LB A.J. Hawk (2x All-American, Lombardi Trophy, National Champion, Super Bowl Champion)

[Buckskin86]

Quinn, Hawk face off again
Browns QB hopes focus on football, not his sister
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Saturday, Aug 15, 2009

BEREA: The last time Brady Quinn faced A.J. Hawk, one Internet posting dubbed it the ''Laura Quinn Bowl.''

When linebacker Hawk's Ohio State Buckeyes defeated quarterback Quinn's Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-20 in the Fiesta Bowl after the 2005 season, Quinn's sister Laura was dating Hawk, her future husband. With Laura Quinn wearing a jersey that was half navy and half white, television cameras followed her every move.

Too-frequent shots of Quinn sparked impromptu and likely hangover-inducing drinking games, especially since Hawk was the game's defensive Most Valuable Player with 12 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.

Quinn hopes when his Browns open the preseason against Hawk's Green Bay Packers tonight at 8 at Lambeau Field, the focus is on football, not his sister.
''She had more air time than we did and we played in it,'' Quinn joked Wednesday of that showdown in Arizona. ''Hopefully that won't happen this time around.

''There's going to be no half-jerseys. They're married. Let's just hope she's rooting for her husband, ya know? Hopefully she's sitting inside in a box and not out in the stands.''

This time around, Hawk might not get a chance to touch Quinn.
A starting inside linebacker in the Packers' new 3-4 scheme, Hawk is under pressure to produce more big plays and might battle Brandon Chillar to retain that spot when Nick Barnett (knee) comes off the physically unable to perform list. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said some of his starters will go only 10 to 12 plays against the Browns.

Ohio.com - Quinn, Hawk face off again

 

[Buckskin86]

Insider: LBs Poppinga, Hawk shine in coverage
By Rob Demovsky ? [email protected] ? August 20, 2009

Dom Capers had to be smiling during Thursday?s night practice when he saw two of his linebackers make outstanding pass breakups while dropping into coverage.

During a team period in which the No. 1 defense worked against the scout-team offense, outside backer Brady Poppinga and inside backer A.J. Hawk defended passes on consecutive plays.

Poppinga?s came against rookie receiver JaRon Harris, who ran out an out route from the left slot. Poppinga, playing the right outside spot because Clay Matthews and Jeremy Thompson remain out due to injuries, dropped into coverage and quickly broke toward Harris. Backup quarterback Matt Flynn threw the ball perfectly to Harris? outside shoulder, but Poppinga closed in a hurry and knocked the ball away.

On the very next play, Hawk trailed tight end Devin Frischknecht on a deep route down the seam. Third-string quarterback Brian Brohm floated the ball and Hawk, with his back to the ball, threw up his hand at the last second and knocked it down.

Covering receivers and tight ends was one of the biggest question marks about this linebacking corps in the switch to the 3-4 defense under Capers but for one night at least, it wasn?t a problem.

Insider: LBs Poppinga, Hawk shine in coverage | greenbaypressgazette.com | Green Bay Press-Gazette

 

[Buckskin86]

Barnett's return likely means less playing time for Hawk
By Rob Demovsky ? [email protected] ? August 31, 2009

Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk's only work with the nickel pass defense came with the No. 2 unit during training camp at Ray Nitschke Field on Monday, Aug. 31, 2009. Jim Matthews/Press-Gazette

It?s starting to look like A.J. Hawk is going to have to accept a reduced role in the Green Bay Packers? defense.

As long as Nick Barnett?s reconstructed right knee can handle a full workload, the Packers are considering using Barnett and Brandon Chillar as the inside linebackers in the nickel defense. Such a move would cut Hawk?s snaps almost in half, considering the nickel is used every time opposing offenses line up with more than two receivers.

What?s more, it means that 3? years after making him the fifth overall pick in the draft, the Packers might be conceding that Hawk is not an every-down player. Under that plan, Hawk would remain a starter alongside Barnett but would give way to Chillar on obvious passing downs.

?Brandon?s a great player for the nickel,? Barnett said. ?It?s one of his strengths. He can cover. I?ve been playing nickel my whole career. I don?t know if it?s going to be A.J. or me, I?ll let you guys figure it out.?

Since Barnett returned to practice last week, Hawk?s snaps in the No. 1 nickel have been diminishing. They were reduced to nil on Monday, when the Packers were in pads and held their longest practice of the week. Hawk?s only nickel work came with the second team. He remained in the base defense, but Barnett and Chillar took all the nickel reps with the starting defense.

