Will knee brace hamper Ward-

Posted by ESPN.com's James Walker Ward TAMPA,euro shirt, Fla. -- Although the playing status of Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward was the most over-hyped story of Super Bowl week,euro2012shirt.org.uk, a legitimate concern is how much the injury and knee brace will hurt his performance. Receivers and skill players in general make a lot of cuts and sudden stops during a game. Ward in particular is not a deep-ball receiver and relies heavily on short and intermediate routes that require a lot of pressure on the knees. Ward's MCL injury will be protected by a brace,euro shirts, which could hurt quickness. Ward said during the week that he worked with the brace often to try to make it a non-issue. "I've been doing it up for the last two weeks," Ward said Thursday. Ward's blocking also is important in Pittsburgh's offense. So it will be interesting to see how much he can engage and drive defenders with an injured knee.