Alright, I decided to do some number crunching since I've been talking all Ben Roethlisberger.
I've worked out a couple things.
A) There are 3 'kinda' active QBs in the world who can compete with Ben Roethlisberger. And one of them will always be considered a cheater.
B) Aaron Rodgers is a ******* stud. He's no Ben in many ways, but he's a ******* stud.
Ok, here we go... I'll try to keep it simple. You can look these up on NFL.com and extrapolate as you like. I kept it simple. I did NOT do extended career stats based on the last few years performance. Had I done so, Ben's numbers would look better than they do currently. But that would have taken longer. As it is, he looks ******* awesome as it is.
Over 12 years, Roethlisberger has completed 64.2% of his passes.
That puts him completion percentage wise behind
1) D. Brees (66.4) - 14 years
2) P. Manning (65.3) - 17 years
3) A. Rodgers (65.1) - 10 years (I know, I was shocked...)
Ben is #4 at 64.2%
Ultimately, everything is going to be based on completion percentage.
Brady by the way, comes in at #5 with 63.6%
E. Manning comes in at 6 with 59.3%
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The next two really important stats to look at are yards per attempt and yards per completion. These two numbers tell us something important about how the QB plays.
The NFL mostly pays attention to YPA which is the average of yards based against the total pass attempts. Unfortunately, this doesn't necessarily tell you the whole story. Yards Per Completion divides total passing yards against the number of completed passes and gives you a better idea of how often the QB throws longer passes. Not surprisingly, the better QBs in the game tend to throw longer and nobody in the game is better at throwing long regularly than Ben Roethlisberger.
He comes in #1 at 12.4 Y.PC.
Aaron Rodgers is #2 at 12.3 Y.P.C.
Surprisingly Eli Manning, otherwise kind of mediocre comes in at #3 in this category at 11.96 Y.P.C.
The list is rounded out by
#4 P. Manning - 11.75
#5 T. Brady - 11.72
#6 D Brees - 11.35
Now, that doesn't seem like a big difference but that half or quarter yard is HUGE over a career.
For example, P. Manning has 71,940 yards over his career, but if he threw the ball like Ben Roethlisberger, he'd have almost 76,000 yards. (75,950). That 4010 yard difference is almost an entire season worth of passing for some QB's.
but I digress.
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Ben's TD percentage is not ideal, sadly. He's at 5% which makes him 5th on the list ahead of only Eli.
1) A Rodgers - 6.4% TD Ratio
2) P Manning - 5.7% TD Ratio
3) T Brady - 5.5% TD Ratio
4) D Brees - 5.3% TD Ratio
5) B Roeth - 5.0% TD Ratio
6) E Manning - 4.7% TD Ratio
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Furthermore, adding to our woes - his interception ratio is tied for 4th, although he's in somewhat good company there...
Interception Ratio / numbers
1) A Rodgers - 1.6% 65 ints | 10 years (This guys a ******* freak...)
2) T Brady - 1.9% 150 ints | 15 years
3) D Brees - 2.5% 205 ints | 14 years
4) P Manning / B Roeth - 2.7% 251 / 148 ints | 17 / 12 years
5) E Manning - 3.2% 199 ints 12 years
Well, I guess Ben is a gunslinger...
One of the things that stands out is the fact that in recent years Ben is definitely throwing more which brings up his yardage and attempts per game, however as we've all groaned about in the last couple seasons, the Steelers have certainly moved the ball well, but they don't always score TD's like we want them to. This is definitely showing up in the final stat sheet. I wonder if in the next couple seasons we won't see a jump in Roethlisberger's TD numbers. Anyway, more digressing...
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QB Rating:
Of the 6 QB's rated, Roethlisberger ranks 5th.
1) A Rodgers 104.1
2) P Manning 96.5
3 T Brady 96.4
4) D Brees 95.8
5) B Roeth 94.1
6) E Manning 83.5
I know what you're thinking... Hold that thought. work with me here. I KNOW what you're thinking.
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Sacks and yards lost per...
