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Deety
Head Coach
He'll be fantastic, no doubts here. :)Hello All,
I'm new to the forum I'm a Green Bay Packer fan. As you know the Packers Drafted A.J. Hawk with their fifth overall pick this year in the draft. I watched their scrimmage the other night and AJ Didn't really jump out at me. I'm sure you guys get this question a lot but here goes How do you think A.J. Hawk will do as a pro football player? You guys know a hell of a lot more about him then I do. Thanks for reading my first post let me know what you think I will be glad to hear any more info I can get about AJ. Also the guy seems real classy saying how he hoped he was a packer and all that, but anyway I have rambled on. Best of wishes to Ohio State this year
The scrimmage wasn't exactly the best chance to judge A.J. as a player for a few reasons. Keep in mind that he missed some valuable camp time finishing classes. And this may sound odd, but there was definitely a difference between the way he moved around the field between plays, more slowly and deliberately than the swagger we usually see, as though he were concentrating on the last play. (Warned you that it sounds pretty strange, but that's the stuff I notice.) My guess is that he's still in the process of moving everything into muscle memory, and it was slowing him down just a touch. Didn't seem a major issue, but you'll see a difference very soon IMO.
The linebackers as a unit also caught my attention. That was a very cohesive group at OSU, and I didn't see that sort of connection at the scrimmage. A.J.'s leadership traits are part of what makes him an extraordinary player, and those will take just a bit of time to emerge in a new situation. I fully expect him to have a positive impact on the way the defense works as a whole before much time passes.
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Kingkoopa, he has the potential to be the best you ever had. And, yes, I know exactly who that means he would be better than.
A.J. Hawk is the real deal.
A.J. Hawk is the real deal.
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Link
Rookie Hodge in the forefront at linebacker
The Associated Press
GREEN BAY, Wis. — A.J. Hawk arrived in Green Bay with the fanfare of being a top-five draft pick and high expectations that he'll be an immediate difference-maker on defense for the Packers.
Yet, another rookie linebacker out of a Big Ten Conference school, Abdul Hodge, has been the bigger playmaker early in training camp.
"(Number) 55 was in there a bunch," head coach Mike McCarthy said after the Packers' Family Night scrimmage Saturday before a full house at Lambeau Field.
Hodge led the defense with nine tackles, including five of his own doing.
The coming-out performance — albeit in a practice setting — for the NFL newcomer surprised neither the man who drafted Hodge out of Iowa in April nor the teammate who reaped much of the attention on draft weekend.
"He looks just like he did at Iowa — running around and making tackles," general manager Ted Thompson said Monday.
Said Hawk, a former rival at Ohio State: "I've seen him do that for a while now. I expected him to play like that."
Hodge was the ninth linebacker taken in this year's draft, going early in the third round with the 67th overall pick.
His transition to Green Bay, though, was overshadowed by the Packers' selection of Hawk with the fifth choice in Round 1.
Hawk was the first linebacker drafted in the top five since Washington grabbed LaVar Arrington at No. 2 in 2000.
The Packers instantly anointed Hawk their starter at weak-side linebacker. They paired him with middle linebacker Nick Barnett, their first-round draft pick in 2003, to form what they anticipated would be a dynamic duo for seasons to come.
However, Hawk, who missed the opening night of training camp July 28 before signing his contract, has been ordinary in the first week and a half of practices.
Hodge, on the other hand, has been the irresistible enforcer. He's been throwing aside blockers and chasing down ball carriers from sideline to sideline and he even knocked undrafted rookie running back Arliss Beach out of practice for most of last week with a concussion in a blitz-pickup drill.
"I think so," defensive end Aaron Kampman said Monday when asked if his fellow Iowa product is the real deal. "I say you measure a football player by his production. You can run him in a 40(-yard dash) and you can do this and you can do that, but in the end, what kind of football player are you? I think he's definitely a football player."
The irony is Hodge is a player without a prominent position on the team. He's No. 2 on the depth chart at middle linebacker, shadowing Barnett.
