Ben's MENTAL vs. PHYSICAL attributes

Ben can do some things PHYSICALLY that will make you say "WOW!" on occasion, but I think the problem with Ben seems to be his MENTAL preparation and his overall command on the field. When I compare Ben to QBs like Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees, he just doesn't seem to have the command of his offense or the knowledge of the defense that these guys do. They seem to know exactly what the situation calls for based on the defense that's been called. Their decisions seem to be crisp and quick and with Ben his reads do seem to be slow, he runs around frenetically and at times makes a big play, but almost always after the initial play call has broken down. Ben has made a living doing this but as he ages decisiveness and execution will be more and more important. Ben's PHYSICAL exploits cannot be questioned but his MENTAL preparation and situational command leave a lot to be desired.

 

I couldn't agree more. His reads are slow and that not only hurts him but it hurts the team. He needs to focus more on the mental aspect of the game, but lets face it, he's not going to change his style and Tomlin won't force him to change either. Ben has done better at times this year, but as the season has gone on, he seems to be regressing again. He needs to spend more time in the film room.

 

And another stupid thread......

 

Instead of making a snide remark about the thread why don't you attempt to tell me what you find "stupid" about the thread. I find your comment to be pretty stupid! When you break into a post to make a comment why don't you at least try to rationalize what you're saying and why you think this thread is "stupid". Do you know any other words besides stupid and are you able to put a few other words together in an intelligent manner in order to make your point?

 

Dude how is this a stupid thread? I think these are very legit points. If you are gonna call someone's opinion "stupid" then state what is "stupid" about it. Do YOU think Ben is a cerebral type qb? Do YOU think Ben is a guy that can break down defenses in his sleep? Do YOU think Ben spends as much time in the film room and in preparation as Brady or do you think he depends more on his PHYSICALITY to make plays? Do YOU think that as he ages that he's STILL gonna be able to run for his life and make crazy circus plays without getting killed by linebackers? You DO know that Ben's mental committment has been questioned before right? When BA was asked about it he said that he didn't discourage Ben's style of play because he was afraid he would "ruin" him. Look at how many picks Luck is throwing under BA. Ben is NOT well coached and I HONESTLY believe that. He could be UNSTOPPABLE if he would learn the ins and outs of his position and ADD that to his INCREDIBLE physical gifts.

 

Ben is tough but not so bright, he makes bone head plays that make you wonder what the hell is going on between those two ears. He has a look on his face during the game, around the Third quate,r that makes me nervous but thats our guy nd I will stick with him.

 

I had a little to much to drink. I'm really not focused on what you guys are trying to say. But, to start questioning BEN'S play of the game and speculate he doesn't watch films and thinking he's slow at reading other teams defense to me is crap. Injuries after injuries to this team is pathetic, our OL hasn't been healthy all year, our running backs are rotating like a merry-go-round like my head right now and our WR's have been playing soft and dropping routine catches all year. Brady,Brees and Manning would start *****ing too if they were in that situation, Manning onetime was blaming his FG kicker on why he was struggling... Ben threw a horrible int but there is no need to throw him to the lions for god sakes.... Im still not worried I like when the Steelers are underdogs and pissed on, they play better.... watch super bowl you guys Ben and Co will arrive and then i want to read your posts

 

But curtain you gotta admit he does things that make you wonder what the hell was he thinking about. I love Ben but man, sometimes I think the doctors put the pain releiver needle in his head instead of his shoulder. Hope I made you laugh.
-slick

 

Ok so you are saying that THIS team is going to the Super Bowl? You HONESTLY believe that? Yes the o line sucked in the clutch today. Yes they drop routine catches. But this doesn NOT excuse the fact that Ben prides himself in playing schoolyard football. We are saying that if he would add some knowledge to his zeal then MAYBE we wouldn't have to have these conversations.

 

I understand we are all disappointed but I think you are pinging this one on the wrong guy. Ben was doing just great before he got hurt on that game against Kansas. The guy kept his recovery time to only 3 weeks in front such a bad lesion. Yes he is having trouble, but what did you expect? Look at his numbers before the lesion. Even so, he was not the problem... He didn't fumble a ball in the return that could have given the Steelers the W, nor he dropped perfectly catchable balls by Wallace and company or failed to put pressure on Romo most of the night.