We all know Ben takes a beating. But just how much of a beating is he taking compared to the other guys?
In terms of Sacks per season, Ben is the leader.
1) B Roeth 36.7 - 6.54 Yards Lost
2) A Rodgers 30.6 - 6.26 Yards Lost
3) T Brady 26.8 - 6.24 Yards Lost
4) E Manning 25.6 - 7.0 Yards Lost
5) D Brees 23.6 - 7.14 Yards Lost
6) P Manning 17.8 - 6.45 Yards Lost
So what does this tell us? Yes we know Ben holds on to the ball too long, but not 36.7 times a season too long. Ben's played behind some rough lines and STILL managed to put up great numbers. And again, Fuggin' Aaron Rodgers. ****, I've never actually looked at his numbers. However I have something coming down the pipe fellas... wait for it. Wait for it...
We can also see that Brady does get hit now and then and that Peyton Manning and Drew Brees run like girls.
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As far as some of the intangibles, the biggest thing you can easily draw from the stat line is that Ben Roethlisberger is the 2nd best running QB of the list. Behind, you ******' guessed it. Aaron Rodgers. After those two the drop off is significant. I won't much go into the details, but suffice to say, both Roeth and Rodgers have actually made some decent big runs in their career each piling up 6 and 7 20+ yard runs in their careers respectively. So they aren't just diving for the 1st. They HAVE run now and then, although Ben obviously does that much less often these days.
As an aside, you know who NEVER runs? The Mannings. Either of em. They should look for corporate sponsorship with cement companies.
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So, with Ben coming in tops in only one or two categories and middling to low in the others how can I say he's so freaking amazing you ask? How can I suggest he's not only among the best currently in the game but among the best ever?
Well, Ben still has 4 or 5 years of his best football ahead of him. The guys (aside from Rodgers) are all in the latter stages of their careers and statistically their numbers are even waning a bit for some of them. Ben on the other hand is improving. *If I project Ben out to 17 years like Peyton, his total yards actually surpass Mannings just based on his current YPC and his completion percentage. Will he do it? I don't know. But that's the projection. The beauty of Ben having been limited in his early career means his numbers are low. That means that unlike somebody like Brady or Brees, he can still significantly increase his Yards Per Completion numbers with a couple good seasons. Literally he can significantly improve his overall numbers with just 2 or 3 great seasons while Brady, Brees and those older guys are pretty well locked in to their statistical legacy. They're just "padding stats" Roethlisberger and Rodgers are building them.
Now, he'll never hit those TD numbers. He wasn't given the opportunity early on to pass like Manning was or Brady is. It just can't happen. But if you look at his completion percentage and his yards per completion as well as his ability to bring out the best in the people around him, you simply can't compare him with most other QBs.
Take a look at Mike Wallace. Phenomenal player with Pittsburgh, completely pedestrian everywhere else he went.
Santonio Holmes, same issue.
Cedric Wilson comes to Pittsburgh and becomes an instant valuable component in a Superbowl team.
The best part of Roethlisberger is that he's getting better. He's a true leader and he understands the team-first mentality that Pittsburgh needs to win. Ben appreciates his linemen who have to hold those blocks while he desperately looks for another receiving option. He appreciates that Coates, who dropped a pass earlier made a great block on a running play that netted a TD that won't give him or Coates any statistical accolades at all. He had the faith to launch without hesitation a 40 yard pass to Coates who'd dropped an easy one earlier.
Ben has some amazing leadership qualities that simply make him one of the best ever.
Now Rodgers is statistically a freak of nature. But I don't think he embodies the same leadership qualities. I haven't paid the same kind of attention to Rodgers, obviously but he doesn't come across as the physical freak that Ben is. He's also really early in the game.I was surprised at how little statistical data there is on him. But truly, Rodgers is a guy to watch. He's a ******' stud. If there's anyone that should be put in the top 1 and 2 spots, it's Ben and Rodgers. No question about it.
* Based on equaling attempts vs completion% and Yards Per Completion.