Ben roethlisberger I have to ask you guys this?

kuhlmann

Overrated yes or no? I say Yes very overrated. he will be a great qb but i dont see this team turning into a dynasty. that got there a$$es handed to them, this game was never close.

The atlanta game could of been closer but mcnabb made one he$$ of a 3rd down play when he scrambled and threw that first down on the sideline, it was unreal to me that was the play that got philly in to the show!

iamthegreatcornholio

Well I guess I'd go with over-rated considering people's unreal expectations of a rookie QB. Overall though, he had a great season.

McNabb made some awesome plays - that one in particular was just back-breaking for Atlanta.

Brian

euphoria18

I have to say overrated. Did he qb a team to 16 wins... yes.. but was he the overwhelming main reason the Steelers won the games? Naw.

CardsFan

Depends on how you are rating him as rookie or just as a quarterback. Is he great for a rookie quarterback - yes; but he is just good as quarterback right now. Even though the Steelers got it handed to them they were 1st and goal from the 4 within making it a one touchdown game late in the second half. I was glad to see that he could come out after halftime and not fold. I think he has a very bright future and will be a franchise quarterback, but dynasty's are not very commmon in today's NFL (excluding the Patriots current run).

Brian48

He's still learning yet. He's got the size and the raw talent to get better. Whether or not he'll ever make it to the Superbowl will depend on a lot more than just him. Personally, I don't think he choked as a lot of folks are saying. He did make a few mistakes, some of them really glaring, but you gotta remember he's just a rookie and it showed last night. The bottomline line is that the Pats just plain out played the Steelers in every way. Hell, they demolished the Colts the week prior.

This is the time of the year the Pats really come alive. Nothing could have stopped the way they steam rolled last night. In fact, I thought they gave Pittsburg that last TD of the night when they knew they had the game wrapped up and didn't want to expend any more energy until they meet up with the Eagles. You could tell by the way they were just lolly gagging around the field watching the clock tick away.

I tell ya, this is a very special time to be living in NE. This Belichick team is one for the history books. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how next year will pan out with NE losing both their offensive and defensive coordinators.

wlf3

he was a rookie.... can a rookie be overrated? overhyped, maybe. But he was a great college QB as well, but very few saw him play being at a mid/low tier school. next year he'll prove himself human and lose a few games... if he plays all season, he'll prove or disprove himself.

DirtyHarry

I think his kudos are well deserved. Great posture for a rookie. It takes both offense and defense. He did not "get" the Steelers there, but did his part.

perkdog

I think he did well and in any way you look at it he was the starter and they did make it to the AFC championship game, His statistics went down hill as the season progressed but he is deserving of the praise he has got.

ctsoxfan

<< <i>Unfortunately, I'm not sure how next year will pan out with NE losing both their offensive and defensive coordinators. >>



This is a good point, and one more reason I think the Pats won't lose on Super Bowl Sunday. Things could change dramatically for them in the next few years, and they have a chance to be remembered as one of the best teams in recent history with another SB win.

abmluce

One thing about Belichek is not much catches him by surprise.
He's been grooming replacements for a couple of years now.

interchanges

He seems overrated now because the Steelers lost.

Hindsight is easy.

He set a very impressive record as a rookie. I don't think he's that overrated.

dirtmonkey

If you consider what he did with the few opportunities given to him per game, he performed splendidly. This guy was never throwing the ball more than 25 times per game, yet had the most rookie wins and a high completion percentage. He did what was asked of him, similar to when Dilfer quarterbacked the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory. Make big plays when you can, but don't make big mistakes. If given more opportunities to throw the ball, his numbers would have been higher but the Steelers would have likely had more losses as he was bound to make more mistakes.

I give the guy an A+ for the regular season as in the end, he never lost a game for them. He led them to the NFL's best record and he did perform admirably. More importantly, as a rookie he never fell apart during the regular season.

As for the post season, I would be tempted to give him an F, but he did still quarterback his team in a victory and that's still a positive for any rookie quarterback. Further, the Pats defense made Peyton (league MVP) look like just another quarterback so there was not surprise that they did the same to Roethlisberger. C-

80sToyguy

It's funny you mention Dilfer because I believe that's the best you can hope for from this guy (that type of career). I still think he'll loose his job at some point next year or the year after and the reality is he really didn't have a great season, he was surrounded by good players on a great team. If Maddox was still at QB Cower would have him throwing more. As soon as the kid came in however, Cower knew not to let him throw and the rest of the team took over (namely Bettis and the D). I know most Steel fans on this board will talk about the 4 or 5 great plays he made this year over the course of the season, but he just happened to be one part of a very good team that really NEEDED to start throwing the ball less and running more. Who's to say that if Maddox wasn't still in there only throwing 15-18 times a game and handing the ball off more that he wouldn't have had the same success. The fact was, he was going to whine and complain if he didn't get to throw the ball 25-30 times a game but a rookie was just happy to be in there. I can't remember the game, but maybe 6 weeks ago or so Roethlisberger showed great time management at the end of the game and all the Steel fans and media made him look like a God--AS IF that wasn't Cower telling him to do that! I don't know, I just think we might be talking about him the same way we talk about Mark Rypien or Don Majokowski or Doug Williams at some point. Only time will tell.
I know I'm about to be ripped, but this is just my opinion, I'm not trying to change anyone else's.
Jay

dirtmonkey

I don't really feel the answers are there yet simply because it has only been one season. If he follows up this years performance with a strong 11 win season next year, people will have to start to consider he may be a very good quarterback. Dilfer may not have been great, but he did something many of the games greats have never done and that's to win a SB. It's like Brady... He may never be considered one of the best pure QB's of all time, but he may end up being the one with the most rings. The guy is clutch in big games. Some may say Manning would thrive on that team, but he has proved that he has difficulties coming up big when it's on the line. Roethlisbeger may never put up big numbers, but the only numbers that truly matters are the ones in the "win column".

dude

I've watched every Steeler game this season and he's definitely not overrated for a rookie QB. He engineered winning drives against Dallas, Jacksonville and the Giants in the final minute of all of those games. I heard today that he broke two toes during the middle of the AFC Championship game and played through it. Also realize that he came out of college a year early. He has a long and great career ahead of him if he stays healthy.

Axtell

<< <i> I heard today that he broke two toes during the middle of the AFC Championship game and played through it. >>



Cowher vehemently denies he had any injury...and there was no evidence at all that big Ben was limping...I don't care how tough you are, with broken toes, you are going to limp some.

I just am afraid that all this success has gone to Ben's head a little...seems he is trying to make excuses for his poor play, instead of just tipping his hat to the Pats, he fabricates this broken toe story. Seems fishy.

He absolutely benefitted from a great running game and a tremendous defense. He never had to pass much, and rarely had to bring his team back from adversity to win.

Not saying the guy is a complete bum, but I wouldn't place the bulk of the Steelers' 15 wins this year on his shoulders...and I hope (for his sake) he remembers how fortunate he is to be in the situation he is in, and not screw it up by trying to big time his team.

Oh, on another note, Plaxico wants out of Pitt, saying he should be the focus of the team? And Bettis might retire? Gotta wonder if Ben has 10 wins next year.