Packers’ dream pick should be Hawk
Packers’ dream pick should be Hawk
Written by PackerChatters Staff
Saturday, 01 April 2006
Ohio State linebacker smarter choice for Green Bay than Williams(By
Dan Pompei -TSN) -
I am Ted Thompson. I am tortured. I have the fifth pick in the draft.
Mario Williams or A.J. Hawk?
A.J. Hawk or Mario Williams?
I can't go wrong.
But how can I go most right?
I dim the lights and turn on the N.C. State tape of Williams for the 200th time.I am awed. I see a beast who swats away 320-pound blockers as if they were flies. He can pass rush through offensive tackles or go around them. I see a huge, explosive end who will pose matchup problems for many offensive tackles. I see a powerful tackler-a player who can shed a blocker and make a play against the run. I see rare athleticism for a guy who is 6-7, 295. I see a bigger Julius Peppers.
But I don't like everything I see. I don't see the kind of instincts I look for. I see a lineman who doesn't always read the play correctly. I see a player who needs to develop an inside rush and learn to split double-teams. I see a player who doesn't go the same speed on every down. I see a player who performed unevenly last year and subsequently was pulled from the starting lineup for a game.
I see the physique of an alien and 14 1/2 sacks last season, but I also see a player who, according to a vote by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association, was the fourth-best defender in the ACC. Williams received four votes for defensive player of the year, compared with 31 for Maryland linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, 17 for Boston College end Mathias Kiwanuka and 14 for Virginia Tech end Darryl Tapp.
I see quite a contrast in Hawk. He led Ohio State three seasons in tackles, was named an All-American and the team MVP twice and, as a senior, won the Big Ten defensive player of the year award and the Lombardi Trophy.
But back to Williams for a moment. Ultimately, I see a player so gifted that no flaws should dissuade me. I see a freak who plays a critical position. Super Mario is what I see.
I should write his name on the card now.
But I owe it to myself to look at Hawk again, so I pop in the Ohio State tape. I see a player who is all over the field. I see someone athletic enough, fast enough and stout enough to play any linebacker position. I see a linebacker who has an uncanny feel for the game, who almost always reads plays as if he had designed them for the offense. I see a defender who can take on offensive linemen and disengage about as well as anyone I can remember-and then make tackles surely and violently.
I see a blitzer who is so skilled, he had only five fewer sacks than Williams put up last season. I see a linebacker who can make plays from hot dog vendor to beer stand. I see an intimidator, a leader. I see a player who is as safe a pick as any in the draft-and a finished product.
I see greatness. I don't think there is any doubt Hawk is the better player. It's the values of the positions that hang me up.
I know I should adhere to the old tried-and-true philosophies: You win games with your lines; the player who is closest to the ball is most valuable; you can't find special pass rushers; a great end creates opportunities for everyone else on defense. I know 90 percent of the teams probably would draft Williams.
I ask myself this question: Is it easier to neutralize a great end or a great middle linebacker? You can double-team a great end and control him most of the time if you are determined to do so. It's more difficult to account for a linebacker in the middle of the field.
I figure you can create a pass rush. The Steelers and Seahawks are proof of that. You can't create a physical force in the middle of the field who gives your defense identity.
I think about the great inside linebackers. Dick Butkus. Jack Lambert. Ray Nitschke. Ray Lewis. Mike Singletary. Bill George. Joe Schmidt. Sam Huff. Nick Buoniconti. Harry Carson. What do they have in common? Well, with the exception of Butkus, they've all won championships. It seems like great middle linebackers have that effect on teams.
I make up my mind. Hawk is my guy.
With the fifth pick in the draft, the Green Bay Packers select A.J. Hawk, linebacker, Ohio State.
I wake up.
I have been dreaming.
I am no longer Ted Thompson.
Never was.
Of course. Taking A.J. Hawk, it's a dream.
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