Essex Bengal Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 It's a good move. You can never have too many AJ's on your roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-GoBengals- Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Poor decision. AJ is slow and well past his prime. Bengal LB corps wasn't very good last year and we should be looking for upgrades, not dropoffs. not very good? they didnt play.. they were all hurt... all of them.. and then some backups were hurt... aj hawk sucks a bunch of dicks, and i agree we need some better talent.. but i prefer to not confuse injuries to lack of skill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 osu bengals fans on twitter make me want to jump off a bridge. OSU fans in general make me want to do that, it's hard to root for the Buckeyes and not want to be associated with those loons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Geoff Hobson @GeoffHobsonCin · 1h1 hour ago Hawk grew up in Centerville, Ohio rooting for Bengals. Geoff Hobson @GeoffHobsonCin 6m6 minutes ago Won't be first time AJ Hawk wears Bengals uniform. Wore Krumrie's 69 at Riverfront Punt, Pass and Kick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 A.J. Hawk Must Seek Rebirth With the Cincinnati Bengals Having played in all but two games over the past nine seasons, the Cincinnati Bengals are all but guaranteed to see A.J. Hawk on the field every Sunday, Monday and Thursday. It’s this reliability the Bengals are banking on, because production-wise, the case of Hawk at linebacker quickly unravels. The former Green Bay Packers ironman linebacker hasn’t eclipsed 80 total tackles in nearly three years, and the Bengals need to figure out just how exactly to elicit the early version of Hawk that rampaged the mid-2000s. In fact, Hawk’s career follows a steady downward trend line. In 2012, he compiled 81 total tackles. In 2013, that number fell to 74. And in 2014, Hawk tied his lowest career output in this category with just 53 wrap-ups. Signing a two-year deal with Cincinnati will enter Hawk into a level of scrutiny not felt since the 2006 NFL Combine. Back then, Hawk excelled at the Combine, but that was just one day; this current evaluation ahead of him will be much longer and may define where and when Hawk ends his career. Perhaps the Bengals believe Hawk’s 2014 numbers qualify as an anomaly and that maybe Hawk can reprise his 2013 form in a season where he added five quarterback sacks to contribute to a more complete year. Any added QB knockdown for the Bengals in 2015 will be an added bonus from the 10-year veteran. At 31 years old, Hawk will be the eldest member of Cincinnati’s linebacking corps, and any experience Hawk’s earned would be beneficial to divulge. Year 10 will be a defining one for A.J. Hawk, and hopefully he’s been saving one more quality crusade for his home state of Ohio. http://www.rantsports.com/nfl/2015/03/10/a-j-hawk-must-seek-rebirth-with-the-cincinnati-bengals/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Finklestein Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Have they announced the numbers yet besides 2 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Last packer retread we signed: Marshall Newhouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Mike Sando, ESPN.com @SandoESPN · 2m2 minutes ago AJ Hawk is 31 years old. Last season, #Bengals led the #NFL in defensive snaps played by guys 30 or older. @ColeyHarvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalsFanFromNY Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 As soon as AJ was available you knew the Bengals would be the only team to go after him. 31 yr old MLB = Will be hurt by week 4 and out for the remaining season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Get him down to 235 and put him at WLB. He has been miss-cast as a 3-4 LB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 In A.J. Hawk, Bengals look for defensive spark March, 10, 2015 MAR 10 By Coley Harvey | ESPN.com CINCINNATI -- The first thought by Cincinnati Bengals' fans upon hearing that A.J. Hawk was signing with their team was probably one of disbelief. Did the Bengals really sign a player on the first day of free agency? Followed by: "I hope he's not James Harrison." (There probably was a third thought about Vontaze Burfict. We'll get to that later.) The Bengals are hoping A.J. Hawk can bring his winning experience to their locker room. You'll recall two offseasons ago the Bengals added an up-in-age Harrison just after he was cut at the end of his first tour of duty with the Pittsburgh Stealers. He ended up spending only one year in Cincinnati, and it was arguably the worst of his career. This past season, in a return to Pittsburgh, the 36-year-old had 15 more tackles and 3.5 more sacks than he did during his brief Bengals stay. This March, Hawk is the aging veteran whose career the Bengals are trying to salvage. They agreed with him on a contract Tuesday, ESPN Insider Adam Schefter reported about two hours into the start of the new league year. With a bit of uncertainty at linebacker, the