Hines Ward lined up in the slot position during a Steelers practice the other day. Two years ago in training camp, this simple maneuver provoked a rare, angry outburst from the happy-go-lucky Pro Bowl receiver.

	John Beale, Post-Gazette
	Hines Ward, seen here at workouts earlier this month, relishes the various positions that new offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt has designed for him and has been unveiling during the team's spring sessions.

No more. Ward relishes the various positions that new offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt has designed for him and has been unveiling during the team's spring workouts. Ward plays in the slot, at his set position of flanker, lines up in the backfield, runs in motion, and dares defenses to find out what will happen next.

"Coach Whisenhunt is just finding more ways to get the double teams off me," Ward said. He is part of a new scheme that Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, the Steelers' assistant head coach, gleaned from their days playing for coach Joe Gibbs with the Washington Redskins.

"Russ' involvement and my involvement go back to the Redskins' days when they had three wide receivers with one back," Whisenhunt said. "I'm not saying that's what we're going to do, but moving those guys around is one thing."

The Steelers have used Ward in various positions before, but, basically, he was the flanker, or the 'Z' position, the wide receiver who lines up a step off the line of scrimmage. Plaxico Burress was the split end, or 'X' position, the wide receiver who stands on the line of scrimmage.

And Antwaan Randle El played in the slot, or the 'Y' position, the inside man lined up roughly halfway between either Ward or Burress.

"What we want to try to get to in this offense is having guys line up anywhere," Whisenhunt said. That includes putting Burress in the slot.

"You'd like to see Plax doing some of these things so he gets some reps at it," Whisenhunt said.

But he's not here, and the rest of the receivers have had to adjust. Randle El has played split end in Burress' absence, but he also has to learn other positions. The problem with Burress' absence is he's not learning the new positions he will play in the fall.

"The guy could come in here the first day and pick this up," Whisenhunt said. "... But there's a lot of little things we're doing out here on the field that these guys are getting reps at, and sometimes reps are invaluable."

In summer 2002, the Steelers put Ward in the slot at times, and he wasn't happy about it. They had Troy Edwards and then-rookie Randle El there, and Ward knew he would not play that position during the season. He saw it as a waste of time.

"It was more frustration on my part," Ward said. "Here's your starting 'Z,' and you're asking your starting 'Z' to rotate around. I'm like why am I rotating around if you have no plans to do that during the season?"

Things have changed over the course of two years. Ward has been to the Pro Bowl the past three years, his production in each of the past three seasons has surpassed any Steelers receiver before him. He's eager to expand his repertoire.

"He's using different ways to get me open; I'm really excited about it," Ward said. "I'm in the slot, I'm coming out of the backfield, I'm doing a lot of double moves. The game has slowed down so much to me. Sometimes, you get out there in a different position and you're in a zone. And it makes things much easier with a guy like Tommy [Maddox], because he's on the same page with you."

Experience and familiarity have allowed Whisenhunt to expand on the offense former coordinator Mike Mularkey installed in 2001. There is no doubt that Ward is at the core of it.

"Hines is a good player," Whisenhunt said. "It's easy to do things for him. We have a plan for what we want to do. Because we have a guy like Hines, we can expand upon that even more because he's so versatile."