Hines Ward = Hall of Fame.

For 14 years, Ward was one of the faces of the Pittsburgh Steeler… Hines Ward = Hall of Fame.

For 14 years, Ward was one of the faces of the Pittsburgh Steeler franchise. He epitomized its blue-collar, hard-nosed style of play, but he had fun too. Ward played with a chip on his shoulder and a smile on his face. And I am sad to see him go.

We all knew this was coming. Entering this season, we knew he was getting up there in age. He was never the fastest, but as the season wore on, it became more and more evident that Ward’s skills had greatly diminished. He was on the way out. When he recorded his 1,000th career reception on a shovel pass — for minus 2 yards — the deal was sealed.

Ward announced his retirement on March 20 after being released from the Steelers on Feb. 29.

Now the argument (officially) begins. I feel that Hines Ward is a definite, sure-fire Hall of Famer. But there are haters out there, and I will refute their biggest arguments.

Catching 1000 passes in a passing era is akin to hitting 500 home runs in MLB’s Steroid Era.

Ward’s biggest argument for admittance into Canton came with that pathetic shovel pass.

He became just the eighth player of all time to record 1,000 career receptions — only Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens, Isaac Bruce, Tim Brown, Marvin Harrison, Cris Carter and Tony Gonzalez have more. To put it in perspective, Randy Moss, Torry Holt and Keyshawn Johnson are not on that list.

Hines is.

Also, keep in mind that for the first half of his career, he caught passes from the likes of Kordell Stewart and Tommy Maddox and that for the majority of his career, the Steelers were a run-first team.

He was never a dominant receiver.

Though it is true that Ward was only selected to four Pro Bowls, his value to the Steelers franchise was much higher. You could call Ward an innovator.

Even though he played out his career in a passing era, he took the receiver position back in time to when they caught passes and blocked.

Ward was undoubtedly the best blocking receiver in the league, and that can’t be seen solely through statistics. The only statistic to back up Ward in this department is that he was voted the Dirtiest Player in the NFL twice.

Jerome Bettis, Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall wouldn’t have found half the running room they did on the outside without one of Ward’s crushing downfield blocks. Watching him plant Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed into the turf with block after block are some of my fondest Hines Ward memories.

He rarely faced double-teams.

Ward almost always had a receiving partner alongside him to draw coverage from him, with players such as Plaxico Burress, Santonio Holmes and Mike Wallace filling the role over the years.

But the same can be said about many of the other great receivers. Marvin Harrison had Reggie Wayne. Isaac Bruce had Torry Holt. Lynn Swann had John Stallworth. Even Jerry Rice had Terrell Owens for several years when he started getting older.

Hines Ward not only made blocking part of the recievers’ game, he also perfected the art of playing in the slot. Every other great receiver played a majority of his career at split end, set on the line. Ward played a yard back, enabling him to move in motion before the play to set up mismatches in coverage and blocking.

No other great receiver was used in that way prior to the snap. He played a vital role in two Steelers Super Bowl victories, winning the Most Valuable Player award in one of them.

Hines Ward was a Steeler through and through, and one day he will have a bust in Canton. Right now there is a log jam for receivers, but one day Ward will receive what he deserves — one of those bronze heads in the Football Hall of Fame.