Steelers Top-10 Qb's of All-Time

I don't know about that.

RB's:
1.) Franco Harris
2.) Jerome Bettis
3.) John Henry Johnson
4.) Rocky Bleier
5) Barry Foster
6.) Willie Parker
7.) Rashard Mendenhall
8.) Frank Pollard
9.) Dick Hoak
10.) Merril Hoge (only because he was white and ran with his shirt tucked out)

 

WR's:

1.) Hines Ward (only because he does, indeed, own every Steelers receiving record)
2.) Lynn Swann
3.) John Stallworth
4.) Louis Lipps
5.) Elbie Nickel
6.) Roy Jefferson
7.) Plaxico Burress
8.) Santonio Holmes
9.) Yancey Thigpen
10.) Buddy Dial

 

I also was like "10"???!!! More like MAYBE 5! We're a defensive franchise until the last few years really in my opinion.

 

I think I would put Stallworth above Swann personally. Although I do have Swann's jersey. I also would put Yancey above Plax just based on the fact that I despise Plax and think he's a crybaby big mouth. Nothing personal though.

 

Can't really argue Stall over Swanny. Stall had the better numbers and the longer career. Still, anyone who ever saw Swann play will tell you he was the best Steeler to ever don the black and gold.

Most of that list is interchangable/debatable. I would probably, in hindsight, place Santonio over Plax for the simple fact 'Tone was a Super Bowl MVP.

 

Yeah I would DEFINITELY put Santonio over Plax.

 

That's being a little unfair Jack. Ben was 21/30 for 256 yds with 1 TD and 1 Int. Thats a pretty good game when you factor in that last drive, one of the most amazing in SB history, you can't just throw that out. But yes, TB is still the best Steeler QB but Ben has time to knock him off his throne still.[/quote:3l5jvgnv]
Agreed. Ben has work to do before topping Bradshaw, but his performance in Arizona was nearly perfect, and he really doesn't seem to get much credit for it. The final drive he does, but not the rest of the game, and I'm not sure why. I guess people are hung up on numbers, and the stat line is somewhat ordinary. Kurt Warner's stat line is much better, but of course he was instrumental in helping his team lose the game. The one INT he threw was simply bad luck and not really his fault. Tipped by a nose tackle and right into the hands of a lucky linebacker. For the most part he went through the Cardinals' defense with relative ease. On the final drive, he basically threw back to back game winning touchdowns. First one was dropped on a great throw? No biggie, an even better throw is coming on 2nd down. He also "won" the game for us earlier on a remarkable 3rd down conversion from our own 1 foot line -- which of course turned out to be a safety thanks to Hartwig. He also led a couple of other drives that stalled inside the 5 yard line, but mostly due to the running game (first drive) and a missed block by Kemo on his QB draw (3rd qtr). But in remembering that game, I really can't so much think of one thing Ben did wrong. Really. Can anyone? I know there were 7 other incompletions in there, but I can't think of any harm he did to us. And I can think of a dozen plays he made that helped us win that game. He was more deserving of MVP than Holmes, in my opinion.

Against Seattle, he was pretty bad overall. But he was nothing short of amazing in the games leading up to the Super Bowl, for whatever that's worth. We were not supposed to be there.

Against Green Bay he was up and down. That INT was brutal, but he made a lot of good plays too.

 

Delete RB's and WR's have already been mentioned.

 

The real question here obviously is who's better, Bradshaw or Ben, because as far as anyone's concerned they're the only top QB's the Steelers have had. I absolutely love Ben and his style of play and wouldn't want any other QB wearing the Black and Gold, but I became a Steelers fan because of Bradshaw, so at this point I'd have to give the edge to TB. However, if you put Bradshaw behind the O-Line Ben's had and vice versa give Ben the team that Bradshaw had, I do think Ben would be an absolute beast and Terry probably wouldn't have had the success he did.

