AJ Hawk haters.....

Not in 2011, when Bishop did all the dirty work. His overall performance in 2011 was poor.

Fortunately, his play this year more closely approximates his outstanding 2010.

Perhaps, but I was expecting a 'Clay Matthews' level of impact. Of that, he falls far short.

Then perhaps your expectations were too high?

That would be my point. We have Mario andretti in a porsche barely beating my grandma driving her Hyundai. It was easy to expect more from Hawk

Successful? Sure. Did we have the right to expect more - sooner? Yes. Not based on his draft position, just from a talent evaluation standpoint. That is entirely based on my own 'armchair evaluation'.

Hawk has had up and down years, and is a role player, not a star. It took me a while, but he's had enough "good" years to have me turn coat. He's had a quiet year and an injured year in the mix too that I don't hold against him. At least not anymore anyway.

Berkowitz?

Hawk was the Lombardi award winner and made first team All-America. He was lauded in the pre draft rankings. I guess that's where the expectations came from. He's been solid for the most part.

I got it. Good one!

Then where was the error?

Who said anything about an error?

There is risk/reward with every player.

Hey guys. Fresh meat here. Great discussion on this topic so far. For the hawk supporters, what specifically does he do well?

General consensus is plugging gaps and running lanes, making adjustments, tackle (though not necessarily on initial contact) and being healthy enough to play.

Obviously, the error is in mis-judging the type of player AJ would translate to in the NFL.

He almost never makes a mental mistake. I think this might be one of the most under-rated abilities in the league. Will you consistently win with a defense full of guys like that, probably not. You've got to have playmakers and ball-hawks. "Home-run hitters". But just like homer hitters swing and miss a lot, so do big play guys and ballhawks. If you have those guys on your team, and we absolutely do, you need an AJ Hawk to back it up when someone whiffs. So many people bag on Hawk because he's there to mop up. But it often happens after one of our big hitters misses. What, you'd rather Hawk didn't make those tackles? Rarely the first guy at the point of attack, but likely our surest guy at the point of attack.

He's reliable. He's a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none as a LB, but you know what he is and he brings it every single game. He has cranked it up a notch overall this past season. He's smart. He's an excellent signal-caller on defense and makes solid on-the-fly adjustments. Every defense can use a guy like AJ.

He's also the ugliest SOB to strap on a Packer helmet since Nitschke.

So your saying he's less of a "hawk" (general hunter association) and more of a vulture (scavenger association) ???
Perhaps we should nick name him: The Janitor, Trash Man, The Bondsman, Plan B? The Fixer?!

Look, I'm not saying he's what I thought he was going to be. And even though nobody wants to be the janitor and clean up others peoples' ****, I think everyone who has a janitor should be considered fortunate to have one, don't you? And if a janitor is truly what Hawk is, I'm glad that he's one of the best.

And +1 for the vulture thing. Clever.

Ain't that the truth.

For a first round pick what else would your expectations be? Granted not every 1st round draft pick can be savage beast, but when you draft a guy in the first round (as I stated in a previous thread) there is high expectation to perform, not just be merely serviceable, which is really the kind of player Hawk has been lately.

Players don't draft themselves. They don't evaluate themselves. They don't talk themselves up on ESPN. It's the scouting department's fault if they don't get it right. It can also be the result of playing in a college system that fits a guy's play style to a T. The draft is largely a crap shoot.