Big Ben's numbers place him in MVP race

By Mark Kaboly, Daily News Sports Editor
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Ben Roethlisberger has the Super Bowl victories — two of them in his first five years, to be exact.

He has the won-loss record — 54-22 as a starter and 8-2 in the postseason.

He has the accolades — Pro Bowl representative, Rookie of the Year, team captain and 18 fourth-quarter comeback victories.

But one thing missing from Roethlisberger's impressive resume is a Most Valuable Player award. In his first five seasons, he didn't earn so much as one vote in the annual Associated Press MVP balloting.

The knock on the Steelers' franchise quarterback, the blemish that kept him from being mentioned among the best signal-callers in the NFL, was that he just didn't have the numbers.

Now, he does.

Through nearly a third of the season, Roethlisberger is in the top seven of every major NFL passing category.

He has thrown for 1,470 yards, which is second behind Peyton Manning and well ahead of other top quarterbacks such as Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Philip Rivers, and he is on pace for 26 touchdown passes and a 102.6 quarterback rating.

"He is having a phenomenal year right now," receiver Hines Ward said.

And an unusual one for him.

Roethlisberger has never finished higher than 13th in the league in passing yards and has been routinely in the bottom half of nearly every passing statistic since bursting onto the scene as a rookie in 2004.

"I have never been a big stat guy," Roethlisberger said. "Stats for me are winning and losing and, to me, that is what defines a great quarterback and a great leader."

Despite that, Roethlisberger is compiling the stats quickly.

Roethlisberger, who already owns eight Steelers passing records, is on pace to break five more (yards, attempts, completions, single season 300-yard passing games and completion percentage). If he continues his pace, his 73.8 completion percentage would shatter former Cincinnati quarterback and Roethlisberger's current quarterback coach Ken Anderson's NFL record of 70.55 set in 1982.

Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians figures it is about time Roethlisberger gets to join in the fun and toss the ball all over the field.

"He has sat in this offense and handed the ball off 40 times a game and was able to win," Arians said. "It is a lot more fun when you are throwing it and having success."

Arians hasn't been hesitant about letting his quarterback throw at any given point in a game, whether it is the first series or late in the game when the Steelers are trying to run out the clock.

"That's (Roethlisberger) growing into the offense," backup quarterback Charlie Batch said. "Bruce has been able expand the offense around him."

Batch said the biggest change in the offensive scheme is the number of pass protections that Arians has added to his game plan. Not long ago, Roethlisberger wasn't able to handle such a responsibility.

"When you come in and all of a sudden you have 10 or 12 different protections, then that is something you have to credit Ben to be able to handle it," Batch said.

Arians is comfortable enough to turn over the no-huddle offense to Roethlisberger and let him call his own plays in that package. He allows Roethlisberger to make checks at the line when necessary and, most importantly, is at ease letting his quarterback try to kill the clock late in games with the pass rather than the traditional Steelers staple of running the ball to exhaust time.

"I understand what is going on," Roethlisberger said. "I feel very comfortable and confident out there, and it shows."

Roethlisberger has thrown at least 30 passes in every game this year, has surpassed 300 yards twice and has put together 123-plus passer rating games the past two weeks, both of which were wins.

The only quarterback in the league who can come close to matching that is Manning. Still, Roethlisberger isn't considered in an elite class just yet.

Tight end Heath Miller doesn't understand why.

"I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be up there with (Manning)," Miller said. "He has everything to prove it and is playing like it week in and week out."

The rest of the league apparently thinks Roethlisberger — stats in hand or not — is actually getting too much hype.

A recent Sports Illustrated poll asked 239 current players who the most overrated player in the league.

Roethlisberger came in at a stunning No. 5.

"That really doesn't make much sense at all," defensive end Brett Keisel said. "He has won two Super Bowls and he is been in the league, what, five years?. In my opinion, that says a lot."

Coach Mike Tomlin has noticed something different from Roethlisberger this year. It has nothing to do with statistics, but more with leadership.

"This guy has developed into a veteran quality leader of this team," Tomlin said. "His sole motivation is winning."

But what about those numbers he is posting?

"Numbers mean only one thing and that is Pro Bowls." Arians said. "And we are about Super Bowls."


Ben by the numbers


Completions

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis - 133

2. Tom Brady, New England - 127

2. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh - 127

4. Joe Flacco, Baltimore - 117

5. Matt Schaub, Houston - 115

6. Kerry Collins, Tennessee - 106

6. Kurt Warner, Arizona - 106


QB Rating

1. P. Manning, Indianapolis - 114.1

2. E.Manning, NY Giants - 111.7

3. Drew Brees, New Orleans - 108.4

4. Brett Favre, Minnesota - 104.1

5. Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle - 103.1

6. Matt Ryan, Atlanta - 102.9

7. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh - 102.6


Completion Percentage

1. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh - 73.8

2. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis - 73.5

3. Brett Favre, Minnesota - 69.1

4. Chad Pennington, Miami - 68.9

5. Drew Brees, New Orleans - 67.4

6. Jason Campbell, Washington - 66.7

6. Matt Ryan, Atlanta - 66.7


Touchdowns

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis - 12

2. Eli Manning, NY Giants - 10

2. Matt Schaub, Houston - 10

4. Drew Brees, New Orleans - 9

4. Brett Favre, Minnesota - 9

4. Joe Flacco, Baltimore - 9

7. Jay Cutler, Chicago - 8

7. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh 8


Yards

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis - 1,645

2. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh - 1,470

3. Matt Schaub, Houston - 1,418

4. Tom Brady, New England - 1,344

5. Tony Romo, Dallas - 1,341

6. Joe Flacco, Baltimore - 1,289

7. Philip Rivers, San Diego - 1,245