 

Agreed. Ben has work to do before topping Bradshaw, but his performance in Arizona was nearly perfect, and he really doesn't seem to get much credit for it. The final drive he does, but not the rest of the game, and I'm not sure why. I guess people are hung up on numbers, and the stat line is somewhat ordinary. Kurt Warner's stat line is much better, but of course he was instrumental in helping his team lose the game. The one INT he threw was simply bad luck and not really his fault. Tipped by a nose tackle and right into the hands of a lucky linebacker. For the most part he went through the Cardinals' defense with relative ease. On the final drive, he basically threw back to back game winning touchdowns. First one was dropped on a great throw? No biggie, an even better throw is coming on 2nd down. He also "won" the game for us earlier on a remarkable 3rd down conversion from our own 1 foot line -- which of course turned out to be a safety thanks to Hartwig. He also led a couple of other drives that stalled inside the 5 yard line, but mostly due to the running game (first drive) and a missed block by Kemo on his QB draw (3rd qtr). But in remembering that game, I really can't so much think of one thing Ben did wrong. Really. Can anyone? I know there were 7 other incompletions in there, but I can't think of any harm he did to us. And I can think of a dozen plays he made that helped us win that game. He was more deserving of MVP than Holmes, in my opinion.

Against Seattle, he was pretty bad overall. But he was nothing short of amazing in the games leading up to the Super Bowl, for whatever that's worth. We were not supposed to be there.

Against Green Bay he was up and down. That INT was brutal, but he made a lot of good plays too.[/quote:209stfia]

I'm with Tomlin Era and HugeSnack on this. He was def on top of his game in the SB and should have had the MVP. (That might put him over the top in a HOF argument) I even think Harrison is second on the MVP conversation for the most exciting run/interception return ever, longest play in SB history and a 14 point swing!!! We are still talking about one for the thumb if it weren't for that.

Bradshaw still has slight (SLIGHT!) edge on ben for best of all time. But as others have pointed out, Ben has been the man since the 3rd game of his Rookie campaign and Bradshaw struggled and was benched a lot. Bradshaw did call his own plays and was humble enough to run more than he passed. I know everyone gives Ben a load of junk about the 2005 SB, but as I remember we made ALL of the big splash plays in that game and Ben was in on most of them. He wasn't as spectacular as he was in Indy or as lights out as he was in Denver, but I thought he did fine for himself in his second season as a pro in the biggest game of his life. He almost had a bomb TD to Ward that was stopped at the 1 yard line. He's still young and I don't think it takes anything away from him to be second at this point of his career. It's been a great debate for years and unless ben gets busy it always will be. Let's hope Ben ends this discussion very soon.

 

Dude that was an impressive retort. Did you put that together or pull it out of some article? Bravo!!! Numbers shnumbers.... Ha!

 

I just did a little research over at Pro Football Reference's web site to do a quick comparison on the numbers between Big Ben and the Blonde Bomber.

Then I decided to quickly scan the numbers from some of the organizations boasting the best qb's in the game's history (SF, Dallas, Denver . . . ). Marino and Favre DO own their franchise's record books so no need to mention them.

 

I'm with Tomlin Era and HugeSnack on this. He was def on top of his game in the SB and should have had the MVP. (That might put him over the top in a HOF argument) I even think Harrison is second on the MVP conversation for the most exciting run/interception return ever, longest play in SB history and a 14 point swing!!! We are still talking about one for the thumb if it weren't for that.

Bradshaw still has slight (SLIGHT!) edge on ben for best of all time. But as others have pointed out, Ben has been the man since the 3rd game of his Rookie campaign and Bradshaw struggled and was benched a lot. Bradshaw did call his own plays and was humble enough to run more than he passed. I know everyone gives Ben a load of junk about the 2005 SB, but as I remember we made ALL of the big splash plays in that game and Ben was in on most of them. He wasn't as spectacular as he was in Indy or as lights out as he was in Denver, but I thought he did fine for himself in his second season as a pro in the biggest game of his life. He almost had a bomb TD to Ward that was stopped at the 1 yard line. He's still young and I don't think it takes anything away from him to be second at this point of his career. It's been a great debate for years and unless ben gets busy it always will be. Let's hope Ben ends this discussion very soon.[/quote:lqpilrnh]
For the record, Harrison gets my vote for MVP, followed by Ben, and then Santonio. I take "Most Valuable Player" very literally, and to me that was JH. The 14 point swing won us the game in my opinion and was incredible, but he also had an excellent game throughout. He drew a few holding calls and was his usual awesome self. I believe Santonio only got it by default. Harrison had been flagged for a personal foul and John Madden said he should have been ejected, so there went his chances (I maintain that he should not have even been flagged since he broke no rules). Ben was still a major media villain, fresh off his first rape accusation. Holmes hadn't had any problems since college, and most people didn't know about them. He had done just enough to get himself close enough for them to overlook the superior performances. It's too bad they couldn't give it to who deserved it, but oh well.

