Big Ben tolls five (TD passes) against Baltimore

By Darrell Laurant  |   Friday, November 09, 2007  |  Comments( 2 )

Pittsburgh Steelers
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In case you hadn't noticed, Tom Brady is having the season of his life on behalf of the New England Patriots, putting him helmet and shoulders above the rest of the NFL's quarterbacks.

Meanwhile, the second-best quarterback is ....

Peyton Manning? Brett Favre? Tony Romo?

Actually, the numbers say it's Ben Roethlisberger. And if the Pittsburgh Steeler doesn't win MVP honors in 2007, you can at least pencil him in for Comeback of the Year.

Last year was a nightmare for Big Ben, the 6-foot-5, 241-pounder out of Miami of Ohio. Before the season even started, he was sacked by a luxury car that flattened his motorcycle and fractured several bones in his face. Then, an appendectomy caused him to miss the first game of the season. Later on, down in Atlanta, he suffered a concussion.

At season's end, Roethlisberger's numbers reflected his travails -- 18 touchdown passes, 23 interceptions. And not coincidentally, the Steelers failed to make the playoffs.

Roethlisberger has been overshadowed a bit by the Steelers' emphasis on the running game, but he's second only to Brady with a quarterback rating of 111.9. He's completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 1,745 yards and 20 touchdowns, and has thrown just six picks.

And without Roethlisberger to keep the defenses off balance, Willie Parker would be forced to claw his way through the sort of eight-in-the-box defenses facing all those other NFL teams with bad or underachieving quarterbacks.

Roethlisberger doesn't look fluid; he just gets the job done. He has plenty of juice in his right arm when needed -- and while he's not Michael Vick, he has demonstrated the ability to slide around in the pocket enough to keep the pass rush off him.

Last Monday, Roethlisberger burst onto everyone's radar screen, hurling five touchdown passes -- all in the first half -- into the teeth of a supposedly formidable Baltimore Ravens' defense.

During his short career (three-plus seasons in the league) the big guy has averaged over 8.8 yards per completion, better than either Brady or Manning over the same period.

Big quarterback, big numbers. And, most recently, a big win.
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