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AJ Hawk

bdiddy

bdiddy

Waterboy
Am I the only one that thinks AJ Hawk is overrated. I think he is a very nice LB who will make the ordinary tackles, will be a solid pro, and could start for a number of years. However, if he is going to go in the top 5 or 10 he needs to be an impact player. AJ Hawk is a plug in player, not an impact player. I think you could draft a sold MLB in the 2-4 rounds and not see a significant loss in ability.

For instance, I really like Brandon Hoyte an LB from Notre Dame. Is he in Hawks class? No, but the Texans could get Hoyte in the late rounds and he would be an immediate upgrade at ILB in the 4-3 scheme. Hoyte is small (5'11), light (235lbs.), and slow - but he hits like a mack truck, is extremely bright, and displays great leadership (yes, Longhorns others beside Vince Young have leadership skills). I think he would be a good second day selection.

I live in San Antonio and have got to watch some of the practices this week for the East-West Shrine Allstar game. I have been impressed by Hoyte and David Thomas. Thomas catches everything, he is a little small but would be a hell of a weapon. Reggie McNeal has also looked much better than his play this season would indicate. Apparently he has been working with a draft guru in florida to improve his dropback from under the center and his passing motion. He has been the best QB thus far (and I always thought he was way overrated - he is proving me wrong).
 
Are you trying to say we should play Hawk, who played OLB his entire career at OSU, as a MLB? I'm not trying to imply that you did, it's just your post wasn't very clear and you went from talking about Hawk to talking about Hoyte, a MLB...

From what I've seen from Hawk, he's always around the play, but he has trouble shedding blocks...IMO, he will probably take a drop like DJ did due to concerns about this, but if a team gets him after pick 10, I'd say he will be a steal...
 
i like the point u r making for me with mcneil being better than what the aggies allowed him to be i had him going in the fourth round because that is his ability to come in as our 3rd stringer and ride the pine for 3 yrs and if carr doesn't pan out be ready to step in and take over he has all of the skills needed but will come at the right price by being a 4th rounder.:redtowel:
 
You'll find most fans from Texas (or Texas fans) think Hawk is either overrated, or not even the best LB on the team.

Hoyte has been the farthest thing from good this season, and in some occasions has been downright bad. As for the comment of finding a MLB in the 2-4 rounds and not find much difference in ability; well, I'll let AJ's tape speak for itself.
 
Youngstown Colt said:
You'll find most fans from Texas (or Texas fans) think Hawk is either overrated, or not even the best LB on the team.

Hoyte has been the farthest thing from good this season, and in some occasions has been downright bad. As for the comment of finding a MLB in the 2-4 rounds and not find much difference in ability; well, I'll let AJ's tape speak for itself.
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You are free to have your opinion on Hawk, many people disagree with my assessment. I just think Hawk is good but not great. LB tend to drop in the draft. You can get very good talent in the middle rounds. Hawk does not have DJs physical gifts, but is a more natural reader of defenses. I think he will be a solid pro but not a special player you would like to get with a top 5 or 10 pick.

But, Hoyte did have a good season. He lead ND in tackles for loss, was 2nd in tackles, and was the leader of the defense. He does not have ideal physical tools for the NFL, but he had a nice college career.
 
this is funny too....hawk has been a stud..there is no reason to believe he won't excel in the NFL unless you watched the bowl game..where he was manhandled...but they were coming after him...in the NFL they won't be able to let other guys go so they can block hawk and hawk only...i equate hawk to zach thomas from my beloved TT...get your guns up!! he was slighted for his size and we heard how he wouldn't be able to make plays...look at him now
 
adrianshrev said:
i like the point u r making for me with mcneil being better than what the aggies allowed him to be i had him going in the fourth round because that is his ability to come in as our 3rd stringer and ride the pine for 3 yrs and if carr doesn't pan out be ready to step in and take over he has all of the skills needed but will come at the right price by being a 4th rounder.:redtowel:
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If we're talking Reggie McNeil, taking him in the forth.... I might be okay with this. But I don't blame all his problems on his coaches...... The players didn't want him playing in the Biggest Game of their year. So that would be a concern.

Of course, this would be if we pass on Vince.
 
First, AJ Hawk is going to be a very good LB in this league similar to Dan Morgan. Yes that also means he will not be great, get washed out of plays, and deal with some injuries due to his size. Is he worth a top 5 pick? Hell no, but no LB in the last 9 years has gone top 5 other than Arrington if I am not mistaken, and there is no freak like Arrington in this draft.
Second, Reggie McNeal is an athletic and taller Seneca Wallace. He is a career back-up and if he was smart and fast enough would make the switch to WR and get drafted in the 2 or 3rd round by some team. He will not and will likely fall to the 4th due to his ability and off-field situations. I dont want him in the fourth personally, but in the 6th or 7th he would not be a bad pick-up. There is really no reason to draft a QB in this draft until the 6th or 7th round. Sorry everyone counting on Vince he will look great in a Saints or Titans Uni.
 
