New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan has a future as a co-host for a daily sports talk show. He’s a killer interview and one of the more thoughtful and expressive guys in professional sports. On Thursday, he was on his game during an interview in the Saints locker room. Jordan took a reporter to task for assuming Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was an automatic Hall-of-Famer.
In fact, Jordan challenged the journalist to give him his Top 5 QBs and punctuated the strong segment of the interview by saying he’d put New York Giants QB Eli Manning in ahead of Roethlisberger. Here is a look at the interview and a breakdown of the two QB’s stats.
Ben Roethlisberger 6x Pro Bowler and 2x Super Bowl Champ
Eli Manning 4x Pro Bowler and 2x Super Bowl Champ
When you take a close look at their careers, it’s pretty shocking how similar some of the statistics have been. They came into the league the exact same year. They have each won 2 Super Bowls and been to a similar number of Pro Bowls.
The career yardage and TDs are comparable. However, Roethlisberger does have a significant edge in interceptions and passer rating. You could also argue he’s had a more consistently solid supporting cast around him. Antonio Brown is one of the greatest WR in NFL history, and Roethlisberger has rarely not had an above-average running back to take pressure off the passing game. In many cases, the Steelers’ RBs during Roethlisberger’s tenure have been dual threats.
Manning has had some of those luxuries, but not as steady of a diet of weapons at his disposal. There is no sport–especially not football–that stats tell the entire story. Even if Jordan isn’t correct in his assessment, perhaps there is more to the equation than what most would look at to make a determination.
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Ben Roethlisberger vs. Eli Manning Stats: Saints Star Says Steelers QB Not A Hall Of Famer