Pittsburgh Steelers: Will Ben Roethlisberger top Terry Bradshaw?
By Matt Shetler
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has accomplished all you could hope to accomplish as an NFL signal caller by the age of 31.
But for Roethlisberger it isn’t enough.
Dec 16, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) throws in the pocket against the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
He has goals he wishes to accomplish still and that includes passing the legendary Terry Bradshaw in terms of Super Bowl victories. He also hopes to do that all in a Steelers uniform.
"“I want to pass Terry Bradshaw by getting more Super Bowl wins. That’s our expectations in Pittsburgh,” Roethlisberger said, via Steelers PR man Burt Lauten, while in London to promote the American version of football.“There is no other franchise I would rather play for than the Pittsburgh Steelers,” he also said."
It’s good to have goals, you can’t fault Big Ben for that and in reality catching Bradshaw could be within reach.
But in order to do that, the Steelers are going to have to get a lot better on paper and do so quickly. At best you have to figure that Roethlisberger has five or six years remaining where he can play at an elite level an even that number is stretching it a bit. Given the number of hits he takes and his proneness to injury, you would have to think that Roethlisberger may not even have that long.
Roethlisberger already has two rings, but you would have to think the odds are against him to reach his goal.
By the time he hangs up the cleats, the Steelers may have only one or two realistic shots to put together a Super Bowl worthy team. In addition, winning three Lombardi Trophies in such a short period of time is likely next to impossible.
Winning three total is hard enough as a quarterback, but winning three in a five to six year window?
Not likely.
If he would get to five, it would mean Roethlisberger would have the most Super Bowl rings of any starting quarterback in NFL history, as Bradshaw and 49ers Hall of Famer Joe Montana share the current record with four.
No one would like to see Roethlisberger eclipse Bradshaw more than me, but in this case I believe he will ultimately fall well short of the Hall of Famer.