You just know the thought process for the idiot voters was "well the stats favor AJ, but Penn State won head to head. Paul must be better!"MililaniBuckeye said:
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- Thread starter 3yardsandacloud
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Well, Hawk is a starter, and Hawk wasn't ripped to shreds by the broadcast analysts for being out of position on pass coverage numreous times like Hodge was.
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sandgk
Watson, Crick & A Twist
The other thing to note - that Hodge vs Hawk analysis from Sporting News preceded the 1st pre-season game, rather than describing their relative merits under game conditions.
Hawk will do fine. This is one of the reasons why they have pre-season games, to seperate the practice field mavens from the game-day players. I know having watched him play in Columbus for 4 years in which camp Hawk belongs, and he is solidly in the right camp.
Sporting News needs to take a chill pill.
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HabaneroBuck
Non-Nike Design
A.J. was pretty solid in coverage in college, but I don't think he's going to fulfill Packer fans' expectations. Once AJ learns his role and gets a feel for the game, he'll get himself in the right position to make some big plays...but I just don't think he's going to be the All-Pro linebacker that Spielman was (for a point of comparison). AJ does not shed blockers like Spielman did, and that's going to hinder him more in the NFL than it did in college.
I saw AJ play in HS and knew that he was an All-American at the college level (he looked good enough as a freshman and sophomore in HS to play college ball THEN). I saw him play in college and thought that he would make a "nice" NFL linebacker. Honestly, I would swap the positions of Carpenter and Hawk for where they should have been taken in the draft. I think Carpenter has All-Pro potential in the NFL. I'm just not sold that Hawk does.
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martinss01
blissfully stupid
.... so we are honestly having a conversation over an all pro te schooling a rookie lb in his first pre season game?
me thinks people are over reacting a tad here.
me thinks people are over reacting a tad here.
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AirForceBuck
No mercy
"In fact, on the third defensive play of the game, Hawk gave all those folks who were already starting to doubt his worth as the No. 5 overall pick even more ammunition, being beaten badly by Chargers All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates for a 17-yard gain. Hawk was nowhere close to Gates on the play."
Wow, this is a bunch of crap. A rookie getting beat by an all pro player in his first game is very bad?
I cant wait till Vince Young gets picked off, because he better get slammed just as much.
Anyone who buys into this BS is just as messed up in the head. Hes not going to be the next LT in his first game. He is going to have to crawl before he can walk!
VERY bad reporting.
Wow, this is a bunch of crap. A rookie getting beat by an all pro player in his first game is very bad?
I cant wait till Vince Young gets picked off, because he better get slammed just as much. Anyone who buys into this BS is just as messed up in the head. Hes not going to be the next LT in his first game. He is going to have to crawl before he can walk!
VERY bad reporting.
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rolemodel247
Senior
there has been something wierd going on. the sporting news put out two articles bashing aj. the only thing out of camp that coaches or players have said has been gushing. they plugged him in as a starter right away, didn't play him a long time in the preseason game to avoid injury. moved him into nickle so he can be on the field more. yet somehow some reporters are calling him unimpressive? and gushing about a guy who can't make the starting lineup?
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Link
[SIZE=+2]Packers still await takeoff from Hawk[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Expectations high for 5th overall pick, but LB known for steady, not spectacular, play[/SIZE]
August 16, 2006
GREEN BAY -- Drafted fifth, four spots higher than Brian Urlacher in 2000, Ohio State's A.J. Hawk arrived here with huge expectations and tiny room for error.
Wednesday, after his 22nd practice on his 20th day in training camp, Hawk found himself answering questions about a disappointing start. Observers say he has not flashed as many big plays as third-round linebacker Abdul Hodge from Iowa.
Hawk is starting on the weak side and Hodge is backing up veteran Nick Barnett in the middle. The scheme is different than it was at Ohio State and fans of the 4-12 Packers are nervous.
