Opinions of Ben

Curious gals and guys..........

Do you think Ben is an elite qb (future hall-of-famer as Arians stated)? Or do you think he is good, but not great. Please try to be objective and look at his entire career thus far with the Steelers.


IMHO, I think he is a tough, gritty player. However, I'm not ready to commit to "elite". I also think we ought to draft a qb in the near future. Not to replace Ben right away, but someone that the organization can start to groom and can be counted on when Ben is hurt (nothing against Charlie here, but he even made a comment about his age and getting harder to move).

Whaddya think?

The homer in me wants to say he's an elite QB but he just doesn't always seem to get it. A team plays deep, take the underneath - a team plays shallow, take the deep. I think he still has troubles reading certain team's defenses (baltimore comes to mind), and I think he sometimes gets the 'Bret Farve mentality' about getting a quick score. Even if it means throwing in to double or triple coverage.

He's definitely a tough QB and is one of the best in extending plays and making plays when the pocket breaks down, but until he learns to read defenses and make adjustments he'll be a few rungs underneath the elite label.

Yeah, well said. I think I'm somewhat putting some blame (unfairly) on him for what appears to be a disappearing running game. I know his stats are great this season, but the few times I was able to watch a Steeler game (this happens when you live in CA), he seemed inconsistent. So really it's unfair for me to judge him from that. I'm also STILL irked over his comments that he needs "taller receivers". It blindsided Hines and if you haven't guessed by now, I'd take a bullet for Ward

I think he plays stupid football far too often. Stupid football being forcing the ball into coverage, taking sacks, poor clock management(our no huddle might be the slowest in history) In general he's making rookie mistakes as an 8 year veteran. The final 30 seconds of last nights game were absolutely inexcusable to me.

It's 1st and 10 you've got 30 seconds and a timeout. The average play in the nfl lasts something like 7 seconds. We've got more than enough time to take 3 solid shots to pick up 10 yards call a timeout and try a field goal. The important thing in that situation is to make good quick decisions and not lose yardage. Ben, couldn't do either of those things.

what Ben needs is an OC or a COACH that will get on his ass when he screws up
because he keeps making the same stupid mistakes over and over again and nobody
seems to give a shit imo

Is Ben an elite QB? I guess it depends on what your definition of "elite" is.

I define an elite QB as one who is a pure passer, who is great at reading defenses, and who makes good and quick decisions. I'd put Manning, Brees, Rodgers, and Brady in that category.

In a category below elite, I'd put QBs like Ben, Eli Manning, Rivers, Stafford, and maybe a few others.

No QB is tougher than Ben, and none plays with more heart. But he has too many deficiencies to be considered an elite QB.

I used to get real upset listening to so called experts talk about Brady,Manning,Brees and Rodgers but not Ben. I don't anymore. Well I still think Brady is a chump and if you get to him you'll see the big flaws. Manning can be that way to. Brees (to short) and Rodgers (couldn't unseat Favre) are in there own class.

In Ben's case I agree with pretty much everything said so far. He brings what Brady doesn't have. Toughness. But with that comes hard headedness if that is a word. (I guess if Bus can make them up I will too. )

I agree BA needs to quit being a "Godfather" and start being an OC. Slap Ben around a little on an emotional level.
Notice I didn't say fire BA and bring someone new in. I don't know if that's the answer. They both need to change or we might not win another SB as long as they are working together.

Ultimately it is Tomlin's job to fix this and I don't know if he can do it. He seems to be alright with things the way they are. There were at least 2 plays in that game against Denver that if Ben sees the "open" receiver the outcome would have been different. I say this because one of them was Miller and when he's wide open we all know he is money.

So my answer is NO. And he may never be if he doesn't wake up.

ben has only had two years with a good o-line, his first two years. the year we won SB40 ben won us those games with quick reads and accuracy. that was the last year he had a good o-line. i think if you put brady, manning, brees or rodgers behind our line they would not be elite. once we get our line straight we will see a different ben. he has no confidence in our line and is stating to feel pressure even if it isnt there.

vasteeler wrote:

ben has only had two years with a good o-line, his first two years. the year we won SB40 ben won us those games with quick reads and accuracy. that was the last year he had a good o-line. i think if you put brady, manning, brees or rodgers behind our line they would not be elite. once we get our line straight we will see a different ben. he has no confidence in our line and is stating to feel pressure even if it isnt there.

