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  • August 26, 2008 05:37 PM ET

Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers will have a better year statistically(all QB stats combined) than Drew Brees of the Saints.

Cassidy's House: Priceless (135-87-9) vs EFB BRADY F'ING QUINN!! (188-49-15)
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Best predictor of future behavior? Recent history! Lets take a look at the 2007 season's of Ben and Drew:

Ben

Average yards per pass 7.8
Touchdowns 32
Interceptions 11
QB Rating 104.1

Drew

Average yards per pass 6.8
Touchdowns 28
Interceptions 18
QB Rating 89.4

Consider this: The Steelers are in a somewhat iffy RB situation with not knowing how Willie Parker is going to perform coming off a broken leg and no way can you count on a rookie Rashard Mendenhall to just pick up the slack from last year without any rushing dropoff. That being said, Ben is going to pass a lot more than he did last year. He probably will have more touchdowns and his average pass attempt will be higher given more 3rd down and longs.

The Steelers lost Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca so there goes another key piece to the running game. The Steelers have the toughest schedule in the NFL this year, another reason why they will need to rack up the points thru the air to pad Big Ben's stats.

All I can tell you about Brees is I expect what I got from him last year: ok stats versus a weak division with one hand tied behind his back at running back and a D that couldnt get off the field.


You have some good points but I believe they work against you as well.

Lets look at the first point

The Steelers are a run first team, always have been and I dont see that changing just yet. They go with the theory of 3 yards in a cloud of dust. Look for Willie to get 300 carries and Mendenhall getting 100. They will not change their ways ANY time soon.

Ben Roethlisberger got sacked 47 times last year... 46 the previous year. Losing one of the leagues best LTs is probably the worst possible thing that could happen to him. Look for a combined 6 or 7 more sacks from the blind side.

I dont really think playing the leagues toughest schedule is an advantage. They are now going up against some of the top tier secondaries in the league and the entire NFC West has great pass rushing.

Now, please dont get me wrong Bens a great QB but Brees will have 200 more attempts. Hard NOT to have the better stats with SO MANY more attempts. Ben just had a CAREER year. Who knows if he repeats? Besides last year, NEVER had 20 touchdowns in 4 seasons.

Brees had 44 hundred yards last year. He has a career full of great passing stats. Brees is certainly more proven and will get more yards


Big Ben was sacked 47 times last yr compared to Brees 16.

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=0&statisticCategory=PASSING&confe rence=null&season=2007&seasonType=REG&d-447263-s=PASSING_YARDS&d-447263-o=2&d-44 7263-n=1

So in spite of almost triple the amount of times getting sacked, Ben had a better year than Brees.

The Steelers cant be a run first team this year: they r not playing a low scoring schedule like they r used to. They have to play:

The high-scoring Browns(2)
The high-scoring Bengals(2)
@Philly
@Jax
Giants
@Skins
Colts
Chargers
@Pats
Boys
@Titans

That schedule is ridiculous! Pitt needs to b a points machine to beat most of those teams this yr. The Steelers DONT SCORE RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS. Willie Parker only had 2 last yr & he was healthy. Now he has a healed bone that had been broken. Maybe they wont even rush the ball on the goal line this yr=more passing TDs for Ben.

The Steelers will improvise their passing game to compensate for the loss of Faneca, going with shorter timing routes to prevent yard-sucking sacks.

The Steelers play NFC East not West this year.

Brees almost had 200 more attempts last year(440-264) but Ben better.


Heres the thing that happened last year.

Parker would rush into the red zone and Big Ben would throw for a 15 yard strike or so. But if there is no rush game to get him down there do you really think Ben will hit 30 or 25 touchdowns for that matter?

Heres the thing, all of what Ben will do this year is assumptions. Since ben has NEVER been one to compile long drives himself OR throw more than 500 times what makes you think he will this year? I mean he has a POSSIBILITY but hes NEVER done it before.

Big Ben has SO many question marks around him

1. offensive line
2. Ward's health (been steadily decreasing)
3. running game
4. strength of schedule
5. playcalling

What questions surround Brees? Hes an incredibly safe and sound pick. He has thrown for 44 hundred yards BACK TO BACK years.

Lets be real, Brees AFTER the first 4 games last year had

27 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in the last 12 games. He started off terribly but came back incredibly strong. Look for him to stay strong all year and have a serious shot at 48 hundred yards. 30 touchdowns.

Ben is coming off a career year... lets see if he CAN repeat that before he is put over a 20 K yard passer.


Parker would rush into the endzone? Which of the 2 times all season r u referring to, because the 32 other times the Steelers scored TDs was due to Ben's arm.

