I'm pretty headstrong about most contract Seasons.. But, I aint so sure we should just add too a pile. I realize no Team is gonna all of a sudden start to believe a guys soft. But, its a hard sell, for damaged goods. Put it this way,, Can his agent really be saying: Okay, IF you... Then, we got additional Bank! (Think a business man is more concerned w/ securities..) No you want the Beast? Ya put it up the Realz monies..
I'm kinda paying attention to Bell, and the Steelers.. I don't believe adding "contract issues" can be added, in a nonchalant fashion.. Players been known to sit out, which I don't believe is the case.. But, I don't believe sitting out against the Steelers would be the bright thing to do..
In this case, can you expound why Bell should get an extra pass for "playing for contract" ?
Not sure what all the stuff above is, or what you mean by "extra pass".... but, how about we just look at data from "Walk Year" players from 2010-2015
AVG FP AVG YDS
RB +15.6 +141.4
WR +11.3 +78.0
TE +7.2 -30.7
First, as you can see, RB is the position MOST likely to benefit from "walk year bump", historically.
Assuming an average starting RB (let's use RB15 projections of 160FP, 800 yards) we're looking at an average of 10-15% bump in production for walk year RBs in 2010-2015 period. This obviously includes some guys who were on their way down, and some who were on their way up. To determine if we expect Bell to be on either side of that, let's look at the two likely factors that may contribute to this effect:
1) PLAYER WANTS A BIG CONTRACT
Motivation drives performance, and for many guys money is a BIG motivator. Bell's rejection of a multi year 12MM deal pretty clearly states he believes he's worth a massive contract. One way to get that money is to to back up last year's performance with one this year of comparable or superior caliber.
2) TEAMS RIDE THE HORSE ON ITS WAY OUT THE DOOR
Assuming Pitt thinks Bell is gone, it's safe to assume they will not pace his workload to protect an asset they do not own for the long term. They will squeeze that berry for all the juice they can get out of it.
So.... we have history showing us RB's, on average, post stronger numbers in walk years, we have a situation that SEEMS to point toward Bell being motivated to post big numbers, and Pitt motivated to get as much production out of him as possible in a system that supports RB production.... and I think Bell is prime for a special year.
Now... on a PPG level, he was already RB1 in some scoring systems, so we can question how much room does he have to move up? However I think it's safe to say that barring injury or suspension, he's as good a candidate as any to continue the trend.