Once again I agree with cadahnic's assessment. I think Hawk will be a very solid and good LB in the NFL, but I don't see him as top 8 pick material. It takes a very special LB to do that, and I don't think he is special enough, although if a team in the 5-9 range desperately wants a LB I could see him getting picked up there, but I personally would not get him above the 9-10 slot.
As for Reggie McNeal, if he truly runs a 4.35 40 then he should consider switching to WR and learn to run routes and catch the ball because I also think he will be a career backup QB but has a chance at being a good WR. I also agree that we don't need to pick a QB before the 6th, maybe 5th round, but if someone like McNeal falls that far I have absolutely no problem getting him there.
 
TEXANFAN23435 said:
Great mention on Arrington, anyone else think he might be worth looking at since he is being shown the door in Washington???
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I wrote a few weeks back that Hawk was my can't miss pick for some team. These same "faults" of his were the same things they said about guys like Singletary and other smallish guys who allegedly got blocked out by bigger players. Zach Thomas, same thing. Heck, Travis Johnson got panned because he supposedly ran around people and didn't like contact. You can't teach toughness, a nose for the ball, hustle, etc and Hawk has all of those things. If people want to look at stud FA LBs look at Will Witherspoon or Adin from J'Ville. Both have had great years. Witherspoon can fill in at MLB too.
 
HoustonFrog said:
Heck, Travis Johnson got panned because he supposedly ran around people and didn't like contact. You can't teach toughness, a nose for the ball, hustle, etc and Hawk has all of those things.
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Are you talking about Derrick Johnson? Not Travis? However, good point on the other LBs. I guess scouts keep looking for the Grail in finding a LB who is 6'4 and 230-240 lbs with a 4.5 40. They just don't come along that often. The closest one to these parameters in my mind is Brian Urlacher. I don't see an Urlacher (size wise and speed wise) in the draft, but I do see a Zach Thomas-clone with a little more size in AJ Hawk. The guy is flat out nasty and I was a naysayer on him until I saw him play against Texas. He converted me on the spot with (I think) 13 tackles against some very fast players. He is not going to get blocked 100% full body contact (meaning stopped in his tracks) very often; He is too fast and he is disruptive as Heck (see the Notre Dame game). Even if he is partially blocked (ie. push on shoulder, etc), he will still fill the QBs vision if he is blitzing and smart enough to take good angles in zone defense.
 
I don't think he's overrated as a collegiate LB but I think his pro potential has been a bit exaggerated.

IMO, he was the best LB in the nation this past season. Guy was amazing. But if a team drafts him in the top 10, then I'll consider it a reach.
 
In light of Huge's statement,
I really like Hawk's potential, but I agree that Hawk is more of a 11-20 first round guy than top ten. The only defender I would take that high (top ten) might be Mario Williams.
 
66cobra said:
Are you talking about Derrick Johnson? QUOTE]

My bad. Thanks!His name just stuck in my head..lol. Exactly. I agree with what you had to say. I also watched him vs Notre Dame and he always seemed to be around the ball.
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Huge said:
I don't think he's overrated as a collegiate LB but I think his pro potential has been a bit exaggerated.

IMO, he was the best LB in the nation this past season. Guy was amazing. But if a team drafts him in the top 10, then I'll consider it a reach.
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O ya, and Vince smoked AJ Hawk and his amazing LBing partners.....

Don't forget that when you talk about the "Best LB in the nation this past season."
 
In that game Hawk had 12 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 1 INT.

How could I forget that game? It was one of the reasons I said he was the best LB in the nation this past season.
 
Huge said:
In that game Hawk had 12 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 1 INT.

How could I forget that game? It was one of the reasons I said he was the best LB in the nation this past season.
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Yeah, I'd love to have a LB get smoked that bad every game. Not everyone on a losing team is worse than everyone on a winning team.
 
TEXANFAN23435 said:
Great mention on Arrington, anyone else think he might be worth looking at since he is being shown the door in Washington???
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Washington was open to trades before the deadline this season (I would have easily given up a 4th round pick for him, and Washington later said they likely would have taken that offer), but I think he showed them enough the rest of the year that they don't plan on getting rid of him unless a decent trade offer is made.

Huge said:
I don't think he's overrated as a collegiate LB but I think his pro potential has been a bit exaggerated.

IMO, he was the best LB in the nation this past season. Guy was amazing. But if a team drafts him in the top 10, then I'll consider it a reach.
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Agreed, I think he was a great college LB and should be a very solid NFL LB, but LBs just aren't taken very high in the draft. I could see him going maybe at #7 or lower if a team there really needs a LB (maybe Oakland at #7 if SF gets the #6 in the coin toss), but I don't see him going higher than that, contrary to what many mocks (including the great Mel Kiper) have him at.
 
I think I heard yesterday that Washington and Arrington are working on a contract restructuring to keep him there.
 
infantrycak said:
Yeah, I'd love to have a LB get smoked that bad every game. Not everyone on a losing team is worse than everyone on a winning team.
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yea, no doubt that Hawk is an insano LB talent. I wasn't really knocking him so much as pointing out what Vince was able to do against a great group, not just individual, linebacking Corp. All 3 of those LBers that Ohio State fielded will likely play on Sundays.
 
The thing that scares me about Hawk is that there was a very similar player that played at Ohio State named Andy Katzenmoyer who I thought was one bad mofo til he got in the NFL. Katz was even more dominating than Hawk was. So I have a grasp on the past a bit much I think. Hawk will be fine.
 
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