His running backs averaged 3.7 yards per carry and he was sacked almost 50 times. Marvel Smith and Kendrall Simmons maybe his two best lineman were hurt most of the season. He had someone named Stapleton playing right guard and his two tackles Colon and Starks made Adrien Clarke and Anthony Clement look good. He got hurt multiple times including concussions. They played one of the hardest schedules any team has ever played (San Diego, NE, Dallas, Philly, Giants, Baltimore twice, Indy) and they still managed to win I believe 12 games. He had four fourth quater comebacks. I would love to see him play qb with the Pats line and a running back getting 4.5 yards consistently. I cannot even imagine what he would be like on a offensive like that. He may not have the best stats and it may not look that pretty but all the guy does is win.
QB Rankings right now: 1. Tom Brady 2. Peyton Manning 3. Ben Roethlisberger 4. Drew Brees 5. Kurt Warner
That doesn't directly correlate to pass defense or excuse bad play. Indy averaged 3.4, plus Manning was injured early on and yet he pretty much matched Ben's career highs. He was sacked 46 times this year. He was sacked 47 last year when he had a much much better O-Line and a career year. He was also sacked 46 time in 2006. There's a trend there and it doesn't relate to the offensive line. No they didn't. Is that an excuse? You like him because he plays 'tough football'? Those concussions are dictated by his 'style of play' and getting sacked so damn much. That's fair I guess. So he should be also be commended because he played well against Houston, Jacksonville, Cincinnati and Cleveland? Also.. NE's pass defense is middle of the pack and SD's defense was crap most of the season. Maybe he should have played better the first 3 quarters. Also makes you wonder how his defense ranked for 4th quarter points allowed.
You named 12 people who you think are better than him, add the two above him (Brady and Manning) and then the "couple of others" that are young or close to his talent and that is 16 starting QBs. Really? The Steelers OL was 4th in sacks allowed. Ben dropped back 469 times and was sacked 46 times. So every 10.1 times Ben dropped back he got killed. That's terrible. I know its your opinion, but i'm stating facts.
http://pittsburghsteelersfanatic.blogspot.com/2008/01/season-in-review-sacks.html Maybe the defense shouldn't give up so many points.
Why are you even arguing this? I named 11 people, not 12. Carson Palmer and Brady are both better NFL QBs than Ben, but neither were starters most of the season. That makes 11 starting QBs. 32 - 11 = 21, which is about 2/3. You're blaming all those sack on the offensive line. Ben has been sacked that many times every year he's been in the league, regardless of his line. Tomlin said himself.. "it's about getting the ball out of the quarterback's hand". What?? They had the #1 defense in the league.
the two above Ben, the 11 mentioned, plus "couple of others" equals 15, I didn't do the math correctly the 1st time.... so Ben is 16 on that list... fine, its your list. Ben maybe be responsible for some of those sacks, but he does have one of the worst pass blocking OLs in the game. The OL problems were talked about all year, not just Ben holding onto the ball. The offensive issue during media week was the OL and how it'll hold up.... Ben is known for extending a play due to his elusiveness, has a bit to do with being given a 2.5 second window, and he can make it a 6 second window. The defense is just as responsible.... I was playing devils advocate.
If I had to choose I'd take Ben over Peyton. he won't bring you flashy #s but he'll find ways to win. Drew Brees is incredibly overrated as is Philip Rivers.
Ben is a top 5 qb in the league. at worst top 8 but if you want to talk about age hes a solid top 5. go with the great defense helps any qb argument but the guy leads in 4th qtr/OT comebacks since hes entered the league. Phil Simms said it best whether you like him or not this is true "you know im sick of hearing the criticism for these stats about how much he gets sacked or holds onto the ball. where are the stats where hes evaded defenders or rolled out of the pocket and made a play? show me those numbers and i bet the arguments against him arent so strong" plus hes just someone who wins and is fun to watch. tough and confident also.
You shouldn't have included Rivers in the overrated category. He is a winner. He has three division titles, three playoff wins. He plays well on the road. He plays well against good competition. And if he had at least one of his superstar players playing in the 07 AFC Championship game, he would have pulled off the upset on the road against the Pats. If anything Rivers is one of the most underrated QBs in the league. I have him ranked as the 4th best QB.
Rivers is horribly inconsistent, but did play a bit better this year. He's had the luxury of playing with one of the league's best backs. Maybe with another year or two of experience and if he continues to improve or be more consistent I could buy him being up in the top 5, but not yet.
To call Brees overrated is a bit of a stretch too. I don't know what more a QB can do than what Brees has done over the last 5 seasons. Especially the last three in New Orleans. His job is to get the ball in the endzone and he has done that. He's thrown for 26 TDs in 2006, 28 TDs in 2007 and 34 TDs in 2008. He put up amazing numbers last year and did so mostly without his No. 1 WR Marques Colston. The Saints didn't win the last two years because of their defense, not because of Drew Brees. In 2007 the defense was 26th in Yds allowed and 25th in points allowed. In 2008 they were 23rd in yards allowed and 26th in points allowed. I hate it when people use the "he's not a winner" line to suggest a QB is overrated. What else is he supposed to do? Play defense too?
His 2007 regular season may have been inconsistent but in the playoffs he was amazing. He was very consistent in 2006 and 2008. Sure he's had Tomlinson in '06 and the '07 regular season. But he didn't have the elite back this year and look what he did.
And in 2007 he carried them in the playoffs. Rivers is awesome, I don't care what anyone says. I'd love to have him here.
