Steelers Great Hines Ward Gets Completely Disrespected By Todd Haley: "I'm Sorry"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a ton of great players throughout the franchise's history. The organization is oftentimes remembered for the great defensive units that have been put on the field and some of the excellent defensive players that have worn the black and gold, but Pittsburgh has had some studs on offense as well. One of those great players is wide receiver Hines Ward, who is probably underrated when it comes to the grand scheme of things. He had a great career in Pittsburgh, and he was known for his tenacity and physicality on the field.

The main job of a wide receiver is to go out there and catch the football, but an underrated part of their game is blocking. This can mean blocking down the field for another wide receiver, or getting dirty at the line of scrimmage and helping out the running game. Ward is widely considered one of the best blocking wide receivers to ever play the game, and he was extremely productive when it came to catching the football as well. People on social media over the weekend were calling Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua the best blocking wide receiver to play the game, and Steelers fans of course responded while propping up Ward.

Someone that disagreed with Pittsburgh fans was former Steelers offensive coordinator, Todd Haley, who seemed to be pretty strongly on the side that Nacua was a better blocker at wide receiver.

"Love Hines Ward, but he picked his spots at times, I'm sorry," Haley wrote on X.

This came after Haley agreed with the original post calling Nacua the best blocking star wide receiver in the history of the game. A lot of star wide receivers do not like to do that kind of dirty work, but Nacua does not seem to mind, and neither did Ward. Nacua might still have a ways to go as it is still early in his career, but he should absolutely already be considered one of the best blocking stars at wide receiver. Haley and Ward were never in Pittsburgh together as Haley came as the offensive coordinator one season after Ward's retirement.

Nacua has had one of the most productive starts to a career ever at wide receiver, and it is completely within reason to think that he will have a better overall career than Ward. However, when it comes to blocking, that's a different story. Ward struck fear into defensive backs and linebackers. In 2008, he blocked Keith Rivers of the Cincinnati Bengals during a game and broke his jaw. It was a legal hit at the time and no types of flags or fines came into play, but the hit did make the league reconsider some rules they had in place. 

Ward essentially got blindside blocks banned from the NFL, which is something Nacua can't exactly say. Until Nacua blocks with the same intensity that he has for at least another few years, it's hard for many fans and pundits to put him in the same conversation as Ward when it comes to all-time blocking wide receivers.

The Rams wide receiver is probably already a better overall wide receiver than Ward as he owns multiple records and hasn't really shown any signs of slowing down. However, he is going to have to wait to claim the crown for blocking at the position.

Steelers' Hines Ward Does Remain Overlooked

Perhaps Pittsburgh fans were so quick to pounce on social media when Nacua was said to be a better blocker than Ward because of the way that Ward has been overlooked since the end of his career. He has not been able to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which many former players and fans think is ridiculous. There doesn't seem to be enough respect for Ward throughout the NFL world, and that's a shame because he was such a fun player to watch and pull for.

What do you think about Haley's comments? Let us know in the comments below!

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