Dion Dawkins is latest to rave about Bills DE A.J. Epenesa

[ROCBillsBeliever]

32 minutes ago, TPS said:

A pass rush going forward of Groot, Ed, Boogie, and EJ will be tough to stop. 

 

I posted a "Shocked" emoticon because I didn't realize the Bills retained rights to EJ Manuel, that he bulked up, and that he made the switch to Defensive End. That fish is all sorts of cray, LOL!

Edited June 5, 2021 by ROCBillsBeliever

[Doc]

1 minute ago, ROCBillsBeliever said:

I posted a "Shocked" emoticon because I didn't realize the Bills retained rights to EJ Manuel, that he bulked up, and that he made the switch to Defensive End. That fish is all sorts of cray, LOL!

 

Could have meant Gaines.

[eball]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Beane acknowledged interest and talks. 

 

But of course there's a lot of room between interest/talks and serious negotiations.

 

“Any time a player of JJ Watt’s caliber becomes available, you’d be foolish not to consider whether or not he could help your football team.”

 

This is not a direct quote from Beane but is probably damn close. He answered questions about Watt with typical GM-speak. 

[Buffalo Boy]

1 hour ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

 

I feel like AJ Epenesa is a dark horse among the breakout candidates this year. Personally, I don't see him becoming a super sack-master. I'm hoping he can become an all around, jack of all trades, solid starter. 8-10 sacks, strong in run support, and racking up lots of tackles for a lineman.

 

If either of the top 2 DE rookies can break out, Hughes upping his sack totals a bit, Star back, and Ed Oliver finally plays to his draft status then might see a totally different defense. Unfortunately, that's a lot of IFs and Buts. I do think we will see an improvement. Whether it's a big of small one only time will tell.

    Last year, this time, we all hoped Josh would do what he did but none of us really believed he would.

   We have a real shot to have a top five D line this year. If it happens, our D will also be top five and we should be able to beat KC.

    The window is open and “ Why not us”?

[Doc]

12 minutes ago, eball said:

“Any time a player of JJ Watt’s caliber becomes available, you’d be foolish not to consider whether or not he could help your football team.”

 

This is not a direct quote from Beane but is probably damn close. He answered questions about Watt with typical GM-speak. 

 

I could have sworn that I've heard Beane actually said something along those lines, replacing "JJ Watt" with "any good player/a specific player's name."

[Shaw66]

2 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Beane acknowledged interest and talks. 

 

But of course there's a lot of room between interest/talks and serious negotiations.

 

Yeah.  I think we misperceive how this stuff actually happens between GMs.  

 

I agree.  Beane was clear.  There was interest.  I fully suspect Houston told the Bills what they were looking for, Watt's agent told the Bills what Watt was looking for, and Beane told Houston and the agent what the Bills initially would be willing to offer. 

 

And these negotiations don't start with low-ball offers from Beane or pie-in-the-sky asks from the other team.  These are sophisticated business people who give each other a fair statement of what they're willing to do.   Nobody wants to waste a lot of time going back and forth to find out what really will make the deal.  So, in this case, the Bills found out pretty quickly that they weren't willing to pay what Watt or Houston wanted, and the parties stopped talking.   If Watt and Houston hadn't been able to make a deal with Arizona, maybe they would have called back with lower expectations.   Who knows?

 

What we do know is that Beane was interested until he learned the price.  That's how these things go. 

17 minutes ago, Buffalo Boy said:

    Last year, this time, we all hoped Josh would do what he did but none of us really believed he would.

   We have a real shot to have a top five D line this year. If it happens, our D will also be top five and we should be able to beat KC.

    The window is open and “ Why not us”?

Last year at this time we all hoped Ed Oliver would do something, too.  

 

Hard to get excited about comments out of OTAs.  

[klos63]

3 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I’ll admit that when I think of our ends, I keep forgetting about AJ due to the excitement of Boogie and Rousseau.  Fingers crossed he breaks out.

It's a lot to wish for but imagine if all 3 show a lot and develop as the season goes on. Could/Will be huge if they all have an impact.

[MJS]

4 hours ago, wakingfane said:

Article is misleading... Dion didn't bring up AJ, the reporter specifically asked him to comment on AJ... And my take on Dion's commentary left me more concerned than impressed... he said he no longer feels like a "feather" - okay concerning that he ever was a "feather"... and generally it sounded more like he's starting over with a new body... and feels more like playing a normal NFL player now...

That's a lot of concern you are digging up. Only positive thing shave been said about AJ. Maybe everyone ISN'T lying about him...

