The Packer Pundit

Versatile Hawk has tools to become a star
By John Czarnecki / FOXSports.com / Story Link
GREEN BAY, Wis. - Seven years ago when the Bears selected Brian Urlacher with the ninth overall pick, the Green Bay Packers tried desperately to move ahead of Chicago. "I offered more than two first-round picks to jump six spots in order to draft Urlacher," said Ron Wolf, the former general manager. "I couldn't get a team to make a trade and that's how we lost him. I tried everything I could because I had a special feeling about Urlacher." Every NFL fan knows Urlacher's impact on the Bears. He's made the franchise a winner while also hastening the Pack's decline.

Last year, current Packers GM Ted Thompson, a Wolf disciple, believed he would be drafting defensive end Mario Williams with the fourth overall pick. Thompson ranks pass rushers very high — right behind quarterbacks. Most figured Houston would take Reggie Bush and then the Saints would draft A.J. Hawk out of Ohio State. But then the Texans shocked the football world and picked Williams No. 1, and we all know the Saints would've been fools not to select Bush. And that's how the game's next great linebacker ended up a Green Bay Packer. Unlike Urlacher, who also plays in a 4-3 scheme, Hawk is a will linebacker. Urlacher plays the mike, plus with his height and enviable range roams the deep middle of Chicago's defense. Hawk enjoys the 4-3 scheme, too, because he would hate being an inside linebacker in a 3-4 and, although he could do it, he wouldn't accept being simply a pass-rushing outside linebacker in that alignment, either. "I don't want to be considered a linebacker who is just a run stopper or one that is simply better in coverage," Hawk said. "I want to be a complete linebacker. In this defense, I can run and make plays."

Wolf, who was visiting Green Bay last week, looked at five of Hawk's games from his rookie season.

"What impressed me was that I never saw him knocked off his feet once," Wolf said. "He can take on the blocker and shed him and make the tackle. We talked about who he reminds me of and after thinking about it, I'd say (Steelers Hall of Famer) Jack Ham. I'm not saying he's Ham now, but he has a chance if he continues to improve and can consistently play at a very high level." Hawk led the Packers as a rookie with 155 tackles last season. He also had two interceptions and 3½ sacks. Packer coaches believe his intensity and competitiveness made teammate Nick Barnett a better player.

Hawk is all football, although he's named after the famed Indy driver A.J. Foyt. His favorite book was written by a Navy seal and his shoulder length hair, trimmed by his wife Laura, pays homage to the late Pat Tillman, who quit the Arizona Cardinals to become an Army Ranger after 9/11. If Hawk was your buddy, he'd definitely have your back. For more than a decade, the Packers have gone as far as Brett Favre has taken them. But these Packers, who definitely believe they can challenge the Bears this season in the NFC North, are also about defense. It's their best unit right now. Hawk can lead the way if he jumps to the next level and becomes a Pro Bowler.

Winston Moss, the Packers' assistant head coach, was a linebacker for 11 seasons and now coaches the position. "The game is very important to him," Moss said of Hawk. "He has the drive to be one of the best. If he stays healthy, he has a shot. He has superior athletic skills. Last year we had him covering tight ends and running backs on certain pass routes and teams, for the most part, (we) were unable to take advantage of him. He is special. He has the physical ability to play the run with anybody. Ability-wise, he's one of the best I've ever seen."

Moss played for Jimmy Johnson at the U. in the 1980s and thus his comparisons are from that era, and interestingly they were two Chicago Bears — Mike Singletary and Wilber Marshall. Hawk, by the way, wears No. 50, the same number that Hall of Famer Singletary made famous. "Those two guys could cover, they could hit, blitz and always played smart," Moss said of the two former Bears. "They could do anything you asked them to do. There had no weaknesses. You saw Singletary sometimes running down the middle of the field and you always saw the explosion when he was running inside to make a tackle. That's what I love about A.J. He can handle the tight end and the running back out of the backfield. In three or four years we'll have a better idea of where to rate him. It's a pleasure to coach him. He can very easily make any coach look good."

Hawk started playing football in second grade and, looking back, says he now realizes what great coaching he had in high school and at Ohio State. "I was lucky," he said. "I really realized in college how much my coaches prepared me. I think my beliefs about football were molded in high school (in Centerville, Ohio). "I don't think the game of football is that easy, but I also don't think it is as complicated as a lot of people like to think," Hawk said. "I try to make it simple. I try to remember that when things are going crazy out there on the field and people are scheming too much. I try to remember that."

There is no question that even after one NFL season; Hawk is extremely more confident and comfortable about what the Packers are doing on defense. Besides Hawk, the Packers have potential young stars in defensive end Cullen Jenkins, the little brother of Carolina's Kris Jenkins, and free safety Nick Collins. The other defensive end, Aaron Kampman, at 27 the epitome of hard work and constant hustle, made the Pro Bowl last season after leading the NFC with 15½ sacks.

Unlike the Bears, who firmly believe in Cover 2 zone defenses, the Packers play a lot more man coverage with veteran cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson. Hawk loves the style because "our defense is based on three or four guys working together. I like that part, communicating with the guys around me," he said. "There is no doubt that the Bears have a ton of talent," Hawk said. "They are the guys on top right now, having gone to the Super Bowl and all. Everybody else is trying to get where they are. Still, I think our defense can have an impact, too."

Outside of football, Hawk doesn't have a ton of interests. He has a 26-foot pleasure boat that he uses whenever he can. He fishes a little and golfs a little. Being married a year now (to Cleveland quarterback Brady Quinn's sister), Hawk said he was ready to settle down. "You hear so many horror stories about dating when you're rich and kind of famous," he said. "I fell in love and was just ready." Some day Hawk will raise a family, but right now he's more focused on being as great as he can be. Yes, it's football 24/7.