Ben is one of the problems.

[Elitestatusplease]

Ben has never had an accurate long ball. He habitually underthrew Wallace. Has about as much touch as Mike Tyson

[BlitzTo7]

Ben is physically talented but above the shoulders not so much. How many times did the Bears show blitz right in his face? Manning would have adjusted his line to where he felt the blitz was coming from. He would motion a wr from the slot and put them in pass protection. Most importantly he would get the ball out quickly. But what did he do? He did nothing and just snapped the ball and expected 5 linemen to block 7 rushers. These are the little victories that we lose on a consistent basis and then the line gets blamed for it.

Or the offensive line just sucks...

[Starlifter]

I think some of you have been under the illusion that ben has in the past been a precision passer. he has NEVER had that game. He's not known for his timing, nor his deep balls. sure he's a pro and can throw the ball reasonably well - but there is a vast difference between his ability to complete a pass vs. some of the more pure passers such as manning, brady, brees etc. Now what sets ben apart - is his ability to make plays on the run, to scramble, to keep plays alive and his uncanny ability to find a way to get the first down. it's exciting to watch and we've been to 3 superbowls as a result. even with the improvement in offensive output this game - it certainly seems that most of that came after the play broke down and the receivers and ben went into street ball mode. perhaps that should be the only play we run. max protect and tell 3 guys to just go out and find a hole.

anyway, ben is a great QB. he's just not a classic QB in the sense of a pure passer. never has been. and to expect that from him after 9 years with a crappy o-line, running back by committee and no legitimate deep threat the others teams must respect is unrealistic.

[Shoe]

Ben's play is indicative of a player that realizes the season is spiraling out of control and tried doing too much. He was trying to make plays when there really weren't any plays to be made, each time he was being pressured or there was chaos all around him. He played bad right from the start, but brought them back and then defense gives up three 3rd down plays when we needed a stop, as usual, a nice team loss.

Pappy

I do not see that though Pap. His mistakes are not him doing too much. It is simple mechanics. The mistakes he's making are those of someone who is overmatched at that level. Now obviously, Ben isn't overmatched at the NFL level, but I think he is struggling to adjust to clearly declining physical ability. That doesn't mean he can't be Ben at times, but his struggles mirror the road Brett Favre took after that string of MVPs he had. Brett became a turnover waiting to happen, making silly, foolish-looking TO's much like Ben is now.

What Brett did is finally learn to adapt his game, learning to get the ball out quicker, and he had that resurgence at the end of his career. Ben can too, but he has to learn. It took Favre a few years... hopefully doesn't take Ben that long to realize.

[Captain Lemming]

I do not see that though Pap. His mistakes are not him doing too much. It is simple mechanics. The mistakes he's making are those of someone who is overmatched at that level. Now obviously, Ben isn't overmatched at the NFL level, but I think he is struggling to adjust to clearly declining physical ability. That doesn't mean he can't be Ben at times, but his struggles mirror the road Brett Favre took after that string of MVPs he had. Brett became a turnover waiting to happen, making silly, foolish-looking TO's much like Ben is now.

What Brett did is finally learn to adapt his game, learning to get the ball out quicker, and he had that resurgence at the end of his career. Ben can too, but he has to learn. It took Favre a few years... hopefully doesn't take Ben that long to realize.

Good post. Ben can do this.

[Elitestatusplease]

Is is a coincidence that everywhere Mannng goes the line is great. Once he leaves it sucked? Sorry, its not the line, its the Quarterback and the line adjustments he makes pre snap. If you make excellent pre snap reads then you will get excellent results and vice versa. Remember the Colts line was awesome but once Peyton was gone it sucked. What happened? The Broncos line sucked with Tebow (oft sacked). Add Peyton and now the line is awesome. Again, its not the line, its the qb. Dont you find it a coincidence that Peyton has never played behind a bad line? Coincidence or good fortune or the Qb?

[Elitestatusplease]

Lastly, Pouncey was asked to make the line calls as a Rookie. This is more evidence that Ben has shortcomings in this regard. Why not as the Veteran qb to make the line adjustments? Why doesnt Haley want Ben to audible? Bad decisons perhaps? Elephant in the room

[Elitestatusplease]

Or the offensive line just sucks...

The O Line blocks according to their line adjustment call. If its a bad line call then quite naturally they will appear to not do the job

[Captain Lemming]

Yeah Brett Favre learned to adapt his game when he led the NFL in picks at age 36, and age 39. He was just coming into his own then.

What revisionist garbage.

The ONLY thing that changed Favre in his first season in Minnesota? Was the fact that he got to play in a nice comfy dome 11 times, had speed with Harvin and Rice at wideout, and had a running back, his name escapes me, oh some guy named Adrian Peterson. They also ran the same offense he had in Green Bay.

While the Steelers treat Ben like absolute crap. Ben's getting the ball out, he's tryint to avoid sacks as he's been told.

Watch the pick six. Perfect example. Saw the rush, and rather than get yelled at by ignorants for taking a sack, threw a poor pass with no footwork and got rid of it.

This is what Art wanted, he told the QB to tweak his game and not get hit.

And now we're seeing the results.

The have Seabiscuit pulling a farmer's plow.

Manny Sanders isn't a deep threat. I didn't see Ben's arm having a problem when they finally sent Brown deep, did you?

I agree with you about Manny. I share your bewilderment at what they see in him.

But do you notice the comment of mine you are responding to.

Does that look like a guy who hates Ben?

I just think he can grow. You act like he has no room for growth and excuse away his bad play.

There are many legit reasons for the struggles too. No fear of our run game whatsoever makes it harder. I believe some of the improvement was that we finally made a little noise running.

But Ben can get better. That is not hating, it is hopeful.

[williar]

Ahhh.. And the chickens finally come home to roost. Stevie Wonder could see that Ben is part of the problem!