Althouse: "Roethlisberger is nearly the polar opposite of his Super Bowl XLV counterpart, Aaron Rodgers..."

January 31, 2011

"Roethlisberger is nearly the polar opposite of his Super Bowl XLV counterpart, Aaron Rodgers..."

"... the Green Bay Packers rhythm passer who gets the ball out quickly so his receivers can make big plays after the catch. Rodgers spun out of four potential sacks in a 48-21 divisional demolition of the Atlanta Falcons, throwing darts while smoothly gliding to his right and left. Roethlisberger? He shrugs off would-be tacklers as if slipping out of an overcoat. Rodgers plays with a clock ticking inside his head required of a West Coast quarterback. Roethlisberger heeds his own clock, using his rugged athleticism to buy time to hit receivers while he does his improvisational thing, defying defenders with pump fakes and unique, tackle-breaking strength."

Writes Jim Corbett.

78 comments:

Scott M said...: Not to make yet another football thread (love 'em, by the way), but why are so few of the left-leaning commetariat, here and elsewhere, football fans?; 1/31/11, 9:18 AM
ricpic said...: If he can't find a receiver Roethlisberger always (well, almost always) runs for 5 yards. That's what makes him such a formidable threat.; 1/31/11, 9:23 AM
MadisonMan said...: E. M. Davis beat me to the punch.; 1/31/11, 9:24 AM
MadisonMan said...: I see that later in the article, BR is peeved that he's not listed with the elite quarterbacks of the League.

Blame yourself BR, for getting charged with rape. That runs counter to the NFL's Public Relations. (Believe it or not).

I like that the Packers knocked out the Dog Killer from the Super Bowl. Now if they knock the alleged rapist from winning the Super Bowl, they'll have done the NFL a favor with respect to public relations.; 1/31/11, 9:27 AM
garage mahal said...: Little Ben will have plenty of opportunities to show how he can evade pass rushers. Because that pocket WILL be collapsing.; 1/31/11, 9:29 AM
DADvocate said...: And yet, only one of them is an alleged rapist.

My football player son wants the Steelers to lose just for that reason. I want the Steelers to lose because I like Green Bay.

Roethlisberger is one of the bigger QBs in the NFL which is how he's able to have such a physical style. He's paid the price a few times though.

He also has to be one of the stupidest off the field players in the NFL with his motorcyle wreck, alleged rape and other problems I believe. It's not that hard to keep your hands to yourself and enjoy making millions of dollars playing football.; 1/31/11, 9:32 AM
Anonymous said...: I like that the Packers knocked out the Dog Killer from the Super Bowl. Now if they knock the alleged rapist from winning the Super Bowl, they'll have done the NFL a favor with respect to public relations.

Football players are supposed to be bad guys.

Remember the old Oakland Raiders?

Let he who is without sin cast the first go route.

What a boring world it will be when football players go PC and legit. Evidently, that is the plan. Exhibit A... hire strippers and bottle blonds and insist that they "interview" half naked football players in the locker room.; 1/31/11, 9:37 AM
Known Unknown said...: If I had to rank the current NFL QBs it would go something like this:

1. Rodgers
2. Brady
3. Manning
4. Roethlisberger
5. Rivers
6. Brees
7. Vick
8. Ryan
9. Romo
10. Manning, Jr./Bradford; 1/31/11, 9:38 AM
Anonymous said...: Exhibit A... hire strippers and bottle blonds and insist that they "interview" half naked football players in the locker room.

Oh, and I forgot...

When the football players get a hard on, send them to re-education camp.; 1/31/11, 9:38 AM
Joe said...: (The Crypto Jew)

but why are so few of the left-leaning commetariat, here and elsewhere, football fans?

It’s violent, Phallicentric and competitive……the owners AND players are RICH…the fans are the boob-a-teriate, many ethnic whites…it’s only saving grace is that many of the workers are People of Colour, but they’re male and rich and that detracts from their appeal…further SOCCER is the game of Europeans, so the Lefties prefer “futbol” to football.; 1/31/11, 9:47 AM
Joe said...: (The Crypto Jew)

1. Rodgers
2. Brady
3. Manning
4. Roethlisberger

Funny, but only #1 and # 4 are there…look I love the Patriots, and think Manning is telegenic…but have to give Big Ben his “props.”; 1/31/11, 9:49 AM
Kev said...: (the other kev)

but why are so few of the left-leaning commetariat, here and elsewhere, football fans?

