AJ Hawk was 2nd today with 9 tackles/3 assists..1 combo away from Woody who had 11 tackles/2 assists. Both players had a pick, with Woody taking his to the house.

I have to give AJ an A- today on his performance, he gets a deduction for the "Major facemask " penalty which looked to me like he never grabbed but just hit, but it was called, so it must be noted.

On a day where The offense had their struggles and the special teams were just terrible, the defense came up big when it had to.

Hawk was solid as usual aginst the run, and played better than average defending the pass.

His interception might be called "a gift" by some since the receiver fell down, but AJ was in position to make the tackle and did make the play. There were at least 2 other times a defender had a chance at an interception but could not finish the play.

Just a note on the game as a whole.

Packers lose the turnover battle, they lose the time of possesion battle, their run game was non-existance until the final drive.

Most Sundays that would add up to a big L, because The Lions were in town The Pack gets the win.

A win is a win, but this team needs to take a good hard look at themselves, from the coaching staff on down, the talent is there, time to show it on the field.

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Yes, it was a good game by A.J. Maybe our defensive backs could learn a thing or two by watching how he actually caught that interception.

Under previous rules, that facemask would've been a five yard penalty, but they are all 15 yarders now (making the term "major facemask" redundant, but the refs still say it anyway, maybe just because they think it sounds cool).

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People are always hating on Hawk. He's not flashy but he does what he needs to do and gets himself in position to make solid plays. Today was a testament to that. On a day when the rest of the D looked limp two vets stepped up and had very solid performances respectively. Is it too bad he isn't a Clay Matthews, yeah it is, but he put up a game today comparable to last year's D player of the year. Hawk is the definition of solid and something every team needs.

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Please change your avatar buckeyepackfan, far too distracting when I'm trying to read what you've written, and everytime I move a line down my eyes are diverted to the left and I lose my place. :P

Good news: AJ and Woodson were all over the place
Bad news: They were on the field ALL DAY LONG

I give a lower grade to AJ. say B-. He did make the tackles but he was still tentative. On one play he stood 5-6 yards away from the running back waiting for the runner to come to him while someone else came up and made the tackle.
On another play he missed the tackle and then had to hustle down field before getting the runner. Kudos for hustling, poor play for missing the tackle for what would have been a very short gain and allowing it to become a first down.

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Hawk really had his normal consistent game. The knocks on him are far greater than they need to be, only because he was picked #5. Capers once said, AJ is always where he is suppose to be and doesn't make mistakes.

While not flashy, he gets the job done better than most people want to admit. They see him diving to try and make a tackle and yell, not realizing that AJ just came across the field, and is trying to make a play because the Dline and Barnett have already missed. Normally the play goes away from AJ because he is the backside guy, and he is suppose to be more tentative in his pursuit to prevent the big cut back.

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The missed tackle I am speaking about was on HIS side of of the field. He did not have to run a long way to get there. In the 3-4 scheme it is not the job of the DL to make the tackles. Their job is to plug the holes and let the LBs/DBs make the tackles.

It is not my intent to "hate" on AJ. But if he messes up I am not going to ignore it. (Woodson and others missed plays too.)

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I saw one play where he "Missed" and he really didn't miss, he just waited on his attempt. He was setup and the RB cut outside. Many others in that situation would have thrown themselves at the RB in a bad angle and attempt. Hawk stuck with the RB and made the tackle when he had the better chance.

This was in the 1st 1/2, didn't get to see the 2nd 1/2 because my DVR went Fubar. My point though is maybe not you, but many go after Hawk because they have an image of what #5 pick is suppose to be, and Hawk doesn't match that image. Just think that image is a littel blurry.

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After watching Hawk yesterday I think I'm going to buy a Hawk jersey this year.
I don't know if it was his best game as a Packer but he impressed me enough to make me think he is stepping up his game.
He was very visible as a very solid backer.

I don't remember when in the game my miss occurred. It was against a RB. Hawk did move toward the RB and missed. Most likely because the RB broke to his right to avoid the tackle. (yes I know many times what seems to be a poor play by one team is actually a great play by the other and that could well be the case here.) AJ got up off the turf and ran him down when the RB slowed down to make his move on someone else.

Never the less he still missed a tackle. That is what he is paid to do. That and the static stand on the other play drops him from an "A" to a "B" in my opinion. What I did't mention is he may well have been doing his job on the play where he stayed in place. That gave him outside containment. But tht is just "C" quality work in my book. If you do your job and nothing more I expect that. If he keeps containment AND moves forward to get the takle for a short gain that is "A" quality work.

As for being a #5 pick, that was a very average year for draftees. I went back and looked at the players who were drafted after him to see who else GB could have taken. There was not a lot of choices out there.

Vernon Davis would have been interesting.
Perhaps Ngata at DT but they seemed to have adequate depth with Jenkins, Pickett, Corey Williamsand the back ups.
They wouldn't have gone for Cromartie with Harris and Woodson at CB.
I would rather have Davin Joseph than Colledge but GB would have had to trade down and it is possile no one was willing to make a deal with them.
GB had a need at LB. Hawk was an outstanding player in college. They had to take him.

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