Hodge said the new coaching staff contemplated moving him to strong-side linebacker in the May minicamps, but the rookie stayed put at his natural spot in the middle, where he started 37 games over his last three years at Iowa.
Hodge is content with the reserve role for now but acknowledged in the afterglow of his superb showing Saturday that he's hungry for a starting job.
"I believe that if I keep doing what I'm doing and continue to make plays and fly around and get to the ball, they'll find a place for me," he said.
Hodge demonstrated in the scrimmage that he's at his best stopping the run.
Playing against the No. 1 offense, Hodge wrapped up Samkon Gado for only a 1-yard gain on third-and-2 in the opening series.
"He played well against the run," defensive coordinator Bob Sanders said after watching the tape of the scrimmage. "(But) he has to shore up his matchups a little bit more in the passing game."
On one pass play later in the scrimmage, Hodge was too overzealous for his own good. He stopped Gado for no gain but ripped him out of bounds with a horse-collar tackle from behind, drawing a 15-yard penalty.
Hodge admitted two days later his performance Saturday was far from polished.
"I'm a hard critic on myself. So, looking at the film and going back to the scrimmage, there's a lot of things I should have done better," he said.
Given the success Hodge had at middle linebacker in college — he led the Big Ten with an average of 13.2 tackles per game in 2005 — there's speculation that the Packers would get him in the starting lineup by moving Barnett to the outside. Free-agent signee Ben Taylor is presently the starter on the strong side.
Barnett started at strong-side linebacker at Oregon State before the Packers moved him inside to fill a void at the start of his rookie season.
Barnett on Monday reiterated comments he made earlier in training camp that he's not in favor of changing positions.
"Honestly, I'm not moving out of the middle," Barnett said. "If they decide to move me, they decide to move me. (But) there's going to be another discussion along with that as well."
Sanders said he and McCarthy haven't ruled out revamping the linebacker assignments, especially if Hodge continues to be the standout among the group.
"We'll play the best guys that we have, and if (Hodge) happens to be one of the best guys, we'll play him. If that means playing him at middle, that's fine," said Thompson, adding, "I'm not suggesting we're moving anybody."
Rookie Hodge in the forefront at linebacker
The Associated Press
GREEN BAY, Wis. — A.J. Hawk arrived in Green Bay with the fanfare of being a top-five draft pick and high expectations that he'll be an immediate difference-maker on defense for the Packers.
Yet, another rookie linebacker out of a Big Ten Conference school, Abdul Hodge, has been the bigger playmaker early in training camp.
"(Number) 55 was in there a bunch," head coach Mike McCarthy said after the Packers' Family Night scrimmage Saturday before a full house at Lambeau Field.
Hodge led the defense with nine tackles, including five of his own doing.
The coming-out performance — albeit in a practice setting — for the NFL newcomer surprised neither the man who drafted Hodge out of Iowa in April nor the teammate who reaped much of the attention on draft weekend.
"He looks just like he did at Iowa — running around and making tackles," general manager Ted Thompson said Monday.
Said Hawk, a former rival at Ohio State: "I've seen him do that for a while now. I expected him to play like that."
Hodge was the ninth linebacker taken in this year's draft, going early in the third round with the 67th overall pick.
His transition to Green Bay, though, was overshadowed by the Packers' selection of Hawk with the fifth choice in Round 1.
Hawk was the first linebacker drafted in the top five since Washington grabbed LaVar Arrington at No. 2 in 2000.
The Packers instantly anointed Hawk their starter at weak-side linebacker. They paired him with middle linebacker Nick Barnett, their first-round draft pick in 2003, to form what they anticipated would be a dynamic duo for seasons to come.
However, Hawk, who missed the opening night of training camp July 28 before signing his contract, has been ordinary in the first week and a half of practices.
Hodge, on the other hand, has been the irresistible enforcer. He's been throwing aside blockers and chasing down ball carriers from sideline to sideline and he even knocked undrafted rookie running back Arliss Beach out of practice for most of last week with a concussion in a blitz-pickup drill.
