"That's his opinion. Even with Plax and Kordell [Stewart], I would be wide open in the red zone, but people get enamored of tall receivers -- 'I have to throw it to him, throw it to him.' Tom Brady looks at coverage. Me, I'd take a guy who will scratch and claw and do anything to get the ball rather than go with height."Dear Hines,
- Hines Ward
I'm pretty sure at no point when Ben made the comment about wanting a tall receiver did he ever say - "Hines Ward is dog shit. I mean he's not even a pro bowl caliber receiver. Definitely not what I need. We should probably just cut him -- he's too old anyhow."
Of course he didn't. Ben knows when he needs tough yardage or a clutch play, he can look to you every time. He's just saying -- in the red zone it's nice to be able to throw the ball up high, above a DBs head, and have a receiver who can get up and grab it without risking an interception. Or maybe I'm putting words in the man's mouth.
One way or another -- Relax man. Everything's gonna be just fine. No one's trying to take your job dude.
Sincerely,
Cotter
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
Ward Blindsided by Big Ben [Post-Gazette]
Hines Ward No Longer Likes Ben Roethlisberger [MJD]
12 comments:
let's face it...hines ward is old balls. i love the guy for all that he has done, and definately feel he has hall of fame credentials. but, he is past his prime and the steelers have to address the wr situation in the next few years (notice i did not say right now). santonio is a small burner, we have a versatile te, but our depth stops there. i can't honestly put my full faith in nate the great or cedric the entertainer. But, overall arians has made the best out of this group and have faith he will continue. FIREBRUCEARIANS.COM!
Hines has lived up to the nickname "Wines Hard" with this one, but in a way I understand why he is upset.
If Ben wants a big receiver that's fine, but he doesn't need to go public with it. By going public he is in essence saying that his current group of receivers isn't good enough for him. If I was Ward, or Holmes, or better yet Heath Miller I would be uber pissed at Ben.
I heard Beano Cook on the radio about a month ago and he said that Ben is not well liked in the Steelers locker room and comments like this are a big reason why I agree with Cook’s opinion.
domski43 and The Duke from Dukes Courts are both 'ass munchers'! Anyone who disrespects Hines Ward in anyway is not a Steelers fan. The greatest wide receiver is Steelers history - tell than to Big Ben! Ask those Raven linebackers (and safety Ed Reed) about Ward. Then come back to me and tell me who needs a tissue. Last but not least is you Cotter! Quit making excuses for Ben. I call it how I see it and Ben always has an excuse for his failures. I guess we are to assume if he had 6'5 receivers he would have not thrown the 3 INTs that cost the game. If he's not complaining about Cowher, it's the Offensive Co. Quit making excuses Ben and just say the team didn't get it done. Hines Ward = Super Bowl MVP. Nuff said!
Now what the fuck is up with Hines? You would think he would want a tall receiver because it would help the team, but no, he has to act like a woman about the whole thing. I was infuriated when I read the blog regarding this on profootballtalk.com and they agreed with Hines. I’ve always liked their site, but FUCK THEM. Hines holdout episode and this too? I hope it comes out that this was taken out of context and he isn’t the selfish motherfucker that he now appears to be.
domski ~ you're a real fuckin dick, you know that. Haha, just kidding...not really though. Old or not, Hines is still clutch. I'll keep him until he's 40 if he plays like he always does.
duke ~ You're right. Ben shouldn't have said it publicly. I have a feeling it was blown out of proportion. But still, sometimes you've just gotta bite your tongue.
don ~ I suggest you read this post in which I made no excuses for Big Ben. I apologize if you took my post as disrespectful to Hines. It was not meant to be. My job, or at least as I see it, is to entertain through words. I felt the title, picture and presentation would be entertaining (and everyone would realize the heavy dose of sarcasm). If you read any of my other posts you'd realize that I support Hines just as much as I support Ben...Nonetheless, you are right about Domski being an assmuncher though. I heard he was snacking on some ass last night...haha. Thanks for the comment!
anon ~ I honestly have no idea what Hines' problem is. I'm not saying his response was wholly unnecessary. I'm just saying it was way more defensive/assholish than it needed to be...I've got a feeling there's some locker room shit that we don't know about going on...or maybe Hines just needs a hug...either way, thanks for commenting!
don don you are right..I'm not a steelers fan..never have been..i cheer for the patriots this year and i cheered for the colts last year. jealous? (thats sarcasm...something that your pea brain doesnt have the ability to pick up on)
honestly, how many years do you think hines has left? i'm not disrespecting hines ward, but he is not getting any younger and its time to look for another playmaker. I dont have to ask anyone, especially ravens players, to know hines' abilities and importance as a leader to the steelers. But, thanks for the nuggets about hines being the super bowl mvp and greatest steelers' wr (statistically)..i promise to commit these facts to my memory.
but don don you are right about cotter. he is little bitch and he does make excuses for big ben. he blames it on the offensive line and stuff. its definately not the offensive lines' fault ben throws interceptions, they do a great job pass blocking for him, he never gets sacked. (did you pick up on it??? sarcasm....you are learning my slow adult friend.)
p.s. our special teams are awesome!
