Big Ben has met Bradshaw's lofty Steelers standard

DALLAS -- People talk about how tough it was for Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers to follow an enormously popular and successful quarterback, but what about Ben Roethlisberger -- and, no, I don't mean Tommy Maddox.
I mean Terry Bradshaw.
For decades, Pittsburgh quarterbacks were measured against the Hall of Famer, always falling short of a seemingly impossible standard. But now along comes Roethlisberger to play in his third Super Bowl in six seasons, and, suddenly, Pittsburgh has what it has been waiting for.
Which is the next Terry Bradshaw.
"People in Pittsburgh will never forget about Terry Bradshaw," an AFC defensive coordinator said, "but Ben Roethlisberger has made the Steelers a dynasty again. So he's this generation's Terry Bradshaw."
I would say it's about as simple as that. Look, I don't argue that Rodgers had the more difficult task as the immediate successor to Brett Favre. He didn't have two decades separating him and the people's choice as Roethlisberger did. But the goal was the same -- to make people talk about you instead of the quarterback they want you to be.
And Ben Roethlisberger has done that.
"That's a difficult standard when you have four Super Bowls in six years," said former quarterback Mark Malone, who followed Bradshaw. "People demand and get used to winning Super Bowls, and if you fall short of that -- if you don't win a Super Bowl -- you're considered not successful as a player.
"I understand the comparisons. Both [Roethlisberger and Bradshaw] are big with big arms, can move out of the pocket and can extend plays. The standard for a long, long time [in Pittsburgh] was not just winning a Super Bowl but winning multiple Super Bowls -- and for that very reason Ben has exorcised the ghosts of Terry Bradshaw and the '70s Steelers."
I don't know that he exorcised them, but he sure as heck made them easier to live with. For four decades, the New York Jets have been looking for the next Joe Namath, with Mark Sanchez the latest candidate to fill the position. It's not that there haven't been qualified applicants; it's that nobody has won a Super Bowl. In fact, no Jet has even been to a Super Bowl since Namath.
Now look at Roethlisberger. He not only did what nobody since Bradshaw has -- win a Super Bowl -- he's on the verge of his third Lombardi Trophy in six years. I know, there are off-the-field concerns that make him the quarterback fans love to hate, but I'm not here to discuss his life away from the game. I'm here to discuss what he has done in it and how that makes him the quarterback Pittsburgh has been looking for.
"It's tough to follow up a legend," said former coach Brian Billick, now an analyst with Fox and NFL Network. "It puts a lot of pressure on you. Aaron Rodgers had the direct lineage, which is tough, but it was especially tough given his circumstances as a late first-round pick.
"The guys who followed Terry could not [give Pittsburgh what it wanted], but, in fairness, they were just guys. Roethlisberger is not just a guy. He was the 11th pick of the draft -- the first time Pittsburgh actually said. 'Enough of this; we're going to get us a guy.' So they picked a guy 11th, and, obviously, it turned out beautifully."
In Bradshaw's first seven seasons, he had 76 touchdown passes and 99 interceptions. He won two Super Bowls. In Roethlisberger's first seven seasons he has 144 touchdowns and 86 interceptions. He won two Super Bowls, too.

Way before Big Ben, Terry Bradshaw was leading Pittsburgh to Super Bowls. (US Presswire)

Granted, that's an unfair comparison. Bradshaw played in an era when running, not passing, was emphasized and receivers had to fight through collision coverages to get downfield. Now it's a passing league, and Roethlisberger's numbers reflect that.
So the figures don't add up. But the victories do, and tell me which you would rather have.
"At the end of the day," Roethlisberger said, "to be an elite quarterback [it's all about] winning and losing."
I couldn't agree more, and Roethlisberger is 10-2 in the playoffs. Bradshaw was 14-5, winning six of his final seven starts. Read the tea leaves, people. Bradshaw went to the Hall of Fame, and so will Roethlisberger, meaning ... meaning he has done what nobody after Terry Bradshaw could.
"For me," said onetime Steelers defensive back Rod Woodson, a Hall of Famer, "this is the game that could put him in that category with Terry -- of playing big in a big situation.
"Let's face it, like Terry, he's never going to lead the league in touchdowns or passing, but this is the game that's going to be an indication of where he is. I don't know that he's vanquished any ghosts, but he's put himself up there very even with Terry."
Bradshaw and Roethlisberger have been a hot topic of conversation here this week, but not because people want to compare the two. No, they're more interested in what Bradshaw had to say to Roethlisberger, a quarterback he once criticized for his off-the-field behavior, when the two met Tuesday before an interview that will air this weekend.
Roethlisberger wouldn't divulge what was said, and, frankly, I really don't care. All that matters is that the two are mentioned in the same sentence, which is the way it should be.
"I think 20 years from now," one AFC head coach said, "we'll be talking about Ben Roethlisberger the same way we talk about Bradshaw."
I think we already are.

extracted from cbssports.com