Hines Ward will not be fined for breaking Keith Rivers jaw

[Hugh 0ne]

Oooh, lookie, Menyoudo's here, we should finally get an unbiased and fair response to this topic.

[westvirginia]

Oooh, lookie, Menyoudo's here, we should finally get an unbiased and fair response to this topic.

 

 

He sure is taking a long time to write it...

[Menudo]

Wow, I can't believe some of you. That guy was going to be in on the tackle. His hit was not helmet to helmet, and was completely legal. I wish everyone on the Steelers played the game the way HInes Ward does. He does his job to his fullest ability EVERY single play. The other receivers on the Steelers have become great blockers by following Ward's lead. I do wish he would stop celebrating after a hit, but, I find it funny that there is such uproar every week because a skinny WR is hitting linebackers too hard........

 

There was an article in the Gazette on this very subject today:

 

Nothing dirty about Ward's rugged play

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 

So the Cincinnati Bengals want a piece of Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward when the teams play again Nov. 20?

 

Please.

 

They had better get in line.

 

It is a very long line.

 

Baltimore Ravens safety Rod Woodson threatened to get even with Ward after his nose was bloodied by a Ward block in 2001. Ravens linebacker Bart Scott threatened to kill Ward after he was flattened by a Ward hit in '07. Cleveland Browns cornerback Daven Holly called the Ward block that left him with a concussion last season "a heinous act." Ravens cornerback Chris McAllister used a vulgar term to describe Ward in '04 for no other reason than, well, Ward is Ward.

 

Now, along come the Bengals after Ward's hard-but-clean block knocked rookie linebacker Keith Rivers out for the season with a broken jaw Sunday.

 

"Too bad he can't hit someone face up," Bengals safety Chinedum Ndukwe said. "It's the type of guy he is. He's a blind-side guy. That's all right. We play them again."

 

That didn't bother Ward in the slightest. "They all hate me in the division," he said yesterday. "I don't worry about someone trying to take me out. I don't even think about it. I know they're going to try to hit me hard any chance they get. That's why I always try to hit them hard first."

 

But this bothered Ward greatly: "I hate that they're saying I'm a dirty player when I didn't do anything wrong. How can it be a dirty play when I don't get penalized? How can it be a dirty play when all I'm doing is playing football and trying to help my teammate get extra yards?"

 

Those are good questions.

 

There are a lot of ways to describe Ward. I like Steelers coach Mike Tomlin's version: "Hines plays the game the way it's supposed to be played. ... He's a football player first and a wide receiver second." Ward prefers former Ravens coach Brian Billick's description: " 'I hate the S.O.B., but I'd love to have him on my team.' "

 

But Ward a dirty player?

 

Sorry, I just don't see it.

 

Of all of Ward's many vicious blocks, the only one I can remember coming late and drawing a penalty was his hit on the Browns' Holly last season. Just about everything he does -- though unusually violent for a receiver -- is within the rules.

 

Of course, that didn't stop the NFL from fining Ward for "unnecessary roughness" on plays that weren't penalized in games against Jacksonville and Baltimore earlier this season. He doesn't think he'll be fined for the hit on Rivers, but who knows? If the league does fine him, it will stink of hypocrisy. That block is the type of brutal hit that makes the NFL game so popular. Rivers was sent flying; his feet must have been 10 feet off the turf. It's the type of play the league surely will market and sell on its 2008 Greatest Hits video.

 

"It was shoulder to shoulder," Ward said. "If I was a dirty player, I would have gone low on him. I easily could have taken out his leg. But my intentions weren't to hurt him. I just wanted to block him. I can't help that he broke his jaw when he hit the ground. I feel sorry that it was broken, but I don't feel sorry for what I did.

 

"No one ever sent me an apology note when I was hurt. Two years ago against Cleveland, Sean Jones hurt my knee with what I thought was a bad hit. Last year, [san Francisco's] Patrick Willis hit me directly on my knee. No one felt sorry for me ...

 

"I'm a 200-pound wide receiver. [Rivers] is a first-round linebacker out of USC. If I were him, I wouldn't want people talking about me being blocked like that. I'd be embarrassed about it."

 

Lost in the controversy surrounding Ward's big hit and fines is the fact he's having another superb season. He caught his fifth touchdown pass in the 38-10 victory against the Bengals, taking a cheap hit from safety Dexter Jackson long after he scored. Ward bounced up and grinned in Jackson's face as the officials called Jackson for a personal foul. "I knew that hit was coming," Ward said, shrugging.

