PG: "Ben Roethlisberger says he is not in Tom Brady's class" -- but Sunday could help elevate him to that level



... Steelers desperately need an elite game from Ben

Ben Roethlisberger has said a few times that he does not think that he is in the same class as Tom Brady.

He said that last September, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN: "Tom's the greatest in the world, and I mean that," Roethlisberger said about Brady.

Yesterday, he said somewhat the same thing, albeit a little more reserved. When asked about playing the Patriots, he called them the "gold standard." “They’re the best in the world, they’re the gold standard if you will, so you want to have that opportunity to go play the best. It’ll be an awesome challenge for us,” Roethlisberger said, according to the Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette.

In a follow-up question, Bouchette said that Roethlisberger was asked if he was in the same class as Brady. "Not yet. Look at all the Super Bowls he has."

Note there that he limited it with "not yet." That is very important because he is revealing in his mind something that is very important.

Needs huge game Sunday

With an outstanding performance and a Steelers' win, Roethlisberger has a chance at saying that finally he can be considered in the same class as the master.

Last September, Steeler great QB Terry Bradshaw said that in his mind, Roethlisberger is the best quarterback in the NFL. "I would rate Ben right on top if the list, ahead of (Tom) Brady for sure and anybody else, (Philip) Rivers, Eli (Manning). He is big, strong, and poised,” Bradshaw said according to Teresa Varley of Steelers.com. “I’ll take Roethlisberger over any of those guys.”

Bradshaw continued, saying that his opinion was not based on his former Steeler ties. "He could have been the MVP in the league last year if he would have stayed healthy,” Bradshaw said, according to Varley. “I am not saying this because I am a Steeler and trying to suck up to anybody. I am just telling you he is special, different. I’ll take Roethlisberger over any of those guys.”

Super Bowls

Winning Super Bowls is not the only criteria for choosing excellence in quarterbacks. If so, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Dan Fouts, and Fran Tarkenton would not by in the NFL Hall of Fame, and believe me, they all deserve to be there. They were great quarterbacks.

However, winning those gives quarterbacks an extra aura, a feeling of being better than the rest. That is why Peyton Manning's winning a second Super Bowl last year was so important to his legacy. Despite being one of the two top QBs of his era, he has always had a reputation of not being able to win the big one going back to his college days.

Ring is important

Ben Roethliberger has two rings, but he knows full well that in the Steelers win over the Sehawks in Super Bowl XL, he had a QB rating of just 21+ percent. They won despite him, not because of him.

Another win would be tremendous for his legacy -- and for the Steeler legacy.

And this win could place him in the same class as Brady if he plays to that level -- and Ben knows that.

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