What quarterback would you want in your huddle? Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Ben Roethlisberger is having a rough week in the news.  Well, granted he’s had rougher.  Earlier this week during the NFL Network’s annual “Top 100 players of 2013” list Ben ranked an abysmal 61 after his 30^th ranking the previous year.  Ben did miss some games this season due to his horrendous shoulder/clavicle/aorta threatening injury but he was having an MVP-caliber season prior to going down.  Ben is so often left out of the list of the top quarterbacks of his era due to having played alongside the likes of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.  It just seems like Ben can’t get no respect when it comes to being thought of as a great quarterback.  Not only that but his previous favorite target in Mike Wallace, now defected to take his talents to North Miami Beach (Dolphins stadium is nowhere near South Beach FYI), has just compared second year QB Ryan Tannehill to Roethlisberger.

Keep in mind; the active NFL players are the ones who vote for this list each year.  Now it’s important to mention that they voted eleven quarterbacks higher than Roethlisberger.  Really?  The list is not yet complete but by all intents and purposes it’s likely that Andrew Luck was voted higher than Roethlisberger.  I realize the Steelers went 8-8 last season, boy do I realize that.  But in 13 games Ben threw 26 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.  How does that translate to 11 quarterbacks better than that?  Ben Roethlisberger isn’t going to win you any fantasy football championships but the bottom line is the Steelers are Super Bowl contenders every season as long as they have him and that’s worth a lot more than 61 out of 100, in my opinion.

Mike Wallace was speaking to reporters in Miami on Tuesday in regards to how he’s getting along with his new quarterback, Ryan Tannehill.  Wallace will go from supposing to catch passes from a veteran Super Bowl champion quarterback, to a quarterback entering his sophomore season.  Wallace compared the fact that both Roethlisberger and Tannehill played receiver in college and hinted that that fact allows them to have better chemistry with receivers.  Wallace also added that he thinks Tannehill

“may be able to throw the ball a little farther than Ben.”  Added Wallace, “Obviously, Ben is more experienced in game-time experience.  The way it’s going, it won’t take long for Ryan to be one of the great quarterbacks.  I feel like we can make a lot of big plays.”

Wallace also said that he doesn’t think it will take him long to establish chemistry with his new quarterback.  I believe he also said it wouldn’t take him long to learn Todd Haley’s playbook after showing up at the end of training camp last season with a contract holdout and we all see how that worked out.  Wallace has 60 million reasons to hope that Tannehill is just as good as Ben but I seriously doubt that Tannehill ends up a better quarterback than Ben.  Obviously it won’t take long for the players to vote him higher than Ben anyway.

What are your thoughts, Steeler Nation?  Where would you have ranked Roethlisberger among the players and quarterbacks of last season?

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Steelers HOF’er Jack Butler poses with his bust at the enshrinement ceremony. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

What We Learned This Week in the NFL Offseason:

• Steelers HOF’er Jack Butler passes at 85
• Redskins owner says team will never change name
• Ryan Tannehill excited to play with Mike Wallace
• Titus Young can’t stop getting arrested

Steeler Nation had some sad news this weekend as word broke that newly enshrined Steelers HOF’er Jack Butler had passed away at the age of 85.  Butler’s son, Mike, was recently hired by the Steelers as a scout this past week.  Butler, a Pittsburgh native, had 52 career interceptions and owns the best interception percentage (50.5) of any player in the Hall of Fame.  The Steelers released statements on the passing of Jack Butler.  Here is Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney’s statement:

“Jack was a tremendous player who ranked among the best in league history with his 52 interceptions while only playing 12 games a year.  He was a versatile player who was also used as a wide receiver, but his career ended unfortunately too soon with a bad knee injury.  He was an excellent person both on and off the field, and he played an integral role in the BLESTO scouting program and our entire draft process before his retirement.  His family was very close to the entire Rooney family, and he will be missed.  Our condolences are with his family through this very tough time.”

The growing support over the sentiment that it’s finally time for the Washington Redskins to change their team’s name out of respect for its offense to Native Americans was squashed this week when owner Dan Snyder came out to say that the team would never consider a name change.  Recently debate over the name has increased as lawmakers who apparently had a free calendar or something decided to take on the debate of the use of Indian mascots by sports teams.  Seems as though the word “redskin” was “the equivalent of the n-word”.  Apparently that makes no difference to Snyder, feeling that the team’s traditions trumps whatever groups might be offended by the name.  Seems silly to hold onto a name so strongly in the same city where the basketball team changed their name to avoid the association with violence, but hey that’s just me.

Ryan Tannehill is apparently excited with his new offensive weapon in former Steelers WR Mike Wallace.  In other news, the sky is blue.  Seriously, it’s not difficult to assume that whatever quarterback landed Wallace on their team was going to be stoked about it.  The Dolphins made some big acquisitions this offseason as opposed to their usual tradition of whiffing on the big names available in the offseason like HC Jeff Fisher and QB Peyton Manning.  So Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland isn’t considered the biggest goat of this offseason.  Just remember, no one wins Super Bowls in the offseason though.

This story about former Lions WR Titus Young was just too ridiculous to ignore.  The free agent receiver as arrested for the third time in less than seven days late Friday in California.  Reports are the receiver was charged with burglary, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.  Last Saturday Young was arrested and charged with suspicion of driving under the influence and later that same day was arrested for attempting to steal his own car from an impound lot.  Last season for the Lions Young nabbed 33 catches for 383 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Seems as though he’s better at getting arrested than he is at being an NFL wide receiver.  No word yet on how many times in one week one has to be arrested before Roger Goodell takes notice.  I realize he’s a free agent, but why have a guy associated with the league that literally cannot stay out of jail?

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Who is the lesser of two quarterbacks for the Jets? Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

What We Learned in Week 4 in the NFL:

• Jets get blanked at home by 49ers
• The Dolphins still make Hootie cry
• Cam Newton fumbles win
• Green Bay gets screwed by refs twice in the same week while Saints remain winless
• Peyton Manning’s arm apparently isn’t a wet noodle

There’s nothing like an exciting slate of football game finishes to make up for lack of Steelers football on a Sunday.  As a fan of the NFL it sure was nice to watch games without the ridiculous officiating that had plagued the first three weeks of the season.  The real refs are back and it’s much better to scream at qualified guys rather than the foot locker employees. (more…)

Ben comes through bigtime for home opener win. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE

What We Learned in Wee 2 in the NFL:

• Replacement refs are getting better…at ruining our Sunday afternoons
• Rookie class of QB’s bounce back in Week 2
• Vick pulls out another game winning drive
• Greg Schiano brings bush-league to the NFL
• Steelers ground Jets in spite of horrible officiating

If the first Monday after Week 1 in the NFL is overreacting Monday, than the second Monday should be known as back to reality Monday.  Who had the Arizona Cardinals at 2-0 and the Saints at 0-2?  Fans finally get to see if their team’s week 1 win or loss was a fluke, or a sign of how the season might go.  For a lot of teams, it’s the first chance to iron out the kinks that might have held them back from starting their season with a victory.  Except for maybe Cowboys fans, it’s less likely to overreact after the Week 2 games than after Week 1. (more…)