Hines Ward was a lot of things during his 14-year career. Pro Bowler, champion, MVP and the ' career leader in catches, yards and touchdowns.Ward was not, however, a selfish player, as he often sacrificed individual glory for team succe s. He hopes that that can eventually be the mindset adopts following Pickens' recent Lenny Dykstra Jersey social media actions. Pittsburgh's current wideout recently posted on social media while scrubbing the Steelers from his Instagram account. This comes after Pickens had two catches for -1 yards in the Steelers' recent win over the ."George, he's just young," Ward said during a one-on-one interview with CBS Sports. "Extremely talented. Wants the ball. It's not a bad thing. I love receivers who want to impact the game, but also, you have to keep everything in perspective and understand that it's not about you. There's a lot that goes on in the pa sing game. You may be wide open, but protection breaks down and the quarterback has to scramble and you never got that opportunity because of that."Sometimes, don't can't get all caught up in drinking the Kool-Aid and thinking that it's all about you, because football is a total team aspect. One person can't win the by themselves. It takes a collective group of guys to come together, to be unselfish. "I don't have a problem with that," Ward continued. "(But) when you start posting tweets and giving media an opportunity to bring Juan Lagares Jersey it up ... that can be a distraction to most teams, especially Pittsburgh being so young. You just have to be mindful, be careful because you can't make it all about George Pickens. You've got to make it about the Pittsburgh Steelers and the reason why we have six Lombardi trophies in that building. It wasn't just about one player, I can guarantee you that."Ward said that having veteran teammates like Jerome Bettis can help as far as dealing with frustration. Ward had plenty of those during his career; Pittsburgh drafted a receiver in the first round following Ward's first and second seasons. A former third-round pick, Ward responded to those moves by increasing his productivity and making four consecutive Pro Bowls.In 2005, Ward had a very brief holdout before signing an extension with the Steelers. He went on to win MVP that season. Three years later, Ward helped the Steelers win another Super Bowl despite playing in that game with a painful knee injury. "I'm kind of old school. I'm more of a team first, me second guy," Ward said. "I just wanted to see how I can help impact the game when I'm not getting my opportunities, attempts, catches things like that. At the end of the day, championships, that's all I really cared about. I didn't really care about stats."It's kind of crazy now. We were just talking about the Hall of Fame, that's kind of what they're always going off on, right? They're going off individual stats and things like that. And now these younger players, they care more about stats than they do actually winning. ... I think you should win championships and along the way, when you're playing in the postseason when the games matter the most, what are you doing in crucial situations and stuff like that. Always took pride in that."Speaking of the Hall of Fame, Ward said that he isn't letting himself worry about whether or not he will ever join sever of his former teammates of coaches in Canton, Ohio. Ward is still waiting for his Hall of Fame call despite being one of only Nolan Ryan Jersey two players in history (Jerry Rice being the other) to win a Super Bowl MVP and have at least 1,000 career catches, 12,000 receiving yards and 85 touchdowns. "Listen, I've gotten everything I wanted out of football," Ward said. "Played 14 years, I was ble sed enough to play that long. I've been in Pro Bowls, I've played in three Super Bowls, I've won two. Super Bowl MVP. I've gotten everything that I've wanted. Looking back on it, I have no regrets, and if my name is called one day, it'll be a ble sing to all the people who helped in my journey to get to where I'm at today. It'll just be a big party and saying thank you to to all those people who helped me throughout my career."Ward acknowledged that he doesn't know the criteria used by the committee who votes on the Hall of Fame. He does feel that a player's contribution toward winning championships should be high on the list of what voters consider."I think that's an important element to the game, right? Everybody wants to be a sociated with champions," he said. "Playing in Pittsburgh, we won six Super Bowls. We're tied with New England as the only organization to win six. I'm one of the important pieces to that puzzle that donned the black and gold with all the other Hall of Famers that probably didn't have the stats, but what they did in the postseason and by winning Super Bowls, that's the reason why they're in the Hall of Fame. So I think that's a part of the proce s, right?" Ward, who was inducted into the Steelers' Hall of Honor in 2019, just completed his first season as the head coach of the XFL's San Antonio Brahmas. Ward laughed Edwin Diaz Jersey when asked about his venture into coaching while referring to himself as the modern day Forrest Gump.While he loves the coaching aspect, what Ward enjoys most about being a head coach is the opportunity to have a position impact on the lives of his players."I'm enjoying every moment of it," he said. "I try to teach them the game of life. Don't make the mistakes that I made. How to deal Wilson Ramos Jersey with some adversity that they have going on in their life. To be in that position in itself is a ble sing in itself. Really, that's my purpose on earth. I want to be a ble sing to others. The relationships, the connections that I have and have made throughout my lifetime, I cherish each and every one of them." Ward is also enjoying his partnership with Fairfield by Marriott. A former Georgia Bulldog, Ward was back on campus Saturday while hosting the "Home Field Advantage" tailgate. The tailgate was a celebration of Fairfield by Marriott's new designation as the official hotel of the NCAA."Super excited to kickoff game day with some of our fans, students and alumni," Ward said. "Just the perfect way to celebrate the partnership with Fairfield and the NCAA. To be here, back in Athens, among Bulldog family. Super excited to be here."Ward flashed his famous smile (the one Steelers fans loved by opposing ones loathed) when asked about his favorite part of the Marriott hotel experience. "More important than anything, the beds," Ward said. "Every bed that I've had at Marriott is bar none the best bed ever. I get the greatest rest, the greatest sleep anytime that I sleep at a Marriott. Their beds are the best in the busine s."
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