[Buffalo Boy]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

Hard to get excited about comments out of OTAs.  

    I’m not excited about the Dawkins quote.

    I am excited to see a D line , full of young bucks, with some good veteran leadership , get after it.

    I am of the hunch that last year was an outlier for our D and this year we will get back into our groove.

    I see a lot of people on here questioning  Star and his motivation, past and present. I am of the opinion that he is a vet who sees a Golden opportunity to put a ring on his finger.

    IMO, there is a good chance we are more than pleasantly surprised this year by our D.

[3rdand12]

5 minutes ago, Buffalo Boy said:

    I’m not excited about the Dawkins quote.

    I am excited to see a D line , full of young bucks, with some good veteran leadership , get after it.

    I am of the hunch that last year was an outlier for our D and this year we will get back into our groove.

    I see a lot of people on here questioning  Star and his motivation, past and present. I am of the opinion that he is a vet who sees a Golden opportunity to put a ring on his finger.

    IMO, there is a good chance we are more than pleasantly surprised this year by our D.

I tend to agree. there is enough talent and motivation to move the needle upwards , at the very least .
 And I for one would not be surprised Bills Defenses look fairly elite by midseason or sooner

[Shaw66]

9 minutes ago, Buffalo Boy said:

    I’m not excited about the Dawkins quote.

    I am excited to see a D line , full of young bucks, with some good veteran leadership , get after it.

    I am of the hunch that last year was an outlier for our D and this year we will get back into our groove.

    I see a lot of people on here questioning  Star and his motivation, past and present. I am of the opinion that he is a vet who sees a Golden opportunity to put a ring on his finger.

    IMO, there is a good chance we are more than pleasantly surprised this year by our D.

Yeah, I actually agree with most of that.   It's just that we won't know any of it until the fall, and what Dawkins says about Epenesa in June is not convincing me that Epenesa is going to be the cause of the defensive improvement.  

 

I think McDermott, Frazier and the Dline coach have been scheming for months to create pass rush, to stop the run, and to make the defense stingier, and I have a lot of confidence that they will succeed.   Part of that scheming will include figuring out how the particular skills of Harrison, Oliver, Epenesa, Rousseau, and Basham are going to be utilized. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

Yeah.  I think we misperceive how this stuff actually happens between GMs.  

 

I agree.  Beane was clear.  There was interest.  I fully suspect Houston told the Bills what they were looking for, Watt's agent told the Bills what Watt was looking for, and Beane told Houston and the agent what the Bills initially would be willing to offer. 

 

?? JJ Watt was released and a free agent

 

Houston had nothing to do with his deal with Arizona and wouldn't have been involved in talks with Beane

 

[TPS]

2 hours ago, ROCBillsBeliever said:

 

I posted a "Shocked" emoticon because I didn't realize the Bills retained rights to EJ Manuel, that he bulked up, and that he made the switch to Defensive End. That fish is all sorts of cray, LOL!

Must have been due to the article on Whaley burning EJ into my mind...Hah!

[ROCBillsBeliever]

26 minutes ago, TPS said:

Must have been due to the article on Whaley burning EJ into my mind...Hah!

 

The Ghost of Whaley Past, strikes again! A gift that just keeps on taking. 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Did they change the rules? I didn't read that the games were played in shorts and no pads.  Until the games are played all this media drivel is worthless.

[TBBills]

I was happy to see him look better as the season went on. A full off-season with training staff and now an actual football off-season should only help.

 

All the defensive potential on the edge with the good vets we have in place should transform this defensive front. Maybe not at the start of the season but when we need it most.

Edited June 5, 2021 by TBBills

[PromoTheRobot]

As good as you are capable of being, this coaching staff will get you there.

[Augie]

7 hours ago, H2o said:

But we just drafted DE's in the 1st AND 2nd Round. This guys is toast.

 

Out with the (expensive) old, and in with the (cheap) new! 

 

Josh will keep the change....

[eball]

1 hour ago, ScottLaw said:

What? There’s nothing sloppy about it… Watt went with money and Zona over Buffalo. 

 

The Bills didn’t “fail” to sign Watt.  That’s the point.  The statement makes it seem as though Buffalo tried and failed — which is not what happened.  Minor point, but sloppy writing.

[wakingfane]

8 hours ago, Max Fischer said:

Why are you “concerned” over an improvement?

Because it makes it sound like he has way further to go in his improvement than I previously thought.  Let's just be honest,  he is not on the standard player development trajectory.  He went from too heavy,  to too light,  and now hopefully just right,  but he has to get used to it... it's not the straight and direct path you'd like to see... so it's concerning