st pete gogolak

What are the cap ramifications of an injury settlement?

In looking at the numbers, it appears that it is more terrible luck than gross mismanagement. $30 million for White, Miller and Milano. White signed his contract in his prime when he was one of the very best corners in the league. Nobody’s complaining about Milano’s contract. Yes, Miller was a significant gamble but if he didn’t tear his ACL, I doubt anyone is complaining about it. If all three are 100% healthy, we probably win the SB. But they weren’t and we didn’t. If Greenlaw doesn’t tear his Achilles walking on the field (!), maybe SF beats KC. Nobody wants to admit it but luck does indeed play a big part in all of this.

The problem with this is that if it’s not the SuperBowl or even conference championship, do you really want your team to play a game and a half (or more) and then play another game a week later? I know that they have different rules for regular season OT and playoffs but I assume you at least want a uniform OT rule throughout the playoffs.

I’ll put it this way. If RT was a priority going into 2023, it’s not anymore. I’m a fan and hope he sticks around.

I always thought soccer was weird in not having sudden death when teams go into overtime (sometimes they do - a golden goal, sometimes they don’t). A team gives up a goal and then has a chance to tie or win and it goes to more overtime or penalty kicks (which is an awful way to end a match). Maybe that would be the “fairest” way to go in NFL playoffs - 15 minute overtime. If the game is tied at that point, then moves to sudden death.

Interesting to take a quick look at kicker salaries. Tucker makes $6 million, Bass $5, Butker and Elliot $4. A few mediocre kickers make more than Bass. The real deal is the rookie on Dallas who makes 55 yarders like they are extra points. He makes less than $1. 30 years ago, Jimmy Johnson said that kickers are fungible. Not sure if that is true anymore. These days, you better have someone who you are comfortable putting out there to make 50+ yarders. If you do, you pay him. If you don’t, you don’t ( or shouldn’t).

Are the Chiefs better than the Bills? Clearly yes. It’s silly to argue otherwise. Three time SB champion; 3 - 0 v. Bills in playoffs, etc. What grinds my gears are the several posters who talk about the huge chasm between the two teams. One talked about how the Chiefs are a lock to dominate the next ten years (10 years!). Two arguments there, one looking backward and one forward. Backward. The Bills have played 7 games against the Chiefs the last four years (5 in their building). Record 3 - 4, points 183 - 190; yards over the last five games are essentially a push (1996 - 2038). We win turnover battle 11 - 4. I don’t see how anyone can argue there is some wide gulf between the two teams. I’m firmly convinced that if we don’t suffer the defensive injuries in the Miami and Pittsburgh games (forget about White and Milano), we comfortably beat KC in this year’s divisional round. How about looking forward? Chiefs have cap room, we don’t. But they may lose some combination of Jones, Sneed and Gay. Either that or there goes their cap space. Our offense comes back intact. There isn’t a FA on D I’d shed a tear losing (other than Jones). In fact, I think injecting a bunch of youth on the D will be a huge positive. No team has won three SB’s in a row. Injuries, complacency or just bad luck catches up to the best teams. I’m not going to be doom and gloom about our team. Not as long as Allen is healthy.

It’s been pointed out numerous times here that playoff failures over the last five years are invariably defensive failures (giving up an average of 33 PPG over the last four losses). So really the mystery comes down to why a defense that is typically a top performing regular season defense poops the bed in the postseason. I’m a believer that the bend but don’t break, soft zone defense needs to be revamped. Look to the Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf” defenses. Super aggressive, built to play with a lead and cause turnovers. Not particularly a good defense. WE NEED TO CHANGE DEFENSIVE PHILOSOPHY! It’s been said many times, what is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Well done. What a ####show. It really is essential to have an owner who wants to win above all else (not that that guarantees winning). Just out of curiosity, took quick look at stats from SB 26 and 28 - 26 four INT’s and a lost fumble (six fumbles altogether!); 28 - two lost fumbles and one INT. So in three consecutive SB’s, the Bills turned the ball over 17 times! Average almost six turnovers per game. Incredible.

