Pack93z
  • Pack93z
  • Select Member Topic Starter
15 years ago
Kind of what I commented on Monday.. there was a notable difference in Hawk today verse Hawk of the last 22 games or so.. I hope it continues.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/59384197.html 

Giving Hawk his due
By Greg A. Bedard of the Journal Sentinel
Sept. 15, 2009 4:10 p.m.

Green Bay - Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk has had plenty of criticism laid at his doorstep.

Specifically in this space.

Far too often in his still-young career, Hawk has been way too tentative. For whatever reason, Hawk has preferred to play mistake-free instead of impactful. Maybe he always colored inside the lines as a kid. Who knows?

It wasn't always that way. As a rookie in 2006, Hawk played a little more free and made big plays. He played how you would expect a player taken fifth overall to play -- or at least in the ballpark.

The past two years Packers coaches have tried to turn that switch back on with Hawk.

Maybe it's starting to work.

Let it be said loud and clear (so no one thinks anybody is anti-Hawk): Hawk played very well in the season-opener against the Chicago Bears.

"I thought he played a lot more aggressive," said assistant head coach/inside linebackers Winston Moss. "He did a very good job of stepping up and making some plays that he was supposed to make."

Hawk, who had four tackles and a one for a loss, has almost always been in the right place from play to play, even though he hasn't been the quickest at reading his keys and then reacting like the elite players at linebacker are.

What the Packers want from Hawk is for him to instinctively read a play and then shoot a hole to make play. He did some of that in college and then as a rookie.

In the new 3-4 scheme, it's imperative that he do that. Against a power-running team like the Bears, he had to.

And he did.

"I think as a whole on every play against the run, he was a lot more aggressive than he's been the last three years," Moss said. "So that was extremely encouraging to see. I think he's going to be able to take a look at the film we just studied and be able to gain a lot of confidence in that he can just go ahead and trust his ability, trust the scheme and continue to go out there and make a lot of plays."

Has Hawk turned a corner? We'll have to see. When training camp started, Hawk was also very physical the first few days and was very impressive. Then, for some reason, he went back to thinking too much.

The Packers are hoping he sticks with it this time.

"I like A.J.," defensive coordinator Dom Capers said. "Everybody's thinking he was drafted high. I've seen it many times. Everybody expects a guy to have a cape on. But A.J.'s a good football player. I think he's good in the huddle. He's really done a nice just calling the plays. He had some physical plays (on Sunday night). Part of that run defense, our linebackers got to the ball pretty good."


"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
jdog2
15 years ago
I also thought he played pretty well. The whole LB group did well.
blank
Greg C.
15 years ago
I was especially happy to see him chasing receivers down the field and making a key tackle on a WR near the sideline on one play, preventing what would've been a huge gain or maybe even a TD. I would love it if my theory--that he's too musclebound and has lost his speed--proves to be wrong. Or maybe he's been locked out of the weight room long enough to lose a bit of that extra muscle mass. www.jsonline.com/sport...80772.html

On Sunday he still didn't have any big solo tackles behind the line of scrimmage, like he used to do at Ohio State, but he did everything else. I love the way the defense swarmed ballcarriers on Sunday night. Multiple tacklers. It was a lot of fun to watch, and A.J. was right there in the middle of a lot of those plays.
blank
nerdmann
15 years ago
He got ALOT of talent at LB. Thanks, TT!
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
Packers_Finland
15 years ago
Kept Olsen in check for the whole game. Awesome performance by A.J.
This is a placeholder
Patlee22
15 years ago

On Sunday he still didn't have any big solo tackles behind the line of scrimmage, like he used to do at Ohio State, but he did everything else. I love the way the defense swarmed ballcarriers on Sunday night. Multiple tacklers. It was a lot of fun to watch, and A.J. was right there in the middle of a lot of those plays.

"Greg C." wrote:


Besides the time he had to cover Greg Olsen he was always around the ball which is nice to see. I think he'll keep it up since he has to be aggressive in his new role.

I'm excited to see how this D looks against the Bengals. Carson Palmer has to face 3 3-4 defenses a year, so he has a lot of experience facing these defenses so, we'll get to see how our D matches up.
blank
TOPackerFan
15 years ago

Kept Olsen in check for the whole game. Awesome performance by A.J.

"Packers_Finland" wrote:



Pretty sure that they had Woodsonon Olsen for most of the game. Still thought AJ played well. You at least noticed him out there for a change.
Show me a good loser, I'll show you a loser - Vince
zombieslayer
15 years ago

He got ALOT of talent at LB. Thanks, Ted Thompson!

"nerdmann" wrote:



Pretty much anyone would have drafted him when we did. So not taking credit from TT, but being realistic. AJ Hawk was a no brainer. I wanted him at that pick and I'm no GM.

The one who deserves credit right now is Capers. Goes to show just how important coaching is to a player. You can have all the talent in the world but if it's not utilized correctly....
My man Donald Driver
UserPostedImage
(thanks to Pack93z for the pic)
2010 will be seen as the beginning of the new Packers dynasty. 🇹🇹 🇲🇲 🇦🇷
Packers_Finland
15 years ago

Kept Olsen in check for the whole game. Awesome performance by A.J.

"TOPackerFan" wrote:



Pretty sure that they had Woodsonon Olsen for most of the game. Still thought AJ played well. You at least noticed him out there for a change.

"Packers_Finland" wrote:



I saw Hawk lining up against him more than 5 times. Woodson still probably saw more time against him though, Hawk may have been assigned to a backfield player more often.
This is a placeholder
bozz_2006
15 years ago

He got ALOT of talent at LB. Thanks, Ted Thompson!

"zombieslayer" wrote:



Pretty much anyone would have drafted him when we did. So not taking credit from Ted Thompson, but being realistic. AJ Hawk was a no brainer. I wanted him at that pick and I'm no GM.

The one who deserves credit right now is Capers. Goes to show just how important coaching is to a player. You can have all the talent in the world but if it's not utilized correctly....

"nerdmann" wrote:



