Hines Ward was a legend in Pittsburgh, but should the former Steelers wide receiver be considered a Hall of Fame snub?
When fans attend the NFL Hall of Fame ceremonies this fall, they will welcome Alan Faneca, and Troy Polamalu, postponed from 2020. However, one member of the Steelers will still not a member of the Hall of Fame. That distinction belongs to Hines Ward.
In Hines Ward’s case, there is no case to be made. The Hall of Fame voters have deliberately snubbed Hines Ward. There have been 11 wide receivers who began their career after 1980 and landed in the Hall of Fame. Of those, only Jerry Rice truly surpassed any of Ward’s stats. Rice is the greatest wide receiver of all time, bar none. So taking Jerry Rice out of the discussion leaves ten other wide receivers elected to the Hall of Fame over Hines Ward. Who are the other ten receivers to land in the Hall of Fame in front of Hines Ward? Tim Brown, Issac Bruce, Cris Carter, Marvin Harrison, Michael Irvin, Calvin Johnson, Art Monk, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, and Andre Reed.
So of those 10, when you look at Hines Ward stats combined with the other ten, it’s painfully apparent that voters have deliberately snubbed Hines Ward.
Games played:
Let’s start with games played. Hines ward has 217 games played. Of the other ten, only Andree Reed, Art Monk, Issac Bruce, and Tim Brown played more games than Hines Ward. Terrell Owens and Randy Moss played the same amount of games, and the remaining played less than Ward.
Total Yards
Hines Ward has 12,083 total receiving yards. So when it comes to total yards receiving yes, Ward comes out on the low end; there is no argument. Only Tim Brown, Michael Irvin, and Tim Brown have fewer total receiving yards than Hines Ward. However, that makes Ward 7th out of all the other receivers to land in the Hall of Fame. When a receiver’s total yard exceeds at least three other receivers already in the Hall, it’s obvious he’s not getting fair consideration.
Receptions
Hines Ward finished his career with 1000 receptions. With his 1000 receptions, he finished ahead of Michael Irvin at 750, Calvin Johnson, 731, Randy Moss 982, and Andre Reed 951, Art Monk 940. Finishing close to even with Ward was Issac Bruce 1024, and Terrell Owens with 1078.
Only Tim Brown, Cris Carter, and Marvin Harrison finished well ahead of Hines Ward by at least 94 receptions. However, none exceed Ward by more than 102 receptions.
Touchdowns
When it comes to overall touchdowns, one can argue the other receivers are better than Ward. Wards’ total of 85 exceeds only Monk, Johnson, and Michael Irvin. Reed does surpass Ward but only by two touchdowns, Issac Bruce only by Six. The remaining five receivers eclipse Ward by a minimum of 15 touchdowns to a max of 71. Still, Ward, overall, is better than or equal to at least five others currently in the Hall of Fame.
1st Downs
Ok for this category, you can not compare Ward to Reed, Monk, Carter, Brown, or Michael Irvin. More than nearly all of Monk’s career and half of Reed’s and a quarter of Carter Brown and Irvin’s career, the NFL did not record the statistic. So it’s hard to figure how they accurately compare to Ward. However, you can compare him to Bruce, Harrison, Johnson, Moss, and Owens.
Ward had 620 receptions for a first down. His total exceeds only Calvin Johnson, who had 552. Moss does exceed Ward, however, only by 64. Owens and Harrison eclipse Ward’s mark by at least 127. So he is well behind there. When it comes to Art Monk, possibly Ward may have had more only because Monk played in an era where Washington ran the ball heavily behind John Riggens. So it’s likely Ward could have exceeded his mark.
Catch Percentage
Another tough category to accurately compare all of the receivers. As with first downs, they did not record that stat for most of Art Monk’s career and parts of Reed, Irvin, Carter, and Brown. However, against the other five on the list, how does Ward stack up? Ward had a 64.2% catch ratio. That exceeds Moss 56.4%, Owens 57.7%, Johnson 55.7%, Harrison 61.9%, and Issac Bruce 57.9%.
In the years they did record that stat for Irvin, Reed Carter, and Brown, they failed to surpass Ward marks. Though in fairness, there is a likely chance Reed could have exceeded Ward’s mark, as the Bills passed the ball quite a bit in the years, the NFL did not record the stat, and Reed was one of Jim Kelly’s primary targets. It would be fascinating to compare Monk to Ward accurately. In this instance, we can not though Monk was a phenomenal receiver for his era and certainly could have exceeded Wards pass catch ratio.
Rushes
Not many receivers rush the ball often. Sometimes if they are versatile and speedy enough, a coach may design some plays to make use of their talent. The Steelers did this for Hines ward. Ward had 57 rushes for 428 yards and one touchdown.
Only one receiver on the list comes close to Wards numbers rushing the ball. Andre Reed rushed the ball 75 times for 500 yards and one touchdown. Art Monk exceeded Wards rushing total as well; however, he only gained 332 yards and no touchdowns. No other receiver in this comparison comes close to Ward’s rushing totals.
Playoffs
Here is where Ward shines over the competition. Except for Reed’s 21 playoff games Ward played in more playoff games than every other receiver on the list with 18. Ward has 1229 playoff yards only exceeded by Andre Reed’s 1229 yards and Michael Irvin’s 1315 yards. A difference of only 134 yards.
Ward also had ten playoff touchdowns. Only Randy Moss had as many; everyone else falls behind Ward. Except for Calvin Johnson’s 73.9% pass catch ratio in the playoffs in two appearances, Ward has a higher ratio than the other five you can accurately compare. If anyone else on the list could have exceeded Ward’s playoff pass catch ratio, Andre Reed is the most likely. Irvin made the postseason seven times, and 1991 is the only appearance the NFL did not calculate a pass catch ratio. So while he has a 60.3% ratio in six postseason appearances, it’s unlikely 1991 would have changed his percentage that much though it’s possible.
Again Ward has more playoff rushing yards at 31 yards, plus he is the only receiver with any rushing touchdowns with 2. As far as Superbowl championships, only Michael Irvin has more than Ward he has three. Art Monk is tied with Ward at two, Issac Bruce and Marvin Harrison have one. The other six do not have a championship ring. Also, he won the MVP in Superbowl XL.
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.
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.