Beware of over-generalizing. I have friends whose politics are to the left of Castro, but come Sunday they're wearing their Bears and Steelers jerseys and screaming as loud as anyone else.; 1/31/11, 9:59 AM
kjbe said...: Scott, where do you get that? All my lefty friends are coming over on Sunday night. I think we represent pretty well.

further SOCCER is the game of Europeans, so the Lefties prefer “futbol” to football..

Nah, I don't think so. You know with the NFL's revenue sharing, this sounds a little like socialism. And them Packers - what do they say - some 100,000 owners? Sounds a little like that there, too :); 1/31/11, 10:05 AM
Scott M said...: Notice I didn't say they didn't exist. I mentioned there were "so few" in relation to the other way around.; 1/31/11, 10:06 AM
PaulV said...: Team from city with lower unemployment rate has won 16 of last 20 super duper bowls Green Bay a 4-1 favorite? per WSJ

WV" unown
I may have to unown this post later; 1/31/11, 10:07 AM
Henry said...: What makes Roethlisberger a great quarterback is that he plays on a team with a great defense so he's never called upon to score a lot of points. Terry Bradshaw was another Steelers quarterback that was great for the same reason.; 1/31/11, 10:12 AM
Anonymous said...: Football players are supposed to be bad guys.

And that excuses (alleged) rape?

Word verification: uptich.; 1/31/11, 10:13 AM
Ann Althouse said...: By the way, the "pocket" is another one of those feminine things in football... along with touching and tossing down a hankie. It's so adorable: a man in a pocket. It's like Keith Richards's pet mouse Gladys.; 1/31/11, 10:13 AM
Original Mike said...: "Scott, where do you get that? All my lefty friends are coming over on Sunday night."

Like Hank Williams sang:

"All my lefty friends,
are here on Monday night!"; 1/31/11, 10:16 AM
Anonymous said...: By the way, the "pocket" is another one of those feminine things in football... along with touching and tossing down a hankie.

Nothing about football is, or should be, adorable.

They throw a "flag," not a hankie. The pocket is a warlike defensive alignment. The players don't "touch." They give one another a solid whack on the ass.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.; 1/31/11, 10:16 AM
Scott M said...: By the way, the "pocket" is another one of those feminine things in football... along with touching and tossing down a hankie. It's so adorable: a man in a pocket.

Sacrilege. Blaspheme. Heretic.

As a former QB myself, there was a very real, very tactile, and at times, very scary reality to that pocket of space either holding or collapsing like a flan in a cupboard. It's weird, but you just KNOW when it's falling apart, even though, looking at the game film later, there's no possible way you could have seen that linebacker coming at you from behind. Footsteps don't count either...too loud most of the time.

Jedi?; 1/31/11, 10:17 AM
Original Mike said...: "What makes Roethlisberger a great quarterback is that he plays on a team with a great defense so he's never called upon to score a lot of points."

I saw a comparison of Rodgers vs Rothblahblahblah completion percentage in the playoffs. Rodgers was north of 60%. Rothblahblahblah was below 30%. His passer rating was dismal.; 1/31/11, 10:19 AM
Anonymous said...: And that excuses (alleged) rape?

The woman recanted. I read the descriptions of the event. Sounds like both were drunk, decided on a blowjob or a quickie in the bathroom, and then she changed her mind.

She's a groupie. The groupie thing has been so complicated by the feminist invention of the lawsuit after you've changed your mind.

Have you ever had your name in the paper a lot? Roethlisberger does. (I have at times, too.) That brings out a lot of nutjob women who want to give you a blowjob in the bathroom.

Now, Roethlisberger is supposed to be sort of CEO of the Steelers, so you'd like him to have better sense than to hit up the groupie for a blowjob in the bathroom.

The alleged rape, in this case, strikes me as so much bullshit. Bad judgment for the CEO of an NFL squad, for sure.

And, yes, being bad with the women is very much the province of being a football hero.; 1/31/11, 10:21 AM
Automatic_Wing said...: I saw a comparison of Rodgers vs Rothblahblahblah completion percentage in the playoffs. Rodgers was north of 60%. Rothblahblahblah was below 30%. His passer rating was dismal.

Yes, Mark Sanchez completed a much higher percentage of his passes last Sunday and his QB rating was higher. But for some reason he'll be watching the Super Bowl on TV.; 1/31/11, 10:21 AM
garage mahal said...: George Carlin on football and baseball.; 1/31/11, 10:24 AM
Original Mike said...: "But for some reason he'll be watching the Super Bowl on TV."

Because its not just the QB. It takes a village.; 1/31/11, 10:24 AM
Joe said...: (The Crypto Jew)

I saw a comparison of Rodgers vs Rothblahblahblah completion percentage in the playoffs. Rodgers was north of 60%. Rothblahblahblah was below 30%. His passer rating was dismal.

