BADOLBILZ

Yeah I will take a SB trip followed by a 9-7. They went 9-7 in 2019 in a lot tougher division than the AFC East(after winning 2 division titles, something the Bills haven't done in a very long time) and they will be back in good cap shape in 2021 and will be playing in the greatest new NFL facility ever in the most popular market to live in. Wouldn't even surprise me if they spent some future money this offseason and pissed everyone off like the Saints have been doing for a decade when Bills fans have been buying the hype about how bad the Saints cap situation was. They are anything but screwed. Worst thing they have going for them is that great division they are in.

No I think it's because they want Gregg Olsen..........because he can still play and as a mentor with a skillset similar to Dawson Knox. Veterans in every room. I suspect..........and frankly HOPE.......they keep shopping in the veteran aisle in UFA. Give me Gerald McCoy in the room with Ed Oliver and Calais Campbell in the room with Bam Johnson..........give me a veteran LB who can bounce between SOLB and MLB so they can use Edmunds more in pass rush. The fits are good and the likelihood of being able to lure them to Buffalo is greater than high leverage young UFA's like Shaq Barrett and Amari Cooper who might not even take a visit.

He brings great insight into what makes a player lazy and what doesn't motivate them to not be.

I'm guessing the impetus for the deal was the March roster bonus. Those things are great for players and agents...........they force decisions.........teams don't want to pay $1M bonus and then later cut the guy but to me guaranteeing him that money to save $1.75M is stepping over a dollar to pick up 25 cents. To me I'd rather pay him the roster bonus...........keep him incentivized to work for that unguaranteed money for 7 months............. and then talk pay cut in summer if it came down to that. Nobody is lining up to pay Star $4M in August. Not even close. They bid against themselves to save some money now..........which is odd because the "now" value of $1.75M when you have $90M to spend shouldn't be that high.

I don't think Harry rushes the passer well enough for the 3 tech...........they want heat from that spot. He's also pretty good at DT1T and I'd expect him to get around 55% of the snaps or maybe even more...........he actually tackles RB's..........as a rookie he had twice as many tackles as Star in far fewer snaps............ which is nice when your MLB is a lot more of a matchup advantage against the pass than the run. That' what's killer with Star at DT..........when teams want to run the LB's and safeties gotta' make all the tackles because Star can't get off blocks.

And yet the Rams were 9-7 in the toughest division in football and will not be a "disaster" cap wise in about 13 months. They'll just be in the greatest NFL facility ever in the most attractive market to live in. Rams are really screwed........geez. Nobody is in cap hell for long anymore Mr. Salty. Teams with good QB's and coaching and GM's who juggle talent win more consistently. Like I said.........Seahawks were the youngest team in the NFL when they won the SB and had the best defense of the generation and a future HOF QB.........and 3 years later they were in re-build.........it's not 1988 the Bills aren't going on a 12 year run where they have a bunch of 10+ year stud players on the team the entire time. Not the way the NFL works anymore.

Yeah I'm just a big believer in incentivizing players............especially ones that have a concerning history wrt motivation. That 2015 offseason where the Bills guaranteed Rex $25M.....outrageous under the circumstances......... and then turned around and extended McCoy out of stupidity with $26M more in guarantees and paid Percy Harvin like he was trustworthy and then gave all that guaranteed dough to Dareus with no conduct clauses. Just insane. That front office had a boatload of cap room to spend and were living in an "on paper this sounds good" dimension that just isn't reality. All of those people were disincentivized to perform by unusually generous deals where the team was basically bidding against itself and not surprisingly they all underwhelmed in 2015. Paying Star up front goes against the nature of the greatest concerns about him...........that he doesn't play up to expectations. I mean the dude tore it up in his rookie year and has been on cruise control cashing pay checks ever since. First year after big contract with Bills has by far his worst season and after another dud of a season he's getting his base salary guaranteed? It's like past peformance doesn't matter in evaluation. Which is of course one of the things we worry about with McBeane........giving too much rope or doubling down on mistakes because they like the person.

The point is that doesn't matter. It's OK if they are the oldest team in the NFL next year..............you don't win by keeping young cores together for a long time anymore. The Seahawks won the SB with the youngest team in the entire NFL.....young at all key positions etc.......3 years later they were in major re-tool. A lot of Bills fans haven't paid attention to how good NFL teams are run for a couple decades now...........you try to make hay on your rookie QB contract.........and after that you have to adjust the plan. So what the Rams did was great.......perennial losing franchise that took a shot and actually got to a SB........they are on a fat vet QB contract now and have to adjust their plan the way the Seahawks have. Hopefully the Bills actually contend for at least one SB win before Allen gets paid.........but the clock is ticking..........they can't be on the @Don Otreply"we need at least two more years to build" plan cuz in two more years they will be either in contract 2 of Josh Allen or on to a different QB.

