There has been a lot of talk around the Q about a particular QB and his status as an "elite" QB. The ever popular "More Proof Big Ben is the Most Overrated..." still gets comments, and the hotlinked article  written bythe Post-Gazette's Ron Cook fueled the fire some more, in which Cook said Ben had some very Elway like qualities. He did not say Ben was as good as Elway, but only that #7 shared some qualities, aside from his number. 

The Steeler faithful, certainly myself included, bring up the facts that he has 2 Super Bowl wins (and should have one SB MVP). Those opposed bring up that Ben had a 21.7 rating in the first Super Bowl. They of course fail to mention that Ben's overall playoff QB rating was 101. Hmmm...adding in that poor SB, 25% of that total rating stat, and still over 100? I guess that means he had some pretty good games huh? Or that those games were all on the road, and while Cincy is not exactly a hostile environment, the Colts' dome and Mile High are notoriously difficult for opposing offenses. Nor is it mentioned the brashness of fulfilling a promise he made to Jerome Bettis the previous season walking off the field after their playoff loss -- he guaranteed a trip to Detroit if Bettis came back.  

The pro-Ben camp point to his win/loss record as more evidence of his elite status. This is countered with arguments like, "Just get up by enough and you don't need comebacks," "that stat means nothing," or "wins are a team stat." Here is a great post on the subject, that "disqualifies" certain come from behind wins. At the time of writing, Ben had 19 4th qtr comebacks. Of those, 15 are quality, or true comeback wins. Now it is 16 for 20, or 80%. Elway, "Captain Comeback" (and the Broncos kept track of this stat), was creditied with 47 come from behind victories. Using the author's formula,  34 qualified, or 72%.  

Read the very interesting blog here: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=3401

Then there is the wins...Roethlisberger is currently 55-22, and 8-2 in the playoffs. This is where the Steelers defense is most used in an attempt to diminish Ben's accomplishments, and his importance. If we go back for one moment, his record without the comebacks would be 39-38 (using the 16 figure, not the 20). Ah yes, but it is a team sport, and Ben has had a great defense behind him. 

• 2004: 15-1 - Steelers defense: #1 Total Defense (4th vs pass, 1st vs Run)
• 2005: 11-5 - Ranks: #4 Total Defense (16th vs Pass, 3rd vs Run) 
• 2006: 8-8   - Ranks: #11 Total Defense ( 20th vs Pass, 3rd vs Run)
• 2007: 10-6 - Ranks:#2 Total Defense (3rd and 3rd) 
• 2008: 12-4 - Ranks:#1 Total (1st vs Pass, 2nd Vs Run) 

The numbers do show that Ben has definitely had a very good defense, but, going back to Elway's last Super Bowl, every single team, except one, had a Top 10 defense. Elway's defenses in his Super Bowl appearances:

• 1986: Broncos- 15th in Team Defense (5th Rushing D, 16 Passing D)
• 1987: Broncos -7th in Team Defense
• 1989: Broncos- 1st in Team Defense (6th Rushing, 3rd Passing) 
• 1997: Broncos- 7th  in Team Defense
• 1998: Broncos - 9th in Team Defense 

The Rest:

• 1999-00: Rams-  4th
• 2000-01: Ravens-1st
• 2001-02: Pats- 6th
• 2002-03: Bucs- 1st
• 2003-04: Pats-1st
• 2004-05: Pats- 2nd 
• 2006-07: Colts- 23rd (2nd vs Pass 32nd vs Run)
• 2007-08 Giants- 14th (11th vs Pass 8th vs Run)

I chose total defense because whatever team allows the fewest points is most important stat ultimately. The Colts stick out, but remember how they became run stoppers in the playoffs that year? Still, Peyton had to outscore a lot of teams that season to make it to the playoffs. The point is, Super Bowl winners always have a top ten defense. Stats also don't come with notes for injuries. Can anyone remember a team that did not play good defense in the playoffs actually winning the Super Bowl? The Giants pressure was unmatchable in their run to their 3rd SB and made up for any weaknesses in the secondary. 

It seems to me Brady had some pretty good defenses playing behind him in his SB years as well. Do those defenses take away from Brady's accomplishments? Yes, if you are using the defense argument to discredit Ben. People rarely bring up that a Steeler drive that takes 6-8 minutes off the clock is actually the offense helping the defenses stats. Ask the Chargers and their one play 3rd quarter during the playoffs last year. 

Roethlisberger is just finally getting mentioned as a top QB. Most of the time, he is not even mentioned as the best QB from his draft class, which is comical. The Steelers are allowing him to throw. Remember, under Cowher, the Steeler mindset was get up by 10 and run the ball. Mike Tomlin has a much different philosophy, and it aids his stats, just as Cowher's limited them. Stats are the measuring stick of a QB. This season, Ben is leading or in the top 5 of just about every category. His 1887 yards are #1. His passer rating of 104.5 is 4th. His 26 plays of 20+ yards is first and his completion percentage is 72.5%, 1% behind Peyton Manning. 

It's pretty simple to pick the top 2 QB's right now, as Peyton is clearly #1, and Brees is #2. I doubt anyone would disagree with that, but 3-5? No way Ben is not in that discussion. His 5/7, 84 yds, 1 TD Super Bowl winning drive was enough to secure his place in history. Now he has to expand his place and build a legacy. After all, he is only in his 6th season, under a head coach in his 3rd.  

If the top 5 QB's are considered the elite, then he is in that class.