Hines Ward is the cheapest player in the NFL. He consistently delivers big hits on the opponents defensive players, but he only does so when they're eyes are following the play. He blindsides them (which is legal) but always leads with is helmet (which is illegal).

Best example, was his hit on Ed Reed last year. Ed Reed was following the rusher, and Ward full on helmet-first let Reed have it helmet-to-helmet. Now there's talk this year that Reed is suffering from neck/spinal nerve damage and might look into early retirement. I've never seen Ward lay a hit on a defensive player that was taking him square on. He only hits guys when they're not prepared.

It came as no suprise that Troy Pomalamadingdong complained about the NFL's fines...just go to Youtube and look at the cheap hit he had back in his USC days against KSU on a punt return. It's the single biggest cheap shot I've ever seen.

well...its looks somewhat clean..even though he is leading with his helmet. He still always looks for though blocks where the other guy is never looking

Bill , That video is yet another evidence of cheap shots by Hines Ward .
He is the one who should get yellow flags and heavy fines . Dont you agree ?
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Allan,
I didn't see video of the Jacksonville incident and I really don't recall the Ivy play where Ward says he was tryng to avoid the Ravens' CB but I think there is a case for this Cincinnati one where it appears he comes up underneath the guy's chin.
-- Bill O.

hines ward will get his one day....you watch

and he wont be smiling anymore

BASH is an idiot. Are you telling me that the big bad linebackers of the NFL need to be protected from little ole Ward? Is it okay if an offensive player delivers a block these days? HOw many times have you cheered when your defensive back lays a hit on some receiver across the middle? This isn't flag football morons...it's the NFL.
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Sorry for the edit but some of those guys weren't proved guilty of what you implied.
-- Bill O.

Hines Ward is one of the toughest guys in the NFL and has some of the best vision of any player in the league. When he sees a playbreaking block he's going to make it.

I don't understand why people are so surprised when athletes in the NFL get hurt. NFL players are some of the strongest, most physical players on the planet. If you're not keeping your eyes open and you're not prepared to take a hit, you're going to be lit up.

If you're not watching and you're not going hard then you're going to be plowed. Hands down. You're as crucial to your own safety as anyone else.

And this crap about Hines Ward going helmet to helmet on purpose is absolutely ridiculous. No one is out to seriously hurt any other player. Hines Ward runs like a champ and he knows how to lay a hit. He always aims for the chest and never for the head. That's how you make a block. If the other person is trying to make a block on Hines Ward then you have two people aiming for each others' chest. There is bound to be some helmet-to-helmet action.

Stop trying to blame Hines Ward for his toughness and his dedication to go all out on every play. It's insulting to the game.
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Anthony,
As I mentioned in the post, it appears that Ward was going for the chest or a shoulder in the video and at the last moment caught Rivers' chin coming up. I'm not implying that there was anything intentional and from the angle of the video, it's impossible to tell. But the league is coming down on this stuff regardless of intent.
-- Bill O.

Hines goes hard ! would you prefer the Randy Moss TO method play win you want and not block at all

You idiots only wish you had a WR of Ward's calibur. I'm so tired of hearing all of you sissies cry about how Ward is nothing but a cheap shot artist. It was an absolute legal hit, so get over it. Oh, by the way, Ravens suck!!

i personally don't think that ward's helmet hit rivers' helmet/jaw. i think his shoulder hits and his helmet goes out in front of rivers. but, even if you are right that his helmet slides up to rivers' head, it's not a direct helmet to helmet (i.e. illegal) hit. it's merely an unfortunate legal hit.

although i believe (and most nfl analysts believe) the hit was legal, i do think that the NFL will try to safeguard players from this kind of blocking in the future. luckily for linebacks and db's, there aren't hines wards on every team. i personally think that ward hits a lot harder than he needs to sometimes, but that doesn't make it illegal.

will the NFL fine ward this time? probably. but that is no indication as to whether or not the hit was within the rules. goodell has been fining everybody this year.

