Big Ben versus Carson “I hate Pittsburgh” Palmer

Hello everyone, and welcome to the great debate! First let me start by stating some facts and stats, and then I will back it up with some opinions. 2008 was a pretty good year for the Steelers and for Mike Tomlin, but certainly not what we all wanted, which is another Super Bowl. That said, Ben really came on last year and took control of the new Arians offense. His stats were as follows:

Key Stats
GP	PYDS	PCT	TDs	INT	RATING
15	3154	65.3	32	11	104.1

A pretty good year if you ask me. Percentage of passes is 65.3%, look for Ben to improve on that in his 2^nd year in the Arians offense now that he is more comfortable with schemes and audibles at the line, etc.
QB rating is 2^nd only to Tom Brady, so that is pretty good as far as efficiency goes, and Ben didn’t even have the advantage of knowing what the defense was going to run! Speaking of efficient, how about the TD to INT ratio? Enough said!

Let’s talk about Carson Palmer now. Six years as a Pro, all in the same system pretty much right? Who does he throw to? Oh yeah. Ok, now lets compare the 2008 stats that he had compared to Ben, here they are:

Key Stats
GP	PYDS	PCT	TDs	INT	RATING
16	4131	64.9	26	20	86.7

A pretty good year for Palmer as well in ‘08. He is a good QB, I’m not saying he isn’t, but I’m trying to frame the conversations that we Steelers fans ALWAYS hear from ESPN, or Fox on gameday. How many times can you hear and not cringe: All Ben needs to do is “manage the game”? (Thanks Matt!)

The percentage for Palmer, 64.9% in a system that he has been in for years? That’s a push. He should be more efficient though with the WRs he has to throw to, not that Hines and Holmes are slouches, not at all. Its just that we hear so much about the talented wide receiver core that Cincy has. For the record, I am a HUGE Hines Ward fan, but that’s another article!

Ok, speaking on efficiency, Ben kills Palmer in QB rating last year, even though most of us don’t understand the formula! And how about the TD to INT ratio? Oh yeah, kills him there too! You know what it is boys & girls? The “it” factor.

What is the “it” factor?

Simple, its making “it” happen. Its willing your team to win. (Think John Elway, Brett Favre, Joe Montana) Hanging on to the play for as long as possible to get the win! That’s why they play the game right? To win? So has Carson Palmer won any playoff games? How many has Ben won? Does CP have a Super Bowl ring? Nope.

I don’t want to hear that football is a team sport and that he has a bad defense/ownership/staff, those are all excuses! One player can change any given game on any given day. Ben has done that for us on many occasions, Carson has done it too, but not when it mattered. Ben knows how to win the big games, the “it” factor. I’m not saying that he has single handedly won games, but lets face it, one guy can change a game. Ask the Vikings, Adrian Peterson.

My point is Ben and Carson should be considered on equal footing, not one is better than the other like Pete Prisco suggests in his Top 50 NFL players list. I found it ridiculous for him to not only rate Ben much lower than Carson, but to not include one other Steeler player on his entire list! That is a joke. No Hines Ward, No James Harrison, No Willie Parker? No Troy? Whatever.

People, all I am saying is that we need to be able to let other fans know that Ben is for real, and I think over time, people will be forced to realize that fact. He is fallible like we all are, but jeez, can’t we be happy that we have a Top 5 QB in a game with 32 teams?

Thanks for listening to me vent!