Desi Chimes in on the Ward Negotiations Part Deux

Three months have passed, and my "Desi Chimes in on Ward" article from May still stands the test of time.� Back then (you can still see the article on the front page of this site), I said the Steelers front office should stay strong during this tenuous negotiation.� Well I must say I'm quite impressed with the Patriots/Eagles-like stance the front office has taken.� They are not caving into Ward's lofty demands, and now Ward finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I also want to point out one major flaw in the logic that Ward and his agent continue to use.� I keep hearing from Ward and his camp, that Ward's numbers are skewed because he plays on a predominantly run-first offense, and therefore a guy like Harrison is bound to have better numbers.� My problem with that statement is the same thing I said back in May - Ward's numbers are not skewed by playing in a running offense.� He consistently leads the league in receptions, because he also consistently leads the league in passes thrown to him. �Now think about that for a second, you have a running team, yet Ward still has an inordinately high number of passes thrown to him.� That's because Ward was always viewed as the safety valve, underneath guy, and last year was the first time a Steelers QB didn't clutch to their favorite pacifier.

Getting back to the actual negotiation, Ward is under contract for one more year.� This ultimately is the Steelers leverage, and it is a great one.� The Steelers have absolutely no reason to succumb to Ward's agents demands as they have already placed a reasonably fair offer on the table.� Now Ward and his agents need to really evaluate their prospects.� (1) They could play out the existing contract and go onto the open market.� (2) They could sit out the season and perhaps demand a trade.� (3) Or they could accept the Steelers current offer, providing Ward reports to training camp.

Ward and his agents have several things to fear under scenario 1 above.� One obviously is the risk of injury, but I believe Ward has taken out an insurance policy to guard against that.� Another fear has to be how Hines will perform, now that he's being asked to be the go-to guy WITHOUT an attention grabbing presence on the opposite side.� And the final fear has to be, what the market will bear for a 30 year old physical possession WR.� Ultimately, the market sets the price, and I simply don't see Hines getting even close to Harrison type money (guaranteed or total package) next year.

As for scenario 2, the Steelers are really impressing me with their stand here.� They now closely resemble the Patriots and Eagles, two front offices I greatly admire.� The offer made to Ward was fair and reasonable; he can either sign it, or play out his existing contract and then find out his worth.� If he sits out, you can try and trade him - again we'll quickly learn his market worth (my guess is the Steelers would be lucky to get a 2nd round pick for him, and that only if a team loses some key WR to injury).

Hopefully scenario 3 plays out, and Ward signs on to end his career, or atleast the useful part of his career with the Steelers.

I'm not surprised at the reaction of the Ward holdout by most fans.� But I am extremely disappointed in the stance of the players on the team.� Richard Seymour (a very important DT for the Patriots) was holding out earlier this summer, and any Patriots player who spoke out about it said pretty much the same thing - that Seymour had better report to camp or the team would just move on without him.� There was no crying by the players of how the Patriots couldn't win without Seymour, and that the Patriots should just ante up for him.� Now think about everything the Steelers players have said regarding the Ward holdout.� Players like Bettis and Porter have basically demanded that the Steelers front office pay Ward immediately because he's "worth whatever he wants".

The Steelers front office is crossing the bridge towards Patriots/Eagles land as far as being a championship caliber front office.� Now the organization simply needs that attitude to cascade to its players.