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One of the options the Green Bay Packers have for replacing injured middle linebacker Nick Barnett is A.J. Hawk, and they are giving him an opportunity to show what he can do.

Hawk, who has been starting at weak-side linebacker, was receiving turns at middle linebacker in practice Wednesday, a strong sign they are considering going with him there. Until coach Mike McCarthy addresses reporters at around 1:20 p.m., it won't be entirely clear whether that's the direction he plans to go.

McCarthy may have a plan to test out both Hawk and second-year backup Desmond Bishop at the position this week.

Moving Hawk over makes sense because it would allow Brandon Chillar to get on the field full-time as Hawk's replacement on the weak-side. Thus, the Packers could get Chillar and Brady Poppinga on the field at the same time rather than having to rotate or play them based on match-ups

Chillar was back at practice today after missing Sunday's game against Minnesota with a shoulder injury.

Greg Bedard will update the practice blog in a short while.

aaprigs311 wrote:I don't like the move. Hawk is too small to play the middle. I guess it's not like our run defense can get any worse though. He is no where near the 6'1' 248' he's listed at. I was face to face with him a few weeks ago. I'm just a tad under 6'1'' and I was looking down at him. he's probably 5'10'' - 5' 11'' 230 lbs. I understand size isn't everything, but I don't expect this transition to be a successful one.

aaprigs311 wrote:I don't like the move. Hawk is too small to play the middle. I guess it's not like our run defense can get any worse though. He is no where near the 6'1' 248' he's listed at. I was face to face with him a few weeks ago. I'm just a tad under 6'1'' and I was looking down at him. he's probably 5'10'' - 5' 11'' 230 lbs. I understand size isn't everything, but I don't expect this transition to be a successful one.

aaprigs311 wrote:I'll leave that for you to decide.

Ayt wrote:I thought Hawk played a great game. He did a really good job of stuffing the middle, and was excellent in coverage. Much better than what Bambi was doing this year.

I think the move will be permanent once he settles in. I remember arguing very strongly that Hawk should be the MLB right after we drafted him, but our coaches resisted doing that for whatever reason.

DrugBust wrote:

Ayt wrote:I thought Hawk played a great game. He did a really good job of stuffing the middle, and was excellent in coverage. Much better than what Bambi was doing this year.

I think the move will be permanent once he settles in. I remember arguing very strongly that Hawk should be the MLB right after we drafted him, but our coaches resisted doing that for whatever reason.

Not that I disagreed with the thought of playing Hawk in the middle, but conventional wisdom is you play your fast and athletic linebacker at WLB because it's the playmaking position on the defense. Takes on the tight end, plays in space more than the MLB and especially the SLB. Derrick Brooks is the obvious example in the last decade. I think the Packers thought thats what they were drafting. It just hasn't turned out that way. Hawk's a good linebacker, he just isn't a game changer.

xTitan wrote:I thought Hawk played very well but it is becoming evident that Chillar is a VERY good free agent signing. Chillar is fast and very aggressive and IMHO, has easily been the best LB all season long.