida State Philadelphia Eagles
15 Tye Hill CB Clemson St. Louis Rams
16 Jason Allen DB Tennessee Miami Dolphins
17 Chad Greenway LB Iowa Minnesota Vikings
18 Bobby Carpenter LB Ohio State Dallas Cowboys
19 Antonio Cromartie CB Florida State San Diego Chargers
20 Tamba Hali DE Penn State Kansas City Chiefs
21 Laurence Maroney RB Minnesota New England Patriots
22 Manny Lawson OLB North Carolina State San Francisco 49ers
23 Davin Joseph G Oklahoma Tampa Bay Buccaneers
24 Johnathan Joseph CB South Carolina Cincinnati Bengals
25 Santonio Holmes WR Ohio State Pittsburgh Steelers
26 John McCargo DT North Carolina State Buffalo Bills
27 DeAngelo Williams RB Memphis Carolina Panthers
28 Marcedes Lewis TE UCLA Jacksonville Jaguars
29 Nick Mangold C Ohio State New York Jets
30 Joseph Addai RB Louisiana State Indianapolis Colts
31 Kelly Jennings CB Miami (Fla.) Seattle Seahawks
32 Mathias Kiwanuka


None of them have become very big players in the NFL.

Had he traded down would he have gotten Cutler or Ngata??

Hawk is paid what his draft position dictated. It wasn'ta great class for 1st round picks.

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Point taken. Good point also,and that's one thing that puzzles me, the Packers seem to be very high on Moss and I don't feel that our LB play has been as good as it should have based on 2 first round draft choices and now 3 at that position. Maybe Dom will get involved and make it better.

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It is pretty obvious that packer fans don't vote for Hawk to go to the Pro Bowl, because is seems like nobody likes him. So getting the alternate bid must be from those that actually know what to look for.

Hawk is the work horse, he takes on block for others. There is one play I can remember clearly. It was a sweep play where the other team had three guys leading it. Hawk was first to the point and dives in a takes out 2 of the blockers allowing Barnett an angle to make the tackle.

Often people see Hawk diving from behind at a RB and say how bad he is, what they are not seeing is that almost every time, that dive is on the opposite side of the field. Which means that if he is making or attempting the tackle there are a few more that messed up more than Hawk. But he gets the attention.

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I have been critical of Hawk... it isn't because I don't like him, that I am not fair to him or that I fail to see it.

My one and only knock on the kid is that he plays tentatively. As the years progressed it has gotten worse not better.. maybe it is a lack of confidence, maybe he thinks he can't make a mistake... whatever the reason he hasn't been decisive in his reads or won't allow those instincts bleed through that we seen at OSU.

Or maybe the jump in competition makes him appear to be lethargic compared to his college days.

Some have covered it with he lifted to many weights and became muscle bound.. some have said the system... etc..

In my eyes he played a touch better 09' than in 08' or 07'... and I am hoping for more in 10'..

Watch him play though.. really watch 07 and 08 tape and you will see that he is sitting on his heals waiting for a half beat to full beat longer than he should.. like he is over thinking the play and not letting his nose smell it out. This causes him to get engaged a yard or two too deep on plays and by the time he can get off the play it is behind him already.

I don't disagree he takes on a block a hell of a lot better than Barnett... but I will say Bishop is better at this point in taking on the block and in the run support role.. But Hawk is the more complete player than Bishop..

Go back through my rants on this guy... and the majority of my frustration is just that.. he isn't the instinctive force he was in college.. that doesn't make him a bad NFL player.. just a player not playing up to his potential in my eyes.

Been my knock since mid 07' when I start to notice the pattern change from 06 into the 07 season.. which is that indecisiveness he picked up in his game.

BTW... time and time again I have placed the majority of the blame of his regression on Moss.. and I still hold that opinion.. hence why I hoped he was hired away or got the hook with the rest of the defensive core. Nothing against him, thought he was a hell of a player, just think the backers under his direction regressed in his tenure.

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Just imagine how our OLine situation might be had we had snagged D'Brickashaw Ferguson instead of him going to the Jets one pick earlier. And he has the weirdest/coolest first name in sports. Ah well.

And kudos to the Texans. They got so much crap for passing on Reggie Bush, yet made a good call in the end.

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Stupid to look over things like that in hindsight. We had no OL problems then, Clifton and Tauscher still had years in them, and they were really good. And if we hadn't drafted AJ, we would've sucked at OLB pretty hard for a couple of years.

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It seemed opposite of that last year. Barnett was slipping past blockers while Hawk would just get blown up most of the time.

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Whoa, calm down kid 🙂 I'm just saying.

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