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

[Max Fischer]

On 6/5/2021 at 10:07 PM, wakingfane said:

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

 

This makes very little sense. You do realize AJ was a second round pick during COVID, didn't get a preseason game snap, had solid starters in front of him AND DE's take a while to develop?  Relax, man, breath. It may be another season or two before we know if AJ will be a solid contributor. 

[wakingfane]

5 minutes ago, Max Fischer said:

 

This makes very little sense. You do realize AJ was a second round pick during COVID, didn't get a preseason game snap, had solid starters in front of him AND DE's take a while to develop?  Relax, man, breath. It may be another season or two before we know if AJ will be a solid contributor. 

Okay, so in Year 4 at the end of his rookie contract we will know if he was worth a roster spot for four years.  Good thing we don't treat all our players with such deference,  lol

2 minutes ago, wakingfane said:

Okay, so in Year 4 at the end of his rookie contract we will know if he was worth a roster spot for four years.  Good thing we don't treat all our players with such deference,  lol

I know I'm overreacting,  there are very few areas of concern on the team to discuss! And I forget he was only just a rookie last year

[DrDawkinstein]

38 minutes ago, wakingfane said:

Okay, so in Year 4 at the end of his rookie contract we will know if he was worth a roster spot for four years.  Good thing we don't treat all our players with such deference,  lol

I know I'm overreacting,  there are very few areas of concern on the team to discuss! And I forget he was only just a rookie last year

 

With no rookie camp, no OTAs, no real camp, no preseason to get lots of reps in...

[Boxcar]

1 hour ago, Max Fischer said:

 

This makes very little sense. You do realize AJ was a second round pick during COVID, didn't get a preseason game snap, had solid starters in front of him AND DE's take a while to develop?  Relax, man, breath. It may be another season or two before we know if AJ will be a solid contributor. 

+ The weight thing

 

I don't see any reason why we can't start making judgments on AJ starting this season. He was trending up last year and after sticking at this weight for a year, plus full training camp, OTAs and pre-season, there shouldn't be anything holding him back physically.

[DrDawkinstein]

6 minutes ago, Boxcar said:

+ The weight thing

 

I don't see any reason why we can't start making judgments on AJ starting this season. He was trending up last year and after sticking at this weight for a year, plus full training camp, OTAs and pre-season, there shouldn't be anything holding him back physically.

 

Agreed. Fair to start assessing this year. Especially with having Rousseau and Basham to compare. Hopefully AJ is at the front of the young pack.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

On 6/6/2021 at 7:25 AM, Jpsredemption said:

Obviously there was and still is concern about him by the front office and coaching staff or you simply would not go back to back defensive ends. They of course are going to talk him up but if the guy puts in another year like last he won’t make it to year 3.

Does not follow.  McD loves him his DL rotation.

[Boxcar]

On 6/6/2021 at 8:25 AM, Jpsredemption said:

Obviously there was and still is concern about him by the front office and coaching staff or you simply would not go back to back defensive ends. They of course are going to talk him up but if the guy puts in another year like last he won’t make it to year 3.

The Basham pick reasoning has been explained ad nauseum. He was way higher than anyone else on their board. It has literally zero connection to AJ Epenesa.

[Royale with Cheese]

On 6/6/2021 at 8:25 AM, Jpsredemption said:

Obviously there was and still is concern about him by the front office and coaching staff or you simply would not go back to back defensive ends. They of course are going to talk him up but if the guy puts in another year like last he won’t make it to year 3.

Or maybe it’s because our two other ends are going to be 33 and 34 during the season, we use a heavy rotation, Basham can rush from the inside and was also the BPA on their board.

[Beerball]

22 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

Or maybe it’s because our two other ends are going to be 33 and 34 during the season, we use a heavy rotation, Basham can rush from the inside and was also the BPA on their board.

I'm going to call him Boogie Basham because I think it has a nice ring to it & has a chance of sticking if we all get behind it. Please do your part.

