Lotuleilei Work Out Video: Not retiring [Edit] At Minicamp

[IgotBILLStopay]

Star has been a no-show at the voluntary OTA's so far and I was thinking he might actually choose to retire. Even McD appeared a bit irritated with his no-show.

 

see https://heavy.com/sports/buffalo-bills/bills-defensive-anchor-leaning-retirement/

 

But he appears to be working out on his own (guess he has not heard of  a guy named Jawuan Jones).

 

 

Our space eater looks in great shape. We sorely missed him on the inside runs last season and I am glad he will now likely come during the mandatory minicamp. HIs replacements (Jefferson and Oliver) were at least 25 lbs lighter and quite easily run on. His leadership on that defensive line is also very underrated. He is the glue guy there.

[Saxum]

He seems to occupy a lot less space.

[Richard Noggin]

This video was posted a little while back. Not sure what it means, other than Star is in fact training, and looks fairly lean. 

 

Whether and when he, who opted out last season due to COVID concerns (ostensibly), wants to report to the facility of a team whose roster is mostly unvaccinated (allegedly), remains to be seen.

[Paul Costa]

Star ⭐️ lose weight? Or did he just trim his beard ?

[Buffalo Boy]

This must be a doctored video!!!!

I’ve read on this here page that Star is a worthless, lazy slug who is retiring 😎

Or maybe, those of us that said there was a rush to judgement might have judged right.

[Paul Costa]

If that was him he looked sharp and ready to go. He needs a few golden coral meals to beef up a little ?

[Richard Noggin]

53 minutes ago, IgotBILLStopay said:

Wouldnt be surprised if he lost a bit of weight - Covid affected the heavier guys disproportionately - and he opted out due to Covid concerns.

 

 

Good point about the 'unvaccinated". While vaccination or not is no doubt a personal decision, it is also undeniably a decision that imposes externalities on every one else. 

 

I have had a change of heart. Initially I wanted to leave the vaccination decision to individuals. Now, I think that for the sake of the team, Josh Allen and Cole Beasley should take the lead and get themselves vaccinated even if they remain unconvinced about its benefits. With the tens of millions already vaccinated - clearly the risk of harm appears miniscule. So, what dya have to lose?

Without getting too deep down the fraught path of vaccine discourse, I must agree with your posts here on a strictly football-related basis. Many/most NFL players probably voluntarily ingest substances (orally and through syringes) FAR more dangerous or at least FAR less tested than a vaccine like this one. They do this to stay on the field and to be more productive (which are intrinsically linked ends), and ultimately to maximize their contracts. One could easily argue that choosing not to get vaccinated logically runs counter to all the work they put in and all the stuff they allow into their bodies otherwise, because they're choosing a path of more likely (and more severe) infection and thus, of unpredictable time OFF the field. Again, this is thinking about it purely in terms of football availability. It's a bizarre choice with respect to the myriad other choices made in the name of availability and productivity. And this says nothing of a broader responsibility to the team (if you care about such virtues in a cold-hearted business) and its prospects this season.

 

Also, I really do wonder if the roster's vaccination rate could be a factor in Star's absence to date. Of course, other d-line vets are also absent, so who knows?

[YoloinOhio]

Retiring? 

[BADOLBILZ]

 

Another Star Ukulele thread?

 

[Peace Frog]

11 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Another Star Ukulele thread?

 

Awesome.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

21 minutes ago, Richard Noggin said:

Without getting too deep down the fraught path of vaccine discourse, I must agree with your posts here on a strictly football-related basis. Many/most NFL players probably voluntarily ingest substances (orally and through syringes) FAR more dangerous or at least FAR less tested than a vaccine like this one. They do this to stay on the field and to be more productive (which are intrinsically linked ends), and ultimately to maximize their contracts. One could easily argue that choosing not to get vaccinated logically runs counter to all the work they put in and all the stuff they allow into their bodies otherwise, because they're choosing a path of more likely (and more severe) infection and thus, of unpredictable time OFF the field. Again, this is thinking about it purely in terms of football availability. It's a bizarre choice with respect to the myriad other choices made in the name of availability and productivity. And this says nothing of a broader responsibility to the team (if you care about such virtues in a cold-hearted business) and its prospects this season.

 

Also, I really do wonder if the roster's vaccination rate could be a factor in Star's absence to date. Of course, other d-line vets are also absent, so who knows?

 

I expect that a lot of the DL vets are looking at the extended season with an extra game and wanting to nibble things short on the other end.

 

It's a valid point about the voluntary ingestion/injection of far less tested therapies.

 

I know for a fact a lot of these football players are hip-deep in alternative therapies that have little to no investigation of or data about 1) possible harms, including long term harms 2) effectiveness.    Cryotherapy (not ice baths, but liquid nitrogen); Ozone therapy; IV therapy from the more proven (Myer's Cocktail) to the more esoteric (glutathione, lipostat etc).  Then we move to platelet-enriched plasma injections and on from there.

 

My personal "take" on all that is they may help, and if not, the placebo effect is very real - if a guy believes in it and thinks it will make him better, chances are it will.

 

But I think a corollary is it makes the guys distrustful of mainstream medical expertise (that might tell them these things don't work) and more prone to believe all kinds of other stuff.

 

You're right, though, it's bizarre that a guy who is willing to have all kinds of stuff injected into his body or dripped into his veins without any kind of studies much less of "long term effects" suddenly seems to have a wholly different standard of proof for a vaccination.

[Governor]

2 hours ago, Paul Costa said:

Star ⭐️ lose weight? Or did he just trim his beard ?

