You did call it a while back that the offense would look different without Bowe. I don’t think my brain was ready to process that hypothesis back then, but wow good call man. It’ll be interesting to see the production of the WR over the next three games……

But maybe the team as a whole has reached a tipping point, where they’ve found a style of play and a positive sense of themselves and each other. Bradley seems to have the entire tool kit, but at the key moment, it’s like he realizes there are a million people watching, or the ball is just where he has trouble getting the handle, or (earlier) doesn’t seem to know where the yardsticks are. Football IQ/Ferocity stuff.

I’m not one to break the bank, but I’d make a point of making some sort of gesture toward him when I didn’t have to, like after bargain is struck, throw another 100 K (or something 6-figurish) on top. In NFL terms, VERY small potatoes, but showing a little goodwill earns 3 times that amount of good will in return. When you get starting quality at middle-of-the-pack prices, you can be more generous than you have to be, and the guy comes to work because he wants to, rather than because he has to, like LJ (or even TG or BW). He’ll do more of the little things and more little things will go right for you on the field of play (the invisible hand).

I think that’s kind of Pioli’s style, with the bottom-of-the-roster churning. Not the same thing, quite, but every time you turn up a gem, you can treat a guy very well, and still come out ahead of teams that are spending #1 picks on PONeed and chasing after top FAs at too many positions.

Along the lines of the larger discussion, and looking at the last offseason, I think Pioli’s unlikely to make more than one or two really aggressive FA moves, and will have all kinds of hedges (no reaches for yo-yo players like McGlockton, Williams, or Derrick Alexander with high price tag – has to be minimal downside risk). Reason I’m saying this is any talk (by others) about this or that big-name FA WRs is against a backdrop involving possible Wilfork scenario. I can see one PONeed being addressed by a big-time contract, but the rest will be quiet moves, such as securing Chambers for reasonable for a reasonable length of time – as un-splashy as possible.

I agree that incentives are smart for any contract, but I kinda don’t like the phrase “incentive-laden” contract always coming up in the context of players with asterisks next to their names. Hard to explain. I guess I’m saying positive reinforcement, rather than negative. With incentives, the psychology is almost like the organization is betting against the player doing well, trying to protect themselves from his fuck-ups, rather than something to double the player’s pleasure when things go well on the field.