Is Hines Ward A Hall Of Famer?

After a stellar 13 year career, Sunday's game might be Hines Ward's last.  There are rumors that if the Steelers win, Ward might take his three Super Bowl rings and ride off into the sunset with a familiar smile on his face.

(Side note: Why do announcers misinterpret Ward's constant smiling as some child-like love of the game?  It's clearly a move to get under his opponents' skin.  The next time someone beats you out for a promotion and comes to your office nodding and grinning from ear to ear, tell me if you think a) "man, that guy's a happy dude", or b) "someone needs to punch that schmuck in the face".  But I digress.)

If Ward retires now or plays for another year, will he eventually be elected to the Hall of Fame?  Right now his career receptions, yards, and touchdowns places him 8th, 21st, and 19th all-time, respectively.  These stats are dampened a bit because the passing game is at an all-time high and receiving numbers are more inflated than ever.  Note that eight of the top 10 career receiving yards leaders are either still playing or retired in the past decade.

To put Ward's career in better context, let's compare him with other top receivers who are up for induction to the Hall of Fame now or soon will be:

Chris Carter, Tim Brown, and Andre Reed have all been selected as Hall of Fame finalists in recent years, yet none have gotten in.  By the time Ward's name comes up for a vote, he'll also be competing with Terrell Owens, Isaac Bruce, Randy Moss, Marvin Harrison, and Tory Holt.  All of those receivers won't make it to Canton, and Ward is definitely near the bottom of that group statistically.

Still, regular season numbers don't tell the whole story with Ward.  His star has shone brightest in the playoffs, where he is top 10 among all receivers in receptions, yards, and touchdowns and collected an MVP award in Super Bowl XL.  Nevertheless, players like Reed, Drew Pearson, and Cliff Branch have comparable numbers and yet still are waiting for the call from Canton.

To argue that Ward belongs in the Hall of Fame, many fans and analysts cite that he's the best blocking receiver in NFL history.  I'm not sure if he's the best, but he's certainly the hardest or cheapest, depending on who you ask.  Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine recently called him "the toughest guy in the league when nobody's looking."  But even if Ward is the best blocking receiver ever, does that push his Hall of Fame candidacy past guys like Harrison and Holt?

No, not in my opinion.  Unless you want to elect Larry Centers, the best receiving fullback of the past 25 years, over Jerome Bettis and Curtis Martin.  It's clear that Ward's blindside hits have been a significant factor in Pittsburgh's success over the past decade.  But when I think of a Hall of Famer, I think of statistics, awards, playoff performances, and the "oh no" test.  What's the "oh no" test?  Just think back to when your favorite team had to face that player in his prime.  When you saw his team on your schedule, did you think "oh no, how the heck are we going to stop _________?"  If so, then the player passes the "oh no" test.

Ward has admirable statistics and great playoff performances, but when my team played the Steelers, I never said "oh no, how the heck are we going to stop Hines Ward?"  The fact is, although Ward was a consistently good player on good teams, he was never an all-time threat at the wide receiver position.  As Sports Illustrated writer Peter King would say, Hines Ward belongs in the Hall of Very Good, just not the Hall of Fame.