Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1496 of 1503)

The Green Bay Packers drafted the kind of mind that every team envies when it’s their turn on the clock. Although, he’ll miss about six practices while finishing classes at Ohio State, AJ Hawk impressed at his first taste of mini camp.

Hawk went through a series of drills, got acquainted with his new teammates and said hello to the fans. But afterwards, is where he made the biggest contribution to his teammates, fans and the organization that drafted him.

The 6-foot-1, 246-pound Hawk was the last player in the locker room early Friday evening.

“I enjoy working out after practice,” he said. “A couple of linebackers wanted to watch the practice film and we needed to. I definitely needed to watch my mistakes so I don’t make the same (ones today).”

Hawk said he had no plans to unwind Friday night.

“We’re putting some more defense in (today),” he said. “All the rookies have to get in their playbook and make sure we know what’s going on.”

Armed with that kind of an attitude and dedication, the Packers have found a cornerstone on a defense that found itself in uncharted territory last season: on the other side of winning. Hawk will bring his speed and intensity to every game. He also will bring a sense of toughness and is a sound tackler across the board.

If Hawk shows the kind of work ethic throughout the season that he has shown thus far so early into his career, Green Bay will have an icon at linebacker for years to come.

A week ago tonight, the Houston Texans (gasp!) did the unthinkable! They passed on arguably the best college football prospect in Reggie Bush.

Put down the shock and mayhem for a second and take what the Houston Texans did at face value: they upgraded a defensive unit that was horrendous in 2005 with the selection of Mario Williams.

The Texans finished second to last in total defense, yards given up a game and finished with an average at best 37 total sacks in ’06. They had the number one pick for a reason and with so many glaring needs, the Texans’ brass did what they had to do: addressed at least one of them by getting an immediate starter.

Houston has loads of money tied up on the offensive side of the ball. Plus with new coach and offensive minded guru Gary Kubiak now on board, their O should be able to manufacture more scoring opportunities than last year.

And hey, even if Bush is the second coming of O.J. Simpson (the football player, not the accused murderer), the Texans might be on their way to playoff appearances based on their defense and not looking back at what could have been.

Armed with the possibility of choosing either Heisman winner A) Reggie Bush, or Heisman winner B) Matt Leinart, the NY Jets decided to go with option C) Play it safe and go with D’Brick.

Oh boy, always quick to groan about first day draft selections, the Jets faithful had to be quick to put a sour note on this one.

Or not?

D’Brickashaw Ferguson, possibly the only “safe” prospect in the entire draft, will start immediately at one of the biggest holes the Jets had to fill last weekend: offensive tackle. Ferguson will most likely be a stud and go on to have a very productive career.

But what about Leinart or Bush? Leinart would have been the air apparent to Joe Namath for New York fans and Bush would have given the Jets a star the likes of Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter.

Was there ever a possibility that the Jets would have taken Leinart or traded up for Bush?

Tannenbaum confirmed that he talked to the Saints about trading up to the second spot, but he backed off because New Orleans demanded an Eli Manning-esque package that included two first-round picks.

The Jets were impressed with Leinart in a recent private workout, but not enough to allay their concerns about his arm strength and Hollywood image. He never was a serious consideration with the fourth pick.

The Jets had their sites on the big kid from Long Island and who could blame them with their pressing need at tackle? Actually, a lot of people could blame them if Leinart turns into the next Tom Brady and the first people in line will be fans.