Hmm, I'll make some quick rankings right now and see where he fits in.
Owens
Moss
(maybe Harrison)
---------------
Harrison
Holt
C. Johnson
Horn
J. Walker
A. Johnson
Wayne
---------------
S. Smith
D. Jackson
Ward
Clayton
R. Williams
Mason
Burleson
Porter
Boldin
Muhammad
Bennett
Chambers
Fitz
J. Smith
Bruce
Driver
I mean you could pretty much stick him right here, or maybe add a few more players then put in Plax, but this is just to show he's pretty much end of third tier, nowhere near second.
He's better than a 4th wide receiver, though; no way I could think of 20 more receivers to add onto this list ahead of him.
joshyboy72 wrote:He's better than a 4th wide receiver, though; no way I could think of 20 more receivers to add onto this list ahead of him.
thats true...depends on league size i guess..if we are talking an 8 team league i would only want him as my 4th..10 i still would feel a little scared with him as 3, but i would still take him..and a 12..yeah for sure a #3. thats just me tho
With eli manning, I don't think he'll the top 25 next year. He could be around the top 30 though, and maybe around jimmy smith on your list. It's not like Big Ben is throwing to him anymore.
I'm kind of surprised to see Hines Ward so low in everyone's rankings. We know Ben loved Plax, but with him gone, shouldn't Ward put up some solid numbers? Not top tier like in his better days, but at least a little better than most are ranking him.
MCG321 wrote:I'm kind of surprised to see Hines Ward so low in everyone's rankings. We know Ben loved Plax, but with him gone, shouldn't Ward put up some solid numbers? Not top tier like in his better days, but at least a little better than most are ranking him.
Yeah, but the hard part to gauge is how much the Steelers will actually throw the ball...they are going to pound the crap out of teams again with Bettis/Staley because it worked.
Not having a "deep threat" like Burress might hurt even more, but if Randle El or Wilson picks up his play, Ward should do about the same if not slightly better than last year. He's still a great possession receiver, but the TD's might not be in the cards again.
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MCG321 wrote:I'm kind of surprised to see Hines Ward so low in everyone's rankings. We know Ben loved Plax, but with him gone, shouldn't Ward put up some solid numbers? Not top tier like in his better days, but at least a little better than most are ranking him.
Yeah, but the hard part to gauge is how much the Steelers will actually throw the ball...they are going to pound the crap out of teams again with Bettis/Staley because it worked.
Not having a "deep threat" like Burress might hurt even more, but if Randle El or Wilson picks up his play, Ward should do about the same if not slightly better than last year. He's still a great possession receiver, but the TD's might not be in the cards again.
Funny how much effect Plaxico Burress leaving Pittsburgh has in everyone's mindset. I'm probably one of the biggest Burress supporters on this forum, but to think that Plaxico is going to affect Ward's success is a silly argument to me.
What happened to 2002 and 2003 where Ward was the clutch 100 catch WR in traffic and seemed to be a lock to end up with double digit touchdowns. A lot of people regarded him as the most talented all-around WR in the NFL. Burress was a major bust in 2003, but Ward was not affected in the slightest. Here is a guy being considered over the likes of TERRELL OWENS by some people as recently as last year and all of a sudden he needs a pro-bowl caliber #2 WR to help him put up stats? What???
Ward's dip in production was due to Burress missing games in 2004? It had nothing to do with the Steeler's running the ball 634 times or the Steeler's being the #1 defensive team in points allowed? After all Burress is the next greatest single WR threat in the game besides Randy Moss...
Burress=
1) takes the double teams on every play and is guarded by the #1 CB on every play
2) Keeps a safety out of the box due to the constant double teams and makes room for the running game
3) Makes all the other WRs on the team better producers, because he takes so much coverage and frees up all the passes to goto the possession WRs
When will people realize that Ward is a talented WR with a nose for the endzone? If Reggie Wayne left Indy would Marvin Harrison be downgraded in your minds because his "burner threat" would be gone?
