BarleyNY

Circumstances have changed. The fact that the Bills were one of two teams seriously pursuing trading for Hopkins is indicative of that. But the degree to which this regime will be more aggressive is certainly debatable.

The Bills knew who Diggs was when they traded for him and then later signed him to his current contract. He’s an elite, emotional player who gets angry when he thinks his teammates and/or coaches let him and the team down. And he’s watched both happen while he has played at his typical elite level. The coaches effed up with 13 seconds against KC and most of the team - Allen included - didn’t bother to show up in the playoffs this past year. Diggs, Milano and only a few others should have had their heads up after the Bengals game. And the team sucked against the Phins too. Squeaking out a 3 point win against Skyler Thompson was embarrassing. So, yeah, there’s definitely some effort by the team to keep the Diggs situation from blowing up. But they are tied together for two more seasons - at least - so what choice do they have?

Agreed on the money. That’ll be interesting. I wonder what Hopkins was asking for from teams wanting to trade for him. His contract would’ve been tough to fit into any decent team’s cap. Was he asking for a bump up? Would he have played for the same money with a restructure? Was he looking for additional years or guarantees? I expect him to go to the highest bidder among playoff caliber teams. With the highest bidder being the best combo of guaranteed money and expected income. I don’t know where this will land, but I think it’ll take a payout of at least $30M over two years - with most/all of that guaranteed - just to get his agent talking. Structure would make it look like a bigger deal to spread out the cap hits though. Signing Hopkins isn’t without risks. His age and PED suspension are both concerning. But it’s probably a risk worth taking for the Bills and this regime. Beane and McDermott likely have two seasons to show progress and earn extensions so Hopkins would fit in to that very nicely. Time for them to push in all their chips.

I think that you have to consider changing circumstances when looking at how people act. Beane has changed his approach as the team became more competitive. I think that there is a lot of pressure on Beane and McDermott to get over the top and that they reasonably have two seasons to do so. That’s based on how the last few seasons ended as well as their tenure and contract situations. I think a move like bringing in Hopkins for two seasons makes a lot of sense in that context. I think we offer him a sizable contract that is effectively two seasons, but is longer and spreads out the cap hits for two seasons beyond that. Edit: I should stress that this is what I expect to happen, not necessarily what I’d do. Hopkins scares me due to his age and PED violation. I know Beane has more info than us fans. I think taking the chance has a lot of merit, but there are certainly risks.

Hopkins has no guaranteed money left on his contract. The dead money on Hopkins’ deal that AZ has to account for is due to money (signing bonuses) already paid to him but not accounted for on their cap. It has no bearing on any future contracts.

I don’t understand how this is supposed to be fun. Maybe when there are some other features added it’ll be interesting.

I do laundry a couple times a week. 2-3 loads each time. Sometimes I will throw in an additional single load if I have time and the mood strikes.

That they’re hideous is the fun of it. Also I’ve seen some ladies in the spandex zubas that are very far from hideous.

I agree. Beane and McDermott are tied and will stay or go together. They have concurrent contracts through 2025 so a decision will be made (one way or the other) by no later than after the 2024 season.

Not great, but how about they show all of the important stats for QBs during one score games? Show me yards, TDs, QBR, PFF rating, WAR, etc. Something (heck, anything) that gives a sense of the whole picture. I’m not one to sugar coat negatives - and I do think Allen needs to improve in the turnover area - but there’s not much context here. Shrug.

Which would be why some of us are concerned about him being able to perform at his previous level. Because he’s a good player and important to the team.

I get that there are still 3 or 4 months before the season starts so things have time to dramatically improve. But OTOH Dawkins’ weight and conditioning have been an issue in the past and it did seem to be an issue last season. This season he looks to be in the worst shape he’s ever been in as Bill. The possible impact of that on Allen’s health and the Bills’ season is a legitimate concern IMO. Again, the season doesn’t start tomorrow, but this bears watching.

Do you think Dawkins is carrying around 10 extra pounds of water?

12th among LTs LINK and 22nd among OTs. That seems about right for him. I’ve always liked Dawkins as a player and from what I’ve seen of him as a person. That said, his weight has been a concern that has grown each season. I can see him playing out his contract but don’t see how he gets extended. Not bringing in a quality swing tackle this season could be a real problem.

Yup. In lopsided college games it allows the team getting pummeled to avoid getting unnecessarily injured on kickoff returns by fair catching them all. That won’t happen as often in the NFL, but if I’m a coach I’m using this to my advantage. I’m telling my KO return team to fair catch every KO in meaningless games or after meaningful games are out of hand in either direction.

meh. like 40% get returned now - and most of those wind up around the 25 anyway. whoop. just get rid of it already

It really is a nothingburger. It was weird when I saw it happen the first time in a college game, but then I figured out what was going on.

The difference is that now a fair caught kick off anywhere inside the 25 yard line comes out to the 25. Same as in FBS.

If I’m him and no team is willing to trade for me and take on my contract (even with a restructure), then I’m making the Cards pay me or cut me. I think that’s where he is. Cards start mandatory minicamp on June 13th.

Can’t choose without knowing the answer to this.

I’m in that sweet spot too

No, he’s past his prime. He’s never been the same since Uptown Girl.

That’s a fair question. I really don’t have an issue with RB or what they did. I liked what was done there. It was probably a modest improvement at reasonable cost. The assertion that there was a huge improvement there was what I was responding to. There wasn’t, but there really didn’t need to be. What I’d have done at WR depends on how far back you want to go. I’m not a fan of paying a WR2 in FA. You never rarely see them live up to their contract. Going back to this draft, I’d have gone harder after JSN when he slid. Back to FA this year: I am not a fan of Harty or the contract we signed him to. I would have used that money elsewhere. Last season was really the time to address a possible successor to Davis. After Wilson and Olave I thought Pickens was the next best WR in the draft and was hoping the Bills would move up in the second for him (or that he’d fall). I was far from the only one who wanted to see that. Two other big issues that weren’t addressed properly were MLB and OT. This post is long enough already so I’ll wrap it up. A possible successor to Edmunds should’ve been drafted two seasons ago. Or they should’ve brought in a quality vet this season even if it meant overpaying for a year. They also needed to bring in real competition for Brown but didn’t. Even a guy like Jermaine Eluemunor (not the only option) who re-signed with LV for $3M would’ve helped. And we could’ve still re-signed Quess to be OT4.

Thanks. I get that and why people would want to stick to the better possible outcomes. That’s just not interesting to me though. I look at the team from a standpoint of what I’d do if I was in charge. I know I’m not always going to be right but it keeps my interest and I have learned a lot that way. On game days I am fully in fan mode though. Nothing to do but root for the team and hope for the best.