A.J. Hawk notched a career best three sacks on Sunday. He will need to carry the defense with Clay Matthews out.
The moment Clay Matthews went down vs. Detroit, many thought the season was lost.
Of course that was before A.J. Hawk took over.
The eighth year pro has heard the criticisms — a lot coming from myself. When he was drafted as the fifth overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, Hawk really never asserted himself as the dynamic defensive player he was the year prior at Ohio State.
Early on, big plays were few and far between and when he was assigned to pass coverage he usually got beat, by a fullback no less.
Fast forward to last season and he’s not as thick as he once was. He’s a lot more athletic and he’s been able to up his pass coverage game.
With a sleeker, more aerodynamic look on top, he had a career-best three sacks to help lead the Packers to its first road of the season. He also was tied for a game-best 10 total tackles.
But it’s not the stats that the Packers are going ...
