Big Ben's Great? Not Even Close

[feltdizz]

Re: Big Ben's Great? Not Even Close

"But, I don't know, I guess I like being the hunter, not the hunted."

[ScoreKeeper]

Re: Big Ben's Great? Not Even Close

God I am tired of hearing about his lack luster performance in XL. Who got us there? Ben.

And IIRC, Elway had almost a mirrow game of XL while winning his first SB and nobody ever says he only has one ring.

[Iron Shiek]

Re: Big Ben's Great? Not Even Close

God I am tired of hearing about his lack luster performance in XL. Who got us there? Ben.

And IIRC, Elway had almost a mirrow game of XL while winning his first SB and nobody ever says he only has one ring.

Exactly. He was so pivotal in several of the performances during the regular season and especially in the playoffs. But its natural for people to have the Super Bowl as their fondest memory of that season.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Big Ben's Great? Not Even Close

Kurt Warner says Roethlisberger not a Hall of Famer, yet

Posted by Mike Florio on February 4, 2011



With the annual Hall of Fame vote coming up on Saturday and increased chatter that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will nail down a spot in Canton with a third Super Bowl win, a guy who won only one title in three tries takes issue with the idea that Roethlisberger belongs among the game’s immortals.

Former Rams, Giants, and Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner says it’s too early to bang out a bronze bust for Big Ben.

“I like Ben,” Warner told 620 KTAR in Phoenix. “I think Ben’s great and I think he’s a winner. And to me that speaks volumes for your legacy. But when you’re talking about the best quarterbacks in the league, you have to look at all the factors here.

“I mean, he won a Super Bowl and he was 8-23. But he won the Super Bowl and he gets that on his resume. But he was still 8-23.”

Warner is referring to Super Bowl XL, in which Roethlisberger completed nine of 21 passes for 123 yards and two interceptions. He also had seven rushing attempts for 25 yards and a touchdown.

In Super Bowl XLIII against Warner’s Cardinals, Roethlisberger completed 21 of 30 passes for 256 yards, one interception, and the game-winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes.

“I’m just waiting to see Ben as the guy that carries his team at some point in time,” Warner said. “The fortunate thing for him is he hasn’t had to do that. He carries them in the last two minutes. He makes some key plays. [He's] phenomenal out of the pocket and ad-libbing. But for me, if you go to the Hall of Fame, you have to be a guy who can carry your team week in and week out as a quarterback. That’s my opinion.”

Sorry, but we’d rather have a guy who carries the team when it counts than when the game isn’t on the line. Even though Roethlisberger may not have had impressive numbers in Super Bowl XL, he presided over three straight road playoff wins to get there. In each of this year’s playoff wins, Roethlisberger delivered clutch third-down throws to Antonio Brown, including a 58-yarder on third-and-19 that, if the Steelers beat the Packers on Sunday, rightly should be remembered as one of the biggest plays in NFL postseason history.

Then there’s the fact that, since losing in the AFC title game to cap his rookie season, Roethlisberger has led the Steelers to nine of 10 win in postseason games

Nine of 10. Warner didn’t do that. Brady hasn’t done that. Manning hasn’t done that.

So while we respect Warner’s opinion, we’ll disagree with it. If Roethlisberger gets his third Super Bowl win in three tries, he’ll be bound for Canton five years after calling it quits.

Especially since he may end up with four or five rings.

[url]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/02/04/kurt-warner-says-roethlisberger-not-a-hall-of-famer-yet/[/url]

[Crash]

Re: Big Ben's Great? Not Even Close

Poor Kurt, for a Bible thumper he's pretty bitter.

If Ben's not a HOF QB neither is Warner.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Big Ben's Great? Not Even Close

February 5, 2011, 3:26 AM ET

Would third ring equal Big Ben to Brady?

Steelers QB and Patriots signal-caller are very different but yield similar results

By Mike Reiss
ESPNBoston.com

DALLAS -- When coaches, players, scouts and analysts here at the Super Bowl were asked to compare New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the response was almost universal: Different styles but they produce similar results.

And in the end, those winning results are all that matter.

That's why they believe putting Brady and Roethlisberger in the same sentence is in-bounds -- assuming Roethlisberger wins his third Super Bowl championship Sunday to join Brady, Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana as the only quarterbacks to win at least three Super Bowls.

In the case of Roethlisberger vs. Brady, perhaps Mark Malone of CBS Radio and Westwood One put it best.