?You have two extremely athletic guys,? inside linebackers coach Winston Moss said. ?You have Chillar playing to his strength of athleticism and coverage ability that he?s very comfortable with. In Nick, you have competitiveness and great change of direction. They fit very well for what teams try to do in those sub personnel groupings.?

Barnett's return likely means less playing time for Hawk | greenbaypressgazette.com | Green Bay Press-Gazette

 

[Buckskin86]

LB Hawk doesn't see reduced role as reflection on his play

By Rob Demovsky ? [email protected] ? September 7, 2009

A.J. Hawk doesn?t believe he?s being phased out of the Green Bay Packers? defense.

He might not be thrilled about his reduced role this season in the new scheme, but he doesn?t think it?s a reflection on his abilities or his performance.

When Nick Barnett returned to game action last week after missing the first three preseason games while coming back from major knee surgery, the Packers unveiled a lineup that had Hawk in the base defense along with Barnett but not in the sub packages.

Barnett teamed with Brandon Chillar as the two inside backers in the nickel, and Barnett is expected to be the lone inside linebacker in the dime.

Coach Mike McCarthy has been non-committal about anything that is lineup specific, but the linebackers involved expect things to remain as they were late in the preseason.

Hawk spoke on Monday for the first time since it became apparent that his snaps will be reduced this season as part of the switch to the 3-4 defense.

?I wouldn?t say that it bothers me, but any time in the last three years when I came off the field ? if I came off in dime or in Hail Mary situations ? I didn?t want to come off the field,? Hawk said. ?So of course it doesn?t, um, you ask anyone in here and they don?t want to come out. I?m no different.?

In his first three NFL seasons, Hawk has been an every-down player. He was a starter from the moment he was drafted in 2006. He has played ? and started ? in all 48 regular season games the last three years. In the old 4-3 scheme under former coordinator Bob Sanders, Hawk played the weak-side spot in the base and remained on the field as one of two linebackers in the nickel.

After Barnett blew out his knee on Nov. 9 against Minnesota, Hawk moved to the middle linebacker spot in the base defense and also stayed on the field in nickel situations, but he didn?t take over Barnett?s spot as the lone linebacker in the dime defense. That role fell to Chillar and even Desmond Bishop when Chillar was injured.

?I still feel like I am (an every-down player),? Hawk said. ?But we have a lot of good players here. I obviously don?t want to come off the field ever. That?s no secret to anyone here, but I understand what we?re trying to do. We can do so many different things. Who knows what?s going to happen on game day and the rest of the year? I don?t know. I can?t control it, so when I?m in there, I just go play.?

LB Hawk doesn't see reduced role as reflection on his play | greenbaypressgazette.com | Green Bay Press-Gazette

 

[3074326]

People are making it sound like AJ is having a rough time. In reality, he's been a solid LBer (hasn't quite lived up to the draft status yet, but he hasn't hurt the team). He was better at OLB. Barnett coming back and taking time away from Hawk is no surprise; Nick Barnett is really good.

 

[brodybuck21]

People are making it sound like AJ is having a rough time. In reality, he's been a solid LBer (hasn't quite lived up to the draft status yet, but he hasn't hurt the team). He was better at OLB. Barnett coming back and taking time away from Hawk is no surprise; Nick Barnett is really good.

exactly

 

[Buckskin86]

ESPN Milwaukee Blogs
Tuesdays With Wilde: A.J. Hawk
Sep 22, 2009 -

Every Tuesday, we?ll sit down with one of the Packers players, coaches or administrators and spend some time getting a small glimpse into their lives away from football. For our second edition, linebacker A.J. Hawk talks about his Dave Matthews obsession, what it?s like to bunk with wild-and-crazy Brady Poppinga and much, much more.

I am very boring. I really don?t have any pre-game superstitions or traditions. When I was young, I always thought about having some superstition, but then I didn?t want to be stuck to one thing. I didn?t want to get on the field and go, ?Oh, I forgot to tie my left shoe first,? and then be all thrown off. So I never got into anything.

I?m not really into hard-core rock. People always think that when they see me, with the long hair. They think I?m into the crazy, death-metal thing. But I?m not into that at all. I?m a big Dave Matthews fan. He?s all over my iPod. I listen to a lot of Jimmy Buffett, Bob Marley. I?ve been to like 35 Dave Matthews shows. I started going to his concerts when I was in sixth grade. And I?ve been going anytime I can ever since. I met him ? without me being a celebrity or anything. Me, my brother and my dad went to a show when I was a freshman in high school in North Carolina, and his bus happened to be parked at our hotel, and I sat out there all day and waited for him to walk out. I got a picture with him and everything. It was cool.

