A Celebration of Hines Ward

Ron Cook does a nice column on Hines' reputation and his physical play, after getting fined for unpenalized plays and this week, decleating Keith Rivers. I liked his description of hitting Earl Little:

"I hardly ever allow it to become personal," he said. "I can only think of one or two times in my career when I lost my cool and allowed it to be personal. I caught a touchdown pass in Seattle and spiked the ball in front of [Ken] Lucas. He had been grabbing me and talking all game. That was personal. After I hit [Earl] Little in Cleveland [in 2001], I stood over him because he called me a 'Chinaman [bleep]' a few plays earlier. I said to him, 'How do you like that from a Chinaman [bleep]?' I know I shouldn't have done it and I deserved that fine."

http://postgazette.com/pg/08295/921512-87.stm

video of hit:
http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2008/10/ktfo-theatre-try-to-fine-him-for-this-one.html

 

I know it's racist and absoutely wrong, but KSK's Hines Ward (oops, Wald) stuff just makes me giggle.

 

Ward hit Rivers on the third or fourth play of the game. The Bengals had plenty of time to knock Ward's block off.

What I cannot figure out is how Ward does not seem to take more big shots? Maybe because he never stays down, and we just don't see that his bell was rung?

 

Hines Ward is a dirty player. I won't celebrate anything he does until he gets his teeth knocked out. There's no one better at hitting a guy full blast when he's least expecting it as a play slows to a halt.

 

I've seen him get crushed a few times, but I am also surprised you don't see opponents trying to get a little retribution more often. I think the league is trying a little too hard to send a message going after him, just because of his physical reputation. Perhaps a little more focus on things like chop blocks would be in order, since those are a lot more likely to cause injuries.

Edit: And the whiny Browns fan is heard from. Hi prez.

 

Can you deny that he's a dirty player? Or is it okay to go at guys full blast at the end of plays when they aren't looking? You probably thought it was okay when Porter nailed Todd Heap on a kneel play and tore his knee up, right?

 

No one expects it because no receivers block like that. The Rivers block was during a run to that side, so the moral of that play is: Pay attention. What if Rivers gets a lick at Moore's knee as he's going to the sidelines? Most of Hines' big hits are around the chest or shoulders. He doesn't hunt for knees or head shots. And the Bengals did light him up after he caught the last touchdown pass. The problem is, he's tougher than them.

 

Outofplace, I'm not a Browns fan in the least, and I'll second it: Ward is filthy.

 

No, I didn't. I'm not the one who can't get bast his fanboy biases on this thread. You are.

Ward goes to the whistle, sometimes when he doesn't have to. I don't know about you, but that's a lesson I have heard coaches at every level of the game pounding into the heads of their players. You don't want to get clocked? Don't let up until the play is over. Because if you don't, that's a good way to get your clock cleaned.

I'm not saying Ward isn't dirty. I've seen a few hits by him over the years that I thought were way out of line. But with teams like the Broncos that rely so heavily on chop blocks and mostly get away with it, I have a hard time taking the league's committment to safety seriously.

Cousin Jeffrey had a good point. The hit on Ward after his touchdown reception was much more dirty than anything Ward did during that game.

Goldeaston, that was directed specifically at prezclinton based on previous posts of his as well as that one.

 

Fanboy has nothing to do with it. He's a great player and tough as nails, but he's dirty.

 

Fanboy seems to play a part in every post you make related to the Steelers, even moreso than mine, which is saying something.

I guess I've just seen much worse wearing black and gold. Remember Greg LLoyd? Now THAT was a dirty player.

 

You're taught to play until the whistle. Hines does that. And there was nothing dirty about this Rivers hit -- clearn block, hard hit, nothing dirty about it.