+1
UserPostedImage
Fan Shout
Zero2Cool (now) : Harrisburg Packers
Mucky Tundra (18m) : Yes
Zero2Cool (59m) : No.
dfosterf (1h) : The man carried us a lot of the time
dfosterf (1h) : I think a Kenny Clark tribute is in order
Zero2Cool (9h) : new site, text editor gooder even on phone
beast (9h) : Oh yes, sometimes they make using a cellphone tough. I just wanted to make sure it was the correct article, & thank you for pointing it out.
jdlax (11h) : I can't believe one of my teams went out and wablammo just up and acquired one of the best players in the world overnight
dfosterf (15h) : I do very much appreciate when Beast and others pick up my slack 😊
dfosterf (15h) : I accept Beast's admonishment regarding my failure to link stuff I reference. I simply never learned to link from my cell phone.
beast (16h) : That's not what your she said 😌, she said keep going 😏
Mucky Tundra (19h) : Anything over 4 hours means he needs to get to the hospital
Mucky Tundra (19h) : Someone might want to check on Hafley and make sure his erection has gone down
Zero2Cool (21h) : LaFleur texts "bleep me I cannot sit down"
Zero2Cool (21h) : YouTube has had me last hour or two lol
Mucky Tundra (21h) : Ugh this trade happened right as my shift started and it's killing me
Zero2Cool (21h) : Parsons wore 23 in high school.
Zero2Cool (22h) : Packers just cost Lions more money with Hutchinson too huh
Zero2Cool (23h) : That is fair by me.
buckeyepackfan (23h) : Kenny Clark is the player, 2 1st rnd picks
Zero2Cool (23h) : umm... what?
wpr (23h) : I am stunned
Mucky Tundra (23h) : RICKEY SCOOPS WAS RIGHT AGAIN!!!
Mucky Tundra (23h) : ITS HAPPENING
buckeyepackfan (23h) : DEAL IS DONE
buckeyepackfan (23h) : MICAH IS COMING TO GREEN BAY!!!!!!!!!
wpr (28-Aug) : Me do-ed it gooderly,
Zero2Cool (28-Aug) : Bahah, I was like WTF why isn't anyone posting on PP.com ... oops no one has permissions
dfosterf (27-Aug) : tell her I reckon
dfosterf (27-Aug) : Micah Robinson cut. Probable PS player tomorrow. Has to call mom back and t
Zero2Cool (27-Aug) : New site so much better. Might make switch and deal with it.
dfosterf (27-Aug) : Mecole Hardman to our practice squad
dfosterf (27-Aug) : Nick Nieman from Texans our 5th linebacker. Special teams signing
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : Looks like we signed Clayton Tune as QB3
wpr (27-Aug) : TKT people lose their minds over QB3. Point is almost none of them are ready that's why they are on the PS and other teams don't take them.
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : Unfortunately he doesn't seem ready to be an emergency QB.
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : As a Canadian and a follower of Canadian University football. I am rooting for him
dfosterf (27-Aug) : I bet a lot of us will follow the Taylor Elgersma journey with interest. Personally, got a Kurt Warner vibe goin' on. I like him
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : Not sure if either will be claimed though.
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : Tune or Hooker would make sense
dfosterf (27-Aug) : Clayton Tune cut by the Cards? Don't know if that's the guy, we shall see
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : Per Bill Huber, the Packers will not be bringing back Taylor Elgersma or Sean Clifford on the practice squad, so a new third quarterback
Mucky Tundra (27-Aug) : Schefter must have deleted his tweet
dfosterf (27-Aug) : Hopefully Jerry reaches under the seat cushions and ashtrays of his jet and scrapes up the 45 million apr and spares us further nonsense
dfosterf (27-Aug) : Have to admit the PO'd Cowboy fan videos would be fun to watch. Problem with draft picks is half their fanbase barely knows what that is
beast (27-Aug) : I think Cowboys fans are ready to get their pitch forks and burning sticks if Jerry were to trade Micah
dfosterf (27-Aug) : If Jerry traded Micah to GB, here in northern Va. they would have to quick build yet another data center to handle the internet hate traffic
Zero2Cool (27-Aug) : its signing and trades that you don't hear about, other then announced
Zero2Cool (27-Aug) : If you hear rumors about Packers sign or trade, won't happen. Not how they work
dfosterf (27-Aug) : 19 players in a contract year. Jones called loss to us worst loss in Cowboy history. Forget Parsons trade. Not happenin' Cap'n
Please sign in to use Fan Shout
2025 Packers Schedule
Sunday, Sep 7 @ 3:25 PM
LIONS
Thursday, Sep 11 @ 7:15 PM
COMMANDERS
Sunday, Sep 21 @ 12:00 PM
Browns
Sunday, Sep 28 @ 7:20 PM
Cowboys
Sunday, Oct 12 @ 3:25 PM
BENGALS
Sunday, Oct 19 @ 3:25 PM
Cardinals
Sunday, Oct 26 @ 7:20 PM
Steelers
Sunday, Nov 2 @ 12:00 PM
PANTHERS
Monday, Nov 10 @ 7:15 PM
EAGLES
Sunday, Nov 16 @ 12:00 PM
Giants
Sunday, Nov 23 @ 12:00 PM
VIKINGS
Thursday, Nov 27 @ 12:00 PM
Lions
Sunday, Dec 7 @ 12:00 PM
BEARS
Sunday, Dec 14 @ 3:25 PM
Broncos
Friday, Dec 19 @ 11:00 PM
Bears
Friday, Dec 26 @ 11:00 PM
RAVENS
Saturday, Jan 3 @ 11:00 PM
Vikings
Recent Topics
34m / Green Bay Packers Talk / dfosterf

2h / Green Bay Packers Talk / Mucky Tundra

3h / Green Bay Packers Talk / dfosterf

6h / Green Bay Packers Talk / wpr

19h / Green Bay Packers Talk / Zero2Cool

19h / Green Bay Packers Talk / Zero2Cool

28-Aug / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

28-Aug / Green Bay Packers Talk / wpr

28-Aug / Feedback, Suggestions and Issues / Zero2Cool

27-Aug / Fantasy Sports Talk / Zero2Cool

27-Aug / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

27-Aug / Green Bay Packers Talk / Cheesey

26-Aug / Green Bay Packers Talk / wpr

26-Aug / Green Bay Packers Talk / wpr

25-Aug / Green Bay Packers Talk / wpr

Copyright © 2006 - 2025 PackersHome.com™. All Rights Reserved.