Okay, so there were four quarterbacks playing this weekend on Championship Sunday, but there are two that really stood out for me. While I think Aaron Rodgers is clearly the most talented quarterback of the four, and Mark Sanchez played hard and made a couple of big plays; it was “Big” Ben Roethlisberger and Jay Cutler that grabbed my attention this weekend. That is to say the attention that they grabbed is what grabbed mine. Roethlisberger played a fairly ugly, even arguably subpar game, yet gets all the credit for being a clutch quarterback who came up with the game-winning play. Cutler, on the other hand, was vilified and caught all of the blame for the loss against Rodgers and the Packers; but the surprising part was why he was singled out and by whom.

Ben Roethlisberger has garnered a reputation as a big game quarterback. He is a guy who has won 2 Super Bowls, 1 more than Peyton Manning and only 1 less than Tom Brady – pretty nice company. He led the game winning drive and threw a great pass to Santonio Holmes to win Super Bowl XLV. He has a knack for moving around in the pocket, extending plays, and making throws on the run. I’ll give you all that. Roethlisberger is a uniquely talented quarterback. He can sometimes make the ugly look beautiful. But here’s something that I think gets lost in the shuffle: Big Ben plays on a really good team and has an incredible defense behind him.

This takes a lot of the pressure off of him. If Peyton Manning, and even Tom Brady to some extent, makes a mistake, his team pretty much loses. All of the pressure and responsibility is put squarely on Peyton’s (who is basically his own offensive coordinator) and Tom’s (who is arguably the most clutch quarterback besides Joe Montana) shoulders. Here’s a fun stat for you…Big Ben’s three worst quarterback ratings in his playoff career? 2004 AFC Div. vs. the Jets – 57.8. Team Result? Win. 2010 AFC Champ. vs. the Jets – 35.5. Team Result? Win. Super XL vs. the Seahawks – 22.6. Team Result? You guessed it…Win. The Steelers win behind their defense and their running. I’m certainly not saying that Roethlisberger isn’t a good quarterback. I’m just saying let’s not put him too high up on the pedestal. I shudder to think of the incredible things that could be accomplished if Peyton Manning had the Steelers defense behind him. Let’s just say the ’72 Dolphins might just have to keep their bubbly on the shelves.

And then there’s Jay Cutler. Cutler is about as up and down as it gets. He is oft praised and even more oft maligned for his all or nothing type of play. Cutler is renowned for his great arm and ability to make throws that almost no one else on the planet could make; however, he is just as infamous for making throws that almost no one else on the planet would make…right into the arms of the other team. But Cutler didn’t actually make the headlines this weekend for his on the field performance. It was actually his conspicuous absence that drew the criticism.

Cutler attempted one series in the second half of the NFC Championship game Sunday vs. intradivision rival Green Bay. The media had plenty to say about Cutler’s demeanor on the sideline – historically boorish and whiney. Many questioned Cutler’s toughness and heart. I didn’t think any of this was very fair. Of course he’s not in a good mood. He’s sitting on the sidelines during the NFC Championship game when he could be out there helping his team. Another thing that gets lost in the shuffle is that Cutler has been on some terrible teams. He played at Vanderbilt and never missed a start, even though he was beaten up by the bullies of the SEC week in and week out. He was on the rebuilding Broncos. And he was on a Bears team behind an offensive line that led the league in sacks during the regular season (7^th last season). Through all of that punishment, Cutler has missed one game. He missed it this season, after doctors did not clear him to play after suffering a concussion.

Cutler has a personality and a play style that are divisive. There are many things to love about Cutler’s game, but there is a lot to criticize too. That is not uncommon for the media. Controversy sells. So I was not surprise to see sports writers and TV analysts criticize Cutler and question his toughness. I disagreed with them, but was not surprised. What did surprise me was how many players jumped onto Twitter to criticize Cutler. In the age of instant and accessible media, it is easy to make your opinion heard; however, it is also easy to speak without knowing the full situation. It turns out Cutler had an MCL sprain, basically the same injury that kept Maurice Jones-Drew out of the final two games of the regular season, who Tweeted some critical words about Cutler (though MJD later said he was joking, and not even at Cutler’s expense). I’m not questioning Jones-Drew’s toughness, just this incessant need to offer instantaneous commentary on everything that happens.

I’m not sure if Cutler ‘could’ or ‘should’ have played. All I know is that he was hurt, his coach says it was the team’s and the doctor’s decision to keep him out, and his teammates back him. Look, criticize Cutler all you want for his propensity to throw a pick, but let’s not pick on a guy who was injured. I understand that football is a “man’s” game and that players play through pain. But a knee is pretty important. Ronnie Lott cut off a finger to keep playing (awesome…crazy, but awesome), but I doubt he would have been quite as effective if he cut off his leg.

So before we dwell on Cutler’s heart and inability to “tough it out,” let us not forget Big Ben’s shortcomings. I think I’d rather have a guy on my team who only missed one start and had the talent of Cutler than a guy like Big Ben that I feel I have to baby sit every second he’s away from the field (see: motorcycle accident and multiple sexual assault charges). But what do I know? I’m just some guy that writes about football, never played it.