He struggles to keep weight on, not the other way around.

[Richard Noggin]

51 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I expect that a lot of the DL vets are looking at the extended season with an extra game and wanting to nibble things short on the other end.

 

It's a valid point about the voluntary ingestion/injection of far less tested therapies.

 

I know for a fact a lot of these football players are hip-deep in alternative therapies that have little to no investigation of or data about 1) possible harms, including long term harms 2) effectiveness.    Cryotherapy (not ice baths, but liquid nitrogen); Ozone therapy; IV therapy from the more proven (Myer's Cocktail) to the more esoteric (glutathione, lipostat etc).  Then we move to platelet-enriched plasma injections and on from there.

 

My personal "take" on all that is they may help, and if not, the placebo effect is very real - if a guy believes in it and thinks it will make him better, chances are it will.

 

But I think a corollary is it makes the guys distrustful of mainstream medical expertise (that might tell them these things don't work) and more prone to believe all kinds of other stuff.

 

You're right, though, it's bizarre that a guy who is willing to have all kinds of stuff injected into his body or dripped into his veins without any kind of studies much less of "long term effects" suddenly seems to have a wholly different standard of proof for a vaccination.

If I may, I'm reminded of Hard Knocks with the Rams back when Fisher was still the head coach (and our own Rob Boras was heading the offensive play-calling?)...anyways, who was that DE who believed in Mermaids but NOT dinosaurs? I'll never forget his "logic" about it: the impressive volume of unearthed evidence of dinosaurs (you know, their actual remnants/fossils) was actually suspicious to him, whereas the complete LACK of evidence of mermaids (save for dubious anecdotal accounts) was a sign to him of something suspicious, like a coverup or conspiracy. His logic was entirely inverted. 

 

I think alternative medicines and treatments sometimes lead people down a similar path, where distrust in the mainstream healthcare machine (which undoubtedly gets things wrong sometimes) becomes belief. Some of it must be the demonstrable efficacy of belief/placebo effect, as you point out. Players find alternative treatments and therapies and medicines that help them more than the standard accepted practices. They both reap the rewards AND feel smarter or more resourceful for circumventing accepted best practice.

 

Anyways, it's a compelling storyline for this team and for others. I'll do my best to stick to football-related angles on it.

Edited June 11, 2021 by Richard Noggin

[machine gun kelly]

There could be a lot of reasons why Addison, Star, and Hughes are not at OTA’s.  Age seems to me to be the biggest corollary.  What someone wrote above that due to a longer season in the 17th game, it’s plausible they are staying away for wear and tear concerns.  It’s why I don’t get wrapped around the axle of our 30 somethings not there.  Morse didn’t even show up until this week.

 

Where the rubber meets the road is the mandatory mini camp coming up.  Anyone not in a contract dispute not showing up at that time where they are subject to fines would be a concern.  The guys most motivated to be at voluntary OTA’s are guys showing up in a Bills uni for the first time whether an acquisition, a rookie, or an UDFA.  The other group are the guys trying to make the team.  Leaders like Allen want to be there.  The flaw if this is a concern by some of our 30 somethings is if they get hurt on their own.  All of them are watching for the outcome on grievance filed by Juwan who now has been picked up by another team.

 

Their CBA is very clear.  The point in play is how much instruction did the team give to any player to follow some training regimen and whether the team carries liability.

 

I suspect all of these guys will be there once it is a mandatory camp.  

[H2o]

He definitely looks about 25-30lbs lighter imo, probably somewhere between 280-290lbs. Not sure how much that will effect his game or if he will bulk up a bit before the season starts. 

[RangerDave]

7 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

I think alternative medicines and treatments sometimes lead people down a similar path, where distrust in the mainstream healthcare machine (which undoubtedly gets things wrong sometimes) becomes belief. Some of it must be the demonstrable efficacy of belief/placebo effect, as you point out. Players find alternative treatments and therapies and medicines that help them more than the standard accepted practices. They both reap the rewards AND feel smarter or more resourceful for circumventing accepted best practice.

I wonder, too, if some players are looking for a competitive advantage.  Everyone can use the "mainstream healthcare machine".  Using normal therapies does not give them any additional advantage, since everyone is already using them.  What some players are looking for is something that other players don't know about or won't use to give them that edge on the competition.  It's why I think some people believe all kinds of nonsense they find on the internet.  They feel smarter when they think they know something that the rest of the world does not.  This is just a hypothesis not based on any science that I am aware of.

[Beast]

1 hour ago, H2o said:

He definitely looks about 25-30lbs lighter imo, probably somewhere between 280-290lbs. Not sure how much that will effect his game or if he will bulk up a bit before the season starts. 

 

He either bulks up ir is shown the door.

[Da webster guy]

I trust our Gm and Coaches, but if they are truly counting on this guy to be a difference maker on our defense this year I would consider that to be overly optimistic.

 

Does anyone know if we brought in any free agent 1 techs to try out this year?

[Beerball]

Old news.

[Buffalo Boy]

25 minutes ago, Da webster guy said:

I would consider that to be overly optimistic.

Because he looks like he hasn’t been :

Working out?

In shape?

Taking it seriously?

There is this assumption that Star and the coaches have had NO contact and he’s out there on his own.

Star is a vet leader who made a personal decision last year based on incomplete info. I wonder if he doesn’t have some misgivings about his choice in light of how the season turned out. I’m 1000% positive he has been in contact with other team members who have told him how much they need/ want him this year. This is a SB or bust year and they ALL know it.