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About an hour ago
Former NFL executive Gil Brandt posted a poll on Twitter: Who is the NFL MVP?
Voting for Ben Roethlisberger (four interceptions, no loss) was not an option. Kyler Murray (eight interceptions, three losses) was. Russell Wilson (10 interceptions, three losses) was. Rudy Giuliani has to get to the bottom of this.
Former NFL quarterback (sort of) NBC Sports’ Chris Simms listed his top 10 NFL QBs.
Roethlisberger was not one of them. Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Ryan Tannehill and DeShaun Watson were. Roethlisberger has beaten all four this season.
The Steelers were 8-8 without Roethlisberger last season. Roethlisberger is back after extensive elbow surgery and the Steelers are 9-0.
Still, Alex Smith is everyone’s favorite for Comeback Player of the Year. Smith started the year as an alternate QB on a poor Washington team. He played three games, started one, lost that game and threw one touchdown and three interceptions. Roethlisberger threw 22 touchdowns against the aforementioned four picks, and his team are doing a little better.
But ESPN made a documentary on Smith’s 17 leg surgeries that was both graphic and well-received. Kudos to Smith for his persistence, but doesn’t the quality of the performance matter?
Maybe Roethlisberger’s surgery isn’t a problem. It is only the arm with which he throws.
When Chase Claypool was dropped from ESPN’s top 10 rookie list despite leading all freshmen with nine touchdowns, Andrew Erickson of the Pro Football Focus website blamed Roethlisberger’s inability to throw Claypool the ball. deep.
Sam Monson of that same website led the narrative that Roethlisberger is preventing the Steelers from being truly an elite. Sensational.
Roethlisberger should not be a lock for MVP. This is obvious. Kansas City is 8-1 and Patrick Mahomes has insane stats, including 25 touchdowns versus an interception. It is the big favorite. Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay is hiding not far behind.
But Roethlisberger should be a solid No.3 in this race. His valor was embellished in his absence last season.
But disrespect for Roethlisberger has long been rampant in the national media. This is only the last.
The worst part was when Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell injured the Steelers more than they helped. This is confirmed this year. When they left, former media players accused Roethlisberger of this dysfunction. This has been proven wrong at all the sites involved: Pittsburgh, Oakland, Foxborough and New York so far. Next: Tampa and Kansas City.
Roethlisberger pretends not to care. But he does. He sees and hears everything, or is informed of it.
The root of the vendetta could be the incidents that led him to suspend four games in 2010. Roethlisberger was only guilty of poor judgment. Charges were never laid. But there is residue, but wrongly. (The Steelers didn’t help by supporting the NFL. The Pittsburgh media isn’t helping either. They aren’t rallying around Roethlisberger like you might think.)
Those who lashed out at Roethlisberger after his return from surgery were deeply disappointed. They hoped Roethlisberger wouldn’t play well. Now that he is, they claim he is not.
It is beyond the absurd. How to minimize 9-0?
Roethlisberger’s best revenge would be to keep winning.
Roethlisberger enters the Professional Football Hall of Fame no matter what. His accomplishments will be too overwhelming. Another Super Bowl certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Simms also left Tom Brady from his Top 10 list, BTW. Simms played five seasons in the NFL, started only 16 games, and won only seven. I’m just saying.
Categories:
Mark Madden Columns | Sports | Steelers / NFL
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