Ben Roethlisberger plans to use a golfing vacation to Europe as a tool to sharpen his mind this offseason.Â
"I am a pretty cerebral guy, so it is perfect to have that kind of activity in the offseason that keeps your brain ticking," Roethlisberger told Yahoo! Sports.Â
While we agree Big Ben has taken big strides in developing the mental part of his game, "cerebral" is not the first word that his style of play brings to mind. Roethlisberger has a lot of catching up to do in order to land on our highly scientific list of the game's most cerebral quarterbacks.
Most cerebral quarterbacks
- Peyton Manning: It's not his arm that has separated Manning all these years.
- Tom Brady: Greg Cosell of NFL Films is fond of saying that Brady's magic happens before the snap.
- Drew Brees: New Orleans' leader makes up for a relative lack of physical tools by understanding every assignment on the field.
- Eli Manning: This part of Eli's game was elite even before his accuracy started to improve.
- Ryan Fitzpatrick: Like Matt Hasselbeck, Fitzpatrick plays with a gambling style that belies his football smarts. The whole Harvard diploma thing breaks the tie and gets him on the list.
The next generation
- Aaron Rodgers: The only thing separating Rodgers from the top of this list is playing experience. Rodgers has learned to take advantage of what the defense gives him.
- Andy Dalton: He showed remarkable understanding of the pro game for a rookie. If he develops, Dalton could be a poor man's Brees.
- Robert Griffin III: Just listen to the kid talk and look at his track record at Baylor. Griffin's pocket awareness and smarts will take him even further than his amazing speed.
