WhoDat!656

David Hawthorne hasn't said much this season. Among the New Orleans Saints linebackers, he's sometimes the forgotten one. His production has been relatively quiet, too.

This isn't quite what he signed up for.

When Hawthorne signed on with the Saints in free agency this past offseason, he did so with the anticipation of being the Saints' starting weak side linebacker.

But since returning from a hamstring injury in Week 9, Hawthorne has rarely gotten to take snaps on the weak side. Instead, he's had to learn to play strong-side linebacker, a position Hawthorne, who was used mostly as a middle linebacker throughout the first four years of his career, was unfamiliar with.


"It's usually a certain body type, a bigger, longer taller kinda guy," the 6-feet, 246-pound Hawthorne said of the prototypical strong-side linebacker. "It's a different style of play. It's a different vanish point, you just see the game from a different angle and that takes some getting used to. You play blocks differently. You are on the line of scrimmage so everything happens a little quicker. It just takes some learning and adjusting."

New Orleans Saints LB David Hawthorne adjusting to the strong side | NOLA.com

"A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."

Danno

I hope moving forward that if we need a

WLB, we sign a WLB, not a MLB and convert him
SLB, we sign a SLB, not a MLB and convert him
FS, we sign a FS, not a CB and convert him
RDE for a 4-3, we sign a RDE that fits in a 4-3, not a MLB and convert him
DT for a 4-3, we sign a DT that fits a 4-3, not a 3-4 NT and convert him

Rugby Saint II

Double thumbs up!

FinSaint

I also agree, but I also think that Hawthorne's case was unique in many ways and therefore it's hard to place signing him into the equation that you Danno presented here.

Hawthorne had shown that he could play both the MLB and WLB positions when he played with the Seahawks, and so he was a kind of a no-brainer signing when it happened since the Saints didn't have a starting MLB at the time with Vilma's probable suspension. And the Saints could always use Hawthorne as the starting WLB if Vilma was to be able to play or if the Saints were able to also sign Lofton, as they later were.

In any case, he'll probably be the starting WLB next season as Vilma will in all likelihood not be with the team, and he should perform much better in one of his natural positions, and if he can stay healthy.

I think that they should definitely keep hold of him and try to make salary cuts elsewhere when necessary.

"I'm not bashing people, I'm bashing their opinions because in my opinion their opinion is wrong" - Danno

dizzle88

Spot on

Draft a player and play him in his natural position, stop this converting crap

Side note - all the people saying move Malcolm back to CB, imagine being an outside corner but your being played in the slot, then get moved to safety for 3 years and then they say - all that stuff you've been learning the last 3 years....forget it and move back to corner

It would not end well

Marlboro Man

Well, where Hawthorne plays now may not be where he plays next year either. If we wind up having Vilma suspended for the year after all this court stuff, we may well wind up moving on and putting Hawthorne back at Will, or we may end up drafting his successor.