Ben - 61st Best Player in NFL - 2013

[flippy]

Just heard they ranked the players and Ben was 61. (Probably Ryan Clark's fault somehow) He's now officially the most underrated athlete in all of sports and it's not close.

Please football God, let him take this personally.

[DukieBoy]

Alot of Steelers will be putting it all out on the field this year. Looking forward to the chips on shoulders and grudges played out. There will be blood.

[Shoe]

It would be impossible for him to NOT take it personal. I, as a Steeler fan, was upset about it.

Ben was 26/8 TD/INT, has two rings, three SB appearances, at least four AFCC appearances... and there are 11 better QBs???

[NorthCoast]

Let's not go overboard. I don't necessarily agree with the ranking, but remember Ben was out a quarter of the season, which likely influenced the opinion.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Link?

Wondering what criteria they used, maybe Sapp got 60 votes??!

Anyway, it doesn't much matter - the W-L this coming season will be the proof of the pudding.

[8467thekraken]

Just don't get the drop from 2011 to 2012. He had a much better season in 2012.

Maybe a case of players having the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately syndrome. 'Cause up until that serious injury, he was having a great season.

And in Bens case, I think holding his 3 missed games against him also doesn't make sense. He's a gamer. Most other QB's would've missed far more time with the injuries he has had.

[SteelSpain]

Then (at least I understand it that way) if he is the 61st best player there are 60 players they take to building a team around. Really? Are you kidding me?

[squidkid]

relax, these ranking mean nothing.
if you really believe that ben(and other steelers) are going to take this personal and really try to prove them wrong, then we got alot bigger issues to worry about

[Shawn]

I love it! Ben and the Steelers have always done best when feeling disrespected, and looked over.

[DukieBoy]

[URL]http://network.yardbarker.com/nfl/article_external/larry_foote_upset_about_pittsburgh_steelers_2012_s eason_and_james_harrisons_choice_to_join_the_cinci nnati_bengals/13642315[/URL]

[hawaiiansteel]

Motivation for Ben Just Keeps Mounting

by steelcityblitz
May 17. 2013



He’s hurt all the time. He hasn’t had a fourth quarter comeback in forever. It was his fault Mike Wallace left because he couldn’t throw it deep enough for him. He makes the wrong audibles. He was too ‘chummy’ with Bruce Arians and he is clearly the reason the team lost Super Bowl XLV and went 8-8 last year.

Ben Roethlisberger is a lot of things, but he isn’t Atlas. He is a human being after all and after being hailed as the savior of the beloved Pittsburgh Steelers’ franchise in 2004, he’s delivered on the field more often than not but yet his issues off the field still resonate with people which I find sad.

Some of what I mentioned in the opening is true. Roethlisberger cost his team at the end of games in Dallas and at home against Cincinnati with late game interceptions. While there were moments in each of those games where other Steelers certainly had a hand in the failings of the team, Roethlisberger is the QB and as such either gets the credit or gets the blame and he clearly fell into the latter.

I always find myself having to defend Roethlisberger on a periodic basis like this because there are so many who just love to pile on him for a myriad of reasons and often without much in the way of facts to support them.

Roethlisberger was having a Pro-Bowl caliber season before getting hurt against the Chiefs last year. He still ended up throwing 26 touchdowns to just eight interceptions and had a passer rating of 97 which was more than four points higher than his career average.

I often wonder if the injury that he sustained wasn’t as much mentally destructive as it was physically. Newly married and with a baby just under two weeks away, perhaps the sense of mortality was a factor and I can’t argue that one bit. No business of mine the way a person feels at a certain time so I can’t hold that against him.

Of course he received the usual ‘drama queen’ moniker when he revealed how serious the injury was but I’m pretty sure he could have cared less. He has often been ‘over the top’ but again, I’ll take it with everything else he brings to the table.

This week the NFL Network named Roethlisberger the 61st best player in the league as they count down their Top 100 which is so subjective it isn’t even funny. Honestly, I really could care less about these rankings because they are nothing more than an attempt to get people to pay attention to the NFLN between the draft and the pre-season.

For Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl winner, I hope the list serves as one thing and that would be motivation. How much more can this guy be slighted by the so-called ‘experts’ before he just gives up? Maybe he has already and I couldn’t blame him. People hold grudges a long time and that’s their prerogative but for some reason perfection is expected of Roethlisberger but not everyone else. Welcome to being a QB in the NFL right?

This is year two now of the Todd Haley offense. There can no longer be any excuses made about the wrong audibles and whether or not Haley and Roethlisberger are ‘getting along.’ Go play the damn game and get over it. Roethlisberger only has so much time left in his career and should not waste it being pissed that Bruce Arians is no longer there. Leave that to the fans.

The motivational factors for Roethlisberger heading into this season are mounting. From the hated Ravens winning the Super Bowl behind Joe Flacco to the lack of respect from around the league and the drafting of his “successor”, Roethlisberger should have plenty of fuel for his motivational fire.

[URL]http://network.yardbarker.com/author/article_external/13637393?widget=true[/URL]

[SteelCrazy]

Link?

Wondering what criteria they used, maybe Sapp got 60 votes??!

Anyway, it doesn't much matter - the W-L this coming season will be the proof of the pudding.

Sapp was shocked as well....He said he didnt know what to think about the players voting. It surprised the sh%t outta me.

[Sugar]

It didn't shock me at all. Ben missed four games and then had critical mistakes in a couple when he got back. If he is able to be on form this year from what he was the first half of last year, he'll be in the top-10 for next years poll.

[Shoe]

relax, these ranking mean nothing.
if you really believe that ben(and other steelers) are going to take this personal and really try to prove them wrong, then we got alot bigger issues to worry about

If they mean nothing, why do guys hop onto twitter seemingly all the time, questioning their place on it? I grant you that just because "the players" vote a guy 61, obviously doesn't mean he is the 61st best player... but it doesn' mean "nothing". Actually, it seems that the rankings mean a lot to many players. Sapp, a couple NFLN reporters, and players on twitter, quickly and vociferously (Sapp among the most vocal) questioned the ranking.

Bottom line is, if the early season was any indication of the offense, all things are lined up for Ben to seize another moment. The offense is no longer based on him taking big hits for the sake of downfield throws. Couple that with an improved running game and OL... I'm excited to see it.

[flippy]

If they mean nothing, why do guys hop onto twitter seemingly all the time, questioning their place on it? I grant you that just because "the players" vote a guy 61, obviously doesn't mean he is the 61st best player... but it doesn' mean "nothing". Actually, it seems that the rankings mean a lot to many players. Sapp, a couple NFLN reporters, and players on twitter, quickly and vociferously (Sapp among the most vocal) questioned the ranking.

Bottom line is, if the early season was any indication of the offense, all things are lined up for Ben to seize another moment. The offense is no longer based on him taking big hits for the sake of downfield throws. Couple that with an improved running game and OL... I'm excited to see it.

If he wins a SuperBowl this season, he's arguably #1. If he wins the next 2, he's definitely #1. If he wins 3, he's #1 all time. I'm rooting for option 3.