#TBT - Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers, Age 32
-Jagibbs23 September 24
My Throwback Thursday goes to Ben Roethlisberger this week. He's now in his 12th season in the NFL, but doesn't appear to be anywhere near a drop-off in skill level. If anything, Roethlisberger is getting better with time. We're going to examine why Roethlisberger is in for his best season yet at the ripe old age of 32.
Roethlisberger's last two seasons have been two of the best of his career, including career highs in completion percentage, yards, and TDs in 2014. He quietly led the NFL in yards last year, and was allowed to chuck the ball a career high 38 times per game. Roethlisberger's recent success has been in part due to his improved skill and improved decision making, as evidenced by his 1.87% interception percentage since 2012. In the eight seasons prior, his INT% was 3.01%. What has really aided his boost in production is the development of this Pittsburgh offense. The Steelers have transformed from an elite defensive team with a capable offense to a poor defensive team with a premier offense. I think this is the most dangerous offense in the league, and is a big reason for Roethlisberger's recent success.
The Steelers offense is built perfectly for Roethlisberger to put up huge numbers. He has an elite number one WR at the peak of his career who is practically uncoverable, and can beat defenses in a variety of different ways. Antonio can take the top off of defenses, he can beat them over the middle, and the Steelers use him in the screen game as well. When Big Ben needs to get a big third down conversion, he knows he can depend on Antonio to haul in just about anything he throws his way. Roethlisberger also has Le'Veon Bell, who is the most QB complimentary RB in the game. You think it's Forte because he broke the RB reception record? Bell had more yards on 19 less catches, had a higher catch rate, and ranked as FootballOutsiders as the number one pass catching RB in terms of DVOA and it wasn't very close. Bell is also a terrific pass blocker, as ProFootballFocus' Pass Blocking Efficiency gave him a 98.2 out of 100 rating, good for third in the league. Bell's rushing ability also helps Roethlisberger, as defenses can't focus on the pass, as Bell is one of the best RB in the game.
Everyone knows about Antonio and Le'Veon, but what really transformed this offense from an elite offense to the best offense was the emergence of Martavis Bryant last season. Prior to Bryant's first game, Roethlisberge averaged 265.5 yards and 1.33 TD per game. Once Bryant was added to the picture, Big Ben put up 336 yards and 2.27 TD per game. Bryant scored on over 30% of his catches last year, and had a ridiculous yards per target of 11.4, good for second in the NFL. His ridiculous big-play ability and ability to stretch the field added a dimension that this offense hadn't seen before, and opened things up over the middle for Big Ben's reliable options such as Brown, Le'Veon, Heath Miller, and Markus Wheaton.
The Steelers return all of their top weapons from last year, and they also added capable backup RB De'Angelo Williams. Roethlisberger has been solid through two weeks, but with Le'Veon bell returning from suspension this week and Martavis Bryant slated to be back in two weeks, this might be your last chance to get Big Ben at any sort of a discount, because once he has a full arsenal at his disposal, expect top 3 QB numbers the rest of the season.
Roethlisberger's last two seasons have been two of the best of his career, including career highs in completion percentage, yards, and TDs in 2014. He quietly led the NFL in yards last year, and was allowed to chuck the ball a career high 38 times per game. Roethlisberger's recent success has been in part due to his improved skill and improved decision making, as evidenced by his 1.87% interception percentage since 2012. In the eight seasons prior, his INT% was 3.01%. What has really aided his boost in production is the development of this Pittsburgh offense. The Steelers have transformed from an elite defensive team with a capable offense to a poor defensive team with a premier offense. I think this is the most dangerous offense in the league, and is a big reason for Roethlisberger's recent success.
The Steelers offense is built perfectly for Roethlisberger to put up huge numbers. He has an elite number one WR at the peak of his career who is practically uncoverable, and can beat defenses in a variety of different ways. Antonio can take the top off of defenses, he can beat them over the middle, and the Steelers use him in the screen game as well. When Big Ben needs to get a big third down conversion, he knows he can depend on Antonio to haul in just about anything he throws his way. Roethlisberger also has Le'Veon Bell, who is the most QB complimentary RB in the game. You think it's Forte because he broke the RB reception record? Bell had more yards on 19 less catches, had a higher catch rate, and ranked as FootballOutsiders as the number one pass catching RB in terms of DVOA and it wasn't very close. Bell is also a terrific pass blocker, as ProFootballFocus' Pass Blocking Efficiency gave him a 98.2 out of 100 rating, good for third in the league. Bell's rushing ability also helps Roethlisberger, as defenses can't focus on the pass, as Bell is one of the best RB in the game.
Everyone knows about Antonio and Le'Veon, but what really transformed this offense from an elite offense to the best offense was the emergence of Martavis Bryant last season. Prior to Bryant's first game, Roethlisberge averaged 265.5 yards and 1.33 TD per game. Once Bryant was added to the picture, Big Ben put up 336 yards and 2.27 TD per game. Bryant scored on over 30% of his catches last year, and had a ridiculous yards per target of 11.4, good for second in the NFL. His ridiculous big-play ability and ability to stretch the field added a dimension that this offense hadn't seen before, and opened things up over the middle for Big Ben's reliable options such as Brown, Le'Veon, Heath Miller, and Markus Wheaton.
The Steelers return all of their top weapons from last year, and they also added capable backup RB De'Angelo Williams. Roethlisberger has been solid through two weeks, but with Le'Veon bell returning from suspension this week and Martavis Bryant slated to be back in two weeks, this might be your last chance to get Big Ben at any sort of a discount, because once he has a full arsenal at his disposal, expect top 3 QB numbers the rest of the season.