That was pretty well known at the time Hawk was drafted that was not going to be a superstar player, but rather a reliable football player who (presumably) would be consistent with his effort.

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I'll just agree with those who've defended Hawk's play thus far this season - and I'll also agree that the whole hindsight "he's not a number 5!" complaining is pointless - strikes me as more an attempt to show off 'football smarts' than anything constructive.

Hawk is what he is - the Bart Scott comparison is a good one, BTW - he's a solid, normally-assignment-sure guy. No, he's not what he often appeared to be when he was in college, but neither are a lot of ex-Buckeye linebackers (including his ex-teammate down in Dallas), and that's just the way it is. He's also playing his role (taking on blockers to allow others to penetrate), and if he didn't the D would be faring even worse against the run.

Could he be better? Sure. He could also be a LOT worse, and I like the kid's heart.

Bottom line, we have the players we have. I get the offseason "wouldn't it be nice if we got ____________" topics, but we're in the season now and these are the players we're rolling with. I'm going to support them, because the following things will not happen: 1. We won't go back in time and choose another player at the 5th pick - that's why it's called the past. 2. We won't suddenly trade for Ray Lewis or whoever else folks might want. Won't happen.

For better or worse, these are our 2009 Green Bay Packers - cheer for them.

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I love watching Hawk blow up the lineman in the middle to collapse the pocket while others can get by for the play. That's how a "Defense" plays. Everyone has a responsibility and then they do it. Hawk is doing so much more every play because of him being more physical, no more dancing with the blockers to get around, hit them and push them somewhere they don't want to be. He is playing that role really well, plus getting tackles to boot. I don't know what more to ask of the guy at this point and happy to see him starting to play consistent football.
I compare this to how people expect Ryan Grant to be AP and make runs out of nothing. But don't tell me he isn't playing better than last year. i see the same improvement from Hawk this year.

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I'm not sure about that. There were a bunch of guys (Don Banks from SI for one) that were predicting him to be the Defensive Rookie of the Year and a perennial Pro Bowler. Hawk made a bunch of plays when he was a rookie, he just hasn't really since then.

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and also...LEAVE BRITTNEY ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!!!!

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hahaha!

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And I rest my case as the #1 complainer on this forum has put his usual knowledgable input into a subject. :icon_smile: :icon_smile: :icon_smile:

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Hawk's on pace for 100+ tackles, which he didn't get in '08 but got in '07.

I don't see what the problem is. I've seen a lot of improvement over '08. Give him time in Capers' system and he'll be better than he was in '07.

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