Missed Super Bowl opportunities haunt Hawk

GREEN BAY - Linebacker A.J. Hawk felt fortunate to win a Super Bowl ring with the Green Bay Packers, but he thought the potential was there for more.

The Packers made the playoffs in all but two of Hawk’s nine years and lost twice in the NFC championship game.

“We were poised many years to compete for a Super Bowl,” said Hawk, who officially retired as a Packer on Tuesday and spoke to reporters Wednesday on a conference call. “The following year (after winning Super Bowl XLV in the 2010 season), maybe we let one slip away. We went 15-1. Everything was on track.

“It makes you realize how many things have to go right to win a Super Bowl. After that run, we couldn’t find a way to put it all together in my time there.”

Hawk said he has many fond memories of playing in Green Bay and one of them was being associated with two of the best players in franchise history, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. Hawk and Rodgers became good friends and sat together at team meetings.

Favre generally sat behind the two.

“Talk about learning from the best,” Hawk said. “They take the game super serious but they did not take themselves too seriously.”

Hawk said he was proud of his durability, which is something he said he worked hard at establishing. He played all but two of a possible 144 regular-season games in his nine seasons (2006-14) in Green Bay, starting 136 of them.

“I’m a firm believer that being durable is a skill,” he said. “It’s something I take a lot of pride in.”