As Super Bowl XLIII draws closer, we’re going to be diving into the important issues one by one. If you have any topic you want us to cover, give us your suggestions in the Skribit widget to the right. We’ll write about anything. To start off, we took a look at former Steeler assistant Ken Whisenhunt and the role he will play in the game. Next up is Hines Ward’s knee injury.
Hines Ward is the heart and soul of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Other players might have had better seasons or careers, but once Jerome Bettis, Bill Cowher, and Joey Porter left the organization, this became Hines Ward’s team.
So after Hines got up limping after another first down catch, the panic button was pressed. Ward came back and played a series, even made another catch..but he wasn’t able to stay in the game. When Hines Ward pulls himself out of an AFC Championship game against the Ravens, you know something is terribly wrong.
Watching the game, it eventually became pretty clear that the Steelers were going to win and the focus shifted to Hines Ward’s health.
The verdict: MCL sprain.
Two big things to keep in mind when thinking about this –
1. MCL sprains aren’t easy to come back from. Brett Keisel missed several games with one earlier in the year. Correct us if we’re wrong, but the usual time for a knee sprain is 4-6 weeks. Ward has only two.
2. Hines Ward is a damn tough football player. If we had to pick one player to come back from a tough injury in time for the Super Bowl, it would be Hines. Nobody would be surprised if Hines went out and won another Super Bowl MVP award. He’s tough as nails and personifies Steeler Football.
The trouble with this situation lies in the gray area though. What if Hines is able to go, as he says he will be, but is only moving at 60 or 70%? At what point does he become ineffective? And at what point does a healthy Nate Washington or Limas Sweed become the better option?
It’s a really tough call. The team needs Hines Ward out there. Sure, he’s old, he’s getting slower, but he’s a catalyst for the offense and will make the catches that keep a drive moving.
There’s no way that Hines Ward will be at 100% for this game. That is a fact. The Steelers will probably be happy with him around 80%, which is still an improvement over most NFL recievers.
The pressure to pick up the extra 20% falls on Santonio Holmes, Nate Washington, and Limas Sweed (too bad all of Heinz Field booed the guy, killing any confidence he had left). All of those guys have proven their ability to get open deep, but who is going to step up and make the catches on 3rd and 5 or 2nd and 8? Hines will be there for some, but somebody else is going to have to make a few plays.
The plays that move the chains are what Hines excels at and they often go unnoticed. If Holmes can make two or three first down catches, maybe not many people will notice…but those will be the most important plays for the WR’s to make.
Here’s to seeing Hines out there and playing like nothing’s wrong with him. We wouldn’t bet on him being anywhere close to full speed, but then again…we wouldn’t bet against Hines Ward either.
Do it Hines.