Wow.
Pretty big Domski-hatin' going on round here in my absence....must be a slow day in Retardville. Domski clearly saying that Hines Ward is not an entire recieving corps unto himself OBVIOUSLY MEANS HE HATES THE STEELERS. YUP. PLAIN AS DAY....
"Assmuncher"? Hmmm.
Anyway, i don't give a fat flying fucking monkey's nuts how good Hines is(or has been :-) he won't last forever. AND- every great WR does better with a powerful, talented opposite to take heat off of him. Think about it. A big, catchy-kinda WR would only help.
I, for one, think we should go aggressively after Matt Jones in Jax this offseason. He's 6'6", great hands, 4.3/4.4 forty, and was a QB in colege. A great fit in our system IMHO. And, he's a veteran who should dive in and help fast. A poor man's Joe Jeruvicius.
When did the dumbass shit-talking moron bus get here anyway?
BTW:
Draft OWEN SCHMIDTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sign MATT JONES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For the love of Art Rooney, please, please do these things for our team. Please. Please. Please.
Schmidtt could easily be anoth Jerome Bettis with half a chance. He's tough, fast, strong and has great hands ands blocking. Don't ignore his running skils just cuz he's white. Seriously. He's a beast.
And Jones is fast, smart, tough and can make circus-type :ynn Swann-like catches. And he's 6'6", for Art's sake!
Jus' saying...
I'm not about to get into Ben's (or anyone else's) head but I think he could have phrased it better. If I'm Ben, I'm looking for that overlap/transition. Why wait until Hines' last year or two to find a good receiver? It takes time to realize talent at that position and figure out how they will do with a given QB.
When they drafted Santonio Holmes I was excited at the potention even though he is a rotten, no-good conniving Ohio State freak!!! Sorry, I digress now. But my point is, Holmes isn't tall like Plax was; he isn't as versatile or talented as Randle El was for us - he doesn't look like he's going to be the answer for us.
We all know that a receiver is only as good as his QB and that' probably why Randle El isn't making a lot of noise in Washington and Plax is OK because he has a Manning to throw to him. Ben is a one of the best, Santonio isn't, Ward is approaching the twilight and Wilson, well... he's got girlfriends with restraining orders to worry about.
They should, at least, look to that position and start making a wish list of some of the sophomores out there.
After a couple of days of getting over this, I have decided that the term "selfish motherfucker" should not have been used due to Hines being a "NFL Man of the Year" finalist. I would like to replace "selfish motherfucker" with "whiny-bitch motherfucker".
The Chief makes a great point: WRs take time to emerge and evaluate.
Even if we drafted a big WR early in the draft it would likely take him a couple years minimum to show us if he will offer any real help there.
In retrospect to the season, i'm seeing that the receiving corps was probably the biggest point of weakness on the team. Without ANY alternative to Hines at the wide spots all opponents had to do was shut out or number one WR and cover Heath effectively to close down our passing game. Ben couldn't really even make good throws when he DID have protection for lack of open targets.
Pass-catchers are invaluable in the league today. Every successful offense has at least two very good receivers, if not three. We need another speedster and at least one big man to fill out the offense's potential. If Ben has someplace to throw the ball the line won't have to protect him for two minutes every down....
And Hines has a right to comment on this issue, but it doesn't really seem like him to be so short-sighted about it all. Is he sick, hurt, or just frustrated? Definitely not his usual All-Pro-style self.
We also need a second REAL option at RB(ie Owen Schmidtt). Without a running game no passing offense without a guy named Brady will succeed in the NFL.
BTW- i wonder: is there ANY chance the Giants might win the SB? I, personally, get the impression that NE has already been crowned. NYG oughtta just stay in the lockerroom. They'll never be allowed to win this game. Sad, really. GB shoulda beat NYG anyway. Whatever.
BBTW- For once i'd like to see a surprising and exciting off-season for Pittsburgh Steelers acquisitions and draft. Just once.
This is just a case where neither one of them should have been talking to a reporter about this stuff.
I can see why Ben wants a tall WR.
I can see why Ward would be a tad miffed.
What I don't see is why Ed Douchette has to stick his damn microphone in the players faces just to get a good story. He did the same shit with Anthony Smith.
God, how I hate that man.
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