Thanks go out to faithful Railbird Central reader Hans for coming up with some tidbits after the APB we put out yesterday. This comes from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Packer Insider. I hope we're not breaking any rules, but here's just some little tidbits. It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, right?
On A.J. Hawk's performance in pass coverage, Bob McGinn said, "His coverage against skilled RB Matt Forte was more than adequate and coordinator Bob Sanders credited him with relaying his electronic calls without a hitch.
"He also choked down some of Forte's options as a receiver by moving up aggressively to chuck him."
Eric Baranczyk also adds, "When Hawk was playing the true mike linebacker spot in the 4-3, his pass responsibility was low hole or flat. I think he might be better suited to that, too. He didn't have to run with the tight end. Hawk can run with them, but his hips seem a little stiff and he gives up ground when the tight ends start making their cuts. Inside, he's much better suited to his assignment: Running with the running back and tackling him."
The six receptions by Matt Forte this past week still bother me, but Hawk has been getting rave reviews. The question is, "Will Hawk get help this week?"
Regardless of how well he played last week, Reggie Bush is still way faster than Hawk. How will the Packers contain him when he comes out of the backfield.
Published in the November 10 issue of the Sporting News, RealScouts has some information on what makes Reggie Bush so dangerous:
"Reggie Bush creates havoc. More receiver than runner, he lines up all over the field -- in the slot, out wide, offset or in the I-formation -- to get the ball in space and outrun defenders. He makes linebackers look silly in the open field, and when safeties cover him it leaves wide receivers facing single coverage."
When Bush lines up as a receiver or in the slot, he'll obviously have a member of the secondary and most likely one of the Packers' shut-down corners covering him. But it will be interesting to see how the Packers defending Bush catching passes out in the flat.
An article written for SportingNews.com in part by the Journal Sentinel's Tom Silverstein thinks it has the answer:
"Assuming Bush plays, the defense has to put two men on him almost every play to make sure he doesn't beat them. That probably means playing nickel defense much of the game and taking a chance that the Saints won't run the ball a lot. A combination of linebacker Brandon Chillar and safety Nick Collins or Chillar and cornerback Charles Woodson would be able to shadow him. It wouldn't take that much away from the rest of the defense because the corners play man-to-man to begin with and are expected to cover their man without help."