by Ryan Wilson
Good Lord, it's worse than anybody imagined: Ben Roethlisberger, who's currently about as popular as Tommy Maddox on his way out the door, has gone from Pro Bowler to ... Gus Frerotte?
Sigh.
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Pacifist Viking stumbled across the eery similarities:
Ben Roethlisberger, 2008: 9 starts, 1,686 yards, 10 TDs, 11 INTs, 7.0 yards per attempt, 76.1 rating, 6-3 record
Gus Frerotte, 2008: 7 starts, 1,619 yards, 10 TDs, 11 INTs, 7.2 yards per attempt, 74.0 rating, 5-2 record
But it gets worse for Steelers fans: according to the eggheads at Football Outsiders, Frerotte ranks 20th in their total QB value statistic while Big Ben ranks 33rd, behind such luminaries as Matt Hasselbeck (injured), Jon Kitna (injured), Shaun Hill (he's started one game) and Derek Anderson (benched). It's also probably worth mentioning that there are still just 32 teams in the league.
Obviously, Roethlisberger is not the same player he was a year ago, and this time he can't blame it on helmet-less joy riding (although, to his credit, he never gave himself a concussion). That said, he doesn't seem completely recovered from an early-season shoulder injury, and the 6,000 sacks he's taken since.
And if you need another excuse, just blame offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. Everybody's doin' it!
Good News (Vikings), Bad News (Steelers): Ben Roethlisberger = Gus Frerotte originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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