What will Ted Thompson do about the ILB position in the Off Season?

[Bossman641]

So apparently Hawk had injury issues during the year, which Rodgers hinted at a few times. I wonder if Hawk would be agreeable to taking a pay cut to be a backup. I can't imagine any teams wanting him as a starter at this point.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12352925/aj-hawk-green-bay-packers-had-ankle-surgery-remove-bone-spurs

[Smidgeon]

I've heard of bone spurs before but know not how they affect someone.

[Patler]

I've heard of bone spurs before but know not how they affect someone.

A bony growth that, can rub on tendons or muscles making it very painful to move at a joint. This could explain his lumbering gait and noticeable loss of speed and quickness this year.

[gbgary]

brad jones released

[Patler]

That's not a surprise.

I think Hawk stays, at least until camp.

[Tony Oday]

Not sure it matters that much what Ted does personnel-wise... dunderdummy is still our DC - tough to overcome that.

We've had enough pieces on defense the last 2 years to make a serious run both years, and dunderdummy screwed us this year, and tortured us all of 2013 - he's such a liability that I don't think we can overcome his presence no matter what we do with the personnel.

That said, I think Barrington is a keeper - he showed enough to be pencilled in as the starter at one spot. We definitely need an infusion of youth and talent with a new starter and depth. Hawk and Jones need to go...

In the end, I doubt TT will do much in FA, and the draft is always a crapshoot - if a decent ILB isn't there early, we'll be stuck with throwing spitballs at 7th rounders again.

Think we keep Hawk, and it will be the same turtle approach from Ted. Same ol', same ol'... dunderdummy will invent new ways to embarrass us in the playoffs

Bullshit. Bostick follows the play and the Packers are in the Super Bowl and would have crushed the Patriots. Capers brought the D around towards the end, your hate clouds your vision.

[mraynrand]

Bullshit. Bostick follows the play and the Packers are in the Super Bowl and would have crushed the Patriots. Capers brought the D around towards the end, your hate clouds your vision.

I feel the conflict within you; let go of your hate

[mraynrand]

You CANNOT TRUST DUNDERDUMMY. EVER!

[Smidgeon]

Feels appropriate:

New Hope: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ezeYJUz-84

Empire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjsFAZWnA00

[red]

A bony growth that, can rub on tendons or muscles making it very painful to move at a joint. This could explain his lumbering gait and noticeable loss of speed and quickness this year.

i was thinking about hawk the other day, didn't he lose a bunch of weight before this year or last year, so he could be quicker?

to see him moving so slowly this year, something had to be wrong, he's not old enough to be looking like ray nitschke hobbling down the field returning an int with two bad legs

[Joemailman]

That's not a surprise.

I think Hawk stays, at least until camp.

Yes, they may want to wait and see if Carl Bradford and Nate Palmer look in the OTA's and minicamp like they have the instincts to play inside. Palmer is almost completely off the radar, but there were some good reports about him at ILB in camp before he hurt his knee. At 6-2, 248 he has prototypical size. He was not invited to the Combine in 2013, but the 40 and 3 cone times he put up at his Pro Day (4.7/6.98) would have been 5th and 1st among ILB's at the Combine.

[Patler]

If they stay true to form, they won't draft either of these guys:

Meet the linebackers: A day after coach Mike McCarthy more or less said inside linebacker is the Packers' greatest need this offseason, two of the top inside linebackers in the draft -- Missississppi State's Benardrick McKinney and Miami's Denzel Perryman -- both confirmed they have formal interviews scheduled with the Packers during the combine. The Packers began their overhaul at the position by releasing veteran Brad Jones on Friday.

http://espn.go.com/blog/green-bay-pa...ombine-packers

[pbmax]

i was thinking about hawk the other day, didn't he lose a bunch of weight before this year or last year, so he could be quicker?

to see him moving so slowly this year, something had to be wrong, he's not old enough to be looking like ray nitschke hobbling down the field returning an int with two bad legs

Yeah, one of the articles mentions specifically he lost weight to take pressure of his leg.

And I always find this kind of decision curious. He clearly wasn't among the 53 best this year. Why didn't they sit his butt down on IR-DTR and have the surgery?

[Patler]

Yeah, one of the articles mentions specifically he lost weight to take pressure of his leg.

And I always find this kind of decision curious. He clearly wasn't among the 53 best this year. Why didn't they sit his butt down on IR-DTR and have the surgery?

IR-DTR wasn't really an option after Tretter got hurt. They needed to use that for him, since they had no idea how Linsley would handle it at center. If there was a chance that Hawk could play through it, he needed to try at that point.

But, ....Why didn't he get it fixed last off season, instead of choosing to just lose weight? One article indicated he has been dealing with this a couple years, but it has been getting worse. Are there risks to the surgery that we are unaware of?

[pbmax]

IR-DTR wasn't really an option after Tretter got hurt. They needed to use that for him, since they had no idea how Linsley would handle it at center. If there was a chance that Hawk could play through it, he needed to try at that point.

But, ....Why didn't he get it fixed last off season, instead of choosing to just lose weight? One article indicated he has been dealing with this a couple years, but it has been getting worse. Are there risks to the surgery that we are unaware of?

Assuming he lost the weight in the offseason, he had to know before camp there was a problem. He could have chosen surgery at almost any time, including before Tretter's injury. After that it wasn't an option, but he has a lot of time and choices before that.