I don't know if it was part of the game plan or just a product of the way the defense played as a whole. But Hawk seemed to be playing more pro-active than normal. I think Capers likes to keep AJ dialed back playing safe while letting other players go with more abandon. I think one of the best traits AJ has is his ability to do that. So often big plays result because the defenders were to aggressive and over pursue or get themselves in position where they almost block themselves out of plays. AJ never seems to do that.

Originally Posted by: PackFanWithTwins 

As one who has been among the most negative about him, I want to offer my praise and congrats to Hawk. I especially like the idea of an ILB blitz, and Hawk did the job in executing it.

Originally Posted by: texaspackerbacker 

"Linebackers shine: In the absence of Clay Matthews and Brad Jones, defensive coordinator Dom Capers turned A.J. Hawk loose as a pass-rusher. Hawk came flat free several times on blitzes and recorded three sacks. He was credited with 10 tackles, including five for losses. He took over for Jones as the dime linebacker and defensive signal-caller. Meanwhile, Jamari Lattimore held up well in his first NFL start, playing Jones’ spot in the base and nickel packages. He made three tackles, including two for losses. Nick Perry, despite missing part of the game because of an ankle injury, had five pressures in just 21 pass-rush attempts, according to ProFootballFocus. His strip-sack of Flacco late in the second quarter was a huge momentum play before halftime. Mike Neal couldn’t match his production from the previous week against Detroit, when he had six tackles and a sack. “I thought we were really rolling there in the beginning with Nick and Mike, and A.J., I think probably played one of his best games,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “Jamari was making plays. We had excellent push inside. It was just really a combination of everybody.”

http://espn.go.com/blog/green-bay-packers/post/_/id/2176/upon-further-review-packers-week-6 

Seems this was just a part of the defensive scheme.

There was another article(which unfortunately has already cycled thru), where Dom was saying usually the scheme calls for Hawk to stay assignment sure, making sure other players were lined up correct, while the more impact plays were designed to go to the OLBr's.

Looks like Dom switched things up this week with the absence of Mathews and Jones.

Originally Posted by: buckeyepackfan