Like I said in my 2nd argument, the Steelers will improvise their passing game so its not going to b the same as we saw last year. The Steelers cant afford to run on 1st and 2nd down since they will be trying to catch up in the scoring to all these outstanding teams on their schedule.

Big Ben is more than capable of carrying a team on his back. He went
14-1 as a rookie starter leading his team to AFC Championship, only to turn around the next yr winning 3 road playoff games and a Super Bowl. Dont question the capabilities of Big Ben. He has proven to be rock solid from year one, with the exception of the year following his motorcycle accident(2 years ago).

Lets look at the ? marks surrounding Drew Brees:

1) No stable running game.
2) Only 1 proven WR.
3) Horrific D that doesnt keep Drew on the field enough.

The Steelers D was #1 in fewest yards allowed last year meaning Ben is on the field the most often of any other QB. Brees? His D is 26th best. Scary how much that costs Brees statistically.


To be honest, I dont think anything you listed is an actual question about Brees.

1. DId he have one last year? Deuce went out and for some games Stecker was getting bulk carries. Still managed a great season. NOT A QUESTION.

2. How many do the Steelers have? One. Lets not forget Holmes has YET to reach 1,000 yards. Plus Shockey is a proven TE so does that count... or no? Plus, the Steelers one proven WR is leaving his prime. At least Brees' is JUST entering it.

3. I honestly do not think that is possible. Horrible Ds do not keep teams on the field very long. They give up long plays that get the offense off the field quicker. The real long Ds are the unlucky ones he stop someone for some plays but give up fluke 3rd down conversions. I will take Brees' D being bad, its always been bad and hes always produced.

Ben is in a WHOLE NEW situation. He has never had these kind of question marks around him and who knows how he produces? Brees had a terrible D last year with only one proven WR and he managed to be great.

Brees will lead the league in
completions
attemps

he has a good chance of leading in
yards
completeion pct

sounds PRETTY good stat wise.

Comments (117) Add A Comment

August 26, 2008  05:38 PM ET
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Good luck EFB.

For all those who doubt my citation of the Steelers having the toughest schedule in the NFL:

http://www.theredzone.org/strength.asp

August 26, 2008  05:48 PM ET
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Good luck to you too Cass

August 26, 2008  05:49 PM ET
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Forgot to mention, Brees was sacked 18 times last year.

August 26, 2008  05:50 PM ET
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Also where I said NFC West I meant East, my bad.

August 26, 2008  05:55 PM ET
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Now that Shockey is in the big easy I dunno bout that

August 26, 2008  05:55 PM ET
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This will be good. Good luck to both of you.

August 26, 2008  05:55 PM ET
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This will be good. Good luck to both of you.

August 26, 2008  05:56 PM ET
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Oh, good.... My head is spinning..!! And don't ask me to calm down EFB-WU TANG CLAN. And you don't know how hard your name is to type!!

August 26, 2008  05:56 PM ET
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I think it will be so good I had to post twice.

August 26, 2008  05:56 PM ET
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In the history of the NFL, has there EVER been a case where a decling run game and a tougher schedule lead to QB improvement?

August 26, 2008  05:57 PM ET
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Pitt has a tougher schedule

But

<------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------

So far

August 26, 2008  05:58 PM ET
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Shockey changes SOO many things for that offense, in a good way

August 26, 2008  05:59 PM ET
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So far left

August 26, 2008  05:59 PM ET
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Dang guys, I have so much more to say on this if you wanna vote now no ones stopping you but I have some good arguments for Brees.

August 26, 2008  06:13 PM ET
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"Brees is certainly more proven and will get more yards"

How is Brees more proven? By being around longer? At the same stage of his career, Ben Blows away Brees at the beginning of year 5.

August 26, 2008  06:17 PM ET
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Except for the fact that Brees was on those crappy Charger teams with no recievers...everyone forgets they weren't great when he first got there....while the steelers had a real good team

August 26, 2008  06:20 PM ET
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I guess I have to automatically vote right. The running game will not suffer and Mendenhall will go to the fantasy hall of fame. He'll be a beast. This has nothing to do with the fact that I panicked and took him too early in my fantasy draft last night.

August 26, 2008  06:20 PM ET
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For the first time in Ben's career, hes gonna have to compete with a team in which HE will have to be the man on the team. He will need to make the plays and he will need to hurry in the backfield.

Brees is just a more stat involved QB. Both great but Ben will lose in over 1,000 yards and most likely loses in touchdowns since he has no one to rush him into the red zone.

August 26, 2008  06:22 PM ET
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My last argument will deal with stats lead by a QB which I believe plays a big part of who had a better year.

 
August 26, 2008  06:25 PM ET
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The Steelers are playing the Giants at home? I may have to travel to Pitt for that win.

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