Sorry Ben-Haters but the facts and stats just don’t support your assertion.

In several key statistical categories, Ben is among the best quarterbacks to play the game. Ben has beaten good teams in big games. (Remember the Eagles and Patriot wins in 2004.)

You put all of a loss on a QB when THE TEAM losses and give him none of the credit when THE TEAM wins.

I could write more but it’s pointless. I agree that without Ben, 2-5 sounds about right.

ben is NOT a premiere qb. he is good, he is better than the likes of bubby brister but in the same league as peyton manning or tom brady and after sunday eli manning? no not even close. he is getting paid more than all of them and he just doesn’t produce when chips are on the line like they do. he is more in the same class as chad pennington, david garrard and derek anderson. decent qb’s who can surprise you if they are on a good team. this past sunday proved what big ben is about. this sunday was the first real team they faced this year and ben folded like a house of cards. his line sucks but he had PLENTY of time on sunday. those lineman played their hearts out and gave ben MORE than enough time. hell i saw one play where ben checked down to the 4th guy and then back up to the first guy!!!!! is it too much to ask for a 102 million dollar man to start earning his pay and start making 102 million dollar plays against good teams

One game folks…one game. We are all disappointed but come on. I bet last year you loved him…this year the line plays poorly and yeah maybe he is holding the ball too long, but seriously…Leftwich?? There’s no comparison..if Leftwich is so great why isn’t he still playing for the Jags..why was he a free agent…why didn’t the FALCONS keep him. PLEASE! Ben’s the QB until the line gets him killed, then you can smash the panic button because at that point the season is over. Until then keep the faith in Ben he’ll be fine and once again its one game!

Eli threw 4 picks in a game against Minnesota last year and he went on to win the SB..its far too early to be freaking out and we have only 2 losses so far.

How we forget that Ben is only in his fifth season in the NFL. Also remember that every season he plays, his o-line gets progressively worse. You think Eli is 5-2 with a line like ours? Look at what Peyton is doing with a bad o-line. Give me a break. Ben is an elite quarterback and will only get better. Remember that his idol Elway was labeled as the guy that couldn’t win the big one until he got a very good o-line and running game.

Please, get a flippin clue!!!

I agree with CGolden…sad to think you call yourself Steeler fans.

By all means have your opinions…but…your opinions on Ben are so devoid of reasoning and logic they are not worth discussing…your comments just leave me shaking my head

we need Slash, Neil, or Buddy back, or whoever else we put in there to full the void. Beer and Robert Ethan please add stock tips with your posts, so I can do the reverse and be rich again. :)

ALL HE DOES IS WIN !!!!
Look at Ben’s body of work. Look at it statistically compared to all others. In his 1st 5 years he’s one of the best QB’s statistically. Yes..including Tom (super model) Brady. Take away the windshield year and he’s the top QB over his 1st 4 years than any other QB in NFL history.

Beerman….you’re a donkey and anyone else that can’t see Ben is a legitimate franchise QB is retarded. I her comments like this and it makes me wonder if you even have a clue how competitive and hard it is to play in the NFL? Leftwich? Puh-leeeease! He’s a 3rd string BUM! I would rather see Ward play QB than Lewftwich!

He is sooo much like Elway and Favre it’s amazing. He will drop some heart-breaking games with mistakes, but we will win many more for Steeler Nation than he loses. Those that are asked to shoulder the brunt and lead will sometimes falter. Anyone that has lead before understands that. He accepts the blame…and makes good by winning more games going forward than losing.
He will bring us another title or 2 minimum if the organization keeps up the good work on their end.

Look at this season’s JAX game. The DEF is hanging on him on a 3rd down must convert and he gets the ball to Ward to keep the drive alive and get the go ahead score. More comebacks than anyone currently playing in the league (except Favre). Because he’s a WINNER! He has made countless plays of that nature his whole career.
Yes…last year in the playoffs against JAX, he threw 3 INT’s. BUT, need I remind you he had a MONSTER 4th Qtr, with the game on the line to lead them back and take the lead. All the DEF had to do was hold JAX on (1) DEF series deep in their own territory…what eventually came down to (1) stinking 3rd and 12 and the game is over. The DEF dropped that game…not Ben. The DEF allowed JAX to run all over them with draw plays and screen passes that game..not BEN.

