No matter what they do, Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning are constantly compared to one another anymore. Is it a bad thing? Not when both are Super Bowl winning quarterbacks, I suppose. Because, let's be real, no one cares about comparing Dan Orlavsky to Tyler Palko. So, I'll take it as it is.
There is another quarterback who was drafted along with them by the name of Phillip Rivers. You remember him, right? No? He plays for the San Diego Chargers. Yes, San Diego still has a team. C'mon, they wear powder blue...oh, forget it. Moving on.
Getting back to the Battle Royale that is Ben vs. Eli, if we're going to compare the two it has to be done with the most important numbers and accomplishments. Wins cover so many ailments and both quarterbacks bring those to the table. Each one has his downfalls too, but the good outweighs the bad in each case.
For the record, my money is with Ben Roethlisberger. I respect Eli Manning and even wanted him coming out of Ole Miss. Manning has also taken the edge recently in fourth quarter comeback victories with 21, while Roethlisberger has 20. But, to this point Ben simply has the edge in my book.
Roethlisberger leads Manning in seven out of the ten most important categories. Roethlisberger has thrown fewer interceptions in the regular season (29 less) and has won 16 more games overall. But, Manning has thrown for 20 more touchdowns in the regular season and 10 fewer interceptions than Roethlisberger in the postseason. Ultimately, Roethlisberger and Manning are reasonably similar. While Ben and Eli compare well to each other, and despite Manning’s two Super Bowl MVP Awards, the slight edge has to go to Big Ben because of his consistency.
A quarterback’s primary responsibility is to win games, and Roethlisberger has shown consistently, since his first year in the league, that he is more than capable, even more so than Eli, with a .714 winning percentage. Also to be considered is that during Ben’s eight year career, he has posted a 92.1 quarterback rating, while Manning in that same eight year period has only even topped that mark twice.
Finally, when it comes to protecting the football in the regular season, Manning has accounted for 160 total turnovers, nearly five more turnovers per year than Roethlisberger.
The numbers, as I stated, lean in Big Ben's favor. It has resulted in one more Super Bowl appearance for Big Ben as well. What really needs to be remembered in this is that Ben might just be energized by these comparisons. Plus, don't underestimate Ben's passion for winning another Super Bowl. It wouldn't be surprising to see Big Ben with a resolve to be even better and to "tweak" his game so that he can coax as much as possible out of his young wide receivers and so that he isn't sacked as much. Would you want 300 lbs of man-meat falling on you? Unless you're Adam Lambert or Clay Aiken, I'm assuming your answer is no. Neither would I. Did I just cross a line?
Regardless, the wins, playoff wins and overall numbers point to Big Ben being the better quarterback. But, seriously, Phillip Rivers. He wears no. 17. He's been to the playoffs for goodness sake...!
No comments:
Post a Comment