Players know how much their teammates make. I can't imagine Desmond Bishop appreciating that Hawk (a second stringer) makes more than him, especially if he leads the team in tackles. There are so many variables that goes into the 53-man roster. In Hawk's case, I think you cut your losses if Smith beats him for the starting job. Maybe you try to trade him before cut down day. I can't justify hanging onto him at his salary unless he's a starter.

Originally Posted by: porky88 

I said it, I like Nick Barnett and have since the day he was drafted. Remember when he was at someones house and fell into a metal fence giving him a black eye before he even donned a Packers uniform?

It's also convenient to say you want that proven to you because so many websites have the stat "point of contact" and "point of tackle" so you can measure it up against others, lol.

I'm probably guilty of holding to high of a standard on middle/inside linebackers. The games I've seen Ray Lewis play, he seems to always knock the guy backward or they are tackled quick. Nick Barnett it seems he's out of position, not shedding blocks and gets guys from behind while they have momentum going forward and they drag him a bit. I want linebackers to make the contact, not react to it.

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool 

It wasn't my point to start with, I don't really want to take responsibility for backing up the argument.

I also feel it is fair to request that someone making an argument back it up. If they want to make the argument, they should do the work to show the numbers. In place of numbers, I see a lot of "seems like" and "looks like".

I would do the work if I was making the point.

Originally Posted by: Dexter_Sinister 

The team is on the hook for almost all of his salary even if they cut him. So you either pay him that much to be your back up or you pay him that much to play for someone else.

Originally Posted by: Stevetarded 

The latter is the right course of action. You don't just keep him for the hell of it. If he's not good enough to contribute as a starter, then I don't know how you justify keeping him. I much rather keep a developmental ILB than A.J. Hawk, at this point. The current ILBs are Des Bishop, D.J. Smith, Robert Francois, Terrell Manning, Brad Jones, and Hawk. I'm keeping the younger players that will play better on special teams (Francois and Manning) over Hawk. Not to mention the point of my first post. It's not going to sit well with Bishop if he's making less money than Hawk. He's starting and making the defensive calls, while Hawk warms the bench. That's a bad message to send, in my opinion.

Originally Posted by: porky88 

Barnett seemed to have a much better 2011 than Hawk did. Barnett had 3 INTs, one TD, 78 tackles, one forced fumble, and 3 sacks vs Hawk's 1.5 sacks, zero INTs, and 57 tackles.

I have no idea if Buffalo is 3-4 or 4-3 though.

Originally Posted by: zombieslayer 

You have no idea how Bishop will feel unless you personally know him pretty well. All indications that I've seen at this point are that Hawk is pretty well liked by his teammates. In my opinion you are grossly overstating the potential negative effect keeping him would have on Bishop's happiness and even the effect Bishop being somewhat irked would have on the overall team. Either way keeping Hawk isn't just "for the hell of it" you've already paid the man so money has zero to do with the decision. Say a LB or maybe both goes down for a significant period of time you have Brad Jones, Francois, and a rookie or you have a player who knows the D inside and out and has been a starter for like 7 years.

I think you have it backwards instead of "you don't just keep him for the hell of it" it's more like "you don't just cut him for the hell of it"

Originally Posted by: Stevetarded