I find it funny reading these comments the ignorance is obvious. "Don't hate the player, hate the game." Hines Ward gets paid to catch, and the defense gets paid to defend and if a wide receiver can do a better job maybe you should retire. If Hines Ward was on the team which you pull for you would think the same way I do. "Talk is cheap, show it on the field." "Football is a contact sport, there is contact involved." I was there in person, there was nothing cheap about the hit. "No flag, no foul."

This comment is directed to the ignorant.

It is childish to call Hines "cheap" grow up , this is the NFL... ya know? football. He always gets nailed late, like his TD catch where he was hit when not looking after play was over... got up and smiled. Every Defense knows he is coming they have quotes saying guys specifically watch for him. Guess 'ol Keith just got laid out! haha. Ward haters=football softies. Shut up and let him play,

Hines delivers punishing, sometimes bone shattering hits and LB's and DB's in the league know this. They are the ones that should keep an eye out, not the league. Pycho Ward plays the game hard and fast on every play. He's availible to teach lessons on tough CLEAN hits, if Bart and Ray Ray are interested in learn how to back up what they say.

If you think that was a "cheap" hit, then go watch flag football. Football is about hitting....whether or not you see the guy coming!

Or, are you suppose to yell to them, to let them know you are coming..I forget the etiquette!

Sort of like when a QB gets sacked? Pittsburgh has a little experience with that.

It you don't want to get hit....don't play the game...work in an office!

I think it's funny how everyone complains about an offensive player who blocks/hits hard (namely Hines Ward) when there are lots more defensive player who do the same thing. A defensive player can blindside any offensive player (QB sack from the blindside), I 've seen lots of defensive players do that to offensive players and they celebrate the hits too. If it's okay for a defensive player to do it, why can't an offensive player like Ward do it. Ward gets hit hard almost everytime he has the ball or even when he's going up for the catch, which in my opinion is even worse than a blindside hit because the player is in the air and is most vulnerable. Offensive players don't do that to a DB when he's in the air going for the INT. Defensive players do it all the time, but does anyone complain about DBs doing that....NO!!! The only reason this is an issue, is because Hines Ward has the same mentality as a defensive player when he's going to block someone and the defense doesn't like it. They don't like the fact that there's an offensive player who can hit just as hard as they can. They wanna be ones doing the hitting and not the ones being hit. What happened to Rivers was unfortunate and I hope he recovers well and has a great career, but I've seen far more worse hits from a defensive player on an offensive player. Defensive players don't always tackle head on, they blindside too.

Wow, such interesting comments from this bunch. Do not hate Hines Ward for being a hitter, the hit this Rivers dude was clean, legal and flat out brutal. This is how football played in black and gold country. To suggest the fines were remotely warranted, is the sound of ignorance, perhaps jealously. Guess NFL LBs are gettin soft, can you imagine Jack Lambert ever complaining about getting hit from a WR? Gotta give it up to Ray Lewis, he took his thumping like a man last year when he got layed out by #86.

I'm sorry newmania but I think the title of idiot is solely reserved for you. Ed Reed (the player I named in my example) is a safety not a linebacker.

Also, to those who support his cheap pot shots and posted that we'd all take favor in them if he were playing on our team are wrong. Last year, in a preseason game against the Philly Eagles one of the Ravens backup LBs (playing on special teams) Antwan Barnes leveled the Eagles punter when he wasn't paying attention. It was a cheap shot that had no place in the game. Hitting defenseless players helmet first is flat out unacceptable...you may think it's a game, but to these players it's their long term health. So while it's cool to paste up the vids on Youtube to some loud POD tunes, check out the stats on the long term health effects a lot of these players display b/c of hits like these.

this is football. clean football. ... stop complaining.

last time i checked football is a contact sport not two hand tag of flag football by fining hines for playing with great emotion and never quiting is ridiculous and is a slap in the face of what image the nfl tries to portray. Hines ward makes clean blocks and can't help if he is the only player on the field looking for a big play on every down. The dumb bungal rookie should have had better vision of the field and where possible blockers were. SO quit (complaining) b/c your hatin on the steelers and jealous of our big playmakers

I love the NFL's rules. If you hit Hines Ward (when he doesn't have the ball) then it's Illegal Contact, and yet HE is allowed to hit anyone he wants.