And YET, the man is in the Play-offs…plus when the chips are down and you need, not just want, but absolutely NEED to make a critical play, 3rd down and 6, the Jets are on the move with Momentum, who do you give the ball to…That’s right Big Ben….He may not be Mr. “Efficiency” but he’s the go-to guy for the critical play….The Steeler Defense is faltering, Sanchez is moving the ball…they have time to score and win the game…who CRUSHES THOSE NY BUMS, DREAMS?! Roethlisberger! Like I say, Belichik and Brady OUGHT to be in the Super Bowl, but give the Steelers their due.; 1/31/11, 10:27 AM
Anonymous said...: And, yes, being bad with the women is very much the province of being a football hero.

Define "bad." (I recall O.J. Simpson acknowledging that he got "physical" with Nicole Brown Simpson.)

Word verification: dispi.; 1/31/11, 10:27 AM
MadisonMan said...: Because its not just the QB. It takes a village.

Yes. The Steelers would be very very good no matter who was QB. I don't know if the same can be said of the Packers. They might just be very good, not very very good.; 1/31/11, 10:29 AM
Anonymous said...: Define "bad." (I recall O.J. Simpson acknowledging that he got "physical" with Nicole Brown Simpson.)

Yes, and I'll bet a line of women stretching around the block is still fighting to get pounded in bed by OJ.

Now, you want to get all legal on me. The rape hysteria invented by feminists was an atrocity. All deranged political movements invent rape hysterias, for the obvious reasons.

Football players are big, tough, short tempered, muscular, over supplied with testosterone and, often, none too bright. Many of them have borderline criminal records, because football appeals to men who like to fight.

Some women (in fact a lot of women) love this type of man.

No amount of legislation or feminist raving will cause these women not to love this type of man.

So, despite your chivalry, there will always be a line of groupies waiting outside the locker room, and those groupies will want to do things that strike you as somewhere between odd and detestable.; 1/31/11, 10:39 AM
mccullough said...: Rodgers passer rating in the NFC championship was 55.4. He disappeared in the second half and couldn't get it done. He was playing not to lose, like the pussy he is.

So for everyone saying Rodgers is even in the same league as Brady or Manning, much less Rothlisberger, give me a break.

Aaron Rodgers has 0 Super Bowl victories, and will have the same next Monday.

You Packer fans will be begging Favre to come out of retirement after you watch Rodgers in the Super Bowl.; 1/31/11, 10:41 AM
Peter Hoh said...: Looking for the feminine on the gridiron? (A gridiron, by the way, is a cooking implement -- but a manly cooking implement.)

Anyway, here's a classic: Men on Football.; 1/31/11, 10:47 AM
Anonymous said...: rape hysteria

Okey dokey.

I can't help recalling though, when Julian Assange was accused of rape, Michael Moore called the allegation a "lot of hooey" - which got translated in the right-wing blogosphere as, "Michael Moore doesn't think rape is a serious offense."

I'm sure you can sympathize with Mr. Moore's position.

Word verification: hirolog.; 1/31/11, 10:47 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Another odd thing about football... for all this comparison of quarterbacks: The quarterbacks never even go on the field at the same time. It's not like boxing or tennis where 2 guys go head-to-head. It's the complete opposite. It's like there 2 different games vying to get played in the same place and time. Rodgers is in one game with his guys and his opponents, and Rothblahblahblah is in the other with his guys and his opponents. What other sport is like that? Don't say baseball.; 1/31/11, 10:49 AM
traditionalguy said...: MadMan...You sure are legalistic this morning. Are you converting to Islam too? The shame of it all...some pitbulls were dogfighting and one drunk co-ed out to pick up a guy at a bar got screwed. Around here those are just life. The new Female NFL would shun these two men, but you are man...!; 1/31/11, 10:50 AM
Peter Hoh said...: Also, you'll want to see #19 on this list.; 1/31/11, 10:50 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Rodgers passer rating in the NFC championship was 55.4. He disappeared in the second half and couldn't get it done. He was playing not to lose, like the pussy he is."

He bumped his head. At least after he got his head bumped, he kept trying to play. Unlike some quarterbacks.; 1/31/11, 10:50 AM
Anonymous said...: I'm sure you can sympathize with Mr. Moore's position.

No, since Assange is a lefty, I figured he got about what he deserved.

He was cavorting with two feminist women. Those women were complete leftist loons. One of them wrote a political treatise on how to get revenge against men via the legal system.

