Big Ben 2021 and prior...

[mwalker]

I've always believed Big Ben has been under appreciated.

I think the media, despite his achievements, have always under played his quality
and almost always have placed him in the second half of QBs - since I can remember.

He's never really been in the running for MVP (that I can think of) despite his stats 
over the last 7 years or so not being that far off QBs that are often praised (Rogers, Brady).

I'm sure some of it has to do with his 'likability' and his reputation for not working as hard
as others, and that's fair, but I think he's been short changed if you look at his numbers.

Anyhow, all of that, just to say I think he just might have a big year.
He has as much talent around him as he has in a long time.

Most pundits and league journos are predicting a miss on the playoffs and Ben getting benched.

Some have said worse.

But, hey, if the line holds up, he just might have his best year ever. 

 

Edited September 7, 2021 by mwalker

[August4th]

I think the media can be dismissive of him due to his personalty(he brought it on himself tho) I think they've been fair on his play. he's had peak moments/stretches of games that matched a A-rod or Brady but he lacked the consistency those all-time great have, which is nothing to be ashamed of. I think he always belonged on the levels of a Rivers, Romo, Palmer, Ryan etc tier... a notch below Manning, Brady, Rodgers, Brees. I think(hope) he has more left in the tank. I rewatched some of those late season games last yr and I forgot all the drops he had to deal with + zero run game/poor gameplan. most quarterbacks would look bad in the spot. look at brady/Baker in 2019 and how they bounce back last yr when the unit around them improved..hoping Ben and the offense can do something similar this yr.

Edited September 7, 2021 by August4th

[AFF]

I don’t think Ben is washed when he goes for 32/11 with the leagues worst running game and the most drops in the NFL.

Is he 2015 Ben?....Probably not but I don’t see why he couldn’t be effective with a decent running game and an offense that doesn’t continuously revolve around him.

[cjfollett]

First off, he will be 1st ballet HOFer without a doubt. His numbers are good, and he has been to three SBs, winning two of them. Ben has God-given talents that have enabled him to be among the best QBs in the NFL for a very long time.

That said, justified or not, he has a couple really bad allegations against him that has hurt his national standing. I cannot go to any story about him without negative comments about those allegations. It is what it is.

 

[mwalker]

Yea, I definitely think he only has himself to blame for the personal stuff, no doubt.

I'd argue he's not in the same category as T.Romo, M.Ryan, P.Rivers - his Super Bowls set him apart.


 

Edited September 7, 2021 by mwalker

[43M]

Not sure what you mean by him being put in the 2nd half of QBs, but Ive never seen him ranked that low.   He has been pretty consistently ranked in the top 10 by pretty much everyone over the years.

Ben has never been elite.   He just hasnt.  He has had elite stretches, but he never maintained a next level type of dominance we have seen from guys like Brady, Rodgers and Mahomes.   However, Ben has usually been ranked right outside of those guys fairly consistently.

And please dont use SBs to prop Ben up.   Sure, it will help him get in the HOF, but those were team victories.    Ben certainly had memorable individual moments in both runs, but he had elite defenses both times too.    Also, Ben has held us back NUMEROUS times in the playoffs with his erratic play over the years.

As far as this year...I don't know.  I blame the coaches for last year.   Ben was coming off major elbow surgery at 38 years old and had him throwing WAY too much and ZERO run game to support him.   As long as Ben can push the ball down field a bit and the running game can take some pressure off him, I think Ben can have a solid year.   Not necessarily a HUGE year, but effective.  Again though, we need help from the run game and WRs...oh, and hope our makeshift OLine doesn't get Ben killed.

Edited September 8, 2021 by 43M