Here's hoping Abdul Hodge starts as a ROOKIE

[BF4MVP]

I've made it quite clear that I think this guy is a steal.

The guy will be a PLAYER. Mark my words..

Plug him in at the Mike with Hawk at the Will and Barnett at the Sam and that's a great corps of backers for the next decade.

Yes, he's "too short." So what? He's got a motor that doesn't stop, he hits like a jackhammer, and he's a leader. The guy makes plays. He averaged over 13 tackles a game last year :shock: and it wasn't a fluke. He's got 453 career tackles! (career tackles stat from packersnews.com)

It's not as if he racked up those huge tackle totals against crappy competition either. He played in the Big Ten!

Throw him into the fire right away, and I think he'll excel, as will Hawk.

[esoxx]

I would hate to have our #5 pick in the draft be a SAM linebacker. The WILL is the disruptive force that can make plays and come off the edge on blitzes. Barnett has proved to be a woeful blitzer in his time here. My guess is Hawk at WILL, Hodge at MIKE and Barnett at SAM. That is providing Hodge can crack the starting lineup this season.

[BF4MVP]

I shall edit. Sounds good to me.

[Bretsky]

I loved the picks of Hawk and Hodge

[digitaldean]

I would hate to have our #5 pick in the draft be a SAM linebacker. The WILL is the disruptive force that can make plays and come off the edge on blitzes. Barnett has proved to be a woeful blitzer in his time here. My guess is Hawk at WILL, Hodge at MIKE and Barnett at SAM. That is providing Hodge can crack the starting lineup this season.

On the Green Bay local sports (believe it was WLUK) that Hawk will probably be the starting WILL and Barnett at MIKE. Nothing stated about Hodge except "you hope he makes an impact".

The guy had more tackles than Greenway and from what I heard in interview of him, he is playing with a chip on his shoulder. (all the talk about being too small, etc.) No matter how you slice it, the LB corps just took a big step up.

[No Mo Moss]

Seriously he had all those tackles with Greenway next to him. I love this pick.

[digitaldean]

I would hate to have our #5 pick in the draft be a SAM linebacker. The WILL is the disruptive force that can make plays and come off the edge on blitzes. Barnett has proved to be a woeful blitzer in his time here. My guess is Hawk at WILL, Hodge at MIKE and Barnett at SAM. That is providing Hodge can crack the starting lineup this season.

From Chat on ESPN Scouts, Inc.:
Jeremy (St. Louis): With Hawk, Hodge, and Abdul at LB, who plays the Mike spot?

SportsNation Scouts, Inc.'s Jeremy Green: (8:25 PM ET ) Barnett at the Mike, Hawk at the Will and Hodge at the Sam.

Thing is with 2 bona fide playmakers won't that help free up Barnett? This LB corps is now a strength not a liability. :D

[RashanGary]

I don't know how he'll do covering TE's....I almost think Barnett would be best suited for the strongside position.

[jack's smirking revenge]

What an awesome pick! I missed the draft and am just reading about it. Great job Pack!

tyler

[ND72]

even if he doestn' start now, Hodge will be a starter for us sometime soon...and we have our 3 LB's of our future right now in Barnett, Hawk, and Hodge....oh damn!

[RashanGary]

Where do you play Hodge ND? Hawk has to play MLB or WLB because of his weakness in man coverage. I think Hodge is weak in that area as well. I think Barnett is the only guy who can cover a TE really well.

[jack's smirking revenge]

So, with this set of LBs, why not look at a 3-4?

tyler

[Tarlam!]

So, with this set of LBs, why not look at a 3-4?

tyler

That question is really good. Any football gurus wanna offer up a plan?

Maybe this deserves a seperate thread, Tyler.

[OS PA]

I'm not a playbook or formation guru, but what I will say is that the Packers have faith in ex-Bate's scheme. In Bates scheme the D-Line is the pressure, The OLB's are patrollers/block eaters, the MLB is the head-hunter, the safeties are dropped back for extra secondary support, and the CB's are pressed man-on. This allows for the scheme to work even when a play is not recognized. I noticed that when the Bates scheme was fiddled with in order to put more pressure on the QB we gave up big plays in the middle.

On the other hand

A 3-4 Scheme depends on the linebackers for run stopping and puts immense pressure on the Cornerbacks to play lock. The defensive tackle is a two-gap block eater and the defensive ends are expected to take their blockers all the way to the QB. The safeties are placed in the box or in coverage zone in order to play prevent as well as man on. This allows the linebackers who aren't sent on a blitz or declared a spy to pick up a man in coverage.


With that said, the reason why GB can't transition to 3-4 is our D-Line, our D-Ends don't put enough pressure on the QB, and our DT's don't eat up enough blocks, if we were to transition the Offensive line would exploit KGB even more.

(Please Please Please correct me if i'm wrong!)

[Iron Mike]

even if he doestn' start now, Hodge will be a starter for us sometime soon...and we have our 3 LB's of our future right now in Barnett, Hawk, and Hodge....oh damn!

You're forgetting about Poppinga!!!! :evil:

[outflow]

I am so excited to see how good this LB unit is going to be this year. At the minimum, the level of intensity is going to be through the roof.

Anyone else think Hodge will be an absolute animal on Special Teams?

[Tarlam!]

Anyone else think Hodge will be an absolute animal on Special Teams?

I think he'll be an animal wherever they put him, but I think he'll be challenging immediately to start at Sam or even Mike.

[gbpackfan]

I really like Hawk at the Will, Hodge at the Mike and Barnett at the Sam. Barnett is fast enough and tall enough to cover the tight ends. Plus, he has the experience to recognize plays and see the coverage assignments.


QUESTION? Didn't I hear last year that with this D the OLB spots don't move around to cover the TE and that they are INTER-CHANGEABLE?

[BF4MVP]

In the press gazette this morning there was a story that said the Packers added depth to their linebacking corps by picking Hodge. That's harsh..He's more than that..A lot more..THEY'LL SEE

[wist43]

I've made it quite clear that I think this guy is a steal.

The guy will be a PLAYER. Mark my words..

Plug him in at the Mike with Hawk at the Will and Barnett at the Sam and that's a great corps of backers for the next decade.

Yes, he's "too short." So what? He's got a motor that doesn't stop, he hits like a jackhammer, and he's a leader. The guy makes plays. He averaged over 13 tackles a game last year :shock: and it wasn't a fluke. He's got 453 career tackles! (career tackles stat from packersnews.com)

It's not as if he racked up those huge tackle totals against crappy competition either. He played in the Big Ten!

Throw him into the fire right away, and I think he'll excel, as will Hawk.

I agree. I've watched Hodge play a few times, and he stood out in every game. He's tough, instinctive, and a big hitter... Solid tackler. I'm not too concerned about his size b/c he plays much bigger than his size, and is very consistent and durable. I really like Hodge.

[Partial]

Wist, what do you think of the draft in general? I think TT is making efforts to make the team in the trenches.

[OS PA]

I feel a little disheartened thinking that Poppinga will never get his shot in the middle, but I realized that we played him at some DE last year, and he may get a shot to spell Aaron Kampman as a pass rush specialist. The special teams demon no matter what happens is valuable =).