 

Anyway, I think we'll see Boogie rushing from inside often.  As his pro career develops I would not be surprised to see Boogie put on more weight and spend an increasing amount of playing time inside. In 2-3 years Boogie the DT would not surprise me a bit.

 

Boogie.

[Niagara Bill]

2 minutes ago, Beerball said:

I'm going to call him Boogie Basham because I think it has a nice ring to it & has a chance of sticking if we all get behind it. Please do your part.

 

Anyway, I think we'll see Boogie rushing from inside often.  As his pro career develops I would not be surprised to see Boogie put on more weight and spend an increasing amount of playing time inside. In 2-3 years Boogie the DT would not surprise me a bit.

 

Boogie.

Boogie down Dude😁

[Beerball]

4 minutes ago, Niagara Bill said:

Boogie down Dude😁

Boogie>>>>>Booger

[Royale with Cheese]

1 hour ago, Beerball said:

I'm going to call him Boogie Basham because I think it has a nice ring to it & has a chance of sticking if we all get behind it. Please do your part.

 

Anyway, I think we'll see Boogie rushing from inside often.  As his pro career develops I would not be surprised to see Boogie put on more weight and spend an increasing amount of playing time inside. In 2-3 years Boogie the DT would not surprise me a bit.

 

Boogie.

Hes’s about the size of Ed Oliver now.

[machine gun kelly]

Royale, Oliver weighs about 285-90, so if even by the eye test, AJ looks the same, he has gained a few pounds of muscle.  I’d love to see what he can do at around 270-75lbs. As I’m betting he can get a good push against the O Line.

 

Do you think the new title for this thread should be Feliciano is the latest, latest to rave about AJ Epenesa. 🏋️‍♀️🏈🤪🤔

[Royale with Cheese]

39 minutes ago, machine gun kelly said:

Royale, Oliver weighs about 285-90, so if even by the eye test, AJ looks the same, he has gained a few pounds of muscle.  I’d love to see what he can do at around 270-75lbs. As I’m betting he can get a good push against the O Line.

 

Do you think the new title for this thread should be Feliciano is the latest, latest to rave about AJ Epenesa. 🏋️‍♀️🏈🤪🤔

I was referring to Boogie.

[Beerball]

1 hour ago, Royale with Cheese said:

Hes’s about the size of Ed Oliver now.

Boogie.

[DCofNC]

I’m interested to see if they do t come out and try playing a “light” line package.  Something like AJ/Boogie, Rousseau, Oliver, Hughes.  Bring the safeties up, try to create quick pressure and make the LBs responsible for runners, have Poyer as the in box type to clean up in case a team tried to run up the gut.

[transplantbillsfan]

https://theathletic.com/2637907/2021/06/09/it-opened-up-a-whole-new-world-how-a-j-epenesa-is-preparing-for-year-2-with-the-bills?source=user-shared-article

Epenesa, the Bills’ second-year defensive end and 2020 second-round pick, spent the majority of his offseason at the team’s facility in Orchard Park. He took some brief trips back home Illinois to spend time with family but opted to do his training at the team’s facility. After dropping too much weight prior to his rookie season and struggling to put it back on, Epenesa wanted to train under the guidance of Buffalo’s strength staff. And while the Bills haven’t put on pads yet, Dawkins has noticed the results.

...

“Football is such interesting sport where the weight room matters so much more than other professional sports, in my opinion,” Phillips said. “So, if you’re 10% stronger, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be a 10% better football player, but there is a give and take. To see guys in the offseason, like AJ and some of these other rookies going from year one to year two or year two to year three really take advantage of the offseason and really take advantage of still being young.”

 

Epenesa now must face that challenge again. Coaches have praised Epenesa for the work he’s put in to get himself just above 250 pounds, but he still has to get closer to 260 pounds to reach what the coaching staff considers his ideal playing weight. Then he has to maintain it.

...

“I think it opened up a whole new world for me, because I was mainly known as a power rusher,” Epenesa said. “And a lot of my speed moves weren’t as effective. And then now that I’ve cut some weight, and that I’ve gotten a little quicker, I’ve been able to change my game a little bit and kind of develop and adapt to being a little more of a speed slash power rusher rather than being so one sided.”