"It doesn't bother me," Hawk said. "I love people to expect me to do well. I know if I don't have two or three interceptions a day they might not think I'm doing great, but I think each day I feel better. All the players around me say, 'Just do your job. The play is going to come to you.' So as long as I'm doing my job I feel comfortable."
Hawk did his job so well at Ohio State that he became the highest drafted linebacker since Penn State's LaVar Arrington went No. 2 in 2000.
That doesn't matter now to a rookie learning a new system.
"In a defense like this when you first come in, communication is key. It's hard when you don't know exactly what you're doing to communicate," Hawk said. "So every day I get a little more comfortable. I think more preseason games will be a huge help for me."
The Packers have played only one exhibition, but fans here have long memories and short patience. The team's track record drafting in the top 10 is abysmal—Jamal Reynolds 10th in 2001, Terrell Buckley fifth in 1992, Tony Mandarich second in 1989, Brent Fullwood fourth in 1987. Sterling Sharpe was seventh in 1988, one exception to a disturbing rule.
All these picks are more than one regime ago, still little comfort to Hawk, general manager Ted Thompson and new coach Mike McCarthy.
Thompson has been quoted as saying he still thinks Hawk will be "a pretty good player," which of course isn't nearly good enough for a fifth pick. It didn't come out the way Thompson meant it.
Hawk has lost no confidence. He's hardly overwhelmed by big-time football.
"Obviously guys are bigger, stronger, faster, you knew that," he said. "Your angles are a little different. But when it comes down to it, it's still football. You can't get it clouded up in your mind that they can line up in a million different sets and run a million different plays. When I start to think too much and things get complicated, I try to remember that."
Hawk's forte in college was his dominant consistency more than consistent dominance. Seldom out of position, he starred because he was making good plays all the time rather than spectacular plays some of the time.
"That's what I want to do here, be a consistent player," he said. "The truth is if you're young in a defense like this sometimes they're going to get a couple of big plays on you. I just have to minimize those and forget about them. Coaches have done a good job just letting me play and fixing mistakes on the run."
The biggest difference for Hawk is in pass coverage.
"In college we were a spot dropback zone team and we don't do that at all here," he said. "I don't watch the quarterback much. I'm running with receivers all the time. I'm not in zone at all, keeping my eyes on the quarterback and breaking on the ball like we did in college. It's an adjustment, but it was expected. In college you're allowed to hit the receivers 10-12 yards down the field. That's how we made a living at Ohio State was re-routing receivers."
Packers quarterback Brett Favre said he was a little surprised Hawk is only 6 feet 1 inch, 245 pounds, not that big for a top-five linebacker. But Favre also quickly noticed: "He is all football all the time."
Hawk was so worn out from predraft workouts that he refused an invitation to go to New York and pose for the cameras along with other potential top picks. He said it isn't true that he was the only player to lift weights during the annual rookie symposium, although he admitted the workout room wasn't crowded. He and fiance Laura Quinn, sister of Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, got married in a civil ceremony in Green Bay just before training camp just to get the legalities out of the way before planning a family wedding. They didn't tell anyone and didn't think the news would get out, forgetting where they were.
Playing football is all Hawk wants to do at the moment, so he's happy whether others are or not.
"I feel good," he said. "From the first practice until now I feel a lot more comfortable, a lot better. I still have three more preseason games to get that game-type atmosphere. I felt a lot better in the San Diego game than I felt in our first scrimmage.
"I've talked to a lot of older guys and they tell me each day you're going to learn something new and you just have to minimize your mistakes and play."
[email protected]
[SIZE=+2]Packers still await takeoff from Hawk[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Expectations high for 5th overall pick, but LB known for steady, not spectacular, play[/SIZE]
August 16, 2006
GREEN BAY -- Drafted fifth, four spots higher than Brian Urlacher in 2000, Ohio State's A.J. Hawk arrived here with huge expectations and tiny room for error.