 

That's being a little unfair Jack. Ben was 21/30 for 256 yds with 1 TD and 1 Int. Thats a pretty good game when you factor in that last drive, one of the most amazing in SB history, you can't just throw that out. But yes, TB is still the best Steeler QB but Ben has time to knock him off his throne still.[/quote:1lyc05ky]


I agree that when the last drive is factored in that Ben had a great game. I obviously don't want to discount that. But it seemed that the Steelers offense stalled in the second half too allowing the Cards to get back in the game and almost win the game. I give kudos to Ben for a great final drive, but they didn't exactly move the ball at will against the Cards in the second half and Ben wnt though a stretch where he wasn't converting third downs. But let's consider the other two Super Bowls Ben played in. I think everyone will admit that he stunk up the joint against the Seahawks BUT I am willing to give him credit for getting us to the Super Bowl. His playoff run was amazing. And against the Pack in the last Super Bowl the Steelers played in, he looked very pedestrian for the most part. Now I'll admit that none of the receivers stepped up to the plate and made a play when one needed to be made. Wallace was no Santonio Holmes in that Super Bowl, Holmes wanted the ball in his hands and it looked to me like Wallace did not. But nevertheless, Ben did not play that well with two picks and did not get it done with the game on the line. Ben's a great QB, but he has quite a legacy to live up to and that in and of itself may be unfair. Bradshaw was 4-0 in Super Bowls and ALWAYS seemed to come up big when the Steelers needed it the most. And who knows, if Ben had had Stallworth and Swann in their primes to throw the ball to instead of Wallace and a past his prime Ward, the last SB may have been a different story.

 

That's being a little unfair Jack. Ben was 21/30 for 256 yds with 1 TD and 1 Int. Thats a pretty good game when you factor in that last drive, one of the most amazing in SB history, you can't just throw that out. But yes, TB is still the best Steeler QB but Ben has time to knock him off his throne still.[/quote:1tu5zz9f]


I agree that when the last drive is factored in that Ben had a great game. I obviously don't want to discount that. But it seemed that the Steelers offense stalled in the second half too allowing the Cards to get back in the game and almost win the game. I give kudos to Ben for a great final drive, but they didn't exactly move the ball at will against the Cards in the second half and Ben wnt though a stretch where he wasn't converting third downs.[/quote:1tu5zz9f]
What did he do that wasn't good enough? He had basically a perfect first half. The first drive was derailed by the running game at the 1 yard line (FG), the second was a TD, on the third we were in great shape (22 yard gain on 3rd and 12) until a Kemo holding call took away that 3rd down conversion and put us in the hole, the fourth was the INT that we can't really blame him for.

In the 2nd half, the first drive ended with his QB draw from the 2, which would have worked if Kemo had bothered to continue blocking his man instead of letting him go prematurely. The next two drives were completely murdered by sacks. And if you remember those sacks, you remember that they were not his fault. It was not the "Oops I held onto the ball too long" kind, it was the "WTF my receivers are all only 5 yards downfield and I'm on the ground already" kind. On the next drive he made quite the play, converting 3rd and long from the back of his own end zone (safety). That was a game winner. Then a couple more game winners on the last drive.

I'm sure you could say, "A better QB makes those plays anyway" or "makes it happen anyway" or something very general like that. Maybe he should have broken all those tackles to make more plays. I'm just wondering how reasonable an expectation that is. Even without the final drive, the game he had was extremely good. Like 9 out of 10. I thought he did about as well as a QB could do under the circumstances. I didn't know anyone disagreed until now.

 

This article is crap. Rottenbooger has a long way to go to be better than TB. The fact that Tomzak, Brister, and Mark Malone are on this list just goes to show how bad the QB situation was in the 80's / 90's.

 

Well, when you think about it, most every nfl franchise has only a small handful of studs and a bunch of Tomczak/Brister/Malones . . .

It's kind of silly to say that's just a Pittsburgh issue.

Quick, name all the Dolphins greats . . . Marino . . . uh, Griese . . . uh . . . uh . . . good point.

