A little on A.J. Hawk's future...

[Cheesehead Craig]

My view hasn't changed. He's a player who's average at everything and great at nothing. I was one of the posters who believe Bishop was the better of the two which showed this year. I do like him over Barnett at this stage of their careers so I hope we do resign him but he is far from a Pro Bowl in my eyes.

I can respect the opinion that he's not a Pro-Bowler, I can't argue against that. I think Hawk is great in the head and is a rock-steady leader and performer. I think it's pretty obvious at this point though that the defense is better with than without him.

[SkinBasket]

There have been several articles the last week about Hawk as the signal caller on defense. Each article had several comments from players and coaches about it. The underlying impression I get is that Hawk does a better job of it than Barnett.

One article pointed out that since Hawk took over, the instances of "miscommunication" on defense have almost disappeared completely. The article noted that in the second year of Capers' reign you would expect mistakes to decrease, but noted that Hawk has to get some credit for the almost complete disappearance of such things.

Players talked about the calming influence Hawk has.

One of the coaches mentioned that Hawk is almost perfect in those situation when he has had to "do it on his own" because the call didn't get in in time. Apparently on defense, with the shifting offenses, etc. it happens somewhat often that the headset shuts off before the final defensive calls are made.

Keeping Hawk in his present role might be a very, very good thing for the defense. He has been criticized in the past even by coaches for being too much of a perfectionist, and not trusting instincts to sometimes ad lib and make a play when he sees it in front of him. That may be true, but his perfectionism has maybe made him a top notch player at directing the defense in all the pre-snap adjustments that have to happen.

This seems to be the case. How many times this season compared to others have you seen our defenders yelling at each other? I can't recall seeing it at all this season, but I can remember plenty of yappin back and forth after blown plays with Barnett in there.

[Fritz]

I was actually thinking about this yesterday, but I did not make the connection to Hawk. I was just thinking of how many touchdown passes ended with (usually) Al Harris yapping at somebody about some missed coverage.

I wonder what an acceptable/reasonable contract would be for a guy like Hawk?

[Patler]

My view hasn't changed. He's a player who's average at everything and great at nothing. I was one of the posters who believe Bishop was the better of the two which showed this year. I do like him over Barnett at this stage of their careers so I hope we do resign him but he is far from a Pro Bowl in my eyes.

He's not that far away from a Pro Bowl. He has been named as an alternate the last two years in a row. He might never actually play in one, and might never get closer than two or three guys away from the ones who start, but that's OK.

[SavedByGrace]

I agree with previous posters: get rid of Barnett. Two season-ending injuries in 3 years is too much for a guy who is making that much. Hawk has missed ZERO games in his years. He's still pretty young and is a solid linebacker. He led our team in tackles, and was tied for the league lead for linebackers with 3 interceptions. Why would you want to get rid of a guy like that? Plus, it's time for Barnett's stupid samurai celebration to go.

[Sparkey]

A perfectionist should be the one making the defensive calls. Making sure everyone understands the assignment and getting people properly positioned.

"Close enough" or "lined up correctly" ?

Which of the above leads to a better defense ? Not that hard of a question really.

As for Barnett. His best asset was always his sideline to sideline speed. Coming off a major knee injury, odds are against him regaining all of that speed, which will negatively affect his impact on defense.

Hopefully; the CBA gets resolved, Hawk gets a renegotiated extension and Barnett gets shown the door.

[Tony Oday]

Hawk will never play in the Pro Bowl...his team will always have a game the next week!

[RashanGary]

Hawk has proven me wrong this year. I never liked him much. I couldn't wait to see Bishop, just becuase he showed potential to make big plays that Hawk never showed. This year though he's looked faster and I feel his impact more. Then there is the matter of his teammates voting him captain (I give that a lot of weight) and all of the emphasis everyone on the team seems to be putting on his steadiness with the playcalling (similar to the praise Bigby got from his teammates a couple years ago). In summary:

1. Reliable (always healthy)
2. Steady (leader, never blows asignment)
3. Playrelayer (gets guys positioned, keeps guys calm)
4. Impact (playing fast, making plays)

Lock the dude up. He's good. Get rid of twitter dick Barnett.

