The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - Hines Ward sometimes gets overlooked. Maybe it's because he lacks the classic receiver's speed and size. Or maybe it's because his production comes in dependable bunches rather than big-play bursts.

Even the Pittsburgh Steelers themselves do not always appreciate what he means to their offense.

When Ward broke John Stallworth's club record by catching a pass for a 68th consecutive game, Sunday in Jacksonville, the Steelers did not realize it at the time. They made no mention of it until a day later.

Such slights are routine to Ward. He changed positions so frequently early in his college career at Georgia - from tailback to quarterback and back again, then to receiver - that it might have contributed to his slide to the third round of the 1998 NFL draft.

Even after he proved to be a far better receiver than the Steelers expected, catching 61 passes as a rookie, they drafted wide receivers - Troy Edwards and Plaxico Burress - in the first round the next two years.

"I never played the position (in high school), so I really wasn't as polished a receiver as the others," said Ward, who is listed as 6 feet and 200 pounds. "I wasn't as tall as the other receivers. I came here as the fourth wide receiver in four-wide (sets), and I played a lot of special teams and just got better."

So much so, he could break his Steelers single-season receptions record Sunday against Houston. He has 89 catches in 12 games, only five fewer than his team-record 94 last season, when he made the Pro Bowl for the first time.

Burress is regarded by many around the league as the Steelers' most dangerous receiver; he had a team-record 253-yard game against Atlanta last month. But Ward frequently does the most damage.

Ward is second in the AFC in catches and yards (1,090), and he has led the Steelers in receptions in five of their last six games. He has three 100-yard games in his last four starts.

What makes him so productive?

"Everything," said quarterback Tommy Maddox, who returns to the lineup Sunday after sitting out two weeks. "That's the thing. He's so good at so many things. He plays the game hard, he practices hard, he's very prepared for the game. He studies his opponent. He does all the little things right."

Even down to blocking, which until recent years was almost a lost art among receivers. With the Steelers much more run-oriented than most teams when Ward arrived, he often was used as much as a blocker as a receiver.

Even now, the Steelers sometimes use him as what essentially is an undersized tight end, a blocker who doesn't hesitate to go up against bigger players anywhere on the field.

"I never let it discourage me," Ward said of the years he needed to develop into a full-time starter.

"I always went out there and worked hard. Probably last year, with me getting an opportunity to actually just be in there full time and not rotating, gave me the opportunity to showcase what I really can do, given the opportunity."

Ward is having a better season than a year ago even though the Steelers added rookie receiver Antwaan Randle El, potentially taking away some of Ward's downfield plays.

"Coming into this year, I never thought I would have the same stats, especially with Antwaan and Plax coming on the way they were," Ward said. "I am getting better though. ... Trying to duplicate what I did last year, it's put me over the top. And people now are saying, 'This guy's pretty good."'

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