If Big Ben wins his third Super Bowl ring on Sunday, many believe he can be discussed in the same vein as Tom Brady.

"Genetically, they are almost polar opposites of each other; there is a big contrast there," he said. "But I think what it tells you is there are different ways to get to the ultimate goal and win that Vince Lombardi trophy."

Those thoughts were echoed by longtime coach Dick Vermeil.

"The end result of what they do is the same, how they do it is different," said Vermeil, the Super Bowl-winning St. Louis Rams coach who was in town to promote Vermeil Wines. "Brady is more the pure drop-back, set in the pocket, take advantage of your protection and throw the ball -- accurately. Roethlisberger is more of a fullback at the quarterback spot. He'll scramble around, get outside and wing it. It's a gift because it's hard to get him down. Brady is more of a target.

"That's the main difference, but the end result -- when the ball leaves their hand, it normally goes to the right place and the right guy."

Because of that, Vermeil thinks it's fair to put the two in the same sentence should Roethlisberger lead the Steelers to victory Sunday.

"You have to," he said. "It's like taking two great sprinters and they end up running the same time, they're equally fast."

Derrick Brooks, who played linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 14 seasons and was voted to 11 Pro Bowls, also sees the link between Brady and Roethlisberger.

"In terms of wins and losses, you have to put them together," said Brooks, who worked Super Bowl week as an analyst on Sirius NFL Radio. "Ben admits that playing quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, his stats will never be the same, and that's for obvious reasons. Also, it's hard for a quarterback to overcome the reputation of the defense in Pittsburgh.

"Everyone realizes their differences. Ben is not going to come out and throw the ball 50 times. It's not going to be spread out, wide open, like Tom. Ben has to create plays the way he does now, with his body and athleticism. Tom creates plays differently, and there is nothing wrong with either approach. They both work."

Malone expounded on those thoughts.

"Let's start with the philosophies that both teams hold dear. For decades, it's been part of Pittsburgh's DNA to play physical defense, to run the football and ask their quarterbacks to complement that. Ben does that to a very high degree," he said. "I don't think that's a team where Ben is going to throw for 4,000 yards and 50 touchdowns, but it doesn't matter. I think Ben's approach to that has been very good because he's basically said, 'I'm not going to win league MVPs or passing titles, but it's about Super Bowls.'

"Tom, on the other hand, his ability to escape out of the pocket isn't as good as Ben's, but his decision-making is so good. He is such a bright guy and does such a great job of preparing, and he's so very accurate, and they put players around him in a system that allows him to get rid of the football because I think they've lacked a little bit in the running game. So they find ways to manufacture yards in the passing game in place of the running game, and Tom does a great job with that."

Former St. Louis Rams vice president of player personnel Tony Softli sees it the same way.

"I would definitely put Ben in that conversation, anybody that wins three Super Bowls," said Softli, who now works for ESPN 101 Radio in St. Louis. "Tom did it and he's an outstanding quarterback, one of the best who ever played the game, if not the best. I would think you'd have to put Roethlisberger in that category [if he wins a third], even though their styles are different. Tom is more of a pocket guy, where Ben has guys hanging off him, sandlot-playing and throwing the ball, extending the play outside of the pocket.

"In the end, regardless of style, both of those guys are outstanding."

[url]http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nfl/columns/story?columnist=reiss_mike&id=6091390[/url]

[Crash]

Re: Big Ben's Great? Not Even Close

Sandlot my as$.

Ben makes plenty of throws from the pocket.

Just because he doesn't wilt under pressure doesn't make him a sandlot QB.

[Crash]

Re: Big Ben's Great? Not Even Close

God I am tired of hearing about his lack luster performance in XL.

That wouldn't even bother me if they held all to the same standard.

Elway's first ring, and Brady's first ring are very similar games to Ben's.

But you don't hear a damn thing about them.

Bradshaw threw less than 100 yards in IX, and his offense had one long TD drive all day.

[SteelTorch]

Re: Big Ben's Great? Not Even Close

God I am tired of hearing about his lack luster performance in XL. Who got us there? Ben.

And IIRC, Elway had almost a mirrow game of XL while winning his first SB and nobody ever says he only has one ring.

Exactly. He was so pivotal in several of the performances during the regular season and especially in the playoffs. But its natural for people to have the Super Bowl as their fondest memory of that season.

Plus that was his SECOND season. I would have been more shocked if he had done really well.