Hawk taking heat in Green Bay

[Fritz]

I think the problem is systemic and cannot be pinned to one player. See PB's analysis.

They pretty much all sucked!

[Smeefers]

As some of you may remember, I've been pretty strong in Hawk's corner. Well, the writing just got written on the wall. The man may just be in trouble.

http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/06/12/secret-superstar-d-j-smith-lb-green-bay-packers/

[Joemailman]

Maybe, but the Packers don't save any money on the salary cap by releasing him this year, due to his signing bonus. Next year they would save 2 mil+. Also, TT may want to see Smith play Hawk's position some before getting rid of Hawk. Last year Smith primarily played in place of Bishop. I suspect A.J. gets one more year, unless Smith clearly outplays him in the preseason.

[Brandon494]

About damn time!

[Upnorth]

Maybe, but the Packers don't save any money on the salary cap by releasing him this year, due to his signing bonus. Next year they would save 2 mil+. Also, TT may want to see Smith play Hawk's position some before getting rid of Hawk. Last year Smith primarily played in place of Bishop. I suspect A.J. gets one more year, unless Smith clearly outplays him in the preseason.

I agree with this, Smith has played 4 games, lets see how he does over a season. Don't get me wrong, I hope he is great, but I won't let my expectations get too high on a second year player with only 5 games taking NFL snaps. I expected So'oto to be the next great hidden gem and that didn't turn out. Hopefully this one does.

[denverYooper]

Maybe, but the Packers don't save any money on the salary cap by releasing him this year, due to his signing bonus. Next year they would save 2 mil+. Also, TT may want to see Smith play Hawk's position some before getting rid of Hawk. Last year Smith primarily played in place of Bishop. I suspect A.J. gets one more year, unless Smith clearly outplays him in the preseason.

You also have to take PFF with a grain of salt.

[RashanGary]

Tough call.

During a TT press conference this year, Thompson answered a question saying, "A lot of player are too short or too small to play in the NFL, but they come in and go to 7 probowls. DJ Smith is too small, but we think he's a pretty good player." I've heard Capers compare him to Sam Mills. He played well last year, as a rookie in a year where rookies had a big disadvantage.

I do think the Packers are very high on DJ Smith. I don't think Hawk is tremendously overpaid, although it looks like he is somewhat overpaid. The salary is a problem. DJ Smith being better will be the far bigger problem.

I know cutting Hawk now doesn't save us actual "cap space" this year, but it does save us 4 million dollars overall (rather than saving 2m next season, we'd save 6m by cutting him now) So there is a savings by cutting Hawk now vs next year, it just doesn't show up until the following year.

Hey, if we resigned Clay Matthews to a 4 year deal next offseason, cutting Hawk now would add 1M to each season of Clay's contract years. A nickle here and a dollar there add up fast.

They know a lot more about DJ Smith than they do about a late 1st round draft pick who's never even been to a practice with their coaches let alone played in an NFL game. If they think he's friggin good, I think they have enough information to move on now. I have a hunch Smith is the better player. That's not a good sign for AJ Hawk, especially down the road, but even now.

[RashanGary]

double post

[SkinBasket]

About damn time!

About damn time what? That someone wrote a fluffer piece about DJ Smith? If that gets you excited, you should find some kind of hobby, like spitting watermelon seeds.

[MJZiggy]

About damn time what? That someone wrote a fluffer piece about DJ Smith? If that gets you excited, you should find some kind of hobby, like spitting watermelon seeds.

Oooh. Watermelon! And I love a good fluffer piece in the summertime. What else is there to read? You think these guys are going to actually report on what's going on in practice?

[pbmax]

Its based on a tiny sample of work from Smith, but this article is the exact opposite of a fluff piece. Doesn't mean it isn't wrong, but its based on observable fact. Not like the work of the mind readers at JSO.

[Bretsky]

Hawk isn't getting cut this year; they need more evidence of Smith against top competition before making a judgement. Maybe he'll suprise upside. I hope so. But IMO decisions will be made next year

[Fritz]

I think Bretsky is spot on here. Hawk will be around this year, and it looks like Driver, too. It'll be after this season, I think, that we'll see the washing of certain contracts from the roster.

[KYPack]

Tough call.

During a TT press conference this year, Thompson answered a question saying, "A lot of player are too short or too small to play in the NFL, but they come in and go to 7 probowls. DJ Smith is too small, but we think he's a pretty good player." I've heard Capers compare him to Sam Mills. He played well last year, as a rookie in a year where rookies had a big disadvantage.

I do think the Packers are very high on DJ Smith. I don't think Hawk is tremendously overpaid, although it looks like he is somewhat overpaid. The salary is a problem. DJ Smith being better will be the far bigger problem.

I know cutting Hawk now doesn't save us actual "cap space" this year, but it does save us 4 million dollars overall (rather than saving 2m next season, we'd save 6m by cutting him now) So there is a savings by cutting Hawk now vs next year, it just doesn't show up until the following year.

Hey, if we resigned Clay Matthews to a 4 year deal next offseason, cutting Hawk now would add 1M to each season of Clay's contract years. A nickle here and a dollar there add up fast.

They know a lot more about DJ Smith than they do about a late 1st round draft pick who's never even been to a practice with their coaches let alone played in an NFL game. If they think he's friggin good, I think they have enough information to move on now. I have a hunch Smith is the better player. That's not a good sign for AJ Hawk, especially down the road, but even now.

No Justin.

Cutting Hawk would cost us about a half million this season.

Next year, cutting Hawk does save us money.

Unless AJ plays his brains out this year, he's gone next year.

I like that kind of incentive.

[SkinBasket]

Its based on a tiny sample of work from Smith, but this article is the exact opposite of a fluff piece. Doesn't mean it isn't wrong, but its based on observable fact. Not like the work of the mind readers at JSO.

Really? A piece titled, "Secret Superstar: DJ Smith" is all about observable fact? Using selective stats to make a predetermined case is no better than what the JSO or Micheal Moore does. I'm not saying that I think the guy sucks dong, but like others here, think Smith needs more time and production to demonstrate that dropping Hawk would be a smart move. When it comes down to it, I trust the Packers evaluations more than some guy at profootballfocus, so as long as Hawk is on the team and starting, I'm going to tend to believe he gives the team the best chance at winning. I say tend, because we did have to suffer Bigby and Poppinga and Walden for some time before the team moved on.