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Higher in the all-time list:Brees vs Ben?

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by Steelersfan43, Jul 20, 2026 at 5:27 PM.

  1. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    Talent means nothing if it doesn't produce results. Drew Brees isn't celebrated for his touch on passes, timing and pocket presence alone. Drew Brees is celebrated and thought of highly more than Big Ben for Drew Brees maximized his talents to their absolute limit for a much longer duration of time. Think about this another way Blast.


    As me and you can both agree, Big Ben was never big on study habits nor honing his craft. That major character flaw, by itself, showcases that Big Ben's talent never fully manifested into achievements. Drew Brees is the complete opposite.


    As the High School Basketball Coach Tim Notke once said;


    "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard enough."


    Big Ben had talent but never polished nor refined it; limiting his overall performance. Drew Brees?! Completely different. Aaron Rodgers?!


    Again, comparing Big Ben vs Aaron Rodgers is comparing platinum to bronze.
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2026 at 8:09 PM
  2. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    Doesn't matter. You are what your legacy says you are. Even so, let's play along with this logic shall we?!


    Using the same metric, does this mean Big Ben is better than Peyton Manning?! Mind you, Big Ben has a far superior outdoor record than Manning. Mannings best performances came indoors as a Colt sans his historic 2013 Campaign with the Broncos.
     
  3. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    Using merely trophies as an argument for QBs is quintessential cherry picking. The Super Bowl is the ultimate game to determine which team is better; QB and all. Should we only use Super Bowls (also Championships considering we are talking about the centennial plus history of the NFL) as the metric, Tom Brady, Otto Graham, Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana are all without equal. This simply isn't true.


    Brady, Graham (less so) and Montana are not all just universally ranked higher than Bradshaw due to the trophies. All are ranked higher for they possessed greater peaks for far longer periods of time. That is what separates the likes of Montana and Brady among many other QBs.


    Now, back to Brees vs Big Ben, the same argument I made holds weight here. Pittsburgh didn't solely win Super Bowl XL nor XLIII because of Big Ben. Other players had to step up to seal the deal; namely Hines Ward and doubly so Santonio Holmes. No one is disputing the throw Big Ben made to win the game. That said, Santonio has to make that catch. Otherwise?!


    The game is over. Pressure was more on Holmes to win it than the throw by Big Ben.
     
    • Disagree Disagree x 1
  4. steelersrule6

    steelersrule6 Well-Known Member

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    For AFC North football I'm taking Ben over Brees who played nine games a year in a dome including Atlanta :shrug:.
     
  5. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    You said AFC North Football. That isn't the prompt. The prompt is as follows;


    Higher in the All Time List; Brees vs Ben?


    The 100+ Year History of the NFL doesn't revolve around one division. Yes, the AFC North has been a formidable division for a considerable period of time but it hasn't been around since the NFLs Foundation. Even ignoring that, the question posed is based on who is the superior player overall.


    In the match up of player vs player, Drew Brees wins. More accomplished and far more dominant overall. Super Bowls represent the team as a collective. All Pros and individual NFL Records represent their respective parties.
     
    • Disagree Disagree x 1
  6. Steelersfan43

    Steelersfan43 Well-Known Member

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    what?!

    I could said the biggest play of this drive was the first one on first down and 20 when Ben avoid the sack....And no,again the game would not been over if Holmes don't make this catch....It would been 3rd down for the steelers and the worst case scenario would been overtime....Don't forget Holmes drop the ball on the first down and goal too
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
  7. El Kabong

    El Kabong Well-Known Member

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    Not really seeing how more pressure was on Holmes than Ben in that situation.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  8. steelersrule6

    steelersrule6 Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, Brees was so great playing in a weak division and still couldn't avoid losing seasons :eek:.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  9. NorthernBlitz

    NorthernBlitz Well-Known Member

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    Don't think there's necessarily a huge difference. And you'd obviously be happy with either.

    But to me Ben's clearly the better QB.

    If you were starting from scratch right now and you could take either guy at the beginning of their career. But I don't think I can think of a reasonable argument to take Brees. He's going to be lower variance, especially in the playoffs. But that variance helped Ben early in his career as much as it hurt him later.

    And at the peak of their careers, Ben was just a better player IMO. And way more entertaining (although again, I'm super biased here).

    My guess is also that if Brees stayed in the AFC with the Chargers, he wouldn't be thought of as highly as he is having played in the conference with fewer elite QBs. He'd be another Phil Rivers...good thrower, but can't get through the gauntlet of the AFC.

    And SBs are a big deal for QBs.

    And should be at least a tie breaker when guys are similar in terms of apparent talent. So even if someone thought this was a tie

    Ben won 2 and went to a 3rd. Brees went to won and won.

    Both great careers.
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2026 at 8:43 PM
    • Like Like x 1
  10. NorthernBlitz

    NorthernBlitz Well-Known Member

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    The bold part is not true.

    Not sure if you remember this, but that throw to Holmes was on 2nd down.

    So what happens if Santonio doesn't make that catch? They line up on 3rd and Ben has 2 more shots to get a TD. Maybe right back to Holmes both times...

    Basically the same thing that happened when Holmes didn't make the much easier TD catch earlier (I don't remember if it was the previous down or not and I'm too lazy to look at the play by play right now).

    I'm sure if you talked to 100 OCs across the league, all of them would say that the "right" thing to do on that play in that situation is to throw it 10 rows deep in the stands and line up for 3rd down.

    I actually think that the fact that it was 2nd down really highlights the best (and the worst) of Ben.

    I don't think any other QB could walk around with the balls Ben has. You absolutely throw that ball away even if you're a super-human QB. You absolutely don't try to thread a pass into triple coverage on 2nd and 6 in what will probably be your last drive for a chance to win the game. You throw it away and play the next two downs where you'll certainly get a better opportunity to win.

    Unless you're Big ****in' Ben.

    This is what gave us the absolutely glorious moments like that Holmes catch.

    The fact that he's willing to take insane chances like this and that he can deliver is the reason that we were never really out of a game when Ben was under center.

    And it's also probably the reason why his INT% goes up much more than other HoF caliber QBs of his generation when you get to the playoffs.

    Maybe this is a good way to answer this question: If you're down by 4 with 2 minutes left in a critical game against a very good team. Who do you want under center in the prime of their careers? I can't see how the answer here isn't Ben (again, I'm biased though).
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2026 at 8:49 PM
    • Winner Winner x 1
  11. NorthernBlitz

    NorthernBlitz Well-Known Member

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    Needed Tomlin as a HC, obviously

    [​IMG]
     
    • Hilarious Hilarious x 1
  12. Steelvision

    Steelvision Well-Known Member

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    i would give you a hilarious and strongly disagree combined rating if there was an option for that
     

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