As the Pittsburgh Steelers’ all-time leading receiver, and fresh off a Super Bowl MVP performance, Hines Ward could probably ease into his ninth NFL training camp. But then he wouldn’t be Hines Ward.”I asked him the other day why he takes so many plays,” said newcomer Ryan Clark. “I mean, he’s already a superstar receiver. But he said he still has to work, still has to make the team every year. When you see a guy like that, a veteran leader, a Super Bowl MVP, there’s no reason why a free agent or a young guy can’t work hard every day.”
Ward reported to camp at 205 pounds, which he says is the lightest of his career. He stays after practice every day to catch passes from a machine – sometimes using just one hand to perfect his technique. He stays longer still to work out with rookie receiver Santonio Holmes.
Ward, a four-time Pro Bowler, just turned 30. Wouldn’t simply maintaining his level of play at that age be enough work?
“Technically, yeah,” Ward laughed. “But for me, that’s who I am. I’m very competitive.
“I’m not content with winning a Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP. I think there’s a lot of room in my game I can always improve on and I won’t be satisfied. I want to hit that 10,000-yard mark for my career; I want to be mentioned right there along with Stallworth and Swann; and of course I want to go out and win another Super Bowl.”
Ward caught everything Ben Roethlisberger threw Wednesday night, the quarterback’s best practice yet. But if Roethlisberger is back, so is Ward.
After averaging 95 catches for 1,124 yards each of the previous four seasons, Ward caught 69 passes for 975 yards last season. He did have 11 touchdown passes, just one off his career high, and moved into first place on the Steelers’ all-time receptions list.
“Even though I didn’t have great stats, I had a better year last year than I did the year I caught 112 balls,” Ward said. “What I had to do without a guy like Plaxico Burress on the other side, and to still put up double-digit touchdowns and up my yards per catch, I did the little things, converted third downs and made big plays when I had to. So for me, that counts way more than stats.”