My all-time favorite movie is Top Gun, for sure. That was Tom Cruise?s prime, I think. Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, all those guys. It was great. If you don?t like Top Gun, you?re not an American.

I drive a Chevy Tahoe, thanks to Bergstrom. If you go to games, you?ve probably seen the commercial me and B.J. Raji did together, the one where we?re holding up car. I know, I know. But it?s better than me just talking with a green screen behind me.

My favorite TV show is The Office. Do you watch it? If you don?t watch it, you don?t understand, I guess. It?s just the perfect combination of great writing and a full cast of actors that together are all unbelievable. You don?t have to work in an office to find it funny. But if you don?t, it makes you want to work in an office, even though the whole show is about how bad it sucks to work in an office. Everybody watches it. My whole family loves it.

I?ve been lucky with jobs. The first real job I had other than working football camps, which I grew up doing, was I was a gardener-type guy, at a place called Gourmet Gardens. It was right next to our high school, so I could just walk there after football. I would do whatever they needed ? mow the grass, plant flowers, water, everything. I don?t do too much of that right now. I still work in the yard, but I don?t know anything. I wish I still remembered all the stuff with the flowers. I?d have saved a little bit of money instead of having people come in and do it.

Growing up, my favorite team was the Bengals. I grew up about 45 minutes away from Cincinnati, so I used to go to Bengals games. I told Kevin Greene the other day that I used to watch him come into Riverfront Stadium and kill the Bengals. They were bad when I was a kid, too. They were good when I was too young to remember, when Cris Collinsworth first got there. But they had some studs. Boomer Esiason and Ickey Woods ? Boomer?s still my favorite player. I loved him. I don?t do the Ickey Shuffle though. I watched it though.

My workout routine, it?s almost like a misconception. I don?t spend hours and hours and hours on end in the weight room. I hate that. I get in there, and I get my work done. I like to be in there everyday, but for bursts. I can?t just hang out all day in there. I have some buddies who do that, and it drives me crazy.

Fans don?t know how much I like Green Bay. People don?t believe me when I say it. I was hoping I?d get drafted here, and it?s worked out for me. Obviously it?s a unique organization without an owner and having the best of the best here, but then the other side of it, too: It?s a nice place to live, it?s easy to get around, people are so nice. When I have friends and family come in, they can?t believe how genuinely nice everybody is and how they want to help you out.

540 ESPN Milwaukee

 

[Buckskin86]

A .J. Hawk LB, Green Bay: Had a team-high eight solo tackles and two assists in a 36-17 win over St. Louis.

BuckeyeXtra - NFL: How former Buckeyes fared

 

[Buckskin86]

Packers changing linebacker scheme and personnel
October 16, 2009
By Bob McGinn
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

GREEN BAY, Wis. ? The Green Bay Packers embark upon the post-bye portion of their schedule with Nick Barnett firmly positioned as their No. 1 inside linebacker.

It means the Packers are convinced that Barnett, 11 months removed from reconstructive knee surgery, doesn't have to leave the field.

It also means that A.J. Hawk, though remaining the starting "Buck" (strong-side) linebacker, will suffer a drastic reduction in playing time compared to his first three seasons. That's because Brandon Chillar, not Hawk, will be paired alongside Barnett in the nickel defense

On the depth chart, Hawk will continue to be designated as the starter in the base defense. This decision is just another tell-tale sign that he wasn't worth the No. 5 selection in the 2006 draft.

"A.J. has never lived up to expectations," a personnel director for an NFC team said. "I don't want to bang him. He's a good player. He's solid against the run and more limited against the pass. But how many 'wow' plays has he made in his career?"

Hawk made 8? of his 16? big plays (interceptions, forced fumbles, recovered fumbles, sacks) in his rookie season. Now he has gone 30 games, counting playoffs, without an interception and 32 games without a forced or recovered fumble.

His last sack came in Week 14 of 2008. He has one pass defended in the last 14 games.

Hawk played 95.3 percent of the snaps as a rookie and 92.2 percent in 2007. His load decreased to 82.8 percent a year ago, which was due in part to nagging injuries and former coordinator Bob Sanders' decision to play Chillar on some passing downs.

