Big Ben is better than Brady Quinn...

After the motorcycle accident, appendectomy, and concussion, Ben Roethlisberger's 2006 season was in essence, a mess. Immediately, everyone (including some Steelers fans...you know you are out there) began questioning Big Ben's ability to be a top-notch quarterback.

Sure, Ben came out of the gates fast, leading the Steelers to the AFC championship his rookie season, and following up with a big fat Super Bowl ring his second season. But critics continued to point to the team around him for these results. These same critics had a field day with Ben's 2006 season - when he threw 23 interceptions, and the Steelers ended with an 8-8 record, failing to make the playoffs.

Prior to the 2007 season, Bill Cowher retires. Mike Tomlin takes over, and promotes former wide receivers coach, Bruce Arians, to offensive coordinator. Arians, former quarterback coach of Peyton Manning, began talking openly about allowing Roethlisberger to take more control of the play calling. Thoughts ran through Steelers fans' minds..."Is Arians serious?" "How many interceptions will Ben throw now?" "What about the running game?" "Are the Steelers going to try to be like the Indianapolis Colts?"

But 2007 saw Big Ben emerge as a top-tier quarterback, to the tune of 32 touchdown passes, a 104.1 passer rating (behind only Tom Brady), and led the Steelers back to the playoffs. All of this while getting sacked 47 times.

Explosive offensive weapons like Santonio Holmes, Heath Miller, Willie Parker, Hines Ward, Rashard Mendenhall, Limas Sweed, and I'll even lump in Nate Washington and Matt Spaeth, now give Big Ben a complete arsenal. These weapons will create a lot of match-up problems for opposing defenses. This is where Ben's Roethlisberger's ability to diagnose defensive formations and effectively call audibles will ultimately determine how explosive the Steelers offense will be in 2008.

Ben's critics are awfully quiet these days, their attention has shifted to the Steelers offensive line, and rightly so. But enough of my man crush on Roethlisberger, what do you guys think? Will Big Ben throw up larger numbers in '08? Will the Steelers go back to running the ball more? Will the offensive line improve? Do you believe in aliens?

OTHER EXAMPLES OF OFTOT'S MAN-LOVE FOR BEN:
Kneel Before Ben...
Something To Believe In...

Kneel Before Ben...

"After reflecting on the Steelers season, it's evident that Ben Roethlisberger is a mediocre quarterback at best."
- "Steelers fan" in letter to Tribune-Review

Ok, so far this offseason I've heard (loudly and clearly) - fire Bruce Arians, fire Mike Tomlin, and where's my Primanti's sandwich (err...maybe that was just me). But until Tuesday, I had yet to hear anything quite like the quote above (from a "fan" that is)...which I mostly attribute to the fact that only 7-8% of the state of Pennsylvania is addicted to crack, and it's mostly Philadelphia anyhow (read: Eagles fans).

Honestly, Big Ben - a MEDIOCRE quarterback? 32 TDs (11 INTs), 3154 yards, a 65% completion percentage, an average of 8 yards per attempt, and a Pro Bowl spot. Yeah, that Ben Roethlisberger is one awful QB. Let me tell you this - if you think Big Ben is mediocre, try being a Vikings fan, or a Bears fan, or a Falcons fan. The numbers speak for themselves. Sure, he holds the ball too long on occasion. But on some of those occasions, he holds the ball in order to make a play (conjure memory of infamous shovel pass to Willie Parker)! And yes, we're all a bit (just an itty bit...) disappointed by his performance in the 1st half of the Wild Card game vs. Jacksonville. But if not for his arm, that game would've been well out of reach by the half way mark.

As for that other "fire everyone" shite:

Anyone who wants Tomlin ran out of town after a year like this - get your head out of your ass. You don't fire a coach who as a rookie leads his team to a 10-6 record, topping the division, in a year that plagued some of his best players with very serious injuries. I'm thinking I'm not the only one who subscribes to that kind of philosophy...

Arians? Well, look, all I'm gonna say is this - anyone who wants to talk about what he did in Cleveland and say that historic perspective has any bearing on the future, let me point out that while in Cleveland his guy was Tim Couch. Tim Couch! Who was surrounded by essentially no running back and flanked by Dennis Northcut and Quincy Morgan...not what I'd call an All Star cast. And by the way, the criticism of this guy was so bad after our loss that even his Wikipedia page has a section on the subject. I'm not saying he's perfect. I'm not even saying he is a long term solution. I am just saying that he and Ken Anderson had an obvious positive influence on Big Ben. So let's give him a little more time to see if he can't avoid making the same mistakes next season.

Me? I guess I decided to re-enter the Steelers fan blogosphere preaching the same thing as when I went on brief hiatus -- one year does not a career make. Mike Tomlin, Bruce Arians, and most of all BEN ROETHLISBERGER will all be back next season. The best we can hope for is to build on the teams successes, eliminate some of the team's mistakes, and god dammit - draft a lineman in the 1st round! Then a couple more of those, a tall/fast receiver, a kick returner who can field AND run the ball back, a solid free safety, a pass rushing Defensive end, a blocking fullback, a thunder to Willie Parker's lightning, and we should be good. I mean, should be cake, right?

So ummm, my question is - Does anyone actually think Big Ben is no more than a mediocre QB??? Do you think he's better when simply playing not to lose the game for us??? Would you prefer Tommy Maddox??? [PS - If so, be sure to ship your medication directly to me...I wouldn't mind that kind of lunacy once in a while...]

REFERENCE MATERIAL:
Get a Grip, Nation [Post-Gazette]
Big Ben on Faneca, Contract, 2008 Wishlist [Post-Gazette]
Big Ben Says 1st Year Under Tomlin Proof NFL Trends Are Not Passing Steelers By [Post-Gazette]
Roethlisberger Wants to Stick With Steelers [Tribune-Review]
Steelers Need to Shake Up Coaching Staff [Tribune-Review]
Something To Believe In [One For The Other Thumb]