 

Ward didn't take it personally.

 

"I hardly ever allow it to become personal," he said. "I can only think of one or two times in my career when I lost my cool and allowed it to be personal. I caught a touchdown pass in Seattle and spiked the ball in front of [Ken] Lucas. He had been grabbing me and talking all game. That was personal. After I hit [Earl] Little in Cleveland [in 2001], I stood over him because he called me a 'Chinaman [bleep]' a few plays earlier. I said to him, 'How do you like that from a Chinaman [bleep]?' I know I shouldn't have done it and I deserved that fine.

 

"But these fines this year? I didn't do anything wrong. I just played football."

 

And if the opponents disagree?

 

"If I'm in their head and they're worried about me, I figure I've won already," Ward said.

 

In the game against the Ravens last season when Ward drilled Scott, he also sent All-Pro safety Ed Reed flying with a block. "The next few plays, all he cared about was getting back at me," Ward said. "He didn't care about his responsibilities. That's not helping his team. That's helping my team."

 

I'm thinking Ward will be ready for the Giants' best shots Sunday and the Washington Redskins' the next week and the Bengals', Ravens' and Browns' down the road.

 

Certainly, they had better be ready for his best.

 

"I'm not going to allow this silly [stuff] to change the way I play," Ward said.

 

Nor should he.

 

Tomlin's point is worth repeating one more time:

 

Hines plays the game the way it's supposed to be played ...

[Hugh 0ne]

He sure is taking a long time to write it...

 

Well, when talking about Hines Ward, Menyoudo only has one hand free.

[Menudo]

Well, when talking about Hines Ward, Menyoudo only has one hand free.

 

[bushwacked]

Well, when talking about Hines Ward, Menyoudo only has one hand free.

 

[westvirginia]

Well, when talking about Hines Ward, Menyoudo only has one hand free.

 

 

[tazinib1]

Suggs said on the radio that the Ravens still have a bounty on Ward after not getting a chance at him the first time.

 

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/10/21/...bounty-on-ward/

[Grimm74]

Gentlemen, this is football and it's a brutal violent sport. The hit was completely legal. If Rivers wasn't hurt for the year this conversation wouldn't even be brought up. Let em play boys, Rivers just got popped cleanly by the best blocking WR of all-time. Ward is a stud and a coaches dream player. I hope the guy gets into the HOF.

 

Well said. ....Lets just pick guys like in basketball...this conversation is just plain lame. Great block and great effort. Ward led with his shoulder and Rivers head whiped into his helmet.

 

I do find it interesting that a WR needs to take it easy on a defensive players involved in a play?

[HowboutthemCowboys]

I do find it interesting that a WR needs to take it easy on a defensive players involved in a play?

Not trying to bash or defend Ward in any way. It just seems like he blindsides ALOT of guys. That said, he is a tough SOB. I've seen him take some nasty hits over the years and he always gets up smiling.

[Dont Rookie Me........]

Not trying to bash or defend Ward in any way. It just seems like he blindsides ALOT of guys. That said, he is a tough SOB. I've seen him take some nasty hits over the years and he always gets up smiling.

 

 

He blindsides a lot of guys becuase he looks for contact which 85% of the wr's do not do.

[The Irish Doggy]

From the angles I've seen, I thought helmet to helmet was a valid reason to flag the play. I have to wonder how a jaw is broken if there was no helmet to helmet hit. I can't fault Ward's intensity or the angle of the block however.

[max]

There is nothing wrong with the hit on Rivers. It is sad to see the his season ended but that was a great block. Ward is simply a player that goes all out until the whistle. He is a player that most teams hate to play against but at the same time would love to have on their team. Frankly, I wish more players in the NFL played with the passion that Ward has for the game.

[LayLow]

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/10/21/...bounty-on-ward/

They mention that they had a bounty on mendenhall after he got cocky via Text messages...they hit him harder then originally planned

[loaf]

2nd dirtiest player in the League.

[Menudo]

2nd dirtiest player in the League.

 

I know you are probably here, but, in case you aren't.

 

As the 2nd dirtiest player in the league, there must be lots of example of dirty hits and penalties received for those dirty hits. I await your evidence.

 

I know of ONE such instance, and that was against Cleveland.

