Tonight’s episode on NFL Network revealed that Ben was voted #41 by the players.

However, the majority reaction from the post-episode panel disagreed:

Ronde Barber – “I can’t believe there are forty guys better than him. Ben doesn’t get as much credit as he should” Then later in the program discussing Ben vs Michael Vick, “Ben Roethlisberger has been to the Super Bowl three times, he’s made a bunch of great throws in critical games. I remember watching the Green Bay game two years ago where he had four hundred and, I don’t know how many yards, and he threw that touchdown with no time left on the clock. You just can’t make that up as a quarterback, that’s legendary stuff. He has legendary performances on his resume. I think he should absolutely be ranked higher.”



Darren Sharper – “I’m pounding the table! I’m tired of them knocking Ben down. The guy’s been to the Super Bowl three times! Come on, there can’t be forty guys better than him!”


Kurt Warner – “I expected him to be a lot higher on this list.”


Michael Lombardi – “I’d liked to see the other forty players ahead of Big Ben! I mean, I agree with what everybody says. This is one of the top quarterbacks in the league. And the debate really centers on whether he’s five or six…a system quarterback he is not, but he is a play-making quarterback – there are two or three plays a game that he makes, keeping people away from him, moving around the pocket, throwing the ball down the field…he’s big, he’s physical. He’s not the ideal quarterback for every system but for what Pittsburgh does, he is outstanding!”

The other quarterbacks that are believed to be on the list in the coming episodes include Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers and Michael Vick.


You can watch a portion of the panel’s discussion here.



NFL.com‘s experts disagree with the ranking as well:


Bucky Brooks – “Roethlisberger’s résumé can’t be touched!”

Vic Carruci – “I’ll take Big Ben any time!”

Elliot Harrison – “Steeler’s strength, streetball mentality make him best!”

Pat Kirwin – “Manning, Rivers need to prove themselves. Manning should be in the top 100 in my opinion, but if I have to pick a quarterback from these three, I’ll take Ben Roethlisberger.”

Steve Wyche – “Roethlisberger cashes in during crunch time.”


You can read more from the group here.


You can watch video from tonight’s episode here.


What do you think of Ben’s ranking? email your thoughts. Erin