I really wish the Steelers hadn't won the Super Bowl, because Roethlisberger's perceived fantasy value probably skyrocketed with those 3 play-off games he had, and winning the SB always endears owners to QBs.
Prior to the play-offs, Ben was regarded as a QB who doesn't throw enough to have any considerable value, but even in regular season games where he only threw like 15 passes, he was always good for a mistake-free game with 1 or 2 TDs, and enough yards to put him over the threshold for a decent-enough game to keep your team afloat. The difference between him, and Palmer/Manning/McNabb was almost absurdly minute in terms of ppg relative to their draft positions. We'll use Peyton Manning as a comparison for Roethlisberger. The Week 17 games have been removed, as they are both meaningless for fantasy purposes. This is based on my league's scoring system, it may be different for your leagues.
Peyton Manning
Week /////// Opponent /////// Fantasy Points
1 /// @BAL /// 20
2 /// JAC /// 1
3 /// CLE /// 4
4 /// @TEN /// 32
5 /// @SF /// 8
6 /// STL /// 18
7 /// @HOU /// 13
9 /// @NE /// 26
10 /// HOU /// 27
11 /// @CIN /// 28
12 /// PIT /// 17
13 /// TEN /// 21
14 /// @JAC /// 22
15 /// SD /// 11
**16 /// @SEA /// 3
FP/G: 16.73 PPGAdjusted FP/G: 17.71 PPG
The ** is because Manning only played for like 1 offensive drive in that game, and his adjusted FP/G subtracts that game for a more indicative PPG average.
Ben Roethlisberger
1 /// TEN 19
2 /// @HOU 20
3 /// NE 21
5 /// @SD 17
7 /// @CIN 12
8 /// BAL 15
**11 /// @BAL 0
12 /// @IND 5
13 /// CIN 21
14 /// CHI 11
15 /// @MIN 10
16 /// @CLE 13
FP/G: 13.67 PPGAdjusted FP/G: 14.91 PPG
The ** next to the Baltimore game are because that was his first game back from what I believe was a knee injury, which is clearly evidenced by the 3 week gap in between the Week 8 and Week 11 games. Baltimore always plays the Steelers tough, but I still feel it's fair to remove that game for his Adjusted average, especially given the fact that he had scored 15 points against pretty much the exact same team in his last outing against them.
Manning was drafted among the top 6 OVERALL picks last year, while Roethlisberger was likely drafted somewhere in the vicinity of the 10th-14th rounds. The difference between the two players in fantasy, one regarded as the indisputable #1 at his position and the other as merely a serviceable starter, is perceived to be FAR greater than what turns out to be the reality. The Steelers (first making the play-offs and then) doing well in the play-offs essentially killed what could have been a FANTASTIC value going into next year at QB. My biases aside.