I don't think so. They will return more players than ever under McDermott.........coincidentally all a year older?. And the first free agent they are pursuing is soon to be 35 year old Gregg Olsen. Frankly most of the best fits for this team in UFA are going to be older like Olsen. They do have 9 draft picks and as much as I'd like to see Beane execute them all I think the general consensus is that he will be using some of them to trade up. If I'm wrong be sure to remind me that the team got "younger"...........but I won't be wrong.

So you think concern about possibly being out of the league in 2021 is going to motivate a player with on-field effort issues who is going into his age 31 season.....coming off two years of declined production......and has now pocketed nearly $50M in his career to both prepare and perform at high level in 2020? Well you have more faith than I.

Not go to a Super Bowl? Interesting.......but I'll pass on that plan. "Interestingly enough" the Bills were the 6th oldest team in the NFL last year..........and I wouldn't be surprised if they don't get any younger as they try to make the jump from wildcard hopeful to a division contender and hopefully more.

It's one of those offseason moves that makes sense on paper...........until September when the player with the effort issues has just spent an entire offseason without any financial motivation to prepare for it. $4.25M isn't debilitating if he stinks but it's probably not money they should have guaranteed just to save $1.75M.

Is this like when you said it was "embarrassing" that Bills fans hadn't sold out the Ravens@Bills game in December well in advance...........when you yourself were talking about how you won't come to December games cuz you want to hang out with family? We get it Stink........your plans with family are important.........everyone else is a friggin' embarrassment. You have a lame shtick..........and it's literally calling out everything as "embarrassing". But thanks for jumping into the thread to do your one trick.

I will be surprised if there aren't a couple of them in Buffalo next season. And I don't mind..........most of those guys were great fits in their defense and can still play or should be very cheap or both.

In both cases they need a touchdown JUST TO TIE............hence they were never in position to win either game. Here's a little perspective for you "one score" defenders.........the Bills were 6-10 the year before and their point differential was just under -7 points per game............sure losing by "one score" is better than getting blown out but it doesn't really reflect much. Losing by 7 points is not a moral victory........it's a pretty standard NFL loss.

Specifically he picked up his play after the media started calling out his play. He still wasn't good but he was notably more active after public criticism.

Sure. But then 25-25 is 25-25...........and 0-6 against your biggest rival is still 0-6. -120+ point differential and the 30th ranked offense in 3 seasons is still what it is.......very poor. These guys didn't inherit a woeful team like ......just for example......Sean McVay with the LA Rams or Kyle Shanahan with the San Francisco 49ers.............it's OK to keep in perspective what they have(and have not) accomplished.

Ok they lost 3 of their last 4 "meaningful" games.........and the one win was narrow victory against Duck Hodges. It doesn't really make it any better. They had critical, winnable games in December at home against Baltimore and in New England and they played poorly and they scored late points to narrow the gaps but they were never in position to win either of those games. Pulling out the "one score" card after the sixth straight loss to NE for this regime is very, very weak.

It's only a good deal if they were dead-set-determined to keep him no matter the circumstances. Falling Star Lotulelei going into this season with no financial motivation whatsoever sounds like a bad idea to me.

On the flip side they are 25-25 with a staggering -120+ point differential in those 3 years. Mainly because their offense has been ghastly..........just ***** awful.......which is what @BillsVetis getting at with his investment take. They've been a lot luckier than good.......but as you mentioned they have a lot of assets to make a jump to the point where they stop getting slapped around when they start playing good teams(lost 4 of last 5 to finish season as the schedule finally toughened).

Greg Olsen Mario Addison Gerald McCoy Thomas Davis Josh Norman Luke Kuechly(sign as coach, activates if team makes playoffs and needs help) Lotta' potential "former Panthers" options McBeane could look at this offseason.

Just because fans don't like him or expect more it doesn't lessen what he may not bring to the team? That entire post is like the end speech in Animal House.?

Richie lost his mind in part due to the fact that lesser guards were signing big contracts after he had just taken an incredibly ill-advised pay cut. There won't be any DT of lesser quality than Star getting paid close to what he still is.

Star + next 3 years + with Bills = nofa king chance This was all about getting the one last season guaranteed.

Yes on the first part.......this basically protects him from getting gaffed on cut down day. That's what happened to LeSean McCoy........and he ended up taking a $2M pay cut signing with KC. The possibility that Harrison Phillips comes back strong and another 4th-6th round DT1T comes in and out-hustles Star and makes the Bills feel comfortable cutting him was every bit as good as the chances McCoy would be cut. I suspect a steadily declining, aging and recently mediocre run stuffer like Lotulelei would be looking at between a vet minimum and $2M contract on the open market at the end of August...........and that someone would have to be really short bodies. He might even have to wait until week 2 to sign when his contract would basically be week to week(in which case I suspect he'd have retired I don't think he wants it that bad based on his lack of effort). As for him being with the team in 2021...........I doubt it.........I won't be surprised if he's an healthy scratch by the end of the 2020 season. 2021 was always when he was going to be easier to cut.