Hines Ward Came Quotations

A day ago, nobody wanted to give us a chance. We came out and we did what we had to do. We knew it would be tough to come into Indianapolis, and they beat us pretty good the last time. This is kind of redemption for us.

He laid it on the line. He did what he had to do to drive us down the field. Everybody made plays. We came into San Diego, nobody really gave us a chance. We fought our tails off and ended up winning the game.

To convert on that and have Ben score a touchdown, we had momentum going into (halftime). We came out in the second half and Willie busted a wide open touchdown that put us up 14-3, so that was a huge play.

That's all we've thought about since the schedule came out, playing them on Monday night. That's why I'm here at camp now, that Monday night game. Losing that game hurt. But now we just want to get back there. Starting off with us and them on Monday night? That's classic. That's art.

We have to stay away from the negative plays. The third-and-longs, those are hard to overcome. We overcame a couple of them last year but last year we were a great team with second-and-short, third-and-short.

Yeah. We really wanted to win our division. Cincinnati came in and did what they had to do. Now, everything's on the line so loser go home. That's how we're approaching it.

Ben actually looked to the left and I had a hitch route. It was only about six yards, so when he came back to me, I kind of figured Champ was driving on me and that's not how you want to start the game, with a pick for a touchdown.

I hate seeing me put in this situation. It's totally different. ... I don't even think I'd look right in another uniform. ... It's unfortunate it came to a holdout, because I wouldn't miss this season for the world.

We came out and scored early, but we knew that wasn't enough. We knew that they were going to find some way to scratch, crawl, battle and do whatever it takes to get back into the game.

We didn't really plan to go this way. It's been twice I had home-field advantage, and we came up short both times. We're one game away from the Super Bowl. We're right back where we were last year.

It's like my mother still tells me, 'Always be humble, never forget where you came from. My story is kind of a perfect story, of how I was able to overcome all that. Maybe some other kids can use that as motivation.