HOFer
Hang on...kill the music and the party for just a moment. I'd just like to note that the people he spoke to confirm that Hawk is the LOGICAL choice--not the one they will be taking. Thompson said that anyone who thought he would play it safe didn't know him well.Originally Posted by HarveyWallbangers
That's all. Cue the balloon drop.
"Greatness is not an act... but a habit.Greatness is not an act... but a habit." -Greg Jennings
Just because AJ Hawk is a can't miss prospect by no means is he playing it safe. He's taking the best player with the most playmaking potential. He's taking the dude that scouts are saying is as good or better than the guy who won Defensive Player of the Year.
Hawk is gonna be a friggin' stud.
I wouldn't be surprised with Hawk. I also wouldn't be surprised with Ferguson, Davis or Mario. Thompson was spoken of so highly by Wolf as a scout that I find it hard to believe he'll make the wrong decision. We know quite a bit from these guys through scouts interviewed and internet sources but in the end Thompson has spent far more time than any 5 of us combined and will be prepared to select the best player. There are going to be at least 2 really good players at that spot and the Packers should be immediately better no matter who it is. To all those guys I argue with daily; I LOVE Hawk too and no matter who we get a little part of me would be disappointed it is not him. Having said that; I don't really fall in love with one player and I'm keeping an open mind. I'm hoping for whoever Thompson deems best between who's left. The best player if you will. I'm not ignorant enough to pretend I know who that is.
HOFer
I'd venture to guess that Thompson spent far more time than all of us combined. We just regurgitate what we read on the Internet. That's why there were so many upset with the Nick Collins pick.We know quite a bit from these guys through scouts interviewed and internet sources but in the end Thompson has spent far more time than any 5 of us combined and will be prepared to select the best player.
I've been changing my opinion of Hawk about 25 million times since the middle of the season..I've literally gone from "OMG HE'S THE NEXT URLACHER WE GOTTA GET HIM!!!!!!" to "Eh, he'll be a solid player, but not worth number 5." So I'm not really sure how I feel..Although Ted Thompson knows what he is doing, and he will make the best pick for the Green Bay Packers. I am 100% behind whatever decision he makes as far as who is the number 5 pick.
There are a couple things I really like about Hawk that don't change with my ever-changing opinion of him..
1. He's a jerk. On the field I mean. I have no idea what kind of person he is, so I'm not commenting on his personality off the field. I do know, though, that he has that "Nitschke" type of competitive fire..If you're a player on the opposing team, and you try crossing paths with Hawk, he doesn't give a shit who you are, he's just gonna knock you the fuck out. I like that a lot. We need someone like that.
2. He's a leader. I know from what i've read that he'll try his best to get in people's faces and get them to play better..I don't think he'll care that he's a rookie, he'll do it anyways..Guess what, Woodson, if you're not earnin your paycheck, you'll probably have to answer to AJ..We haven't had a leader on this defense since LeRoy Butler..I like that too..
3. He fills a glaring need for a linebacker. I don't need to explain..
With the three things I've listed, one would think that I'd be screaming at my TV on draft day "CMON TT TAKE HAWK!!!!!!'" But for whatever reason, my opinion of him changes almost daily....
Good reads though, Harv, thanks for sharin those..
HW I like how you avoided Prisco's other prognostication:
Who they should take: Ernie Sims
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Imagine for a moment a world without hypothetical situations...
HOFer
I didn't see that. I grabbed the content straight from the JSO article (that I referenced), and that wasn't in there.HW I like how you avoided Prisco's other prognostication:
Who they should take: Ernie Sims
Personally, I don't think Prisco knows what he's talking about (he's not one of the national "experts" that I respect a lot), but the argument that I'm trying to counter is this idea that the selection of Hawk would not get mass approval. I'd venture to guess that many more people than not would think Hawk was a good pick for the Packers. I don't think that's even relavent, but apparently others do.
Didn't see the JSO article. I really don't swing by there very often anymore.
