Skip to main content

WHAT? That little green dot doesn't signal "Alien"?  

 

 

You should know me better than that, Boris! I was just pointing out that Hawk was lauded by Spofford for getting guys in the right spots. (And if I'm not mistaken, I think communication would have been cut off by the time he moved guys.) Yes, he may have been alerted to what play to look for by the coaches, but Spofford thought Hawk did something of value.

 

I still think Hawk can be replaced, but the reason he might still be on the field is that he can get guys to where they need to be and he's that dreaded word: accountable. He might be able to recognize a play before it happens, but that doesn't mean once the ball is snapped he can physically get there and stop it. 

Jones has lost his starting spot, guarantee he hits the road. My impression of Thompson is that production has to equal your pay rate and if he's paying even low-end starter money to Jones and he's buried on the depth chart then he's gone. 

 

For all of Hawk's faults he is still hitting the numbers of a starting NFL ILB...he's averaged 104 tackles per year in the previous 8 years (and is on pace for a little under 120 this year), he averages 2 sacks per year, and 1 INT per year. He may be making those tackles 5 yards down the field, but he is making them. What do those numbers mean in the context of starting ILBs across the NFL? Patrick Willis has arguably been one of, if not the best ILB in the NFL over his 7 year career and here are his career average numbers: 130 tackles per year, 3 sacks per year, 1 INT per year, and 2 FF per year. So as you can see, production wise, Hawk is hitting his numbers especially when there are 23 other ILBs in the NFL, include teammate Brad Jones, who have bigger contracts that pay them more money annually and have more money guaranteed annually. This is not to excuse Hawk's poor play or defend how terrible he is, but I'm merely pointing out that with Ted Thompson being the kind of GM who weighs production vs salary there is a case to be made, when you look at numbers only, that Hawk will end up getting to finish out his contract and hit the market in 2016. 

I agree, but Hawk has been underachieving since the switch the 34 so how do you explain Thompson giving him two middle-of-the-road starting ILB contracts (one contract, one restructure) despite that? Part of me thinks it's kind of a "Devil you know" thought process, if Hawk is producing 100 tackles and 2 sacks per year consistently then the better option is to complement him with a more explosive Des Bishop type player...except obviously he hasn't found that guy opposite Hawk. I don't know what is thought process, that's the only thing I can point though.

I think he might have an understandable soft spot for Hawk's reliability. Of all the injury problems TT has had to deal with, guys like Hawk and Kuhn and Bush do just enough to stick with the team because of their availability. At least until a better player comes around in TT's price range. Given how the S and C positions seem to now have been addressed, I would be surprised if ILB doesn't get a lot of interest from TT next off season. 

Add Reply

Post
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×