I love how you put out opinions eloquently bob, but it doesn't change that fact that your wrong and a nut roller.. For one thing, when you say we have a "habit" of gravitating toward big players because of their past performance I find this insulting in the sense that you know better in which you don't....
Lets look at some past big names whom killed it, and if it wasn't for someone whom optimistically took a chance greatness may of never been achieved or allowed to exist. You can't say that Clowney won't be worth a high price tag, you are only guessing based off of a some injuries and a down year. It sounds to me like you would never be a successful business man because of your unwillingness to gamble.
Let me give you some examples of players whom excelled after some down time...
Ben Rothehlisberger
been accused by two women of sexual assault. While his indiscretions never led to legal troubles, Goodell suspended him for the first four games of the 2010 season.
The suspension hardly hurt Big Ben. He led the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Super Bowl following his suspension, and has worked hard to improve his image over the past year.
Peyton Manning
Perhaps no one in recent memory has enjoyed his second chance as much as Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.
Manning's 14 years with the Indianapolis Colts were historic. He led the franchise to a Super Bowl win, all while molding himself into the league's best quarterback. Dating back to the moment he was drafted, it was hard to picture Manning wearing anything else but his No. 18 blue and white jersey.
That sentiment changed after he
underwent a series of neck surgeries. Without their leader, the Colts plummeted to the bottom of the AFC South that season and landed the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL draft.
You could sense a changing of the guard was in the air. A few months later, Peyton was out and a young kid out of Stanford named Andrew Luck was in. Manning said goodbye to his former team and made his way over to the Broncos.
All he's done since putting on a Broncos uniform is shatter all sorts of passing records and lead the Broncos to back-to-back 13-3 seasons—including one Super Bowl appearance.
We won't ever see another quarterback like Peyton Manning again. Even after neck surgery and his departure from the only place he called home, he's still out there heaving touchdown passes.
Bottom line, let the coaches figure this stuff out man, quit telling us what we should or shouldn't want.