Bengals need Hawk to provide depth as well as a much-needed spark. Harrison was unable to do the latter. Late last month Hawk was released by the Green Bay Packers after his injury-affected ninth season with the team. While he appeared in every game the Packers played in 2014, ankle issues slowed him. By the end of the year, his playing time in defensive coordinator Dom Capers' 3-4 scheme had dramatically decreased. After averaging about 65 snaps in the first 11 games of the season, he didn't see more than 31 snaps in any one of the final seven games, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He didn't even play 20 snaps in four of the final seven games. Immediately after the Packers were eliminated by Seattle in the NFC Championship Game, Hawk had surgery to clear bone spurs from his ankle. Which begs the question: Can the Bengals win with the battered vet? They sure hope so. Here's why the Bengals added Hawk. On the one hand, there's the local tie and the reunion with another longtime Bengal. A native of Kettering, Ohio -- about a 45-minute drive north of Cincinnati -- Hawk knows the area well. He also played high school and college ball with Mike Nugent, the kicker the Bengals re-signed earlier this week. Those are reasons enough to believe Hawk ought to feel at home in the Bengals' locker room. It's a locker room where he'll be viewed as an elder. Only Nugent, Andrew Whitworth, Adam Jones, Eric Winston, Reggie Nelson and (assuming he's re-signed) Jason Campbell are older than Hawk. Unlike them, though, he has a Super Bowl ring. You can't place enough value on having that experience, particularly for the win-now Bengals. Cincinnati feels that in order to finally advance in the playoffs, it must retain the core pieces it already has, and bring in others who know how to win. Even if his best playing days are behind him, Hawk understands what a team needs in order to get out of the first round of the playoffs. Just like Harrison. This brings us back to Burfict. Because the Bengals are unsure about how the Pro Bowler will look when he returns later this year from microfracture surgery, a free-agent insurance policy was needed. Enter, Hawk. If Burfict can't play the way Cincinnati hopes, the Bengals can move Hawk to the middle linebacker position and shift recently re-signed "Mike" linebacker Rey Maualuga back to the "Will" outside linebacker spot Burfict currently occupies, or go through other linebacker shake ups. At the very least, Hawk's presence gives the Bengals sorely-needed help in a linebacker rotation that desperately needed it. http://espn.go.com/blog/cincinnati-bengals/post/_/id/16051/bengals-aj-hawk-vontaze-burfict-free-agency-nfl-defensive-spark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.A.B. Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 I feel better having forgotten that he was playing in a 3-4 the past few years. Maybe he can return to some sort of form. Anyways, he's automatically the 2nd best healthy linebacker on the team. Fuck it. I'm for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnickyCat Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 As soon as AJ was available you knew the Bengals would be the only team to go after him. 31 yr old MLB = Will be hurt by week 4 and out for the remaining season.over 9 seasons Hawk has missed only 2 games Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASTYNATI Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Camp rubbish on 28-30 other teams, somehow he will make the final 53 and not play a single SP teams snap because of where he grew up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alleycat Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Before everyone gets too upset, remember we signed another aging vet to a decent deal last year, Daniel Manning, and then cut him before the season began. Things ARE changing around here, even if it isn't as fast or as precise as many would like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Camp rubbish on 28-30 other teams, somehow he will make the final 53 and not play a single SP teams snap because of where he grew up. He started 13 games for the Packers last Season. And was their leading Tackler in 2012 and 2013. Hawk was selected by the Packers in the first round (No. 5 overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. In nine seasons with Green Bay, he appeared in a 142 of a possible 144 regular-season games, starting 136 of them. Hawk ranks No. 1 in franchise history (since 1975) with 1,118 tackles, having surpassed John Anderson (1,020 from 1978-89) for the team mark in the 2013 regular-season finale. He recorded 100-plus tackles in seven of his nine years in the NFL, including in four consecutive seasons (2006-08, 2010-13). http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-roster-moves/article-1/Packers-release-LB-AJ-Hawk/de5e405e-4f4c-4258-aabd-37dae214fe6d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.A.B. Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 Yeah.....they're including assisted tackles. Which he has looooads of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASTYNATI Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 What that snippet doesnt mention is that GB had to move him around several times and give him help all over the field because he cant cover and cant rush the passer. He is slow and old and these are the primary reasons an average defense in GB let him walk. He doesnt make 28+ rosters bc he's not starter material and doesnt play SP teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snarkster Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 Mucho meh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 What that snippet doesnt mention is that GB had to move him around several times and give him help all over the field because he cant cover and cant rush the passer. He is slow and old and these are the primary reasons an average defense in GB let him walk. He doesnt make 28+ rosters bc he's not starter material and doesnt play SP teams. They mostly cut him because he he was going to make $5.1 million. Your hatred for the Buckeyes is well known. I am not "thrilled" about the signing. But they could have done worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWeston Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 I don't mind the signing. In fact I like it. But I am concerned about his ability to play what we need. Maualuga playing wlb is a terrible idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkansas Bengal Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 Too damn many AJ's on this team... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 Hawk comes home to roost Posted 6 hours ago Geoff Hobson A.J. Hawk won a Super Bowl and made the postseason in seven of his nine seasons in Green Bay, where he played in 13 playoff games. But he always watched the Bengals out of the corner of his eye. “You never completely take your eye off the team you grew up watching,” a happy Hawk said Tuesday, a Bengal after all these years. “I know of the talent they have here. They have studs everywhere you look. That was a huge factor. I wanted to go to a place and win and this locker room definitely has that. “I can imagine what the city and the whole state would be like if we won the Super Bowl,” Hawk said. “That’s what I want to do. Work on getting a ring. Everyone here would go crazy. I envision that in the future hopefully.” Hawk, who started 136 games at linebacker for the Packers, not only brings his vast experience to the Bengals’ banged-up linebacker corps, but his leadership and winning ways fit nicely into a locker room blessed with both after four straight post-season runs. The logical marriage was confirmed by Mike McCartney, Hawk’s agent, barely 90 minutes into free agency Tuesday when he said the sides had a two-year deal in principle. Hawk, 31, who grew up 45 minutes from Paul Brown Stadium in Centerville, Ohio, becomes the 28th Ohio State player to play for the Bengals, the most by far of any school. The Bengals won’t announce the deal until the contract is signed. Hawk actually wore the Bengals uniform before the Packers uniform. He can’t remember if it was three or four times, but he participated in the Ohio state championship Punt, Pass, and Kick competition as a pre-teen at Riverfront Stadium wearing Tim Krumrie’s No. 69, and actually won one of them, earning a trip to the AFC championship game. So they’ve got a guy now who has been to an AFC title game. “The guy’s a winner, he’s smart, he knows football and it’s important to him,” said defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. “When he came in for his visit I could tell he was the kind of guy that was going to fit right in with our guys.” The Bengals think the durable Hawk can play all three backer spots and with the status of Pro Bowl WILL linebacker Vontaze Burfict up in the air with microfracture knee surgery and SAM backer Emmanuel Lamurlearning the ropes in his second season as a starter, Hawk provides solid insurance after missing just two games in Green Bay. They also figure to take a linebacker at some point in the April 30-May 2 draft as they try to ease the workload of a backup like Vincent Rey after he played about 1,000 snaps this past season. “I’m not really thinking about my role at this point,” Hawk said. “I want to do as much as I can. I’m sure the guys there are going to be sick of me asking questions. I’m anxious to get in there and compete.” And it looks like he’ll be able to do that right away. A month ago he had surgery to remove bone spurs in his ankle, an injury that hobbled him this past season, but he says he feels better now than he did before the surgery and expects to be cleared for off-season workouts. The transition from a 3-4 to a 4-3, he says, should be no problem. “It’s not like I’m a defensive end trying to stand up as a linebacker. It’s not that major of a switch,” Hawk said. “I played in a 4-3 my first three years in the league and all through college.” Whether it’s a 4-3 or a 3-4, home is home. His wife is from Columbus and his first thought when the Packers cut him a few weeks ago was Cincinnati. He saw