GREEN BAY, Wis.(AP) — Laura Hawk, wife of Green Bay Packers
linebacker A.J. Hawk and sister of Browns quarterback Brady
Quinn, may not have much to root for when the two teams meet
Sunday in Cleveland.
Quinn was benched earlier in the season. And A.J. Hawk has spent
more time on the sideline during the last two games, including
being in just nine plays during last Sunday’s shutout win over
Detroit.
“It’s obviously not my ideal situation of what I’d want to be
doing,” said Hawk, who was pegged to be a cornerstone of the
Green Bay defense when the team selected him with the No. 5
overall pick in the 2006 draft.
Hawk has started every game since he broke into the league, but
the coaches are using an abundance of depth at linebacker in Dom
Capers’ new 3-4 defensive scheme.
Brandon Chillar, whom Capers touted Friday for being a “jack of
all trades,” has replaced Hawk as an inside linebacker when the
Packers have employed their nickel package.
“The fact of the matter is we haven’t played much base (defense)
the last two weeks,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “(Hawk)
just doesn’t have a lot of opportunities right now.”
Hawk is following the lead of his demoted brother-in-law and
trying to make the best of a tough situation.
Quinn also is a former first-round draft pick, taken No. 22 by
the Browns in 2007. After beating out Derek Anderson during the
preseason, Quinn played poorly at the start of the season and
lost the job to Anderson after only three games.
“Brady has a good perspective on it, and he understands for
multiple reasons why he’s not playing,” said Hawk, who talks to
Quinn once a week. “He’s not going to cause any problems. He’ll
get his chance eventually.”
Just as Quinn has said publicly has no desire to leave
Cleveland, Hawk wants to remain a Packer.
“Regardless of how many reps I’m getting right now, I still want
to be here,” Hawk said. “I’d much rather not be playing as much
as I’d like on a winning team and a solid organization than
starting and going 2-14.”
The one person caught in the middle of the personnel changes has
been Laura Hawk. She wore a jersey to the 2006 Fiesta Bowl that
was split in half to show support for her brother, who was the
quarterback for Notre Dame, and for her future husband, who was
on the other side with Ohio State.
“With me, she’s fine,” A.J. Hawk said. “She can handle whatever
I go through. It’s her brother that bothers her more, because
she still looks at him as the 5-year-old baby brother and she
has to take care of him. It was hard on her at first when his
whole situation started.”
Although an anticipated rematch between Hawk and Quinn on the
field Sunday seems remote, Hawk could be more active than he has
in nearly a month.
“I think A.J. is a really good football player,” Capers said.
“It’s more you’re going to try to match up what you think fits
best against the people you’re playing.”
Capers added: “I think A.J. will play a lot more this week, not
to tip our hand.”
Hawk readily admits he needs to start producing. In five games
this season, Hawk has a string of zeros next to his name for
sacks, interceptions, fumble recoveries, forced fumbles and pass
breakups.
“I’m not satisfied with the way I’ve played,” Hawk said. “The
last couple weeks, I haven’t really gotten a whole lot of reps
in the games, but I’ve got to make those count.”
Big plays have eluded Hawk since his rookie season in 2006, when
he had career highs of 155 tackles (a team high that year), 3
1/2 sacks, two interceptions, nine pass breakups and two fumble
recoveries.
Hawk is in the midst of 31 straight games, including the
playoffs, without an interception, forced fumble or fumble
recovery. He has only 21 tackles this season.
Despite the lack of production, the Packers aren’t giving up on
Hawk.
“Sometimes, you go a couple of weeks and you don’t play much,
then all of a sudden you’re going to play a bunch,” Capers said.
“I think he’s done a good job. I haven’t seen anything that’s
disappointed me in A.J. at all.”
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