Folks…we have a legitmate SB contender this year if they can just get healthy. When are the injury GODS going to give us a break? Was it not bad enough…now we have to lose our 2nd string punter AND the long snapper too ??? Good grief…
Not to mention we have THE TOUGHEST schedule in the NFL in the last 27 years.
If they get some key players back and stay healthy for this Nov. and Dec. stretch/run…better look out. I hope and pray we get to face the Giants in the SB this year. Don’t think for one minute the same result will come!

Prediction = IF we are fortunate to overcome injuries, stay healthy and make it to the Super Bowl….Big Ben WILL have the game of his career!

Ben’s interceptions were NOT the reason we lost…see Maryrose’s comments above…

I completely fault OC Arians for the 4th quarter offensive meltdown…we needed to go no huddle, quick, up-tempo passing…his inability to adjust to the increased pressure on Ben in the 4th quarter is the main reason we lost…yes, Ben did hold the ball too long on some of his throws but in the 4th quarter there were not alot of guys open…Giants did a great job of bringing pressure and covering our receivers…OL did a decent job but still no where to throw to!!!

The last few possessions of ours were very painful to watch…we had every opportunity to put a quality drive together…but…you can’t try to the same thing that isn’t working and has no chance to work with the intense pressure they were bringing…

It falls to Arians to change the approach, put the pressure on them, give us some momentum…he did none of that…instead, we just watched Ben get buried…intense pressure with no one to thow is not a good combination…

So, the loss was not due to Ben’s picks or the OL…imo, it falls completely to Arians…

is that they’re asking too much of him. No one player can carry a team … that’s why Barry Sanders retired early & pissed off.

I have half of my retirement investments in very aggressive stocks and portfolios: emerging markets, new technologies, software, etc. I have the other half in moderate-to-average, standard “safe” mid-cap growth mutual funds. One half is the attack and the other half is the protection. With so much of the team’s money invested in the aggressive, attack portion of the offense, they need to allocate an equal amount in the protection (ie. the line) if they want any profit from their investments. I believe that our defensive and offensive weapons are in place, and I’m relatively certain that Rooney, Colbert, Tomlin, et al will spend their first 2 or 3 draft picks on the lines, and perhaps even take a look into the free-agent market if and when appropriate.

A phenomenal O-line and running back will make an average quarterback look amazing (see Troy Aikman), a patchwork O-line will make a great quarterback spend a little too much time on his back. Peyton would pull himself out of a game if he took as many hits as Ben, Brady and record book would never appear in the same sentence if he took as many hits as Ben, and look at Carson Palmer once he lost faith in his protection — took a few hits, busted an elbow, and now rides the pine.

Ben brings his lunch bucket with him. He shows up knowing he’s gonna hit the dirt more than anyone else on the field … never complains, never gives up on a play, and never blames anyone else. His line and running game were the best in the league his rookie season, and it spoiled us all, setting unrealistic expectations.

Every week Ben makes highlight reel plays. Plays no one else would attempt. Every week he makes some mistakes … gamblers always do. I’m looking to transfer some of my funds away from stocks and bonds and into gold and silver … knowing full well that gold and silver will still carry value well into the era where the dollar is relegated to a footnote in the history of world currencies. The gamble is if I’ll still be around then … if I am, the gamble pays off HUGE / if I’m not, the gamble still carries with it the potential for success. Favre chucks a lot of picks ‘cause he knows that the risky plays carry potential to be huge … Ben has the same cowboy attitude about it. I’m not a fan of the interception, but one thing it shows me is that there’s someone in the pocket who isn’t afraid to take a risk, and that’s the kind of fella you want back there.

