So basically, he has been one win better per season than Korell Stewart, Tommy Maddox, Neil O'donnell and Mike Tomzcak.
The difference being that none of those players could bring a championship home, and only one of them even made it to a super bowl. He's made it to three.
Having more team success than Kordell Stewart and Neil O'Donnell does not automatically make you elite.
And considering how poorly he played in his first Super Bowl in particular, I would not say that Ben brought a championship home. They won that game in spite of him.
I am not arguing that he isn't very good; he is. He's just not elite or in the top tier of NFL QBs. Never has been.
I suppose that it depends on your definition of elite. In my opinion, there are only two QB's that are better than him that are currently playing in the league. Tom Brady and Aaron Rogers.
Furthermore, the same argument could have been made about Elway in the latter part of his career in regards to needing a good/great running game to win. I don't think that anyone in their right mind would claim that he wasn't an elite QB. Montana always had a good run game. The list could go on and on. In fact, the only great QB that comes to mind that didn't have the benefit of a great run game was Marino, and he could never win a championship.
That's madness. The consensus best four QBs for years were Peyton, Brady, Rodgers and Brees. Peyton is now retired, and Ben has done nothing to do show that he is as good or better than Brees (who doesn't win as much because his D almost always stinks, but he is still better). Plus, Ben was passed by Russell Wilson years ago, and a case can be made that Matt Ryan has passed him now, although I get that we usually like to see more than one great season out of QB before we call him elite. Of course, when is the last time Ben had a season we would call great? 2014. And before that? Maybe 2009? So a QB who has been elite in one of his last seven seasons is elite in general? Nope.
Furthermore, the same argument could have been made about Elway in the latter part of his career in regards to needing a good/great running game to win. I don't think that anyone in their right mind would claim that he wasn't an elite QB. Montana always had a good run game. The list could go on and on. In fact, the only great QB that comes to mind that didn't have the benefit of a great run game was Marino, and he could never win a championship.
Elway was such a one-man wrecking crew in the AFC that he actually won the MVP in 1987 and made the All-Pro Team thrice. Ben has never made any All-Pro Team, and while I think Pro Bowl nominations are often pretty skewed, consider that this supposed elite QB that is Ben Roethlisberger has only made it five times in 12 seasons. Seems to me that if he were truly elite, he'd be in there almost every year.
Officiating seemed pretty terrible in the Lions/Seahawks game, but Detroit probably didn't play well enough to win regardless. It's a shame Stafford messed up his finger.
Agreed.
Stafford wasn't the same since he hurt his finger.
As for the officiating, it was the usual Seattle home-cooking stuff, but I don't think it would have mattered (not that that excuses it). I was actually okay with them not calling a block in the back on Wilson on Rawls' long run since the Lions defender turned at the last second when Wilson went to block him. It's like when you go to a hit a player, who then steps out of bounds, contact is made after he's out of bounds because your momentum was already going, and the officials throw a flag. I hate that. Common sense should be used sometimes.