I think a lot of the criticism aimed at Roethlisberger is because people think he's a dick. His footballing ability stands up to any level of scrutiny.
Defining "the best" is tricky, and this is going to be a ramble more than a precise criterion. I mean, Brady has more rings than Elway, but does anyone think he was a better passer? Marino never won the big one. It can be frustrating talking about intangibles as they are by their very nature unquantifiable, but sometimes you look past the stats and the rings when judging a player.
In terms of the quarterbacks active right now, Brady and Manning have been doing it for years. Personally, I believe Manning is technically a better quarterback than Brady, but Brady is a greater player. By that I'm talking about Brady's ability to get it done. He's probably past his best now, and perhaps his Patriots teams have let opportunities slide that would have cemented him as the greatest quarterback of all time, but he is an archetype for what you want as a professional footballer. Manning has always had this label of sitting in it on the big stage, which goes back to his time with Tennessee (the big losses to Florida and the beasting they took off Nebraska in the Orange Bowl when the national title was up for grabs), and you look at the Colts regular season record under him and then their post-season record and I don't think it's unreasonable to have expected more from them under Manning (although, perhaps their current form without him suggests that he WAS working miracles? Hard to say).
I think Roethlisberger sits just below those two in the hierarchy. I like stats, but I prefer players who turn stats into rings, and Roethlisberger has done that. Similarly, I enjoy laughing at Tony Romo because his stats are often outrageous (third highest regular season career passer rating), but you KNOW he's going to lay a fucking egg at some point (look at his post-season passer rating...). You just know it. Roethlisberger has got his rings and still has a great team and loads of time. As I alluded to at the top, the only thing that can tarnish Roethlisberger's legacy is Roethlisberger himself and his sticky fingers.
You mentioned Aaron Rodgers. I think he's a ridiculously good player, and I believe he is better than Brady, Manning or Roethlisberger. He's only in his fourth year as a starter though, so he has to maintain it. But last year he was less than 80 yards away from going over 4000, which would have been three out of three 4000 yard seasons as a pro starter. And this season he's taking the fucking piss. He's throwing at a rating of over 130 with 73% completion, he has already matched his TD total from two of his three previous years, and only has 3 picks. I don't ever remember a quarterback starting this well. Of course, it could all go to shit in the second half (and obviously in Wisconsin it will get progressively harder to rack up those numbers late in the season due to the weather), but right now he is spectacular. When it's all said and done, I think he could be the best there has ever been.
So, my heart says Rodgers is the best right now, but my head keeps him out of the top tier for now as he's only just getting started. If the Packers repeat though... (and this Packers team is good, but not great - on defense they have some issues. Rodgers is driving this whole team along in remarkable fashion).
But yeah, Rodgers aside, only Manning and Brady can be spoken of above Roethlisberger, and he'll probably be spoken about on the same level as them by the time he's done.
Defining "the best" is tricky, and this is going to be a ramble more than a precise criterion. I mean, Brady has more rings than Elway, but does anyone think he was a better passer? Marino never won the big one. It can be frustrating talking about intangibles as they are by their very nature unquantifiable, but sometimes you look past the stats and the rings when judging a player.
In terms of the quarterbacks active right now, Brady and Manning have been doing it for years. Personally, I believe Manning is technically a better quarterback than Brady, but Brady is a greater player. By that I'm talking about Brady's ability to get it done. He's probably past his best now, and perhaps his Patriots teams have let opportunities slide that would have cemented him as the greatest quarterback of all time, but he is an archetype for what you want as a professional footballer. Manning has always had this label of sitting in it on the big stage, which goes back to his time with Tennessee (the big losses to Florida and the beasting they took off Nebraska in the Orange Bowl when the national title was up for grabs), and you look at the Colts regular season record under him and then their post-season record and I don't think it's unreasonable to have expected more from them under Manning (although, perhaps their current form without him suggests that he WAS working miracles? Hard to say).
I think Roethlisberger sits just below those two in the hierarchy. I like stats, but I prefer players who turn stats into rings, and Roethlisberger has done that. Similarly, I enjoy laughing at Tony Romo because his stats are often outrageous (third highest regular season career passer rating), but you KNOW he's going to lay a fucking egg at some point (look at his post-season passer rating...). You just know it. Roethlisberger has got his rings and still has a great team and loads of time. As I alluded to at the top, the only thing that can tarnish Roethlisberger's legacy is Roethlisberger himself and his sticky fingers.
You mentioned Aaron Rodgers. I think he's a ridiculously good player, and I believe he is better than Brady, Manning or Roethlisberger. He's only in his fourth year as a starter though, so he has to maintain it. But last year he was less than 80 yards away from going over 4000, which would have been three out of three 4000 yard seasons as a pro starter. And this season he's taking the fucking piss. He's throwing at a rating of over 130 with 73% completion, he has already matched his TD total from two of his three previous years, and only has 3 picks. I don't ever remember a quarterback starting this well. Of course, it could all go to shit in the second half (and obviously in Wisconsin it will get progressively harder to rack up those numbers late in the season due to the weather), but right now he is spectacular. When it's all said and done, I think he could be the best there has ever been.
So, my heart says Rodgers is the best right now, but my head keeps him out of the top tier for now as he's only just getting started. If the Packers repeat though... (and this Packers team is good, but not great - on defense they have some issues. Rodgers is driving this whole team along in remarkable fashion).
But yeah, Rodgers aside, only Manning and Brady can be spoken of above Roethlisberger, and he'll probably be spoken about on the same level as them by the time he's done.
