Why Hines Ward Doesn't Belong In The Hall Of Fame

Hines Ward is an all-time great Steeler. But there's a lot of receivers waiting for a call from Canton.

I wrote about Hines Ward's case for the Hall of Fame a year ago, so some of you may already know my stance on this topic (in case you couldn't decipher from the title of this post). Now that the Steelers have decided to move on from Ward, I'm reading some articles putting him in Canton based on things like his toughness, his smile*, and his Dancing With The Stars charm. So let's revisit this argument.

*I've said this before, but I don't understand how the media misinterprets Ward's shit-eating grin as anything more than a brilliant way to get under his opponent's skin. If you really think it's his expression of some childlike love for the game, then perhaps you can ask one of the linebackers who he blindsided. "Oh, thanks for launching your forearm into the back of my head Hines! Almost concussed me on that one! But you're grinning from ear to ear, so you're clearly just really happy to be here!"

If you dig past the smiles and the midfield collisions, and instead look at his production, you'll see that Ward has to leapfrog a lot of his peers to get into Canton. Here is a list of wide receivers from the past 30 years who have (or will have) stats comparable to Ward's, but have yet to make the Hall of Fame:

			Games	Receiving
Player	From	To	G	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD
Terrell Owens	1996	2010	219	1078	15934	14.78	153
Isaac Bruce	1994	2009	223	1024	15208	14.85	91
Tim Brown	1988	2004	255	1094	14934	13.65	100
Randy Moss	1998	2010	202	954	14858	15.57	153
Marvin Harrison	1996	2008	190	1102	14580	13.23	128
Cris Carter	1987	2002	234	1101	13899	12.62	130
Henry Ellard	1983	1998	228	814	13777	16.93	65
Torry Holt	1999	2009	173	920	13382	14.55	74
Andre Reed	1985	2000	234	951	13198	13.88	87
Irving Fryar	1984	2000	255	851	12785	15.02	84
Jimmy Smith	1992	2005	178	862	12287	14.25	67
Hines Ward	1998	2011	217	1000	12083	12.08	85
Derrick Mason	1997	2011	230	943	12061	12.79	66
Reggie Wayne	2001	2011	173	862	11708	13.58	73
Steve Smith	2001	2011	151	699	10278	14.70	59
Andre Johnson	2003	2011	122	706	9656	13.68	52
Larry Fitzgerald	2004	2011	124	693	9615	13.87	73

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table

I wasn't optimistic about Ward's chances for Canton last year, and I'm even less so now. Four weeks ago, we saw how difficult it is for this generation's wide receivers to make the Hall of Fame. With a relatively weak class of candidates, most expected at least one receiver to get off the bubble and into immortality. It didn't work out that way.

Chris Carter was 2nd in all-time receptions, 3rd in receiving yards, and 2nd in receiving touchdowns when he retired. Only Jerry Rice had better career stats. Andre Reed had comparative numbers with four Super Bowl appearances. Tim Brown made nine Pro Bowls. Each of these three men outproduced Ward, despite being in a tougher passing era, and yet none of them have made the Hall of Fame cut.

When Ward goes before the selectors, he could be up against Carter, Reed, Brown, Marvin Harrison, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Terrell Owens, and Randy Moss. If Ward doesn't make it in on the first few tries, then he'll have to compete with Reggie Wayne, Steve Smith, Larry Fitzgerald, and Andre Johnson. Meanwhile, Calvin Johnson and other young receivers will be assaulting the record books and making Ward's stats look less and less impressive.

When I imagine a Hall of Famer, I think of a game-changer who was, at one time or another, the best player at his position. All the men I've mentioned above, with the exception of Brown, have a First Team All Pro selection on their resume. Most of them have multiple selections. Ward has none. It's telling that of all the receivers in our chart, Ward has the lowest yards per reception. He was a chain mover, a tough receiver over the middle, but never an elite threat that could consistently take over a game. 

Hines Ward was a great player on some great teams. He has two Super Bowl rings, and one Super Bowl MVP. But that shouldn't leapfrog him into the Hall of Fame ahead of a dozen of his peers who outproduced him. When the time comes, Ward's case will be made and his career will be discussed, and the committee will talk about his blocking and, yes, his smile. But there's a long line of receivers waiting outside of Canton, and I don't think Ward will ever make it to the front.

Follow me at @BostonGiant.

Image found here.