Is Steelers former wide receiver Hines Ward a Hall of Fame snub?
Other Factors
The statistics aside, Hines ward is regarded as one of the best blockers at the wide receiver position ever. Adding credence to this is the fact the NFL rewrote its blocking rules because of the block Hines Ward played on Frank Rivers in the 2008 game with the Bengals. His blocking was so good; the Ravens fans hated him for it. They often criticized him as one of the NFL’s dirtiest players. Though far from true, what the Ravens fans really hated was his ability to block, and he did it quite effectively.
In 2004, Ward played an instrumental role in helping Ben Roethlisberger set the NFL record for winning the most consecutive games from the start of his career. He had 80 receptions for 1004 yards and four touchdowns. A huge reason Ben won his first 16 regular-season games. On top of that, he only missed 11 games in 14 NFL seasons.
Hines Ward, in comparison, is not the best receiver statistically in every receiving category. There is one in which he lags behind all of the other receivers on this list. He only had 12.1 yards per reception. All of the other receivers surpassed that mark. Yet, that stat aside, he had better stats than about half of these Hall of Fame receivers in several categories. Now had Calvin Johnson played as many seasons as Hines Ward, he would have finished well in front of Ward statistically. Aside from Johnson, none of these other nine receivers were that much better than Ward. It just depends on the metrics your comparing.
Why hasn’t Ward gotten voted in? That’s hard to answer. Granted, Ward never led the league in any category at any point in his career. Nor did he set records like Art Monk or Jerry Rice. In the years he played, the Steelers had numerous other talented receivers and a good rushing game, which certainly harmed his statistics.
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Will Hines Ward ever get enshrined in Canton? For now, the answer is no. Certainly, his name will come up again. If not now, he may get his recognition through the veteran’s committee. There is no doubt Hines ward deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. If he does not get in, it certainly will be a grave travesty.