While the article is great at the numbers and statistics, it only tells half the story.
And it's the same story we've known since 2004.
It's the same story Ben has joked about at pressers ( "you know, I hold the ball too long" ).
Ben is, and will always be, the backyard QB.
It's not pretty, and there are enough times he makes plays that are just plain retarded that leave us all scratching our heads and throwing our hands up.
But then there's the magic.
There's the absurd eyes bugging out of your head play he makes, be it shaking off a DL or LB that has him dead to rights, only to hit an open target.
Or he scrambles and throws a dart to an improbable location that only the intended target can catch.
And we all watch in awe of these plays and realize no other QB could have done that.
He's got a moxie, a nice mix of passing and scrambling, where he plays with reckless abandon.
Now, the following statement I make is made to compare the playing style of, not the player greatness of.
Ben is the QB equivalent of Barry Sanders. Let me explain.
Barry Sanders lost over 1,500+ yards in his career by running backwards trying to extend plays.
Had he just fell down or gone out of bounds immediately, he would probably be #2 on the rushing list behind Emmitt, instead of the third place he currently is.
BUT, had he done this, that means his playing style would have been drastically altered, and we would have missed some jaw dropping beautiful runs. He wouldn't be the Barry Sanders we all know and marvel at.
Barry Sanders. The guy who shredded Rod Woodson's knee without ever touching him. The greatest RB I've ever seen play in my lifetime.
Ben won't be in the same ballpark of Barry when he retires, as far as the pantheon of all time football greats go.
But like Barry, we live and die with his style of play.
Ben is not an orthodox QB in the mold of Brees, Brady, Rivers, Luck, E. Manning, Rogers, Ryan.
It's why he's NEVER mentioned in their breath when they talk about the top QBs in the league ( although that has started to change in these latter years of his career ).
But more times than not, he seems to win when it counts or make the play that matters when it matters most.
He's a winner. He has that IT factor. That unnameable, unidentifiable trait that helps him excel.
I've been critical of Ben from day one. I more times than not criticize his capability of reading defenses ( still do, although better in these latter years ) and throw my hands up when he forces a throw he should have thrown away, or takes an unnecessary sack for trying to extend the play, and not securing the ball properly.
I'll gladly take ALL of those blunders and questionable decisions because he's helped the franchise get to three and win two SBs.
How many franchises can say that since 2004?
It's the Woody Harrelson line from White Men Can't Jump.
"I'd rather look bad and win rather than look good and lose."
I'll take the awful stats and the wins. See SB40.