There's some truth to that. But I've seen plenty of plays where Ben has had time and still got sacked, and I've seen him throw often into double coverage when another receiver was wide open. If you look at all of Ben's sacks, INTs, and other mistakes, sometimes it's the line's fault and sometimes it's Ben's fault. It goes both ways ... the line often doesn't help Ben out, and Ben often doesn't help the line out.

vasteeler wrote:

ben has only had two years with a good o-line, his first two years. the year we won SB40 ben won us those games with quick reads and accuracy. that was the last year he had a good o-line. i think if you put brady, manning, brees or rodgers behind our line they would not be elite. once we get our line straight we will see a different ben. he has no confidence in our line and is stating to feel pressure even if it isnt there.

Put Brady behind our line and you would have a asubpar QB.
Brees would prepare and I believe he'd be pretty good.
Rodgers can do everything Ben can do and more. He will read the defense and take what he can get.

You said it yourself. He won SB40 with quick reads and accuracy. What happened? You hear it from Tomlin: "that's just Ben being Ben and we're not going to change that"! Really? Even if other teams are teeing off because our line is porous? Our opponents are adapting and we are not!!

This year we had injury after injury and we did well to go 12-4 because of that but what are we gonna be saying if we get the line problems fixed and Ben is still back there taking sacks because he's waiting for just the right throw (into double coverage no doubt)?

What I'm saying is he takes to much time when he could dump it off to whoever is healthy enough to play RB or hit Heath in the flat instead of waiting for Wallace to get 50 yards down the field.With Brown and Sanders coming on it makes it even more obvious. Take the short stuff when it's there if he can see it. My question about Ben is: Can he see it or does he just ignore it?

Since I only got to see tidbits of the playoff game, I did see a play where Miller was wide open. I mean WIDE Open. We could have had at least 15-20 yrds. Ok.....at the risk of becoming extremely unpopular on this forum - I'm going to say that I think Ben only wants to throw bombs because a part of me believes it's his own ego. I agree that he is the toughest qb in the league, and in that respect he really suits the Steeles well. Correct me if I'm wrong, but during the Pats game he threw nice short passes....and we won. It just seems to me that the "bomb" has become the be-all, end-all. This is just my humble opinion (and you know what they say about opinions!

It all comes down to what your opinion of the word "Elite" is. Elite can be looked at many different ways. Do I think Ben is "Elite".? The Steelers fan in me says yes, and the two super bowl rings scream yes, but his consistent mistakes say no. Just like Shaub, Ben has his "Terrible decision of the day" pass, which usually ends up with the defense, lol

solardave wrote:

My question about Ben is: Can he see it or does he just ignore it?

That's an excellent question, Dave. That probably gets to the root of Ben's problems.

Gingerchip wrote:

Ok.....at the risk of becoming extremely unpopular on this forum - I'm going to say that I think Ben only wants to throw bombs because a part of me believes it's his own ego.

Oh, don't worry ... we have ways of dealing with unpopular people around here.

You never have to worry about expressing your opinion here. ALL opinions are welcome. It's more fun sometimes when we disagree and get to discuss and debate a little. You might be right about his ego. I think all those years he was criticized for being nothing but a "game manager" still sits in the back of his mind. I could be dead wrong, but I think he desperately wants to prove that's he's every bit as elite as Rodgers, Brees, Brady, and Manning.

bayz101 wrote:

It all comes down to what your opinion of the word "Elite" is. Elite can be looked at many different ways. Do I think Ben is "Elite".? The Steelers fan in me says yes, and the two super bowl rings scream yes, but his consistent mistakes say no. Just like Shaub, Ben has his "Terrible decision of the day" pass, which usually ends up with the defense, lol

Totally agree.

