5 Reasons Why Ben Roethlisberger Is A Legitimate MVP Candidate
By Daniel
David Manning-USA TODAY Sports
5. He Has Less Weapons Than Other Top Quarterbacks
Roethlisberger is elevating the play of his teammates. He is making his pass catchers look like an elite bunch, despite the fact that he has less talent on the outside compared to the other top quarterbacks. To demonstrate this, lets take a look at the weapons of the other MVP candidate quarterbacks around the league. Hint: All other quarterbacks have at least two great (and proven) pass catchers to throw the ball to.
Peyton Manning has Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, and Wes Welker at wide receiver and Julius Thomas at tight end to throw the ball to. That is an insane amount of talent on the outside at his disposal.
Aaron Rodgers has the dynamic combination of Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb to throw to at wide receiver. As well as emerging rookie wide receiver Devante Adams and second-year running back Eddie Lacy. A respectable amount of talent indeed.
Andrew Luck has T.Y. Hilton and Reggie Wayne to throw to at wide receiver. He also has two great tight ends in Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener to throw to as well. No shortage of talent there for Mr. Luck.
Tom Brady has Rob Gronkowski at tight end and Julian Edelman at wide receiver to throw to. He also has Brandon LaFell who is another quality receiver that’s putting together a nice year so far. Brady doesn’t have as much as Manning has, but he still more than Roethlisberger.
Ben Roethlisberger has Antonio Brown at wide receiver to throw to. He is the only truly dynamic wide receiver on this team, albeit incredibly dynamic. After that Big Ben has only Heath Miller at tight end, an average pass catching tight end, and Markus Wheaton a young wide receiver that has shown some ability this year. Le’Veon Bell is a good pass catching running back, but is only a running back.
Not to mention, the Steelers’ starting running back Bell has ran for only one touchdown this season. Not exactly the scoring support most quarterbacks hope for on the ground. Despite having less elite talent on offense, specifically at the wide receiver position, Roethlisberger is putting up great passing statistics and has been the best in the whole league in recent weeks.
Next: Look at the numbers