I don't think the switch to 3-4 was the best thing for him. But I think he gets far less credit then he deserves. Word is also that he spent to much time and bulked up a little to much in the weight room. I also don't think he was a slow as people try to make it seam. His build and running style doesn't look fast though. Jordy has sort of been that way also, when looking at him run he doesn't look fast, but then he is running by people. Looks can often be deceiving.
you keep saying Lack of Impact. What is impact? does it have to be on a highlight or stat line to be in impact? Taking on a C so Bishop can blitz unblocked and get a sack. Bishop gets credit for making an impact play, AJ who made it possible gets none.
There have been interviews with Kevin Greene, Woodson and other defensive players. They all say, if you listen to Dom and do what he says, you will have success. When things break down it is often because somebody didn't do what they were told, they made a mistake.
AJ was making great impact, just not highlights.
Originally Posted by: PackFanWithTwins
I don't want to come across as a jerk, but it boggles my mind how often these kinds of things happen. Nobody has an ounce of trust in anything I say. Hawk was known for his lack of impact plays. That doesn't square with someone telling me I don't understand football. It squares with the opposite.
From profootballtalk.com
“His year was just quiet,” Moss said. “When he got in, there wasn’t a lot of tackle production and there weren’t interceptions so you look at his stat line and you say, ‘Well, what the hell did he do last year?’ A.J. is not a problem. A.J. is not an issue. A.J. didn’t play poorly last year.
He just didn’t make those impact plays. I’m fine with what A.J. is doing. But on the flipside of that,
you want your guys being impactful and making plays. He didn’t do it last year and I’m sure he’s not satisfied. He’s going to respond accordingly.”
The lack of impact plays was particularly noticeable in pass coverage, where Hawk declined from 10 passes defensed and three interceptions in 2010 to three passes defensed and zero interceptions in 2011. Hawk acknowledges that.
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From PackerReport.com regarding his career post-mortem:
That Hawk went so high and failed to make the associated impact falls more on Thompson than it does on Hawk. One year after the surprise of drafting Aaron Rodgers in the first round – with Brett Favre still on the roster – Thompson nabbed what
many billed as the safe pick in Hawk, which is just what the Packers got.Hawk will never be remembered for making game-changing plays or tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Because
great plays like the one against the Saints were few and far between for Hawk, he probably falls outside the top 10 or even 15 best picks in the Thompson era. (He was the highest pick Ted had and falls outside the top 15 best picks of Ted, and we've had so few blue chippers? Indicting.)
Even AJ Hawk knows he failed to live up to expectations:
“There’s obviously a million plays you’d love to have back and a couple more Super Bowl rings that I feel like we could have had while I was there,” said Hawk.
“So you never fully live up to any expectations anyone places on you or that you have on yourself, I feel like. But overall, spending nine years in Green Bay, it’s been an absolute blessing. I’m super fortunate.”
Here's one last one from one of his big fans on reddit. I just had to because this guy is a Hawk truther and typed this:
His lack of “impact” plays (INT, FF or Sack) and his troubles in coverage has led to him having a rather average looking career.
Ted Thompson sits on his hands per former GM: "because they’ve had 25 fricking years of great quarterbacks. Of course it works. Try it without a special quarterback."