With two years remaining on his original contract, Hawk ranks fifth on the team in average salary at $5.8 million. Barnett is fourth at $6.57 million.

Victoria Advocate | Packers changing linebacker scheme and personnel

 

[Buckskin86]

Why Green Bay Packers LB A.J. Hawk is seeing less playing time

By Pete Dougherty ? [email protected] ? October 21, 2009

A.J. Hawk again is becoming a lost man on the Green Bay Packers? defense with Nick Barnett back to playing full-time.

Hawk, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2006 draft, has seen his role at inside linebacker diminish the last couple of games and is playing only when the Packers are in their base 3-4 alignment.

In the pass-oriented NFL, that means he?s in danger of being a bit player for the rest of 2009.

He was a bit player last week when he played only nine snaps against Detroit, raising the question that came up last year about what?s happened to the football- and workout-obsessed player General Manager Ted Thompson coveted with that premium draft pick.

Unlike last season, Hawk is healthy. Yet neither being full strength nor playing in the Packers? new 3-4 defense has done much to make him a more productive player or convince the Packers to get him on the field more.

?Yeah, he hasn?t played a whole lot the last two weeks,? coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday, ?but I don?t really think anything?s going on. I think A.J. is a solid, solid professional, just the way he goes about it. I don?t mean solid ? consistent, the way he shows up every day. He?s fun to coach. He just doesn?t have a lot of opportunities right now.?

The opportunities are down because the Packers aren?t creating ways to get Hawk on the field in his fourth NFL season. Through the first three games, he played regularly because McCarthy was limiting Barnett?s snaps while getting him acclimated to NFL play after knee-reconstruction surgery last year. Hawk played full time in the base defense and part time in the nickel as he, Barnett and Brandon Chillar rotated at the two inside linebacker positions on passing downs.

Why Green Bay Packers LB A.J. Hawk is seeing less playing time | greenbaypressgazette.com | Green Bay Press-Gazette

 

[Buckskin86]

Thursday, October 22, 2009
Hawk wants to return to Packers next season
Regardless of his current role, linebacker A.J. Hawk says he would like to remain with the Packers beyond this season.

That decision, though, almost surely will come down to whether he?s willing to take a major pay cut from the $4.1 million he?s scheduled to make in base salary next year.

Hawk, who has played only in the Packers? base defense the last two games, was on the field for only nine snaps against the Detroit Lions last week because defensive coordiator Dom Capers deployed nickel personnel most of the game.

It?s a given the Packers won?t bring back Hawk next year at that pay. They presumably would ask him to take a pay cut before releasing him, and if they do, it will be up to Hawk to accept their new offer or force them to cut him so he can sign with another club.

?I don?t know, if that happens we?ll cross that bridge when we come to it,? Hawk said of a pay cut. ?I like it here. Definitely. Regardless of how many reps I?m getting right now I still want to be here. I?d much rather be not playing as much as I?d like on a good winning team and a solid organization than starting for a team going 2-14.?

-- Pete Dougherty, [email protected]

Insiders Blog | greenbaypressgazette.com | Green Bay Press-Gazette

 

[buff2506]

he'll always be "the man" to our family. we love you aj!! the thompson family

 

[Buckskin86]

Brothers-in-law now bench warmers
Posted by Michael David Smith on October 24, 2009

College football fans will recall that when Ohio State played Notre Dame in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, the TV cameras focused, over and over again, on Laura Quinn, the sister of Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn and girlfriend of Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk. Quinn wore a half-and-half jersey to show her allegiance to both her boyfriend and her brother.

Well, now her name is Laura Hawk, and she's the wife of Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk and sister of Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn. But unlike that Fiesta Bowl, Laura doesn't have to worry about her husband sacking her brother, because neither Hawk nor Quinn gets much playing time these days.

Quinn has been warming the bench since he was replaced in the starting lineup by Derek Anderson, and Hawk -- though technically a starter -- was on the field for only nine plays in the Packers' last game.

''It's obviously not my ideal situation of what I'd want to be doing,'' Hawk said of how much he's played since being drafted fifth overall in 2006. ''Regardless of how many reps I'm getting right now, I still want to be here."

Brothers-in-law now bench warmers | ProFootballTalk.com

 

[Rookie]

I know he wants to stay in Green Bay, but I want him outta there. He's a great player/leader, the kid needs to be on the field.

 

[ulukinatme]

I seriously can't believe Green Bay wouldn't find a way to get this guy on the field...they're losin' it in the Cheese State