“Any player in the league, you don't want to go out and intentionally end their season, but it's a part of football,” said Ward on Tuesday in a conference call with Cincinnati media. “When Ray Lewis hit (Rashard) Mendenhall and ended his season, there was no apology Ray sent to us. I'm not going to apologize for what I did, but I told Chad (Ocho Cinco) I'm very hurt that he was out for the remainder of the year.”
The incident occurred on the second play of Pittsburgh’s 38-10 win against the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on Oct. 19. Many Bengals, especially the defenders on the field at the time, were upset with Ward’s downfield block of Rivers but replays showed the hit was legal. Ward was blocking as tight end Heath Miller picked up six yards on a pass. Rivers was chasing after Miller and simply never saw Ward coming his way.
The NFL had fined Ward for what it deemed as illegal hits in back-to-back games leading up the game against Cincinnati, although he was not penalized in those games for either hit. Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh saw nothing wrong with Ward’s block on Rivers.
“I just think it was a chance where he got a crack block and he did,” said Houshmandzadeh. “I didn’t think it was dirty, I didn’t think it was malicious or anything – he didn’t have bad intent. He just saw a chance to get a good block in and he did. Because of what happened to Keith a big deal was made of it but I just think he hit him in the right spot and what happened, happened.
“You try to get those hits but a lot of times the linebackers see you coming and they keep their heads on a swivel and when you hit them you’re going to feel the effects of that hit, too. He got him good, and it’s just unfortunate for Keith.”
Rivers still has his mouth wired shut due to the hit but is expected to be fully recovered in time to take part of team drills next spring. He had 50 tackles in the Bengals’ first six games as the team’s No. 1 draft choice was living up to his billing.
Brandon Johnson has taken over at Will linebacker in place of Rivers and played well, including coming up with eight tackles and his first career interception in last Sunday’s 13-13 tie against Philadelphia. Johnson now has 49 tackles on the season as he steadily moves up the team’s leader list in that category.
“I really like and respect what we see out of Brandon Johnson as an every-down linebacker,” said Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin. “He’s a very athletic and talented guy who is making plays all over the field, running and intercepting passes.”
Ward, an 11-year veteran, has long held the reputation of being one of the NFL’s toughest players regardless of position and one of the best all-around wide receivers in the game. He is the Pittsburgh franchise all-time leader in receptions (772), receiving yards (9,418) and he has caught at least one pass in 156 consecutive games.
For as much as he is feared/respected for his playing style, Ward is well aware that he is a target as well.
“Always, every game, I think someone's out there trying to hurt me, that's part of football,” said Ward. “Any tackle out there. But if it's played within the whistles, it's fine. I can't do anything about it. Anything after the whistle, that's when you take it to another level. I don't sit there and worry about stuff after the whistles, because that's why we have laws, fines, rules and things like that. So that will take care of itself.”