Wednesday, after his 22nd practice on his 20th day in training camp, Hawk found himself answering questions about a disappointing start. Observers say he has not flashed as many big plays as third-round linebacker Abdul Hodge from Iowa.
Hawk is starting on the weak side and Hodge is backing up veteran Nick Barnett in the middle. The scheme is different than it was at Ohio State and fans of the 4-12 Packers are nervous.
"It doesn't bother me," Hawk said. "I love people to expect me to do well. I know if I don't have two or three interceptions a day they might not think I'm doing great, but I think each day I feel better. All the players around me say, 'Just do your job. The play is going to come to you.' So as long as I'm doing my job I feel comfortable."
Hawk did his job so well at Ohio State that he became the highest drafted linebacker since Penn State's LaVar Arrington went No. 2 in 2000.
That doesn't matter now to a rookie learning a new system.
"In a defense like this when you first come in, communication is key. It's hard when you don't know exactly what you're doing to communicate," Hawk said. "So every day I get a little more comfortable. I think more preseason games will be a huge help for me."
The Packers have played only one exhibition, but fans here have long memories and short patience. The team's track record drafting in the top 10 is abysmal—Jamal Reynolds 10th in 2001, Terrell Buckley fifth in 1992, Tony Mandarich second in 1989, Brent Fullwood fourth in 1987. Sterling Sharpe was seventh in 1988, one exception to a disturbing rule.
All these picks are more than one regime ago, still little comfort to Hawk, general manager Ted Thompson and new coach Mike McCarthy.
Thompson has been quoted as saying he still thinks Hawk will be "a pretty good player," which of course isn't nearly good enough for a fifth pick. It didn't come out the way Thompson meant it.
Hawk has lost no confidence. He's hardly overwhelmed by big-time football.
"Obviously guys are bigger, stronger, faster, you knew that," he said. "Your angles are a little different. But when it comes down to it, it's still football. You can't get it clouded up in your mind that they can line up in a million different sets and run a million different plays. When I start to think too much and things get complicated, I try to remember that."
Hawk's forte in college was his dominant consistency more than consistent dominance. Seldom out of position, he starred because he was making good plays all the time rather than spectacular plays some of the time.
"That's what I want to do here, be a consistent player," he said. "The truth is if you're young in a defense like this sometimes they're going to get a couple of big plays on you. I just have to minimize those and forget about them. Coaches have done a good job just letting me play and fixing mistakes on the run."
The biggest difference for Hawk is in pass coverage.
"In college we were a spot dropback zone team and we don't do that at all here," he said. "I don't watch the quarterback much. I'm running with receivers all the time. I'm not in zone at all, keeping my eyes on the quarterback and breaking on the ball like we did in college. It's an adjustment, but it was expected. In college you're allowed to hit the receivers 10-12 yards down the field. That's how we made a living at Ohio State was re-routing receivers."
Packers quarterback Brett Favre said he was a little surprised Hawk is only 6 feet 1 inch, 245 pounds, not that big for a top-five linebacker. But Favre also quickly noticed: "He is all football all the time."
Hawk was so worn out from predraft workouts that he refused an invitation to go to New York and pose for the cameras along with other potential top picks. He said it isn't true that he was the only player to lift weights during the annual rookie symposium, although he admitted the workout room wasn't crowded. He and fiance Laura Quinn, sister of Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, got married in a civil ceremony in Green Bay just before training camp just to get the legalities out of the way before planning a family wedding. They didn't tell anyone and didn't think the news would get out, forgetting where they were.
Playing football is all Hawk wants to do at the moment, so he's happy whether others are or not.
"I feel good," he said. "From the first practice until now I feel a lot more comfortable, a lot better. I still have three more preseason games to get that game-type atmosphere. I felt a lot better in the San Diego game than I felt in our first scrimmage.
"I've talked to a lot of older guys and they tell me each day you're going to learn something new and you just have to minimize your mistakes and play."
[email protected]
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