The Greatest Steelers QB Of All Time

I’d actually be inclined to disagree with Bradshaw being a hand-down better QB than Big Ben. Won more games? Sure. More Super Bowls? So far. But out and out better? I reserve judgment and, if pressed, would probably lean toward Ben.

For one, I think Bradshaw had better talent for longer around him, offensively at least. A hall of fame back, two HOF WR’s, a HOF center (and quite possibly the best center to ever strap on a helmet at that). Plus he had a defense against which other defenses are still measured.

While Ben has Hines (who will someday be ready for us all to visit at Canton), he’s never had the same level of talent at the skill positions. Bettis was on the downside of his career – Cowher seemed to have thought had been for quite some time – during the 20042005 seasons. Plaxico was as talented as he was troubled and was soon gone.

And the Steelers three best OL (Smith, Faneca, and Hartings) were all basically gone before the 2008 Super Bowl team. In other words, I tend to think Ben does more with less. When the offense has a good day it’s almost always because Ben is having a good day and not because, say, Mendenhall is.

And, of course, I tend to think that Ben is most consistent as a QB than Bradshaw ever was, both in terms of his in game performance and what I’d project for the totality of his career. For instance, Bradshaw’s regular season stats read something like this:

Terry Bradshaw
158 Games Started
51.9% completion percentage
27989 career passing yards
212 TD’s
201 INT’s
5.4% interception percentage (in other words, he throws an average of 5 and half interceptions per 100 throws)
7.2 yards per pass

Now Bens…

86 Games Started
63.1% completion percentage
21380 yards thrown (so far)
140 TD’s
86 INT’s
3.2% interception percentage
8.0 yards per throw

In other words, Ben is a more accurate and efficient passer that makes fewer mistakes (turnovers) AND pushes the ball down the field more consistently.

You could argue that the passing games are different and that the vertical passing game was more prominent in the Steelers offense of the 70’s, but it’s not as if the current Steelers are running a west coast passing attack. Ben wants to throw the long ball and the average yards per catch (even accounting for yac) of his receivers outshine the Steelers skill players of the 70’s. Ben sometimes gets dogged for not being a good deep thrower, but statistically he’s one of the best in the business.

To have his per throw average (8.0)and his completion percentage (63.1) coupled together is special. For example:

Tom Brady: 63.6% – 7.4 per attempt avg.
Peyton Manning: 64.9% – 7.6 per attempt avg.
Drew Brees: 65.3% – 7.4 per attempt avg.

Statistically speaking, Ben is probably one of the best and most consistently accurate deep passer in the NFL today. In fact, the one player that’s probably his equal in this regard is the Chargers Philip Rivers. And, keep in mind, Rivers has the advantage of a receiving corps filled with big wideouts and tight ends, whereas Ben has had only one season with Plax. In other words, Rivers gets to throw a lot more jump balls deep than Ben.

All this is not to say that Ben is better than Terry, but only that I tend to think the best QB debate between them is a lot closer than a lot of people think. This seems especially true when you try to project Ben’s possible stats another 5 years out.

Regardless of where you stand, the Steelers have been fortunate enough to have two of the best EVER to play the game at this level of competition. Probably only the Colts (Johnny U and Manning) and the 49ers (Montana and Young) can lay a similar claim (at last with QB’s in their prime).

You are talking almost 30 years between star QBs. Roethlisberger was a 1 year-old when Bradshaw played his last season as a Steeler. It’s not really relevant to compare between eras when the game has changed so much. Bradshaw played in an era when QBs didn’t throw the ball nearly as much as they do today, relying more on the running game. When passes were made, many more were deep passes than the short out passes we see so often today. Many rules have been changed since Bradshaw’s time to help increase the offensive output and make the game more marketable.

Metrics such as passer efficiency, etc., don’t really say much without considering the context. What good is completion percentage when the DB would be all over the receiver physically on any passing play resulting in much higher incompletions and interceptions than we see in today’s game? Because of the many differences in the eras, it’s a comparison of apples to oranges. It’s fun to think about but you never really get anywhere. How would Manning, Brady and Brees fare in a game where QBs routinely suffered season ending injuries? There were a lot of mean players back then who wanted nothing but killing a QB and the league didn’t protect the QB. The QBs didn’t wear skirts yet. Concussion? What is that? Also how would they fair against DBs with full mauling rights on their receivers?

Bradshaw played in his era winning 4 SB and Roethlisberger is playing in his own era, so far winning 2 SB. Bradshaw is in the HOF and had a great career. We’ll have to wait and see how history judges the career of Big Ben. So far, he is having a great career too. I waited patiently for the coming of Big Ben and I appreciate it immensely. I agree that the two greatest QB I know of in Steeler history are Bradshaw and Roethlisberger. Which one is better is academic.

Terry could throw an outstanding deep ball. Would give cash money to see Bradshaw throw to Mike Wallace. mmmm.

On the other hand, I would love to see Ben operate behind a line with Mike Webster, Larry Brown, Jon Kolb, Sam Davis and Moon Mullins.

I guess I’ll just have to settle for two very special QBs who were “gamers” and won multiple Lombardi’s…. :)

i believe that ben has a strong case when it comes to arguing who’s the best all-around QB in the game right now. I believe that if he and Tom Brady switched teams, the Pats would have about the same record while the Steelers’ record would be worse. Each of those guys would probably be broken in half. I think Brady isn’t as well-equipped to carry a team by himself as Ben is.