Elite QB? No
Top tier QB since he was drafted? Yes

solardave wrote:

vasteeler wrote:

ben has only had two years with a good o-line, his first two years. the year we won SB40 ben won us those games with quick reads and accuracy. that was the last year he had a good o-line. i think if you put brady, manning, brees or rodgers behind our line they would not be elite. once we get our line straight we will see a different ben. he has no confidence in our line and is stating to feel pressure even if it isnt there.

Put Brady behind our line and you would have a asubpar QB.
Brees would prepare and I believe he'd be pretty good.
Rodgers can do everything Ben can do and more. He will read the defense and take what he can get.

You said it yourself. He won SB40 with quick reads and accuracy. What happened? You hear it from Tomlin: "that's just Ben being Ben and we're not going to change that"! Really? Even if other teams are teeing off because our line is porous? Our opponents are adapting and we are not!!

This year we had injury after injury and we did well to go 12-4 because of that but what are we gonna be saying if we get the line problems fixed and Ben is still back there taking sacks because he's waiting for just the right throw (into double coverage no doubt)?

What I'm saying is he takes to much time when he could dump it off to whoever is healthy enough to play RB or hit Heath in the flat instead of waiting for Wallace to get 50 yards down the field.With Brown and Sanders coming on it makes it even more obvious. Take the short stuff when it's there if he can see it. My question about Ben is: Can he see it or does he just ignore it?

head coach and oc.
not that i have a problem with either but cowher and co. didnt cater to him and he was a better qb for it.

Quote :

Put Brady behind our line and you would have a asubpar QB.

I disagree about Brady. He's more accurate and makes quicker decisions.

supytalpeht wrote:

Quote :

Put Brady behind our line and you would have a asubpar QB.

I disagree about Brady. He's more accurate and makes quicker decisions.

And I agree with you. As much as I can't stomach the guy, he is an "elite" of his own.

Yeah, we love making fun of Brady. And make no mistake, it IS fun. But he's a hell of a QB.

Wallace108 wrote:

Yeah, we love making fun of Brady. And make no mistake, it IS fun. But he's a hell of a QB.

Yeah he's a kitten, left his baby mama hi and dry for Giselle, blah blah blah, but the fucker is a hell of a QB.

I wouldn't say he is an 'elite qb'. By that, his throws are not with as much precision as the Brady Rodgers Bees Manning category and he doesn't read defenses as efficiently.

However, he is a winner. He makes big plays when needed, is much tougher than the aforementioned QB's both mentally and physically. He brings dimensions to the QB position that the others don't. He makes huge plays time and time again. He extends plays under the Steelers woeful pass protection with an admirable never-say-die attitude. I wouldn't have any other QB in the NFL behind our Steelers center other than Big Ben.

With that said, Ben has played much better this season than any other. He reads defenses much better than previous years, particularly in picking up blitzes. I truly think that Ben will attain this ELITE qb status in in the 2012 season and onwards.

I think Ben Roethlisberger is severly underappreciated in this city and the opinions posted in this thread thus far only support that theory. I got over the "Is Ben elite?" question three years ago. The answer is yes. I'm shocked people are still debating this.

ShutDown24 wrote:

I think Ben Roethlisberger is severly underappreciated in this city and the opinions posted in this thread thus far only support that theory. I got over the "Is Ben elite?" question three years ago. The answer is yes. I'm shocked people are still debating this.

You can't possibly look at Ben objectively without acknowledging his shortcomings. People love to point to extending the play as a quality and too and extent that's true. However, it's also a function of his slow decision making and quite possibly his poor abilities at reading defenses. Don't get me wrong I'm glad to have Ben, but I would be a liar to say there aren't a few Qb's that I wouldn't take over him. To throw a little gas on the fire if the Colts offered the #1 overall pick for Ben I would think long and hard about taking them up on the offer.

I know a bird in hand is better than 2 in the bush, but Andrew Luck is two pretty damn good birds. It doesn't help that Ben is about to enter the downhill stretch of his career. He's 30 years old and taken a lot of big hits, the body simply starts to breakdown.