Big Ben deserves the money in Pittsburgh

By Robert Rousseau | Tuesday, March 04, 2008 | ( 0 )

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"He's a Steeler and he'll always be a Steeler," Dan Rooney said after Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger signed an eight year, $102 million contract extension this past Monday with the team. And that’s great news for the Steelers faithful.

After all, the team has had a lot of people take snaps under center since Terry Bradshaw left town with four Super Bowl rings. We’re talking about Neil O’Donnell, Bubby Brister, Mark Malone, Kordell Stewart, Mike Tomczak, and more. Further, they’ve had some very good teams; plenty that have been near the top in the AFC before the playoffs started, actually. But the simple fact of the matter is that before Ben Roethlisberger came to town only one of those teams made it to the Super Bowl—when Pittsburgh took on Dallas at Super Bowl 30— and we all know how that turned out.

Neil O’Donnell kept throwing the ball to the other team and the club lost.

In reality, O’Donnell was pretty good. Some of the other guys had some good seasons as well. But none were able to put the team on their back when it counted most. So, the fact that Ben Roethlisberger has already led the team to a Super Bowl after only four seasons in the NFL is reason enough for the big money. So, by the way, is the fact that he went 14-1 as a rookie starter and led the team to that Super Bowl victory in only his second season, making him the youngest Super Bowl winning quarterback ever.

Further, he’s overcome adversity such as the season he managed to play despite dealing with a motorcycle and appendectomy. And though you hate to keep going back to that improbable run to the Super Bowl: How many quarterbacks do you know that were able to lead their team to three straight playoff road wins on their way to such an accomplishment?

Exactly.

Bottom line is that if you watch Big Ben play enough, then you know that over the past two seasons he’s regularly dealt with pass rush pressure in the backfield like few can. Remember that unbelievable play Eli Manning made in the Super Bowl when he escaped from a defender’s grasp? Big Ben regularly does that kind of thing. Want a big arm? Big Ben has one. And he doesn’t play in a flashy kind of offense, so the numbers aren’t the whole story on him, even if he did break a Steelers touchdown pass record this season.

He’s simply a proven winner; and that is the story.

There are two quarterbacks at the top of the heap right now, and this can’t be argued. Yes, we’re talking about Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. But right under them, no matter what the fantasy numbers say, is a guy by the name of Ben Roethlisberger at the front of the next set of players. That’s why he just signed for big money.

And that’s why the Steelers, a team notorious for not dishing out a lot of dough, gave it to him. Give him some more time to throw and he can lead a team to the Super Bowl.

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	About Robert Rousseau Robert Rousseau is a sports writer that has been published in a variety of print and online venues. He’s been writing for RealFootball365.com for almost three years now. When Rousseau isn’t writing about college football he tends to be penning mixed martial arts pieces for MMAFighting.com or...
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