I agree though - taking AJ would sit fine with the experts. I also don't like Prisco much, and saying that Sims is a top 5 choice doesn't help my opinion of him much!
--
Imagine for a moment a world without hypothetical situations...
Harvey,I didn't see that. I grabbed the content straight from the JSO article (that I referenced), and that wasn't in there.HW I like how you avoided Prisco's other prognostication:
Who they should take: Ernie Sims
Personally, I don't think Prisco knows what he's talking about (he's not one of the national "experts" that I respect a lot), but the argument that I'm trying to counter is this idea that the selection of Hawk would not get mass approval. I'd venture to guess that many more people than not would think Hawk was a good pick for the Packers. I don't think that's even relavent, but apparently others do.
Don't know if you saw it, but ESPN did a little nationwide online poll that was essentially a nationwide mock draft. It's at:
http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sport...ory?id=2406023
They assigned each team a time of day when they went on the clock, and went through the first round in about a week or so. Anyway, the interesting part I saw was that when Green Bay was up, Hawk beat Williams 42% to 25%, winning 48 out of the 50 states and the international voters. (If you click on "Wisconsin" it brings up an interactive map) The only two states Williams won? Wisconsin and North Carolina.
HOFer
Anti-Buckeye bias in the state of Wisconsin?
Must be.Anti-Buckeye bias in the state of Wisconsin?
It took me months to fall in love with taking Hawk @ #5, but now it seems his hype may move him into the number two spot. That would devastate me, I think this is "the guy".
"For a fan base that so gratefully took to success, it bothers me how easily some fans are resigned to failure."
No Mo Moss 9.14.06
HOFer
Hawk soars above other prospects
Don Banks, SI.com
At some point, the NFL Draft morphed into an all-out debate, accompanied by a cacophony of voices and opinions. This time around, the topics that dominated the discussion were Reggie Bush versus Matt Leinart, and later Mario Williams, in the battle for the No. 1 pick; Leinart versus Vince Young in a clash of quarterbacking styles; and the NFL viability of Jay Cutler, given his meager won-loss record as a collegiate starter.
All of those topics made for fascinating dissection, but as the league's two-day rookie job fair extravaganza prepares to kick off in New York on Saturday, have we perhaps overlooked the most obvious question of all: Who's the best pure football player available, with the highest probability of being a great professional?
In interviewing league personnel men, coaches and executives for the past two months, I've heard one name mentioned more than others, and it might surprise you. It's not Bush, as gifted a game-breaking talent as he is. It's not Williams, Leinart, Young or Cutler, all of whom have at least one or two significant question marks attached to their scouting reports.
It's Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk, who has inspired nary a negative word in the months-long predraft screening process. Cleveland Browns general manager Phil Savage, one of the more respected personnel evaluators in the league, labeled Hawk "the safest pick in the draft.'' New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis, whose Saints have strongly considered taking Hawk second overall, said his personnel men believe Hawk is the best linebacking prospect since Junior Seau was the No. 5 pick in 1990 by San Diego.
And a handful of team officials have told me Hawk is the one player in this year's draft who's guaranteed to be starting, and making an impact, right from the opening weekend of the 2006 NFL season. I don't know about you, but I haven't heard that level of certainty on any other prospect in this year's draft, including Bush, who is considered a once-in-a-generation type talent at running back.
People have questioned whether Bush can make enough of an impact in 15 to 20 touches a game. Williams, for most of his college career, wasn't even the best defensive end at N.C. State, and he has yet to show consistent production over an entire season. Some personnel men theorize that Leinart benefited greatly from the talented USC offensive system and that he's already as good as he's ever going to be. And Cutler has some mechanical issues and bad habits that even his staunchest supporters acknowledge will have to be worked out early in his pro career.
But Hawk, who is widely regarded as No. 5 Green Bay's likely choice, is talked about within league circles as the obvious defensive rookie of the year-in-waiting, a can't-miss talent in a first-round pool that always carry as much risk as reward.
