In case you haven't noticed, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has looked awfully good this preseason. For the preseason, he’s 21-for-31 for 361 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
His passer rating is a close-to-perfect 146.6.
I continue to hear critics, fans, media members and analysts refuse to put Roethlisberger in the same class as Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Mostly because of stats, but that doesn't really make sense, given that Roethlisberger actually stacks up very well against Brady, Manning and all of the other elite quarterbacks.
If you take Roethlisberger's career numbers and put them up against Brady, Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Philip Rivers, who are all generally viewed as the elite quarterbacks in the NFL, he holds his own.
Career numbers:
Completion Percentage
1. Drew Brees: 65.2
2. Peyton Manning: 64.9
3. Aaron Rodgers: 64.4
4. Philip Rivers: 63.7
5. Tom Brady: 63.6
6. Ben Roethlisberger: 63.1
Roethlisberger comes in last, but he's just .5 points away from Brady, and is still completing over 63 percent of his passes for his career, which is considered elite.
Yards Per Attempt
1. Philip Rivers: 8.1
2. Ben Roethlisberger: 8.0
3. Aaron Rodgers: 7.9
4. Peyton Manning: 7.6
5. Tom Brady 7.5:
6. Drew Brees: 7.3
Roethlisberger comes in second in arguably the most underrated stat when it comes to judging quarterbacks, yards per attempt. We already saw that Roethlisberger is a very accurate quarterback, and now you have to take in account that only Rivers does a better job at completing passes down the field.
Quarterback Rating
1. Aaron Rodgers: 98.4
2. Philip Rivers: 97.2
3. Tom Brady: 95.2
4. Peyton Manning: 94.9
5. Ben Roethlisberger: 92.5
6. Drew Brees: 91.2
Again, Roethlisberger is just a few points away from Manning and Brady, and has a better career QB rating than Brees.
The only stat that Roethlisberger really doesn't really hold his own in is total passing yards. Roethlisberger has five 3,000 passing yards seasons, but only one 4,000-yard passing season. However, I think passing yards is by far the worst way to judge a QB. Jon Kitna threw for 4,000 yards in a season, does that make him elite?
Yards per attempt is a much better way to judge QBs, and Roethlisberger is one of the best of all-time in that category.
Also, Roethlisberger critics have to remember that he is just entering the prime of his career now. Roethlisberger is going into his eighth season, which is right in the prime of his career. Years seven through 10 are generally a quarterback's best years.
Tom Brady broke the touchdown record by throwing 50 touchdowns in his eighth year in the NFL. Brady also led the Patriots to the first-ever 16-0 season in the history of the NFL.
Peyton Manning broke the touchdown record in his seventh season in the league throwing 49 touchdowns. In his eighth season, Manning went 14-2, threw 28 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions.
Drew Brees threw for over 5,000 yards in his eighth season in the league and 34 touchdowns. In his ninth season, his eighth as a starter, Brees won the Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints.
Roethlisberger has looked incredible this preseason, and I believe he’s poised to play the best football of his career.
He’s in great shape and is surrounded by a lot of good skill-position players. Mike Wallace emerged as one of the biggest playmakers at the receiver position last year. Antonio Brown is emerging as a future star as well.
Roethlisberger still has his veteran targets Hines Ward and Heath Miller.
I’m expecting Roethlisberger to have a huge year. Over 4,000 yards, over 30 touchdowns and top-five in QB rating. Unfortunately, those big stats are the only thing that people seem to care about nowadays, thanks fantasy football.
Maybe then, Roethlisberger, who’s already won two Super Bowls, will be given the proper respect he deserves.
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Granted it wasn't in the modern era but the 72' dolphins had there perfect season including playoffs, and a super bowl win, and the first game of the following year for a nice 18-0 run. I know this isn't relevant to ben but I just wanted to give credit where it was due.
ReplyDeleteYeah that's why I said the first 16-0 team, in the regular season. Dolphins were 14-0 but I know what you meant. Thanks for reading.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see what would happen if you stuck Peyton manning on the steelers for the last 10 years. He'd take a dump on anything Ben does with them. I'd say he's more a product of a great system then anything else. And people wonder how terry Bradshaw won 4 super bowls lol. Any qb can be considered elite if you stick them on this steelers team. Your really comparing Ben to Brady and Manning? That's insulting to what those 2 have done in their careers. Call me when Roethlisberger throws 400 td passes
ReplyDeleteThere's no way you can prove that. Peyton Manning had the best defense in the league in 2007. Didn't even make it to the AFC Championship game. Peyton Manning had the second best defense in 2005. Didn't even make it to the AFC Championship game. So it's not like he's never had a good defense.
ReplyDeleteGive Ben Dallas Clark, Marvin Harrison, and Reggie Wayne and he'll throw for 4,000 yards every year also. Stats aren't everything. Not to mention that Ben is just now entering the prime of his career.
John- Peyton Manning would NOT fit in with the Steelers offense. Anybody who watches football knows that.
ReplyDelete