I don't see how you can rank Roethlisberger over Brees unless you are giving a lot of weight to that ring of his.
I suppose you could do both. Than again it's difficult to do sole talent on some and not on others. For example, it's obvious Brady can succeed with nobody WRs and he'll do great with Moss now. Peytons has always had his great WR duo- so they've prolly helped him. However it would be unfair to say that he wouldn't be as good with out them becuase we simply don't know. Maybe with out them he's just as good and like Brady can work with anyone. Just cuase we don't know doesn't mean we should assume it's not so. Why don't you make a list for both, justify each standing in it aswell.
It's the double 98+ rating in his first two seasons plus a better arm. I'm not a fan of his attitude but there's an extraordinarily good chance that Roethlisberger is a hall of famer and much less of a chance that Brees is at this point. There aren't very many QB's who have gone 95+ rating for their first two seasons in the NFL. The group right now has just Dan Marino and Ben Roethlisberger in it. Given that Parcells spent the preseason before Roethlisberger's first season comparing him to Marino and he then went out and performed that way I find the evidence compelling. He is an opinionated, arrogant prick. That puts him in rare company with Marino also. Cowher left the Steelers mainly because he was having issues with his star QB. The Steelers let him leave because they never won a super bowl under Cowher until that QB showed up. Some people will say that he just managed a Steeler's power attack and was protected in the throws he made and that boosted his rating. If so he's still the first player in history to turn that kind of protection into those kind of numbers. Obviously the near death experience last year that left him convalescing for most of the summer and at about 75% at the start of training camp took a toll on his production last season. I think his downside right now is Marc Bulger, still a very good QB.
Did you see Brees under pressure in a bad weather game in Chicago go south based on size and arm? Ben under pressure with guys hanging on him can still make throws. When you're in the tournement against really good teams those plays seperate QB's. A lot of people think he had a bad game against Seattle except that he was able to make a couple of huge game changing plays under duress. Some people think Manning had a bad game against Baltimore in the playoffs except that he backed the entire D off the line of scrimage because he was able to consistently throw the ball down field when being hit and moveing backwards, that changed that game more than most people realize. I would take Ben in a heartbeat over Brees if I wanted to win a SB.
Wow, it's really sad after #4. I'd put McNabb Top 10, but I can't justify a top 5 spot after the last 2 years. I think that spot would be better filled with Hasselbeck or Bulger... As to who? I don't think there is any doubt Bulger has more talent to throw to and is part of a lot more exciting offense, while usually hurried behind that offensive line. Still though, I don't know if I would pick him over Hasselbeck. The Seahawks vs Rams are usually exciting games - just let them play it out.