[bushwacked]

2nd dirtiest player in the League.

 

And only blind homers would disagree.

[jjpro11]

you must be blind or just dislike hines and the steelers if you thought that was a cheap shot. rivers was about to knock moore out of bounds for christ sake. the block let moore pickup another few yards. im glad hines is striking fear into defenders too.. let them have something to think about and fear when they are running like a bat out of hell trying to hit the ball carrier. maybe it will slow them up a bit and make them peek out of the corner of their eye looking for ward. why should defenders be able to take free runs at offensive players, but cry and whine when they get hit back? now we have defenders calling for his head and trying to injure ward because they are afraid they will get rocked? please.. i hope ward knocks out ed reed for a third straight game if they want to play like that.

[Skippy]

2nd dirtiest player in the League.

If he is dirty then I don't want them to be clean.

 

Man up people. This is football. This is a game that I played for 12 years of my life and I assure you that I tried to hit someone, HARD, during every single play of those 12 years. This is football and we are taught from the peewee leagues on up to hit the guy hard. To make a great block. There is nothing dirty about Ward's game. He is the guy that every single coach would love to have on his team.

[jaxfactor]

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/10/21/...bounty-on-ward/

 

Yep, Terrell Thuggs, along with Captain Murder should be ready for Ward. Did someone ask Thuggs if Ray Lewis had a bounty on that guy in Atlanta that got killed after the SB years ago? Leave it to the f'kin' Ravens to biatch about a WR.

 

ETA: I love the fact that people are biatching about a WR hitting. Hell, I'd be embarrasssed to bitch if I were a defensive player.

Edited October 22, 2008 by jaxfactor

[Trots]

Yep, Terrell Thuggs, along with Captain Murder should be ready for Ward. Did someone ask Thuggs if Ray Lewis had a bounty on that guy in Atlanta that got killed after the SB years ago? Leave it to the f'kin' Ravens to biatch about a WR.

 

ETA: I love the fact that people are biatching about a WR hitting. Hell, I'd be embarrasssed to bitch if I were a defensive player.

This is pertinent how? Ward is a cheap-shot taking little bittch. I honestly can't believe that you guys are defending him.

[Rovers]

I don't see much difference between this hit and the hit on Boldin a couple of weeks ago. Both hits were high...Why did Smith get suspended and Ward... nothing? I don't think either hit was done with intent to injure... intent to rock the guy? Yes... injure? This was nothing like the Sapp hit... Sapp hit a guy who was out of the play, and did intend to injure.

[jaxfactor]

This is pertinent how? Ward is a cheap-shot taking little bittch. I honestly can't believe that you guys are defending him.

 

This coming from guy who roots for a team that puts bounties on players. FWIW, Steelers had no business winning the earlier game against you guys. You made us look down right horrible the first half. I'm surre it will be very heated in Baltimore. I love this rivalry, and no offense, but I love to hate that team.

 

 

I don't see much difference between this hit and the hit on Boldin a couple of weeks ago. Both hits were high...Why did Smith get suspended and Ward... nothing? I don't think either hit was done with intent to injure... intent to rock the guy? Yes... injure? This was nothing like the Sapp hit... Sapp hit a guy who was out of the play, and did intend to injure.

 

Not sticking up for him at all. Even if this were a Baltimore player doing the hit, I would have no problem with it. I don't see any similarity at all with the hit on Boldin. This hit came from the side and Rivers broke his jaw when he fell to the ground, not when the hit occured. I don't think Smith had any intent to injure either, but that was ruled a helmet to helmet hit. I'm seeing this more frequently, or at least seeing players getting fined for it. Many of them are not done intentionally, it's just the way the hit played out.

[Seahawks21]

I haven't read any of this thread but that was a perfectly legal hit. End of story. Dirty player, maybe. That was the kind of hit that will surely make him a marked man, which I think Ward seems to enjoy. But any defensive player would tell you it was RIvers' fault for not having his head on a swivel.

[Furd]

Of course he intended to injure Rivers.

 

If his intent was to block Rivers, he could have shoved him, or stuck his shoulder into him, with the same effect. He ceratintly didn't have to go in high, helmet first, to prevent Rivers from making a tackle

 

He wanted to punish Rivers, to knock him into next week, to knock him cold. Breaking Rivers jaw, or giving him a concussion, is just a by product of Ward's actions.