Hines Ward Contract Article
The veteran starting wide receiver not only did not catch a pass in the Steelers\' first preseason game, the quarterback never looked his way.
Hines Ward, though, did not feel ignored Sunday night in Canton, Ohio. He felt refreshed. He sees a Steelers offense spreading its wings.
\"We looked sharp,\" Ward said after his one-and-out series produced a quick 7-0 lead on the way to a 20-7 victory against New Orleans. \"We came down and took the first drive and scored points. You couldn\'t ask anything more out of the first offense.
\"That\'s how we\'ve looked at training camp. We\'ve been looking good. We\'re only going to get better and better once the offensive line and starting five get together, and the continuity with the receivers, quarterback and tight end. I\'m excited about the offense.\"
Bruce Arians promised more diversity in the offense when he took over as its coordinator this year. It may be a natural evolution as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger matures and he taps into more of what Willie Parker might be able to do for it.
Parker did not play Sunday night because of inflammation in his left knee. Provided that turns no more serious than coach Mike Tomlin has said it is, the Steelers could strike the kind of balance that eludes many NFL offenses.
Parker ranks among the league\'s more dangerous tailbacks, and if the passing game improves, defenses will have a more difficult time preparing against the Steelers. They ranked 10th in the NFL in rushing last season, ninth in passing.
The plan is not to abandon the ground game that was so good to them through the years, but to make defenses respect their passing game more.
\"Bruce Arians is still someone who likes to run the ball,\" Ward said. \"We\'re just not going to be one-dimensional anymore, using our run to set up our pass.
\"We want to be balanced. We gave [the Saints] a lot of fronts. You saw, on first down, four wides. We ran the ball out of four wides, but you can also throw it out of four wides. That\'s only going to make a lot of teams study harder for us. But at the same time, it\'s putting our players in a position to go out there and make plays.\"
No one made more of them than wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Sunday night. He complained on the field and off at Saint Vincent College that his quarterbacks have been ignoring him. Roethlisberger told him before the game he would be a prime target and he delivered with catches of 55 and 18 yards on the first scoring drive, and four total for 99 yards in the first half.
Wilson ran with the first team at split end last week after Santonio Holmes, listed first on the depth chart, missed the first week of camp following minor surgery. Holmes replaced Wilson Sunday night and caught three passes for 48 yards in the first half, plus a touchdown on a lob pass from Brian St. Pierre.
\"I know Ced was griping about not getting the ball earlier in the week,\" Ward said. \"But he got his opportunities. He came out and capitalized on it. Santonio came in off an injury and missing camp and scored a touchdown.
\"When that\'s happening and we\'re still able to put up some nice numbers offensively while not having Willie, and me not catching a ball, we\'re excited where this offense can go.\"
There was no Parker, no passes to the tight ends or Ward, and none of the no-huddle Arians wants to use more often. Still, he did use four wide receivers on first down and three tight ends as advertised. Ward said he noticed a marked difference in the offensive philosophy in the second quarter when St. Pierre lofted a pass that Holmes caught for his 3-yard touchdown in the back right corner of the end zone.
It came on second down.
\"You see we threw a fade down in the end zone!\" Ward said as if the Steelers had pulled a rabbit out of a hat. In the past, \"we\'d pound it. On second down, we threw a fade into the end zone!\"
Of course, they often scored when they pounded it. Former coordinator Ken Whisenhunt oversaw an offense that not only helped the Steelers go 15-1 in 2004 and to a Super Bowl victory in 2005, but he helped Roethlisberger\'s birthing process into the NFL.
The Steelers\' offense actually turned during the run to the Super Bowl, when Roethlisberger came out throwing early in the playoffs, the Steelers jumped out to leads and then buried the victory on the ground. Last year, Roethlisberger\'s physical setbacks and his NFL-leading 23 interceptions delayed the progress they are trying to regain now.
\"Bruce believes in his players,\" Ward said. \"Being wide receivers coach, he knows what we can do. He\'s going to put his trust and faith in Ben and his receivers to go out and make a play and we did that.\"