"He is the real thing,'' Browns head coach and former Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel said of Hawk. "He's a playmaker. He runs all over the place, and he runs to the ball. He's got some size, some speed, some production. I like all those things.''
The Packers are desperate for playmakers and leadership on defense, and that's why Hawk figures to be a no-brainer if he's available when their slot comes up. Green Bay's belief is that Hawk will walk in the door and instantly help change the mentality on defense.
"I'd like to come in and see what I can do in the NFL and try to make an impact,'' Hawk said. "[Linebacker] is a position where a lot of times they say they don't want to draft people too high because they think 'How much impact can a linebacker have?' But guys like Shawne Merriman and Lofa Tatupu had huge years [as rookies last year].
"The linebacker position ... with all the defenses they're playing, and with the offenses you have to face -- one week you're facing a spread offense and the next week a team is trying to pound the ball on you. You have to be able to do a little bit of everything.''
Hawk does a little bit of everything and he does it all well. He can play any linebacker position in a 3-4 or 4-3 alignment. Some scouts see him as the ideal inside linebacker in a 3-4, while others suggest he would be best used as the weakside linebacker in a 4-3, chasing the ball from sideline to sideline.
At 6-foot-1, 248 pounds, Hawk has the size to shed blockers in the NFL and get heavily involved in run defense and jamming a hole at the line of scrimmage. But he's also quick enough (he ran a 4.45 at Ohio State's pro day) to drop into coverage and blanket a potential receiver or chase down a quarterback on the blitz. You won't see Hawk coming off the field in certain situations and that only adds to his value in the eyes of league personnel evaluators.
San Diego's Merriman and Seattle's Tatupu were impact rookies at linebacker last season, with Merriman becoming the fifth player at that position in the past six years to earn the league's defensive rookie of the year award. Merriman went 11th overall to the Chargers and Tatupu was taken by the Seahawks in the second round. Linebackers may not be selected as high these days as they once were, but Hawk will be an exception. The last top-five linebacker was LaVar Arrington in 2000, who went No. 2 to Washington out of Penn State.
"It's understandable,'' Hawk said. "Obviously we're not big defensive ends, who are going to get 15 to 18 sacks a year. We're not going to be a running back, who's going to rush for 1,500 yards. [Linebacker] is a spot where there's three or four of them on the field. I guess you can justify not taking [linebackers] too high. But all I want is a chance, regardless of where I'm taken.''
Hawk is going to get his chance. And though he won't have a No. 1 next to his name on Saturday, that doesn't mean he's not the guy NFL scouts seem to think of first when it comes to a sure bet in the 2006 draft.
SI has some of the most reliable coverage. I don't think Hawk is only safe but he is dominate as well. I think it is going to be very, very hard to pass up A.J. Hawk with the 5th pick if he's available. I don't have a crystal ball but I'd have to put pretty high odds on A.J. Hawk being a Packer at this point.
HOFer
YES!
for all of you who have talked to me on here, you know my love for A.J.....i can't even put into words what this day has just made for me. just unreal for me.
"I would love to have a guy that always gets the key hit, a pitcher that always makes his best pitch and a manager that can always make the right decision. The problem is getting him to put down his beer and come out of the stands and do those things." - Danny Murraugh
I'M RIGHT THERE WITH YA ND; PLUS WE GET TO SEE THE HOTTIE GIRLFRIEND AS WELL
WORST. TAKE. EVER.
Bud Adams told me the franchise he admired the most was the Kansas City Chiefs. Then he asked for more hookers and blow.
hottie fiance....and next year we can worry bout getting the brother in law.
"I would love to have a guy that always gets the key hit, a pitcher that always makes his best pitch and a manager that can always make the right decision. The problem is getting him to put down his beer and come out of the stands and do those things." - Danny Murraugh
i have a question: is that white guy with dredlocks in the new under armour commercial aj hawk?
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