woodbuck27
08-10-2006, 09:57 AM
Hawkins looks to find his fit
Cornerback fighting with two others for backup spots
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 9, 2006
Green Bay - The math is pretty simple: three players, two positions.
Someone is going to have to sit.
It's not too late for Mike Hawkins to be one of the two who makes the cut in the Green Bay Packers secondary, but he has some catching up to do after missing six practices and part of another with a sore right knee.
To be part of at least one of the two pass coverage units (nickel and dime) Hawkins is going to have beat out either Ahmad Carroll or Jason Horton for playing time. Essentially, the three are competing for the left cornerback position in the nickel (five defensive backs) and the left corner and left slot positions in the dime (six defensive backs).
"I don't worry about that," said Hawkins, who returned Wednesday after missing three straight practices, including the intrasquad scrimmage. "I can't control that. All I can do is keep going out there and keep playing. Whoever they decide to put in those two spots it will be the two best guys. If my ability doesn't show I'm ready to play in that spot, then they won't put me in there."
No one has ever questioned Hawkins' physical ability.
If there's a faster player on the team it's not by much. At 6-foot-1 he's ideal size for a bump-and-run corner and at 180 pounds he's getting closer to being big enough to handle the ever-increasing size of National Football League wide receivers.
But Hawkins is a novice at the corner position. The story of how he was a top recruit at Oklahoma, left after one year and didn't resurface until hooking on with an Arena League team two years later has been well-documented.
Last year, the Packers gave Hawkins a crash course on how to play the position and used him as a nickel and dime corner in a handful of games. Knee and ankle injuries limited him to 11 games - he had two pass break-ups and allowed one touchdown - and he finished the season with a specific goal of building up his body.
He put on 10 pounds during the off-season, but the knee he injured continued to bother him. It flared up again in training camp, teaching him a valuable lesson about proper maintenance during the season.
"It's not that I wasn't taking care of it," said Hawkins, a fifth-round pick last year. "It's that you have to go overboard with your stuff. You can't just think it's going to get you by. You just have to keep going over and over and over. I take care of my body. But you have to add a little intensity to it."
The coaches would love to add another big corner to a pass defense that includes 6-1 veterans Al Harris and Charles Woodson, but Hawkins has to prove he's a better player than a year ago. Because of his inexperience, he could be a two-year project. Or a three-year project. Or a four-year project.
No one knows for sure.
Right now, Carroll and Horton have an advantage over Hawkins because they can play both left corner and the slot positions. Hawkins is limited to corner and will be trying to fill the spot Woodson vacates when he moves to the slot.
When the Packers go nickel, Carroll fills in for Woodson at corner; when they go dime, Carroll moves to the other slot position and Horton plays corner.
"A lot of those young guys are still fighting for spots," defensive coordinator Bob Sanders said. "There are a couple jobs (where) we want to see who's the most consistent. We're moving guys around a little bit, just checking different guys."
It seems unlikely that Carroll will be unseated, but a lot will depend on the exhibition games. Hawkins can make up for a lot of missed time with strong game performances, starting Saturday with San Diego.
"I mean anybody can go out and be a practice player," he said. "People practice good against their own teammate, but when you have to go out and do something against somebody else, what are you going to do?"
It's a question the Packers coaching staff is asking itself about Hawkins all the time.
From the Aug. 10, 2006 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
FAITH - GO PACKERS !!
Cornerback fighting with two others for backup spots
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 9, 2006
Green Bay - The math is pretty simple: three players, two positions.
Someone is going to have to sit.
It's not too late for Mike Hawkins to be one of the two who makes the cut in the Green Bay Packers secondary, but he has some catching up to do after missing six practices and part of another with a sore right knee.
To be part of at least one of the two pass coverage units (nickel and dime) Hawkins is going to have beat out either Ahmad Carroll or Jason Horton for playing time. Essentially, the three are competing for the left cornerback position in the nickel (five defensive backs) and the left corner and left slot positions in the dime (six defensive backs).
"I don't worry about that," said Hawkins, who returned Wednesday after missing three straight practices, including the intrasquad scrimmage. "I can't control that. All I can do is keep going out there and keep playing. Whoever they decide to put in those two spots it will be the two best guys. If my ability doesn't show I'm ready to play in that spot, then they won't put me in there."
No one has ever questioned Hawkins' physical ability.
If there's a faster player on the team it's not by much. At 6-foot-1 he's ideal size for a bump-and-run corner and at 180 pounds he's getting closer to being big enough to handle the ever-increasing size of National Football League wide receivers.
But Hawkins is a novice at the corner position. The story of how he was a top recruit at Oklahoma, left after one year and didn't resurface until hooking on with an Arena League team two years later has been well-documented.
Last year, the Packers gave Hawkins a crash course on how to play the position and used him as a nickel and dime corner in a handful of games. Knee and ankle injuries limited him to 11 games - he had two pass break-ups and allowed one touchdown - and he finished the season with a specific goal of building up his body.
He put on 10 pounds during the off-season, but the knee he injured continued to bother him. It flared up again in training camp, teaching him a valuable lesson about proper maintenance during the season.
"It's not that I wasn't taking care of it," said Hawkins, a fifth-round pick last year. "It's that you have to go overboard with your stuff. You can't just think it's going to get you by. You just have to keep going over and over and over. I take care of my body. But you have to add a little intensity to it."
The coaches would love to add another big corner to a pass defense that includes 6-1 veterans Al Harris and Charles Woodson, but Hawkins has to prove he's a better player than a year ago. Because of his inexperience, he could be a two-year project. Or a three-year project. Or a four-year project.
No one knows for sure.
Right now, Carroll and Horton have an advantage over Hawkins because they can play both left corner and the slot positions. Hawkins is limited to corner and will be trying to fill the spot Woodson vacates when he moves to the slot.
When the Packers go nickel, Carroll fills in for Woodson at corner; when they go dime, Carroll moves to the other slot position and Horton plays corner.
"A lot of those young guys are still fighting for spots," defensive coordinator Bob Sanders said. "There are a couple jobs (where) we want to see who's the most consistent. We're moving guys around a little bit, just checking different guys."
It seems unlikely that Carroll will be unseated, but a lot will depend on the exhibition games. Hawkins can make up for a lot of missed time with strong game performances, starting Saturday with San Diego.
"I mean anybody can go out and be a practice player," he said. "People practice good against their own teammate, but when you have to go out and do something against somebody else, what are you going to do?"
It's a question the Packers coaching staff is asking itself about Hawkins all the time.
From the Aug. 10, 2006 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
FAITH - GO PACKERS !!