"I think so," defensive end Aaron Kampman said Monday when asked if his fellow Iowa product is the real deal. "I say you measure a football player by his production. You can run him in a 40(-yard dash) and you can do this and you can do that, but in the end, what kind of football player are you? I think he's definitely a football player."
The irony is Hodge is a player without a prominent position on the team. He's No. 2 on the depth chart at middle linebacker, shadowing Barnett.
Hodge said the new coaching staff contemplated moving him to strong-side linebacker in the May minicamps, but the rookie stayed put at his natural spot in the middle, where he started 37 games over his last three years at Iowa.
Hodge is content with the reserve role for now but acknowledged in the afterglow of his superb showing Saturday that he's hungry for a starting job.
"I believe that if I keep doing what I'm doing and continue to make plays and fly around and get to the ball, they'll find a place for me," he said.
Hodge demonstrated in the scrimmage that he's at his best stopping the run.
Playing against the No. 1 offense, Hodge wrapped up Samkon Gado for only a 1-yard gain on third-and-2 in the opening series.
"He played well against the run," defensive coordinator Bob Sanders said after watching the tape of the scrimmage. "(But) he has to shore up his matchups a little bit more in the passing game."
On one pass play later in the scrimmage, Hodge was too overzealous for his own good. He stopped Gado for no gain but ripped him out of bounds with a horse-collar tackle from behind, drawing a 15-yard penalty.
Hodge admitted two days later his performance Saturday was far from polished.
"I'm a hard critic on myself. So, looking at the film and going back to the scrimmage, there's a lot of things I should have done better," he said.
Given the success Hodge had at middle linebacker in college — he led the Big Ten with an average of 13.2 tackles per game in 2005 — there's speculation that the Packers would get him in the starting lineup by moving Barnett to the outside. Free-agent signee Ben Taylor is presently the starter on the strong side.
Barnett started at strong-side linebacker at Oregon State before the Packers moved him inside to fill a void at the start of his rookie season.
Barnett on Monday reiterated comments he made earlier in training camp that he's not in favor of changing positions.
"Honestly, I'm not moving out of the middle," Barnett said. "If they decide to move me, they decide to move me. (But) there's going to be another discussion along with that as well."
Sanders said he and McCarthy haven't ruled out revamping the linebacker assignments, especially if Hodge continues to be the standout among the group.
"We'll play the best guys that we have, and if (Hodge) happens to be one of the best guys, we'll play him. If that means playing him at middle, that's fine," said Thompson, adding, "I'm not suggesting we're moving anybody."
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Hodge will make a ton of routine plays - very solid and steady, but not spectacular; perfect MLB mentality.
Hawk is a game-breaker with tremendous athleticism, like LaVar Arrington without the attitude; he could be a great one.
Hawk is a game-breaker with tremendous athleticism, like LaVar Arrington without the attitude; he could be a great one.
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lovin_bobby42
Senior
Can somebody grab AJ's stats for 2005 for me please? The official OSU page is not updated for his Senior year... THANKS
PS... I apologize if this has already been discussed but I can't possibly go through all the posts of this thread. Thanks again
PS... I apologize if this has already been discussed but I can't possibly go through all the posts of this thread. Thanks again
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Can somebody grab AJ's stats for 2005 for me please? The official OSU page is not updated for his Senior year... THANKS
PS... I apologize if this has already been discussed but I can't possibly go through all the posts of this thread. Thanks again
121 total tackles (69 solo, 52 assists, including 18 TFL and 10 sacks).
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Regular season (pre-bowl) stats:
A.J. Hawk: 109 tackles (60 solo, 49 ast), 14 TFL, 8 sacks, 2 FF, 3 PD, 1 INT, 1 TD
Posluszny: 111 tackles (60 solo, 51 ast), 14 TFL, 4 sacks, 0 FF, 3 PD, 0 INT, 0 TD
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kingkoopa
Newbie
Aj Hawk Played well last night(too bad the packers played awful :( ). He got burned right away by Antonio Gates, but that is to be expected from a rookie matched up against one of the best TE's in the league. He looked great against the run and was one of the few bright spots. How was Aj covering receivers in college?
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