I think that may be the best pass Allen has thrown with the Bills. Laser.

Dealer’s choice.

My “Mahones Ball Washing Thread” should NOT have been merged into a Mahones v. Brady thread. Totally different topics. Could care less about comparisons between the two. My thread concerned the MEDIA. Specifically how the talking heads judge QB greatness upon the rings to the exclusion of pretty much everything else and give QB’s credit for championships to the exclusion of pretty much anyone else.

Don’t get me wrong. I agree he is a great QB, but so many more factors go into winning a championship: HC, OC, decent OL and skill positions. Defense for God’s sakes. Just hate when commentators act like it’s Borg v. McEnroe.

Nope. Rings should not be sole criteria of greatness.

I enjoy Mike Greenberg and Get Up but yesterday and today they ran segments entitled “Does a Super Bowl Win Make Mahones an Immortal?”. The point being that no NFL player has won two MVP’s and three championships in his first seven seasons. Only players who have accomplished that are Bird, Russell, LaFluer, Musial, Mantle and DiMaggio (admittedly a pretty awesome list). This stuff drives me crazy. Football is the ultimate team game. It’s not tennis. It’s not golf. Heck, even in basketball one player has immeasurably more impact on the game than any one football player. Please tell me that Brady would have won 7 SB’s if Brady’s Colts had to beat Manning’s Patriots every year? And I give Brady enormous credit for (1) winning 4 rings after age 36 (just insane) and (2) winning a title with the Bucs. If the Bills had kept their draft pick and selected Mahones would he be going for his third ring this Sunday? Mahones is good. He is very good. But please, please stop measuring QB’s in a vacuum based solely on the number of rings that they have.

Legitimate question. How did we get here? What tremendous swings did we take to go “all in”? Miller, ok, that was a giant swing and a miss because of the injury. Diggs? He’s produced and has been paid accordingly. Am I missing something? The Rams went “all in” and won a Super Bowl. What did we get? The fuzzy end of the lollipop.

I lean towards evaporated instead of condensed. Depends on the recipe.

Does this mean there will be a screen pass to a RB? I’ll believe it when I see it.

Nobody’s dumb enough to actually do this.

As someone pointed out, the freaky thing is that Diggs’ 2023 was a duplicate of his 2022 season - great first half, disappeared in the second half and the playoffs. That fact doesn’t point to Diggs “aging out”. Is it injuries, coincidence, something else? Have no idea but 30 shouldn’t be the end of the road for an elite receiver.

Doesn’t this scream playing Taron full time at FS (assuming Williams is one of your 11 best D players)? It solves a lot of problems.

For some inane reason just finished watching highlights of 1998 Bills Dolphins playoff game. Is it legal to draft Eric Moulds a second time? Guy was such a beast.

Quick. Who was NE’s TE in Brady’s first three SB’s?

Our base D seemingly forever now has been a 4 - 2 - 5. If Dorian Williams makes the same jump between first and second year as Bernard (yeah, I know, BIG if), why not play some 4 - 3 - 4 to get Milano, Bernard and Williams on the field at the same time, simply as a change of pace? Better yet, if we move to 4 - 3 as our base D, it can solve some immediate problems on D without signing a bunch of FA’s or depending on rookies to start. Is there any reason Taron Johnson can’t be full time starting FS? Good tackler, ball hawk, veteran. Keep Poyer another year as SS. CB’s are Douglas and Benford. Elam can come in as nickel, maybe even play some press against slot or TE to take advantage of his supposed strengths. Milano, Bernard and Williams at LB with Spector giving some vet depth. Up front, Rousseau, Oliver, DQ (only FA signing) and Miller. Of course, still need to go heavy on D in draft (after going WR in #1). Find next year’s replacements for Poyer, Jones and Miller early and draft some CB’s late. Ideally, you’d like to find a starting DE to allow Miller to play third-down pass rushing specialist (maybe find a way to squeeze money for AJE). is it ideal? No. But I think it’s realistic given the cap constraints.

Did we fail to go after Haley because of Polish or because of Ralph? Damn autocorrect. Polian, not Polish.