Ward was a complete player
Then came the laugh, as he added: “That was a Buffalo Wild Wings trivia question. Somebody couldn’t get Pete Gonzalez.”
Behind the smile, Ward seemed hurt. Or at least confused. He always was an emotional person, and in this case, it’s easy to trace the tracks of his tears: This was a significant blow to his chances.
Still, he vows to stay upbeat. He watched longtime teammate and friend Jerome Bettis get bypassed four times before he was inducted — although Bettis was a finalist each year he missed, so he was knocking on the door. Ward’s not even in the room yet.
“Listen,” Ward said. “I was talking to Jerome, and I understand it’s a waiting process, and I have to be patient. Every time I see [Hall of Fame receivers] Michael Irvin, Andre Reed, James Lofton, they tell me, ‘Hey man, just wait, you’ll get in there. Don’t get mad.’
“I don’t get mad. I just don’t know what the process is anymore, the criterion. Is it all about the yards, the touchdowns, the catches, the Super Bowls? When people compare my stats, I say compare me more with Michael Irvin, because we played in similar offenses.
“I get it: I’m not a top-five wide receiver. I also played on a team that ran the ball more than any other team when I was there.”
Which brings us to the key question regarding Ward’s candidacy: How important was his blocking?
Some people laugh at that question. Players on the other end of those blocks and Sports Illustrated’s Peter King are not among them. I asked King during a recent training camp what he thought of Ward’s resume.
“I’m very bullish on Hines Ward for a simple reason: He was the best blocking receiver in football in the last 30 or 40 years,” King said. “When you add that he caught a thousand balls, he absolutely, unequivocally would get my vote.”
It’s not like Ward’s numbers are weak. He did catch a thousand passes, 85 for touchdowns. And he was clutch, raising all his key numbers in the postseason. In 18 playoff games (16 starts), he made 88 catches for 1,181 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was a Super Bowl MVP. When he retired, the only player in history with more postseason catches was Jerry Rice.
So don’t tell me Ward’s numbers are pedestrian. But I also get they aren’t astronomical. Obviously, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens — two of the 15 finalists — should go into the Hall before him. That would actually help Ward because it would clear receiver spots.
Another finalist was Isaac Bruce, who is not as worthy as Ward.
For one thing, Bruce often played more than half his games indoors — and later in his career, in a high-flying offense. Ward played in the elements. Their numbers aren’t that different, either. Both went to four Pro Bowls. Ward had only six fewer touchdown catches, in 11 fewer starts.
And whether you want to hear it or not, nobody blocked like Ward. That really is what this comes down to: How much do you value the fact that he helped power a running game that led the league in yards over the course of his 12-year career?
Ward wasn’t hand-fighting with cornerbacks the whole time, either. He was blasting people. Who could say what kind of impact some of his greatest hits (paging Ed Reed) had on games?
“I was an extra tight end,” Ward said. “We’d run two tight ends, two receivers, but it was really three tight ends, one receiver. Me and Heath Miller would be lead blockers on the perimeter for Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker and those guys.”
Bettis, on the NFL Network, once said Ward was the best player he played with or against.
I’ll say this: In nearly 50 years watching this game, I don’t know that I’ve seen a more complete player.
Smiling, frowning or both, that bust belongs in Canton.