From what I've read, the feminist ladies got pissed when they discovered Assange was boffing both of them.

If you're stupid enough to sleep with feminist women, you can't complain much when they pull the usual tricks on you.; 1/31/11, 10:51 AM
Peter Hoh said...: Althouse: What other sport is like that?

Gymnastics.

And baseball played by American League rules.; 1/31/11, 10:52 AM
Anonymous said...: saw a comparison of Rodgers vs Rothblahblahblah completion percentage in the playoffs. Rodgers was north of 60%. Rothblahblahblah was below 30%. His passer rating was dismal.

That's great.

Problem is, #7 for the Steelers is the superior QB.; 1/31/11, 10:54 AM
kjbe said...: You Packer fans will be begging Favre to come out of retirement after you watch Rodgers in the Super Bowl.

Not. That ship has passed. If Rodgers stays away from concussions, he'll be around and winning for a long time... and we'll be comparing his career to the likes of Manning and Brady.; 1/31/11, 10:54 AM
MadisonMan said...: Rothblahblahblah

(laugh). That's excellent.

Groundhog day in Punxblahblahblah.; 1/31/11, 10:55 AM
Anonymous said...: If I had to rank the current NFL QBs it would go something like this:

1. Rodgers
2. Brady
3. Manning
4. Roethlisberger

You're crazy.; 1/31/11, 10:56 AM
traditionalguy said...: Professor, you could always think of the Touch Down in the end zone as a gang of men who as a team score on the sacred female space between the goal posts/legs to the cheers of a chosen set of volunteer temple prostitutes. Then the extra point is awarded to the studs who men can still quickly get it up beteween the legs for a second time.; 1/31/11, 10:59 AM
X said...: remember the old days when all the experts here guaranteeing Packer victory were laughing about how badly Wisconsin was going to run all over TCU.; 1/31/11, 11:04 AM
garage mahal said...: You Packer fans will be begging Favre to come out of retirement after you watch Rodgers in the Super Bowl.

The reason Favre was cut free was because everyone knew seeing Rodgers on the practice field was already better than #4. Favre knew it as well, so he did what many insecure jilted lovers did. Go and date the ex-girlfriend's friend to make them jealous. Haha. Awesome year you had there Favre. That turned out well.; 1/31/11, 11:06 AM
X said...: Packers are 6-12 all time playing in Dallas with only one win in the last 23 years.; 1/31/11, 11:10 AM
Original Mike said...: Wouldn't matter whether Rothblahblahblah bumped his head or not.; 1/31/11, 11:29 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Gymnastics isn't the answer. People just take turns. You don't have 4 different teams, 2 on each side, taking turns being the offensive/defensive combination, where the main player from each team never confronts the other guy. They could be playing in different stadiums!; 1/31/11, 11:30 AM
Original Mike said...: Goalies play at the same time.; 1/31/11, 11:32 AM
Scott M said...: Under the college and professional levels, though, AA, the people on each side of the ball are usually the same people. QB's in high school are less likely to ironman than most, but it still happens in smaller schools.

In college and the pros, though, you could expand the thought to 3 teams versus 3 teams. The special teams (punt, kickoff, field goal) are usually not the guys on offense and defense.

Most sports, especially all those in the hockey/basketball/soccer type (endless action with nets as goals) are a series of one-on-one actions. Football is one of the only, if not the only, sport that requires the entire team to commit it's one-on-one simultaneously.; 1/31/11, 11:34 AM
PaulV said...: AA said
"He bumped his head. At least after he got his head bumped, he kept trying to play. Unlike some quarterbacks."
It seems he hurt his team by staying in.; 1/31/11, 11:41 AM
MadisonMan said...: Packers are 6-12 all time playing in Dallas with only one win in the last 23 years.

Most of those games were against the Cowboys, however. I believe the game this Sunday is not against Dallas.

Isn't it in a new stadium on Sunday as well? It's not the same stadium as was in the opening to Dallas, is it?; 1/31/11, 11:46 AM
Original Mike said...: @PaulIV: I disagree. I went back and watched the 2nd half. His production was off the whole second half (the Peppers hit was at the beginning of the 4th quarter). The Bears get paid to play too, and their defense stiffened in the 2nd half. I saw no indication that Rodgers was impaired after the hit.