home even when he watched the Bengals as a Packer. “I enjoy watching them, especially the defense. I love watching those guys on film,” Hawk said. “I love how the defense plays. The speed, how physical they are and I think that comes across watching on TV, let alone the game film I’ve been watching in our meeting room. I feel like it’s a representation of Cincinnati and of Ohio. The teams there, people take pride in being tough and making plays and that’s what those guys do.” But his favorite Bengals are a little older. He goes all the way back to quarterback Boomer Esiason and running back Ickey Woods. He loves Woods’ Geico commercial that aired this past season. “I’m one of the older guys in the league now. There are guys playing now that heard the name, but never saw it,” Hawk said. “I was telling guys, ‘I remember when he did it when he was playing. That goes back to my childhood.’ I remember when they made him do it behind the bench because they thought he was taunting. It was a whole debacle.” But the return home has been no such thing and he gets it. “To play for nine years for such a historic team in Green Bay, where it’s such a great place, class from top to bottom, and to come to this, the same thing, and to do it with my boyhood team,’ Hawk said, “ believe me, I know how lucky I am.” Also Tuesday, the Bengals re-signed right tackle Eric Winston. Winston looked at the roster, looked at the coaches and thought it was an easy decision to re-join the Bengals in his first stint as a backup tackle. “We haven’t had a lot of discussion about it, but I imagine that’s what it would be and I’m ready to do whatever role where I can help the team,” Winston said Tuesday after signing on for 2015. “It’s a talented group and enough where you think you can build on 10 wins to get to 12 wins and a couple of wins in the playoffs and keep on going.” Winston, a veteran of 121 NFL starts, was on the street last season when the Bengals pursued him after right tackle Andre Smith suffered a season-ending triceps tear in the Nov. 23 win in Houston. Ironically, Winston, a long-time Texan, lives in Houston and wasn’t surprised to get a call on Dec. 1 and the Bengals signed him the next day. He ended up playing right away, started the last three games, including the Wild Card Game, and the Bengals thought he offered a big lift. Winston, 31, replaces free-agent Marshall Newhouse as the first tackle off the bench behind Smith and left tackleAndrew Whitworth. Among Tuesday’s reports were that Newhouse took a two-year deal with the Giants after the Bengals didn’t pursue him. Winston feels like it’s a good fit at this stage of his career and after sitting out most of last season, he’s got the bug to play. “I’ve gone to a new team before and it’s tough,” he said. “New home, new coaches, new scheme, and it’s a long grind. With this, you can just kind of fit in." Excited to say I'm headed back to the Bengals! #whodeyOn Tuesday the Bengals also officially tendered starting SAM backer Emmanuel Lamur a one-year, $2.4 million deal in restricted free agency. That means he’s virtually off the table because a club would have to give up a second-round draft pick as compensation if the Bengals didn’t match an offer. The Bengals chose not to tender defensive tackle Devon Still, making him an unrestricted free agent instead of a restricted free agent, but they offered him a one-year contract. Still, who was cut after training camp, ended up playing in 12 games after the coaches sat him for the last three. The Bengals, taking note of daughter Leah Still’s battle with cancer, said he’ll consider the deal based on his family’s circumstances. Also Tuesday, the Bengals tendered backup cornerback Chris Lewis-Harris an offer that assures the Bengals of his exclusive NFL rights for the season, about half a million dollars. Lewis-Harris played in 10 games over the last two seasons, mostly on special teams, and has played in two of the last three post-season games. http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Hawk-comes-home-to-roost/25375193-4b03-49e9-83fb-033a445455f6?campaign=cin:fanshare:twitter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBandJoeyV Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 I don't mind the signing. In fact I like it. But I am concerned about his ability to play what we need. Maualuga playing wlb is a terrible idea. I haven't read through this thread yet, but I don't see Rey M playing WLB even if Burfict isn't back. If burfict isn't back, I could see Lamur at starting WLB and Rey and Hawk at MLB and SLB (not sure which one at which). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnickyCat Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 I haven't read through this thread yet, but I don't see Rey M playing WLB even if Burfict isn't back. If burfict isn't back, I could see Lamur at starting WLB and Rey and Hawk at MLB and SLB (not sure which one at which). Yep that is how it will shake out if Burfict misses time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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