 

My post was comprised of two different thoughts. First, the article is not credible because the only way someone could rate Ben over TB is if they are younger than about 22 and don't know much about the Steelers of the 70's and what TB accomplished. Ben has a ways to go until he gets to the TB level. Not that he isn't capable, just that he hasn't achieved it yet. Second thought was that there were some really lean years for the Steelers at QB. And you are right about that same thing applying to pretty much every franchise. I don't believe I called it just a Pittsburgh issue, so not sure what you are referring to as silly. It's kind of silly to make things up that others didn't say...

 

I wasn't referring to what you were saying as silly (it's silly to jump to conclusions and get defensive so quickly), it's a general belief held by MOST Steelers fans that we've had quarterbacking 'issues' over the years (especially between Bradshaw and Ben). In reality, we have about the same level of success as most organizations when it comes to finding marquee quarterbacks. Franchise quarterbacks are certainly difficult to come by.

 

Don Strock? Ryan Tannehill? Oh wait.... nevermind.

 

It is so hard for me to compare Ben and Terry. The older I get and the more I read about Bradshaw, the more I appreciate him. People forget: Bradshaw NEVER had an off coordinator. He WAS the OC. I get defensive when people like Kurt Warner argue Bradshaw's numbers. Bradshaw made every play call: like Harris's #s? Bradshaw called every run play.

 

there were no headphones in helmets back then, and most vet qb's called their own plays, and two players would run in plays every down, if the coach called them. and the linemen couldn't use their hands to block, and d-linemen like turkey jones were allowed to pick up TB and stuff him into the concrete and asphalt that was under the thin film of indoor/ outdoor carpet that they called astroturf. you know, back when men were men and sheep were scared.

 

I agree. There are other things one could argue on behalf of Ben too. Like the speed, agility, and strength of the defenders and how the game has changed to more of a passing game and so forth. I think when you stack them up against their contemporaries and compare them against the other QBs of their era, Terry very clearly comes out on top. Ben might be top 5 in his era on a good day while Terry was in the top 2 or 3 in his era.

 

I agree that when the last drive is factored in that Ben had a great game. I obviously don't want to discount that. But it seemed that the Steelers offense stalled in the second half too allowing the Cards to get back in the game and almost win the game. I give kudos to Ben for a great final drive, but they didn't exactly move the ball at will against the Cards in the second half and Ben wnt though a stretch where he wasn't converting third downs.[/quote:3oczbn7c]
What did he do that wasn't good enough? He had basically a perfect first half. The first drive was derailed by the running game at the 1 yard line (FG), the second was a TD, on the third we were in great shape (22 yard gain on 3rd and 12) until a Kemo holding call took away that 3rd down conversion and put us in the hole, the fourth was the INT that we can't really blame him for.

In the 2nd half, the first drive ended with his QB draw from the 2, which would have worked if Kemo had bothered to continue blocking his man instead of letting him go prematurely. The next two drives were completely murdered by sacks. And if you remember those sacks, you remember that they were not his fault. It was not the "Oops I held onto the ball too long" kind, it was the "WTF my receivers are all only 5 yards downfield and I'm on the ground already" kind. On the next drive he made quite the play, converting 3rd and long from the back of his own end zone (safety). That was a game winner. Then a couple more game winners on the last drive.

I'm sure you could say, "A better QB makes those plays anyway" or "makes it happen anyway" or something very general like that. Maybe he should have broken all those tackles to make more plays. I'm just wondering how reasonable an expectation that is. Even without the final drive, the game he had was extremely good. Like 9 out of 10. I thought he did about as well as a QB could do under the circumstances. I didn't know anyone disagreed until now.[/quote:3oczbn7c]

Okay, I'll concede that the Super Bowl against the Cards was a great game for Ben. Shucks, the last drive alone solidified that. But will you concede that in the other two Super Bowls Ben played in he hasn't performed like a "great" quarterback? Obviously, the Seahawks game was atrocious for Ben. It was like I got you here, boys, you're on your own in this one. The Packers game was mediocre to below average by Ben's standards. Two bad INTs and a rather pedestrian like performance. He looked more like Mark Malone in that game instead of the great Big Ben we all know he can be. So that's two out of the three Super Bowls he's been a part of that he hasn't performed up to par. I hope Ben has 3 or 4 more Super Bowls to redeem himself in but at this point any publication that has him listed above TB is just plain wrong (IMHO).