...

“I honestly think this is a fresh start for A.J.,” Dawkins said. “He’s a different A.J. just with a stronger mind. As far as his presence on the football field, drastically different. And that’s just from what he’s been doing this offseason. So I have no idea. But I do think that it’s going to be great just because of the approach he’s taking already. He’s just doing it. He has his best foot forward already, which puts him in a great margin of success because he did what he’s supposed to do. And it should help him. And it will help him.”

[Stank_Nasty]

1 hour ago, transplantbillsfan said:

https://theathletic.com/2637907/2021/06/09/it-opened-up-a-whole-new-world-how-a-j-epenesa-is-preparing-for-year-2-with-the-bills?source=user-shared-article

Epenesa, the Bills’ second-year defensive end and 2020 second-round pick, spent the majority of his offseason at the team’s facility in Orchard Park. He took some brief trips back home Illinois to spend time with family but opted to do his training at the team’s facility. After dropping too much weight prior to his rookie season and struggling to put it back on, Epenesa wanted to train under the guidance of Buffalo’s strength staff. And while the Bills haven’t put on pads yet, Dawkins has noticed the results.

...

“Football is such interesting sport where the weight room matters so much more than other professional sports, in my opinion,” Phillips said. “So, if you’re 10% stronger, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be a 10% better football player, but there is a give and take. To see guys in the offseason, like AJ and some of these other rookies going from year one to year two or year two to year three really take advantage of the offseason and really take advantage of still being young.”

 

Epenesa now must face that challenge again. Coaches have praised Epenesa for the work he’s put in to get himself just above 250 pounds, but he still has to get closer to 260 pounds to reach what the coaching staff considers his ideal playing weight. Then he has to maintain it.

...

“I think it opened up a whole new world for me, because I was mainly known as a power rusher,” Epenesa said. “And a lot of my speed moves weren’t as effective. And then now that I’ve cut some weight, and that I’ve gotten a little quicker, I’ve been able to change my game a little bit and kind of develop and adapt to being a little more of a speed slash power rusher rather than being so one sided.”

...

“I honestly think this is a fresh start for A.J.,” Dawkins said. “He’s a different A.J. just with a stronger mind. As far as his presence on the football field, drastically different. And that’s just from what he’s been doing this offseason. So I have no idea. But I do think that it’s going to be great just because of the approach he’s taking already. He’s just doing it. He has his best foot forward already, which puts him in a great margin of success because he did what he’s supposed to do. And it should help him. And it will help him.”

i just got done reading this whole deal myself.... they state he got as low as 245. i think thats the the first time anyone has put a real number on exactly how low he got. and thats friggin LOW.

[DrDawkinstein]

3 hours ago, DCofNC said:

I’m interested to see if they do t come out and try playing a “light” line package.  Something like AJ/Boogie, Rousseau, Oliver, Hughes.  Bring the safeties up, try to create quick pressure and make the LBs responsible for runners, have Poyer as the in box type to clean up in case a team tried to run up the gut.

 

The "NASCAR" package that the Giants used to beat the Pats in 07 👍

[Alphadawg7]

On 6/5/2021 at 1:34 PM, Shaw66 said:

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. 

 

Thats why you let his play on the field speak for itself, it was clear as day that AJE was coming on strong down the stretch last year and was also earning the trust of his coaches as his snaps dramatically increased.  

 

People keep forgetting AJE got 100% short changed as a rookie in camp and was also behind two veterans who have had very good careers in Hughes and Addison as well as some new FA additions too.  

 

Yet by the end of the year, he had battled his way into a regular rotation and was making plays.  

 

So yeah, talk at this time of year doesn't mean a whole lot, but how he developed last year certainly does and there is a ton of reasons to be optimistic about his sophomore year.

 

I picked AJE a while ago on this board for a breakout season and I still think that will be the case now.  He is one of those guys I am the most excited to see get on the field this year.