McCarthy did get conservative in his play calling as the game progressed.; 1/31/11, 11:48 AM
Original Mike said...: @MM: Brand new stadium Jerry Jones built so his Cowboys could play there in this Super Bowl. (Tee hee hee).; 1/31/11, 11:50 AM
garage mahal said...: The Cowboys are certainly welcome to the Super Bowl.; 1/31/11, 12:39 PM
Original Mike said...: As long as they buy tickets.; 1/31/11, 12:41 PM
garage mahal said...: Exactly.; 1/31/11, 12:49 PM
Scott M said...: Football is all well and good, but the Florida decision is about to be announced...; 1/31/11, 12:52 PM
Peter Hoh said...: While I still can't think of the sport that Althouse hinted at in her question(at 10:49, and clarified at 11:30), I'm not feeling too bad, given that no one else has come up with it, either.; 1/31/11, 1:25 PM
garage mahal said...: Golf?; 1/31/11, 1:31 PM
traditionalguy said...: What both Green Bay and Pittsburg need to fear coming is whatever team drafts Andy Dalton.; 1/31/11, 1:38 PM
Triangle Man said...: By the way, the "pocket" is another one of those feminine things in football..

How is "pocket" feminine? Men have pockets in their pants and coats, in which they keep a wallet. Women have purses. Unless by pocket, you meant "vagina".; 1/31/11, 1:41 PM
Joe said...: (The Crypto Jew)

Football is all well and good, but the Florida decision is about to be announced...

Bush already one that one…you’re a little behind the times….stop using a wind-up clock, there’s no EMP, and come out of the bunker, there are no Zombies…. A Black Man won the election, handily.; 1/31/11, 1:43 PM
Known Unknown said...: Bowling has pockets. As does Billiards.

And Bowling does feature 2 players playing at different times (on different lanes) in what amounts to 2 separate, but compared, games.; 1/31/11, 2:03 PM
Blue@9 said...: 1. Rodgers
2. Brady
3. Manning
4. Roethlisberger
5. Rivers
6. Brees
7. Vick
8. Ryan
9. Romo
10. Manning, Jr./Bradford

I'd put Rodgers down at 5, after Brady, Manning, Brees, Roethlisberger. The others have been to the big game and have proven themselves over time.

Also, Rivers doesn't belong on this list. He puts up huge numbers, but they're garbage numbers. When does he make the big play when it really counts? Pretty rarely. Most of the time he's racking up 300-400 yards on garbage teams.; 1/31/11, 3:21 PM
traditionalguy said...: There will be one other quarterback on the field Sunday that often determines the games: Hines Ward. Hines is from Atlanta and played QB at Georgia. He's a really great guy, unless you are on the other team.; 1/31/11, 3:27 PM
Beth said...: "why are so few of the left-leaning commetariat, here and elsewhere, football fans?"

On what do you base that assumption? It does not square with my experience.; 1/31/11, 3:27 PM
Scott M said...: On what do you base that assumption? It does not square with my experience.

On my experience, with which it squares flush.; 1/31/11, 3:34 PM
Trooper York said...: That's not true ScottM. Some of our biggest liberals here on Althouse are big time football fans.

I mean you have to go a long way to find bigger football fans than Beth or Garage Mahal.

And nobody is a bigger fan of the Canton Bull dogs than hdhouse.; 1/31/11, 4:43 PM
Peter Hoh said...: Althouse, any more hints?

You're talking about a team sport, correct?

Is it something people pay to watch? Is it an Olympic sport?; 1/31/11, 5:07 PM
AllenS said...: Javelin toss. One at a time, please.; 1/31/11, 5:11 PM
AllenS said...: It's 259 miles to Lambeau Field from my house. So far this month, I've put enough miles on my treadmill to have walked there. Only 28 days in February. I'll have to pick up the pace to put on enough miles to walk back.; 1/31/11, 5:20 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Didn't mean to suggest there was another sport like that. I think there isn't.; 1/31/11, 8:15 PM
Peter Hoh said...: Sorry, then I misread what you wrote.

Yes, a game of football could conceivably be played in two different stadiums. Special teams create a bit of a problem, however, as they often pull from both the offensive and defensive players.; 1/31/11, 8:26 PM
Scott M said...: That's not true ScottM. Some of our biggest liberals here on Althouse are big time football fans.

Here, I would agree with you. Elsewhere, especially on blogs where I've generally been one of the lone conservative voices, it's the polar opposite.

Didn't mean to suggest there was another sport like that. I think there isn't.

I believe this strongly. All team sports teach valuable lessons about teamwork, leadership, sportsmanship, etc. Football has something more, though, speaking as a former player, not a spectator.; 2/1/11, 7:38 AM
Original Mike said...: "Yes, a game of football could conceivably be played in two different stadiums."

They could be played simultaneously, shortening the game to 30 minutes. Required rule changes are left to the reader as an exercise.; 2/1/11, 8:35 AM
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