Concerns about Fowler’s maturity and off field behavior are still justified.
However...
The potential upside more than justifies any such risks. Besides, the cost wasn’t all that high.
If Fowler even approaches his potential, this addition changes the dynamics on D, and I mean Big Time. Call it synergy or what you want, but Fowler changes the dynamics for opposing OL players. No longer can opponents “cheat” by focusing so much of their assets on our 3 DL studs. Now, doing so could have disastrous results. Don’t be surprised if our DL trio now explodes.
More synergy occurs in making our secondary more effective. Each part of our D now benefits from the extra pressure from Fowler.
For those that are not yet convinced I can only put it this way. The weakest link on our D was addressed with the best available player with the highest perceived ceiling. And for a future 3rd and 5th. I give the FO and coaches kudos for swinging for the fences in this SB push season. I was unconvinced that we previously had a SB D, but now? With the return of Talib I really believe that we do. How can one put a price on that?
As others have pointed out, this staff has earned the benefit of the doubt early on with their track record of previous successes. And we shouldn’t underestimate what Wade and these teammates might be able to do to positively influence Fowler. If the kid has the sense that gawd gave green apples, he will realize that he could not be in a better place to finish his contract year. Now, it’s up to him.
About Jamon Brown? I’m still scratching my head. I thought yesterday that there was something going on that we didn’t know about. I still feel the same. We may never learn the full story. Incidentally, i don’t buy the story that JB’s salary cut was necessary to conclude this trade. Demoff has known for months about the trade deadline and the possible need to trade for an edge player so he should have had contract restructure contingencies already in place. Nope, there’s something else going on here.
