Evilgrin 72 said:
Godsbrother said:
FreeBaGeL said:
People love to talk about Big Ben's scrambling because it worked so well in the super bowl. That was one game. Do you watch other games?
I have watched every Steelers game Ben has played and you couldn't be further from the truth. I am not going to argue with you as we obviously have differing opinions on Roethlisberger but his stats and accomplishments speaks for itself.
He's a notorious Steeler-hater. Best to just let it go. I keep asking the question when it comes to Ben that if the defense has carried him to 2 Super Bowls, then how do you explain the 0 Super Bowls they racked up in the 25 years prior to his arrival, when many of the defenses in that era were as good or better, and almost every team in that quarter-century stretch had a better line and a better running game? No one has been able to give me a decent answer yet. It's usually something like - "with the litany of garbage QBs they ran out there, how could they win? Any half-decent QB would have won at least 1 SB with those teams.." But no one did. Ben has 2 in 5 years, and both times he was probably the most important player in getting them to that trophy. People just don't want to see it, but those of us who truly watch every game know the score.
Do you really think the '95 Steelers couldn't have beaten the '05 Seahawks or '08 Cardinals? Think the '01 Steelers or '97 Steelers would have struggled with Jake Plummer and the Broncos? Strength of schedule and luck matters a lot when talking about one or two games.Additionally, Roethlisberger has played very well in the playoffs. That's great, and a reason Pittsburgh has won the Super Bowl two times; however, it doesn't make him any better than Jim Plunkett if he can't play well consistently. The different between average and great QBs is the ability to play well consistently; Eli Manning and Trent Dilfer had stretches where they played very well; so did Jake Plummer and Vinny Testaverde, and so did Roethlisberger and Plunkett. But, IMO, you're not a great QB just because you play 5 great games in your career, even if those great games happen to come at the most advantageous of times.
The other issue is that '05 was a long time ago. Curtis Martin and Brooks Bollinger were playing for the Jets, if that helps jog your memory. So when looking at which QBs are the best in the league today, I don't think '05 deserves much, if any, weight. In '05, I think Ben was one of the best QBs in the league; I argued on these boards that he was underrated all season (and in fact, that December, I made a post saying I thought Pittsburgh would win the SB when very few other people thought they would). In '08 or '09? No. I don't want to call Roethlisberger stupid (although people have no problem saying that about Vince Young or JaMarcus Russell) but he makes decisions about as quickly as Leftwich throws passes. For all the talk about Roethlisberger's versatiliy, I think there are few offenses he could master. He has trouble reading defenses, make the right read in an instant, and getting his player the ball. If he played the way he did on a team with a poor defense, everyone would blame the QB for all the team's losses. He's well behind players like Manning, Brees, Brady and Rivers in terms of being an elite passer. On Pittsburgh, though, he's a solid fit.