Are there any bones left in Leftwich’s legs? Isn’t he primarily a cyborg from the waist down? I’m with ya GNF; I’d rather see Hines bringing some old SEC speed to the QB spot than turn the O over to Leftwich.

Sometimes I think that Arians believes that Ben is Superman, and fails to adjust his playcalling in relation to what’s happening on the other side of the ball. I enjoy a certain stubborn resiliance when it pays off, but adaptation is the reason life continues to exist, and is the driving force behind all growth in nature and beyond.

Of course there’s a certain bit of fan-based bias involved with my final statement here, but of all quarterbacks currently active in the league, of all those who remain unsigned free agents, and of all those on IR, I’d pick Ben to lead my team. Gimmie the big-armed cowboy who wants to go out there and win it with every toss, and who offers no excuses.

hehe! Maybe he is overpaid, but not overrated! Do you guys even know he is 26? Romo is 28? and What he did? But he is the america QB…

Id only prefer 3 qbs than Ben, Manning, Brady or Brees!

BUT, and that is a BIG BUT,

We should surround them with a great OL, because they wouldnt do anything with that OL! I AM PRETTY SURE BEN is the best QB for our OL! 104.1 with 47sacks, THAT IS PRETTY SICK! OK, he holds the ball too long, but he makes some miracles!

LIKE THat throw to WARD ON THE SUPER BOWL, after escaping some sacks!

With a OL like the Pats, Chargers, Colts, Eagles,… ID rather have Brady, Manning, Brees, Palmer.

BUt with our OL I would take Benjamin

While i agree that Ben has looked a little bit off this year, he is still a top 5 QB in this league. What has he done? I don`t even want to address that question. He`s done more now at this point point in his career than Brady did at the same point in his career. Im not one for excuses but we may have the worst pass blocking lines in the league, and have been without our top 2 running backs all year basically. He`s not Brady or Manning in any way except having a strong will to win. He will never put up those kinds of numbers and just is`t the same type of player so there is no reason to compare. Every Steeler fan on here has seen Ben put the team on his back and carry them for wins. Kinda like the Jags game this year. You must have missed that one. Yeah he did`t have a good Superbowl but you must have also missed what he accomplished to get them to the Superbowl. Stop talking out of your ass.

To paraphrase how the defense characterizes Lebeau: “He puts the players in a position to win”. Arians puts Ben and by extension the offense in a position to lose.

Little tired of that endzone shot of Ben from the back, with the rush closing in, and he is looking at the back of Washington 10+ yards down field. I can hear Ben muttering: “turn around, turn around, turn around”.

Why do we still not make the agressive rush style and/or blitz pay? It’s like we go two steps forward and then one back. Sunday was like back to the future, Eagles style.

If you have been a life long fan and have suffered through the :
Tommy Maddox, Kordell Stewart, Neil Odonell (actully, he wasn’t too bad), Kent Graham, Mike Tomzack, Jim Miller and Bubby Brister years, you will realize how GREAT Big Ben is…
If you are casual Steelers fan jumping on the band wagon, I can see your point. Maybe you should go root for Titans and Kerry “Tom” Collins.

First, saying things like “get him out of there” is just ignoring reality. No owner will invest $100 mil in a player and then drop him. Ever. So get that nonsense out of your head.

Second, Ben is not going to be a Manning/Brady clone. Ever. He doesn’t throw the prettiest, most perfect passes every time. He doesn’t read the field as well. True he has some time to improve, but I think what we’re looking at with him is pretty much the finished product. He has been starting in this league for 5 years now. Improvement at this stage are going to be hard to come by.

Third, Ben is regressing a little this year, but only because he’s now expecting to get hit every time he drops back. It is rare when he can get his drop, set, and throw with a clear passing lane in front of him. Brady and Manning have this luxury probably 75-80% of the time. They would both be very average playing behind our line. Heck, you saw in SB XLII what Brady looked like when he was under a lot of pressure: erratic and jumpy. Ben sees pressure like that every game and 70% of the time he’s able to make the plays we need to win. Just not this week.