Hines Ward - 2007 Community Projections - Behind the Steel Curtain

Hines Ward - 2007 Community Projections

by Blitzburgh on Sep 5, 2007 3:10 PM EDT in News Comment 5 comments

To those people who read the site somewhat frequently. Hell for that matter, any Steelers fan who has to suffer through the long spring and summer waiting for Steelers football to return: ever notice how rarely we talk about Hines Ward?

Why is that? Well, it's pretty simple. By now, we know what to expect from Hines: top-notch production, incredible blocking in the running game, toughness, leadership, guts, and no drama. There's simply no question marks with him. Consequently, when we talk about the big questions and concerns heading into each season, Wards' name rarely gets brought up.

Ward has been a stabilizing force for Pittsburgh for over a decade.

Ward started the 2006 season with a nagging hamstring issue, and missed two games late in the season with a knee injury, but he still led the team in receptions (74), receiving yards (975), and TD receptions (6). It seemed like a quiet year for Hines though. Perhaps that's because three of those six TDs came against his hometown team, the Atlanta Falcons. In that game, Ward caught 8 balls for an impressive 171 yards and 3 TDs. He didn't really have any other stand-out performances last year, but that's partly because opposing defenses weren't forced to pay much attention to Santonio Holmes or Cedrick Wilson. Now that Holmes is in his second year and developing nicely, I'd expect Ward to see much more single-coverage on the outside. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised for Ward to have one of the more productive years of his career in terms of the number of balls he catches.

My 2007 Projections for Hines Ward:

92 receptions, 1092 yards, 8 TDs.

Your turn.

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95 rec, 1287 yds, 9 TDs

I agree that he returns to form this year without the nagging injuries.

Blitzburgh, In regard to never discussing Ward, I had actually brought up a question a couple weeks ago about his likelihood to make the Hall of Fame. At this stage of his career, he's approaching all or has broken every Steelers receiving record. He's also got a Super Bowl MVP, and he's perhaps the best blocking WR of all time, in addition to his stats. Anyway, just thought I'd throw that out there again.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Sep 5, 2007 3:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

85 receptions, 1050 yards, 10 TDs

Sadly I don't think Ward will make it into the Hall. I think he's one of the most under-valued/appreciated players in the league and unless he has 2-3 really good statistical years he probably won't get in.

by cgolden on Sep 5, 2007 4:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

nah

He gets in. As I have said many times, Hines is my all-time favorite player, with Franco a close second. No one in this league right now is more of an all-around reciever like he is. No one. He does it all, blocking, great hands, great head for the game, excellent leader. And he does it all with huge grin on his face. His enjoyment of the game is awesome. And as far as the stats go, he's either leading or close to it in all three of the main categories in receiving, ahead of Swanny in all three and Stallworth in one, and barring injury, he will pass him in yds this year.

To compare to two other beloved recievers:

catches:
Stallworth - 537
Swann - 336
Hines - 648

yards:
Stally - 8723
Swanny - 5462
Hines - 8005

tds:
Stallworth - 64(1 rushing)
Swann - 51(1 rushing)
Ward - 58(1 rushing)

Take into consideration that Ward and Swann have played 9 seasons, while Stallworth played in 14.
-At the same point in his career Steve Largent had 8772 yds, with 60 tds, in 545 catches.
-After 12 seasons, Michael Irvin has 750catches for 11904 yds and 65tds(0 rushing).
-After 17 seasons James Lofton had 764 catches for 14004 yds and 76tds(1 rushing).
-After a whopping 19 seasons Charlie Joiner had 750 cathces for 12146 yds and 65 tds(0 rushing).

Sorry, I love stats. I show these to show that there is an excellent case for Hines to make the HOF. He is still going, and I believe he has a lot left in the tank. He is or will be the alltime leader on his team in the 3 categories, has a SB win, and has stats close to or above other HOF recievers like Biletnikoff, Paul Warfield, and Lance Allworth. I know these names aren't too current, but there are only 18 modern era WRs in the HOF to beging with. 2 of them wore our beloved black and gold, and Hines is better than both. He may not have as many rings as they do, but come on, is it his fault that he didn't play on the greatest dynasty of all time?

He gets in. It wont first ballot, but he gets in.

by steelerark on Sep 5, 2007 9:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

90 rec., 1100 yds.

With the emergence of Holmes as a downfield threat, I agree Ward will see less double coverage. Arians is angling for a more balanced attack, shooting for a 50/50 split between running and passing. Production will be steady throughout the season, because we start off playing soft defenses to get into a rhythm and then when other teams start game-planning for a much faster Steeler offense than we've seen in decades, they'll be forced to commit less to 1) cover Ward and 2) stuff the run. The biggest gainer from this offense will be Willie Parker, but Ward will be a close second, because defenses will have to pay attention to a lot more weapons.

Oh, and Ward makes the Hall of Fame hands-down. He's the most complete reciever in the league. He may not put up the gaudy stats of Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson, Marvin Harrison, etc., but he's played in a run-first-run-often offense his entire career and has very impressive numbers to show for it. Oh, and he's a Super Bowl MVP. He's a shoe-in.

-Mike Frazer Editor, SteelerWatch

by SteelerWatch on Sep 6, 2007 9:16 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs