Hines Ward
Hines Ward
Hines Edward Ward, Jr.is a retired American football wide receiver, businessman, and television personality. He is the current NBC studio analyst who played 14 seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Georgia. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected him in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft, and he became the team's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yardage and touchdown receptions. Ward was voted MVP of Super Bowl XL, and...
ProfessionFootball Player
Date of Birth8 March 1976
CitySeoul, South Korea
It was third and long and we were scrambling around. We practice on the scrambling drill. Ben threw it kind of short; I had to run back.
The thing about having Willie is that, if we just get people blocked up front, he can run a long, long way. He forces defenses to play us a little bit differently than in the past. Defenses know now that, if they miss a gap and Willie gets into the open, it's all over.
We feel like we can do whatever we have to do, and whenever we have to do it, to win. But there's not a lot of mystery to how we like to play. Get a lead and run the football.
When teams play the Cover 2, you're supposed to be able to run against them, ... We couldn't.
We have to run the ball, that's who we are. That's our identity.
I'm sure Cleveland is going to be looking to knock us out of the playoffs. It's a playoff run from here on out. We have to play on the road, and what better way to get that experience than to go out and approach each game like it is your last game?
Carolina played a lot of Cover 2. When teams play Cover 2, you have to be able to run the ball. We didn't do that. And, we have to stay away from negative (yardage) plays.
Of course, all wide receivers want to catch all the balls, ... But the game plan that day was for us to go out and run the ball. I only had two attempts, so I made the most of it.
You guys are going to catch him eventually, so he can't run from you. For him, it can be overwhelming, but it's overwhelming for me to look at all you guys. This is what it's all about.
The play-calling was aggressive. They thought all we can do is run the ball. We can pass the ball, too.
The ball is getting spread around, and everybody's happy. We're still trying to find our identity. We're still a running team, but, when it's time to make plays in the passing game, we've got confidence all three of our guys can go out there and get the job done.
We're still going to run the ball first and set up our pass game through the run game. That's our identity, and we're not going to change that because Duce or Jerome's injured.
We're not going to change our ways. We're not going to change our identity, we're still going to run first and set up our passing game through the run.
You don't really realize you're playing with a Hall of Fame running back until it comes to the end. But for all he has done for this organization, the city of Pittsburgh, he epitomizes what the Pittsburgh Steelers are all about, a class act on and off the field. I don't even think he realizes how much of a role model he is. Guys just feed off him as far as how he handles situations, how he approaches each and every Sunday, how he approaches practice each and every day.