Ward's going to see a ton more passes thrown to him in 2005, it's as simple as that. Burress is not a threat to the scale many people describe.
Burress demanding all that respect = myth. If anything is going to hamper Ward's production it will be the Steeler's run game and their defense. Neither of which will be even close to the factor they were in 2004 IMO.
MCG321 wrote:I'm kind of surprised to see Hines Ward so low in everyone's rankings. We know Ben loved Plax, but with him gone, shouldn't Ward put up some solid numbers? Not top tier like in his better days, but at least a little better than most are ranking him.
Yeah, but the hard part to gauge is how much the Steelers will actually throw the ball...they are going to pound the crap out of teams again with Bettis/Staley because it worked.
Not having a "deep threat" like Burress might hurt even more, but if Randle El or Wilson picks up his play, Ward should do about the same if not slightly better than last year. He's still a great possession receiver, but the TD's might not be in the cards again.
Funny how much effect Plaxico Burress leaving Pittsburgh has in everyone's mindset. I'm probably one of the biggest Burress supporters on this forum, but to think that Plaxico is going to affect Ward's success is a silly argument to me.
What happened to 2002 and 2003 where Ward was the clutch 100 catch WR in traffic and seemed to be a lock to end up with double digit touchdowns. A lot of people regarded him as the most talented all-around WR in the NFL. Burress was a major bust in 2003, but Ward was not affected in the slightest. Here is a guy being considered over the likes of TERRELL OWENS by some people as recently as last year and all of a sudden he needs a pro-bowl caliber #2 WR to help him put up stats? What???
Ward's dip in production was due to Burress missing games in 2004? It had nothing to do with the Steeler's running the ball 634 times or the Steeler's being the #1 defensive team in points allowed? After all Burress is the next greatest single WR threat in the game besides Randy Moss...
Burress= 1) takes the double teams on every play and is guarded by the #1 CB on every play 2) Keeps a safety out of the box due to the constant double teams and makes room for the running game 3) Makes all the other WRs on the team better producers, because he takes so much coverage and frees up all the passes to goto the possession WRs
When will people realize that Ward is a talented WR with a nose for the endzone? If Reggie Wayne left Indy would Marvin Harrison be downgraded in your minds because his "burner threat" would be gone?
Ward's going to see a ton more passes thrown to him in 2005, it's as simple as that. Burress is not a threat to the scale many people describe.
Burress demanding all that respect = myth. If anything is going to hamper Ward's production it will be the Steeler's run game and their defense. Neither of which will be even close to the factor they were in 2004 IMO.
Very well put Kensat.I totally agree on your assessment of Ward in that he could easily return to putting up top 5 WR numbers.With no one else to compete with,and Ben having a year under his belt,Ward could be fantastic,and be one of the most underrated WR's this draft.
Well put Kensat. Ward is a catching machine, quite possibly the best all around WR in the NFL.
Simply put, Ward's value and Plax's value are both going to heavily depend on how much maturation has occurred in this offseason by their respective QBs. Ward is definitely in a different class than Plax is however.
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MadScott wrote:Well put Kensat. Ward is a catching machine, quite possibly the best all around WR in the NFL.
Simply put, Ward's value and Plax's value are both going to heavily depend on how much maturation has occurred in this offseason by their respective QBs. Ward is definitely in a different class than Plax is however.
What do you mean by "Ward is quite possibly the best all-around receiver in the NFL??" He's very talented, and I hope you meant in terms of talent, not statistical totals or by fantasy numbers. If he had a Manning or C-Pep throwing to him, he'd be amazing, but for now he has Big Ben throwing to him, and he's not the best passer in teh NFL. IO could see him amount around 1200/12 totals next season, but nothing much higher than that. And yes, he is talented.
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by joshyboy72 » Sat Apr 16, 2005 4:04 pm 
