During the first week of training camp, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin held Hines Ward out of most of the practices so the younger wideouts could get more work -- and so the 12th-year veteran, who answers to the nickname "Papa Smurf," could preserve his legs.
Ward saw a different side of Tomlin two years ago.
Tomlin, then in his first season as the Steelers' coach, actually made Ward leave practice one day to change the T-shirt he had on under his pads.
The reason: Tomlin had ordered that the players wear only team-issued gear during practice, and Ward, out of habit, had put on a Georgia Bulldogs T-shirt.
"I don't know how he saw it," Ward, who played his college ball at Georgia, recalled with a laugh. "Some guys would have been like, 'It's just a shirt.' But it was his rule. I went in and changed it and went from there." Continue
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