 

I thought the original poster of this thread made an interesting point, and I'm the biggest Big Ben fan their is. I mean at least put up valid/semi educated argument as to what makes this thread so stupid because simply calling it stupid ...is stupid

 

This team is good enough to beat any team in the NFL. I believe the Steelers are beating the Steelers at the moment. I'm still very optimistic they will beat the Bangles next week and the playoffs are a new season and if the Steelers get a little more healthy they will be dangerous...

 

Well this is basically the same exact pick that cost us the game in Denver this year. I think this thread is a culmination of things that have been brewing over the years. At least for me it has been. Ben has even publicly stated that he's not a classroom kinda guy. He said in '10 when he was suspended that he was gonna use that time to get better in the filmroom because that wasn't something that he usually does. This criticism is based in fact.

 

Not really

 

But beating Cincy next week isn't enough to get us in the playoffs. Also if Ben wants this team on his back then he needs to be ready for every situation that's gonna come. The filmroom is really where this stuff happens. Look at Ed Reed. They say that he obsessively watches film. Does it pay off? Look at Peyton. He's a legendary film study guy. I don't think it's unfair for us to say this about Ben. But not only should BEN study more but ALL the guys look pretty dumb out there sometimes.

 

It is also a well documented fact that he does in fact have problems reading defenses at times. There are plenty of video clips from the Cowher years were he is asked on the sideline what coverage did he see and they correct him. SO it is a very valid discussion point that he is not a cerebral type QB. He doesn't work at the craft like Brees, Manning and Rodgers do. I would add Brady but in my opinion he gets force fed his film study by his obsessive compulsive coach.

 

Don't misunderstand me, I agree, Ben does makes mistakes and his main problem is that he tends to be reckless. The guy has ADD for sure LOL. Starting with his bad decisions in his private life ending with his lack of desire to be a "classroom guy". Yet, you cannot say it was all on him. He made a critical mistake at the end, but IF the other pieces in the team didn't made the mistakes they made earlier, the Steelers could have gone all the way with a 10 - 14 lead and no OT.

If you remember Bradshaw wasn't also a very methodical guy, and he made some ugly blunders. But he had a team that responded most of the time when he made a bad call.

 

Curtain, when I responded to your post I somehow missed the post where you said that you had a little to much to drink ...then posted an actual rebuttal. My bad.

 

I don't get where people think that I am pinning this on Ben or throwing him under the bus. I'm not. I'm simply making the point that he doesn't seem to have the same field command that many of the better QBs in the league have. He does it through sheer physical determination and will, which is admirable, but physical exploits alone will not allow Ben to become all he can be as a QB unless he focuses more on the cerebral part of the game. Dumb interceptions at critical times is just a symptom of what I'm talking about.

 

Manning, Brees, Rogers and Brady get to run alot their own offense which is given to them by the organization, the hurry up i see happening with these qb's all the time and even when they are leading in a blowout. The Steelers organization have the respect rule and play conservative at all times.

 

I think you make a good point. I'm not sure Tomlin DEMANDS that his players emphasize the intellectual part of the game, but that's a whole different topic.

 

So are you saying that the Steelers let teams hang around because it would be disrespectful to bury them and keep them in the grave and that's why Ben doesn't have as much free reign because the Steelers wanna play conservative to avoid embarrassing their competition? I'm sorry if I'm misunderstanding you but that was the way I sorta took what you said.

 

Not sure about that one. Manning definitely because he makes it work. Rodgers and Brees work in conjunction with their head coaches, although this year you can see the effect of not having Sean Peyton there has caused. I still think that Brady gets force fed alot of his plays and has BB going over every little nuance he can for a game. I still think his has rooms and rooms full of tapes on other teams signals and walk-throughs that he never gave to the NFL. But that is not really the point you are trying to make. Yeah they could just let Ben sling it around but they tried that for all of Tomlin's tenure til now and it is a mixed bag of results. At this point I would rather Ben learns the mental aspect better because his physical skills will begin to fail him soon just because of the punishment he has taken in his career.

 

Maybe you are right. I put too much emphasis on saying that this L shouldn't be on Ben. Even so, I think that his coaches should have the vision to help him mature as a QB. I think Cowher was doing it, but I don't think Tomlin has the vision nor the discipline to help Ben get there

 

Often times certain post get far to much over analyzation and before you know it, some folks are implying that you said or meant this or that (so to speak)

When I first read your post, I was actually imagining Bens play throughout the last few years, and although its been great, sheer willpower alone isn't always enough. I don't know if your right or not, but you sure did give me something to think about.