[Joemailman]

The thing with Barnett is that his greatest asset, his lateral speed, isn't as important as an ILB in a 3-4 defense. On the other hand, his inability to take on blockers is a problem on a team that usually only has 2 d-linemen in front of him. He's a better fit in a 4-3. Problem is, his contract may make him untradeable.

[Bretsky]

You absolutely need to keep Hawk; redo his deal. And IMO some year we'll see him playing in the Pro Bowl even though he's not a superstar

Steady Eddie

I like Barnett too as well; he loves Green Bay and has been very positive as a Packer through his career. I find it hard to criticize him expressing his feelings toward a B.S. decision made in error by those we find it impossible to criticize right now in SB week

[OS PA]

You absolutely need to keep Hawk; redo his deal. And IMO some year we'll see him playing in the Pro Bowl even though he's not a superstar

Steady Eddie

I like Barnett too as well; he loves Green Bay and has been very positive as a Packer through his career. I find it hard to criticize him expressing his feelings toward a B.S. decision made in error by those we find it impossible to criticize right now in SB week

Barnett should and hopefully will get a tryout at SS this off season. Ask him to shed a few pounds and see if he can get a little faster. No need to worry about shedding blockers if he's coming up in a Troy Pa sort of fashion and thumping people. The only problem I see with him back at SS is where we're going to put Wood. We could be a defense that seems to remove the conventional positions and just finds a place for playmakers to make plays. We are more like a 2-4 or a 1-5-5 after-all.. rarely do we see a 3-4. This is a Dom-Capers defense and nothing else.

Hawk is our playcaller and is a reason why we've been so damned solid this year. Notice, knocking on wood, how there haven't been many(if any) blown assignments or big plays allowed on us this year? Anybody have any stats on how many big plays, 40+, we've allowed this year? As for Chillar, as long as we aren't under a salary cap there is no reason to dump him. He's a solid back-up, can start in a pinch, and is a great package guy, in case we play an elite TE or a pass happy team. He also plays special teams.

[ND72]

For the first time in a long time I can enjoy a Hawk thread...

[Joemailman]

Barnett should and hopefully will get a tryout at SS this off season. Ask him to shed a few pounds and see if he can get a little faster. No need to worry about shedding blockers if he's coming up in a Troy Pa sort of fashion and thumping people. The only problem I see with him back at SS is where we're going to put Wood. We could be a defense that seems to remove the conventional positions and just finds a place for playmakers to make plays. We are more like a 2-4 or a 1-5-5 after-all.. rarely do we see a 3-4. This is a Dom-Capers defense and nothing else.

Hawk is our playcaller and is a reason why we've been so damned solid this year. Notice, knocking on wood, how there haven't been many(if any) blown assignments or big plays allowed on us this year? Anybody have any stats on how many big plays, 40+, we've allowed this year? As for Chillar, as long as we aren't under a salary cap there is no reason to dump him. He's a solid back-up, can start in a pinch, and is a great package guy, in case we play an elite TE or a pass happy team. He also plays special teams.

Barnett will be 30 next year. He's not going to acquire the coverage skills of a safety by dropping a few pounds. The Packers are #2 in scoring defense in part because Burnett/Peprah are better in coverage than Bigby was. Putting a linebacker at SS ain't going to happen. The only question is whether TT is willing to pay Barnett 6 mil to provide depth behind Hawk and Bishop.

[RashanGary]

For the first time in a long time I can enjoy a Hawk thread...

He proved himself this year. Hopefully he didn't go on roids for one year to earn a contract like he did at OSU and then drops off after we pay him.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I just don't see. A.J. was basically the same solid player that he's always been. Capers reduced his time last year in the nickel. The injuries allowed him to play the number of snaps he did his first few years. Other than that, he was dependable and a good tackler. Coverage skills and blitzing were average. The big plus is how well he performed as the QB of the defense. He's just a solid pro. Not worth All-Pro money, but worth somewhere around what Bishop and Barnett are making.