Arians: Don't rank Andrew Luck over Big Ben

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By Dan Hanzus

NFL Network's "Top 100 Players of 2013" list promises to befuddle fans week after week. Thursday was no different, when Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was unveiled as No. 61 overall.

This is all kinds of crazy, as Gregg Rosenthal artfully explained earlier. There are 11 yet-to-be-named quarterbacks ahead of Roethlisberger on the countdown.

Bruce Arians, the Arizona Cardinals coach who was a member of the Steelers coaching staff during Roethlisberger's first eight seasons with the team, agreed the quarterback deserves to be higher, joking "that just shows you how much the players know." (He probably wasn't joking.)

Andrew Luck has yet to show up on the countdown, but it's a safe bet he'll come out ahead of Roethlisberger. Arians coached Luck last season in Indianapolis, and he gave an honest assessment when he was told Luck likely will be ranked ahead of Big Ben.

"That surprises me. Andrew is going to be a fantastic quarterback, had an unbelievable year as a rookie, obviously broke all the records," Arians said on the "Top 100" reaction show. "They're two tremendous athletes. Neither gets the credit for their athleticism, they're two strong guys.

"Andrew belongs on the list, but he's not at that stage yet. He's got to put a couple rings on his finger and a bunch more wins."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000202195/article/bruce-arians-dont-rank-andrew-luck-over-big-ben

You don't have to be someone who has coached both quarterbacks to know how silly that list is. Lists like this, in general, are popularity contests, and Ben isn't going to win any popularity contests outside of Pittsburgh. He could have five rings and still probably wouldn't be in the top 10.