It's time for Big Ben to get a little more respect - LetsGoPitt's Blog

LetsGoPitt's Blog

It's time for Big Ben to get a little more respect

Posted on February 6, 2009 at 09:15 AM.

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Now, I'm not saying that Ben Roethlisberger is constantly being dissed by the media or that he regularly tops the "Most overrated QB in the NFL list" (except maybe in the occasional OS poll), but in listening to some of the Super Bowl postmortem analysis, it's clear to me that some people just need to get over the fact that Ben is one of the elite QBs in the game today. For example: the question was put to Jim "Playoffs?!?" Mora whether Roethlisberger should be considered an elite QB -- mentioned in the same breath with Payton Manning and Tom Brady -- and Mora's answer was, to paraphrase, "He's good, but not THAT good." He then went on to qualify that by saying that Ben has benefitted from having a "great organization" and "supporting cast" and "system." As though Tom Brady picked up the Patriots on his shoulders and he alone was the reason they won those Super Bowls. Please. If anything, the success of Matt Cassel this year was rather illustrative that it's been Brady who has benefitted from the supporting cast, specifically an offensive line that more closely resembles quality blockers than turnstiles. Anyone who watched how many times Ben had scramble and improvise because of a lack of pass protection knows in which category I place the Steelers' offensive line.

In fact, in winning Super Bowl XLIII, Roethisberger did something that Tom Brady never did: actually made the play that won the game. He didn't get the ball at the 40 because of a bad kickoff, move the team 30 or so yards and then leave things to his kicker. No, he had to drive over 80 yards (thanks to a holding penalty) and actually score a touchdown to win the game. No leaning on the kicker here. Don't get me wrong, I think Brady is one of the best QBs in the game today, but to mention his Super Bowl-winning "drives" along with the plays of Montana and Elway -- and now Roethisberger -- isn't being fair to those three players. And I know, people are going to bring up Ben's abysmal performance in Super Bowl XL. Yes, he was awful -- heck, even Trent Dilfer had a better passer rating when he won with the Ravens -- but that was then, and we're talking about now. Right now, Ben Roethisberger is an elite QB in the NFL, and it's about time that people recognized that.