Ward's retirement

Never know until you hear it from the horse's mouth, but here's a snippet on Ward's expected retirement. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised either way right now.

http://mike-freeman.blogs.cbssports.com ... 3/34284011

 

Just seeing his face as he sat on the bench and after the loss in yesterday's game must of been the worst Ive ever seen Hines, almost made me shed a tear. If he does retire Id thank him for his numerous years in the Black and Gold, he was a football guy, and best of luck with family and plans after retirement. He was a class act.

 

Mike Freeman rarely writes anything intelligent.

 

hines is done. his end was captured best when we were driving to try to tie the game up late and they showed a picture of him on the sidelines, staring blankly ahead, wearing a jacket over his uniform. the most crucial part of the game, obvious passing situation, and he wasn't even involved. he's not in our plans now, his salary cap hit is huge . . . he's not in our plans moving forward. bank it.

 

I hope it ends this way, with retirement, and not being forced out. It is clear he is not the player we have known for years, and now seems more prone to injury from the shots he takes. If it is so, Thanks for the memories and being a True Steeler. See you in the HOF.

 

He was in on the next play and was the intended receiver.

It's clear Hines' role has changed and it's clear they can't pay him what he is due to make next year for 25-30 catches. If he wants to come back, I think we will resturcture with him and he will come back and try to be a part of another SB Champion. If Hines doesn't want to go through another season with minimal playing time and have most of the national media's last memories of him be of him as a role player, then I think he will retire. I could see it going either way.

 

Yes but it would be nice to have him as a coach!
Coaches salaries don't count against the cap do they?

 

I understand that he is older and not as agile as he once was but I'm not comfortable of how he was just fazed out of our game plan like he was. I think he still can make plays and block for O.

 

i dont like seeing ward on the bench like i seen him last night.

 

how are you not comfortable with better players getting more reps than an aging veteran? wallace, brown, sanders, and cotchery have all surpassed hines in playmaking ability. it is what it is. franco harris wound up a seahawk. mike webster was a chief. bradshaw was considering coming back with tampa bay. welcome to life.

 

How can you say these young WR's are better when they run the wrong routes, lineup in the wrong position, and drop passes. Ward is way more dependable that any other WR he has.

He easily could still be a situational guy next year. I could see him come in as a blocker and also a guy that run the dump off underneath routes.

 

hines has had a lot of drops in the past two seasons. he has clearly lost a step from a speed standpoint too. apparently, you and a few on this board have a better read on this situation than our coaching staff does though. congrats on that.

 

How much of his decline was due to a drop in his abilities and how much was due to the distractions that the DWTS crap brought on. I hated when athletes go on that show.

The guy is tough as nails and can still contribute. Let's do one more year, ala Jerome Bettis, and hope that the outcome is just as good. If Ben can promise to give Bettis a SB ring, he can do the same for Ward. He owes him that.

 

If this is the end for Hines, it was one hell of a ride. Thanks for all the good times.

 

Believe it or not, his appearance on DWTS might have solidified him for the HOF. It's all about PR. By appearing on and winning that show, Hines garnered publicity for his charitable work. He was front and center. This type of stuff resonates with Hall voters. Believe me.

 

This just posted on Hines' facebook page:

I wanted take a moment to thank all of Steeler Nation for the love and support. I'm sorry for the disappointing loss. I'm still depressed about it. We had a great year finishing 12-4 but our ultimate goal was to win the Super Bowl and we fell short. Hats off to Denver. I'm also getting lots of questions about retirement so let me set the record straight: I have no plans on retiring right now. I want to win another Superbowl. I don't know where the media is getting this info from but rest assured that when I decide to retire, you'll hear it from ME first. - HINES

I hope he's the Bettis of 2012!

 

You beat me to it. I was just getting ready to post this.

 

I think hines will restructure and be a steeler next year...no way he signs with another team right????

 

hines will not retire he want to play he will probably go somewhere

 

It will be interesting with Hines.

He is extremely proud man with an unusually large ego. He firmly, undoubtedly thinks he can play and he is very sensitive to 'slights' both real and imagined. Mr No-one-ever-gave-me-a-chance could leave in a snit and go somewhere else where he thinks he can playing time. Athletes (Exhibit A: Brett Favre) are often the last ones to know they are done. Hinses doesn't think he's done.

But the Steelers coaching staff has come to the conclusion that he is done. They won't put him on the field. All he got the last half of the season were 'charity' tosses to get to 1000 receptions. When was the last time he caught a pass more than 5 yrd downfield? He's due $4.6 MM next year, that's a whole lot for the 5th WR, who can't play special teams. The vet minimum for a guy with his service is nearly $1MM, and that a lot for a 5th WR, who can't play special teams.

Do the Steelers suck it up, offer him a one-yr contract at vet minimum and try to do right by Hines? Or does he take that as an insult? I honestly don't know. But there's a decent change that the separation won't be pretty.

 

This is good news. I just hate to see him go out like this. And he's got to come back to the Steelers. No way could I stand to see #86 and Ward on any other jersey.

 

Better playmaking ability? I look at points scored, not fantasy points....and those new guys don't score touchdowns. If they did, then yes they are better. But whenw e get into the redzone, lob passes to Wallace and Brown arent scoring touchdowns. Its fun to think we have good young speed receivers though right?

 

I don't see him going somewhere else. Honestly, I'm not sure who else would take him because of his age and recent injuries. He'll come back to the Steelers if for no other reason to provide leadership and inspiration to the team. Again - maybe he's a 2012 version of Bettis. Win one for Hines.

 

another armchair qb with a better read on our receiving corps than our coaching staff. we're amongst some of the greatest minds in football right here in this message board! who knew?!

 

Hey Ward I know where the media is getting these stupid ideas, From knucklehead fans on this message board who think they know everything.