RIP A.J. HAWK

A.J. Hawk from behind

I want to start off by saying that former Packer linebacker A.J. Hawk is a fine individual and consummate professional. So, so long, and good luck (unless you end up with the Vikings or Bears) with your new team. I never hated you as a person, but had a major problem with you as a player. I will leave it at that.

 

Hawk was drafted No. 5 overall in the 2006 draft as General Manager's second No. 1 draft pick and played in 144 of 146 games while starting 136 over nine seasons with the Packers. If he was anything, he was durable.

 

Hawk had 100+ tackles in seven of his nine seasons and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2010 - the Super Bowl year. He led the team in tackles five times tying him with Nick Barnett for the franchise lead (since 1975 when tackling stats began to be kept by the Packers - it wouldn't happen league wide until 2001).

 

Some want to say Hawk would be thought of differently if he had been chosen at, let's say, No. 24 in the first round or maybe in the second. That might be true and I've said before his career would rank up there with best if statistics are considered on their own. He finished this phase of his career as the Packers All-Time leading tackler with 1,118 eclipsing John Anderson (1978-89) by 98. But statistics alone don't tell the whole story and, in the case of Hawk, this has never more true.

 

Let's go back to examine that argument: First let's look at what A.J. Hawk was going to bring to the table. In my earlier post I mentioned Ohio State being Linebacker U. Now before the sonofabitch people line up to tell me Penn State is known as Linebacker U, I was referring to middle linebackers and now one can dispute the fact Ohio State has turned out the hardest hitting and stellar middle linebackers in college football.

 

Many thought A.J. Hawk was going to be the second coming of the greatest Buckeye middle linebackers Randy Gradishar, Tom Cousineau, Marcus Marek, Chris Spielman and Andy Katzenmoyer. He was a one-star recruit who turned himself into a two-time Big 10 Defensive MVP in 2004 and 2005 and the Lombardi Award (for the best collegiate linebacker) winner and first-team All-American as a senior.

 

He started 38 of 51 games finishing with 394 tackles (196 solo with 41 for losses), 15.5 sacks, 7 interceptions and 13 fumbles recovered. I can see what Thompson saw in him, but it is Thompson's job to see beyond the stats and project how a player would be as a pro. In this case all he got was durability.

 

Hawk surpassed most of them, Cousineau (6-3 good years), Marek (0 years in the NFL and 3 with the USFL) and Katzenmoyer (not even 1-retired with a neck injury).Those three never amounted to much, but they all were hard hitters in college and in the pros.

 

Randy Gradishar (1974-83) starred for 10 years with the Broncos and is unofficially the leading tackler in NFL history with 2,049. Spielman starred for 8 seasons with Lions and spent his final three with the Bills and Browns.

 

First, he was never a big hitter, at least with the Packers. He was not a turnover machine (9 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles and no safeties). He never was a blitzer (19 sacks) until 2013 when he had five. Of his 1,118 tackles (I have said this before and will never say again since Hawk is now gone) at least a third if not half were downfield chasing a runner after a decent gain. That was my major beef with him.

 

Second, let's look at the other first rounders taken after him. I think there wer several good and three great players that would have helped the Packers.

 

First at No. 6 was tight end Vernon Davis. He had a lot of red flags off the field and took three seasons to finally become the best tight end in the game for five seasons and would have been a great acquisition for a time, but he was not a General Manager Ted Thompson type of player. He has now flamed out. Give Thompson a plus on that one.

 

At No. 12 was Baltimore Raven defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. He is recognized as one of the best and would have solidified the middle of the defense for the last nine years. He is now suspected of PED use and will probably be released by the Ravens in a salary cap move, but from 2006 to 2013 he could have been a big difference maker in the middle of the Packer defense.

Haloti Ngata

 

At No. 17 was Minnesota Viking outside linebacker Chad Greenway. He is also recognized as one of the best and remember Hawk began his Packers career as left outside linebacker. He would have been a great choice even at No. 5.

 

At No. 25 was Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes. He was a very good, but not great wide receiver, but was also a cancer on the Jets and Bears, so forget him.

 

At No. 29 was New York Jets center Nick Mangold. He turned out to an All-Pro and would have solidified the center position for the Packers. He would have a been a great choice, but not at No. 5.

 

So if it was a linebacker Thompson wanted then Greenway would have been a better pick, or thinking outside the box let's look at Ngata.

 

Thompson signed Ryan Pickett that year and the Packers were still three years away from converting to the 3-4 when the Packers would draft B.J. Raji when a need for a nose tackle became evident, so that draft might have been totally different if Ngata was a Packer. See how a move in one season would ripple through the rest of the years.

 

So, if Ngata was picked the Packers defense might have been much better the past nine seasons. Maybe the same with Greenway, but who knows since the defensive line would have been the same. I think seeing Ngata in a Packer uniform would have made a major difference.