Ehwmatt wrote:Hines Ward is tough, especially when he's hitting people from outside their peripheral vision

Does keeping your head on a swivel mean anything to you? Guys getting "hit outside from their peripheral vision" happens on every play. Watch a kickoff or punt return once in awhile, you could PROBABLY count at least 5 players or some dude getting their head taking off when getting lost in the action/shuffle when they should be aware of their surroundings at all costs.
I don't see how Troy or Hines comes off as a "dirty player" ESP Troy! That really does boggle my mind. To me, a dirty player is a player that goes after someones knees intentionally ( like Favre, who went low on Lawrence Timmons causing him to miss this Monday Night on an already bad ankle, or that pre-season hit that got him fined) hitting somebody in the back, going after someones throat, or eyeballs underneath a pile. I'm sure you guys saw that ugly bitch from New Mexico's soccer team hit people in the face and throw a player down by her hair. THAT'S dirty. Blocking and tackling somebody doesn't fall under that category. Truth be told, any NFL coach would dream to have a complete player such as Hines or Troy on their football team at their position. Hines Ward is barely 6'0 and is considered as a "slower older receiver." These sissies of players today just can't handle that small of a man and that slow of a man knocking their blocks off every weekend.
"I beat Joey? Wow," Ward said, with a laugh. "How can I be the dirtiest player on the field -- a little, old wideout with no speed? I don't know whether to be happy or mad about it."
Ward wore a grin as wide as a jack-o'-lantern's as he answered questions following practice yesterday, suggesting he's more amused than anything by the dubious honor.
The 12-year veteran has routinely dealt with complaints that his physical play sometimes crosses a line. And last March, the NFL enacted what's commonly known as the "Hines Ward Rule," which penalizes the kind of crack-back blocks with which Ward used to break the jaw of Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers last season.
"I'm not going to change the way I play," said the 33-year-old Ward, who's fifth in the NFL with 602 receiving yards. "If people think I'm dirty, I apologize to them now."
Several of Ward's teammates said there's no need for the four-time Pro Bowler to apologize for the way he plays the game.
"By no shape, form or fashion do I consider Hines a dirty person," outside linebacker James Harrison said. "Those must be people who can't take a little bit of a crack-back block. I don't consider it dirty."
Added free safety Ryan Clark: "Other guys are such pansies now. When I play a guy like Ward, I vote for that guy to go to the Pro Bowl."
What surprised Ward and his teammates more than his spot atop the poll for dirtiest player was Troy Polamalu's inclusion in the top 10. The soft-spoken safety is ninth with 3.3 percent of the vote.
"Our Troy? Wow," Ward said. "Troy being on that list is definitely a shocker."
Said Polamalu when asked about his supposedly dirty play, "I always do my hair before the game."