The block may be technically legal, but it's also unnecessary roughness. A simple block would have sufficed. Instead the loser decides to end the undersized rookie's season. What a role-model for kids! I can see why squeelers fans love him so.

"Keep your head on a swivel" is one the first things you learn in football. We called it getting 'earholed', and it commonly occured on kickoffs. Hines Ward is the most fundamentally sound player right now. My favorite thing about Ward, he's always smiling.

LADIES THE GAME IS FOOTBALL IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO SEE HARD HITS , THE HOME SHOPPING NETWORK IS ON 24/7 GO STEELERS, A HARD HITTING TEAM FROM THE START.

Bill,

I find the online press' increasing use of youtube videos very interesting. While I agree they provide a seamless and easy way to enhance specific elements of the article, I cannot help but think that even the mainstream media has fallen into the trap of overlooking certain issues of legality with regard to the popular internet site. I am pretty sure that this video is copyrighted by the NFL and CBS.

PS: I appreciate the way you respond to your comments. I think that it goes beyond your call of duty as a writer and it speaks very highly of your character.
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Bob,
Thanks for the kind words.
-- Bill O.

Hines just plays hard. You say he only takes on defenders whose eyes on the play. Watch the game instead of the highlights and you'll see he takes on defenders on just about every play. The only ones that make SportsCenter are those that really knock the defender around, like those he delivered on Reed, but the guy plays hard for 60 minutes. If he played in Baltimore, you'd love him; just like most fans wouldn't hate Ray Lewis if he played in their town.
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Joe,
Thanks for the note but to be clear, I didn't say that he only takes on guys whose attention is elsewhere, just that he does it enough to get everyone's attention. I give him credit for being a good downfield blocker and it will be part of his HOF legacy. Yes, and just like a Pete Rose used to be, he's a guy who you love when he is on your team and who grates on you when he's on the other team.
-- Bill O.

AS THE GREATEST LB IN NFL HISTORY,JACK LAMBERT, SAID WHEN HE WAS ASKED ABOUT THE NEW RULES TO "PROTECT" THE QBS, "THEY SHOULD ALL BE WEARING SKIRTS!" NOW I AM ALL FOR PROTECTING THE PLAYERS WHILE ALLOWING TOUGH GUYS LIKE HINES WARD TO DOLE OUT PUNISHMENT WITH
LEGAL BLOCKS. I PLAYED FOOTBALL AND MOST GUYS ON DEFENSE LOVE TO HIT BUT NOT BE HIT. YA GOTTA LOVE A
GUY LIKE HINES WHO PLAYS OLD SCHOOL FOOTBALL! GO BLACK AND GOLD!

rofl @ people who think that wasnt helmet to helmet. you squeelers fans have got to be the biggest idiots on the face of the earth.

let me ask you, squeeler fans, where exactly do you think the jaw bone is on the human body? last time i checked my jawbone was on my face.

now i know that some people from pittsburgh have jawbones on there chest but contrary to what your parents told you growing up, this is not the norm throughout the rest of the world.

hines ward is notorious throughout the league for those dirty/cheap helmet leading hits he consistently puts on defenders. the only people who seem to think this stuff is fair and legal play are squeelers fans. funny huh?

The NFL has a name for people who complain about being hit and fans who complain about players being hit. It's called a cheerleader. Ward, as a receiver, has taken the hardest shots ever delivered due to being defenseless grabbing hanging passes. He always gets back up smiling because he's a man, not a sissy. ... Best Ward play ever: A few years ago a Cleveland defender told Ward he was going to "kill him" on the next play. On the next play, Ward knocked the guy unconscious. ... So mouth off all you want, Ravens players. Your players are just not as tough as Ward, and crying about it ... really won't help, now will it?
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John,
Needed to edit a little.
-- Bill O.