"Buy stock in A.J. Epenesa" - says Daniel Jeremiah

[Utah John]

So who's going to turn out better, Epenesa or Rousseau?  Both look great so far.  With Ed Oliver finally having figured things out, the D line looks the best it has in years.  Last year's weak spot has become a position of strength.

[hemma]

That is such a powerful stat.  You can bet the rest of the DL have got their competitive eyes on that # and the entire team can only benefit.

 

Great stuff.

[Mikie2times]

Really great post, only slightly pausing as I can't find the stats myself. Curious how they get measured, does it involves just passing plays or also running plays? I would think he would get a slight edge against non rotational players either way. 

 

Having said this, he could have had 3-4 sacks against Miami. I feel horrible for the dude. He was brutalizing them and as your stat reference it appeared like his jump was lighting. I feel so bad because it wasn't like he didn't get home in time. I mean he knocked out Tua basically at the apex of his drop. Was getting home lighting quick. We have been so impressed with Groot. As we should be. AJ can also be a special player. I think as the season elapses we will see less from Addison and likely even Hughes. These young guys can ball.  

Edited September 24, 2021 by KzooMike

[Malazan]

2 hours ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

A simple question: Is stock in AJE a better investment than Dogecoin? 😁

 

Depends on how well your EJ Manuel stock is doing..

 

https://www.espn.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/27540/how-ej-manuels-flop-in-buffalo-was-a-win-for-his-wallet

[WhoTom]

2 minutes ago, jeremy2020 said:

 

Depends on how well your EJ Manuel stock is doing..

 

https://www.espn.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/27540/how-ej-manuels-flop-in-buffalo-was-a-win-for-his-wallet

 

When I saw the title, I thought, "Did EJ bet against himself?"

 

When I read the article, I saw the answer was "Yes. Yes he did."

 

 

[Richard Noggin]

3 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

You would be surprised how many players in the league transform their bodies to maximize talents.. from team suggestions 

 

Le'Veon Bell absolutely changed his body from Michigan State when he got to Pittsburgh because they didn't like his look 

 

Our very own Lorenzo Alexander.. played defensive tackle in the NFL..bulked to 300+... then the Redskins had him playing offensive line defensive line and tight end... Then he trimmed down to 240 lb to play outside linebacker

 

Absolutely insane 

 

If you want to make a team a lot of players will do absolutely anything to stick.. especially if you're on the back half of a roster

 

The key to it all is, dare I say it, that growth mindset McD preaches. The humility and resiliency to invite discomfort and uncertainty in the pursuit of improvement. Credit AJE for possessing the DNA to re-create himself as a football player, and big credit to the Bills organization for identifying in him the potential to do so. 

 

I really thought his best fit in the NFL was as a 3-4 DE/5-technique guy, which might have meant even GAINING a few pounds. But that was the narrow view that strength and length were his only NFL traits. The Bills, on the other hand, seem to like to project how these specimens might grow into more dynamic roles.

[Buffalo716]

2 minutes ago, Richard Noggin said:

The key to it all is, dare I say it, that growth mindset McD preaches. The humility and resiliency to invite discomfort and uncertainty in the pursuit of improvement. Credit AJE for possessing the DNA to re-create himself as a football player, and big credit to the Bills organization for identifying in him the potential to do so. 

 

I really thought his best fit in the NFL was as a 3-4 DE/5-technique guy, which might have meant even GAINING a few pounds. But that was the narrow view that strength and length were his only NFL traits. The Bills, on the other hand, seem to like to project how these specimens might grow into more dynamic roles.

That was the bills scouting departments downfall during the drought

 

It's not about getting the best football player on draft day... It's about who's the best player three years after the draft

 

Player development and projection is key.. bills did a terrible job at projection for a long time

[Richard Noggin]

1 minute ago, Buffalo716 said:

That was the bills scouting departments downfall during the drought

 

It's not about getting the best football player on draft day... It's about who's the best player three years after the draft

 

Player development and projection is key.. bills did a terrible job at projection for a long time

Also some additional risk involved in projecting, of course. Maybe a young, physically freakish MLB prospect doesn't develop the instincts you'd want.

 

But then again, maybe a polarizing but driven QB prospect grows exponentially into his physical talent once exposed to professional coaching and year-round regimens (2 shaky performances this season notwithstanding). 

[Buffalo716]

1 minute ago, Richard Noggin said:

Also some additional risk involved in projecting, of course. Maybe a young, physically freakish MLB prospect doesn't develop the instincts you'd want.

 

But then again, maybe a polarizing but driven QB prospect grows exponentially into his physical talent once exposed to professional coaching and year-round regimens (2 shaky performances this season notwithstanding). 

Of course there's some risk

 

If You don't take that risk.. you're stuck taking the Chris Kelsey's of the world.. and are 7-9 infinitely

[billybrew1]

AJ (The Terminator) Espenesa....

 

He hits like he's made of steel. I'm going to keep a QB list....

[buffaloboyinATL]

4 hours ago, Estro said:

Jeremiah mentioned in his podcast today with Bucky Brooks that he's been deep diving into some Next-gen stats.  One that intrigued him was "get off time"

 

Get off time is measured as the time from the ball is snapped until the DL's shoulders have crossed the line of scrimmage.  He noticed the leaders in this stat this year and last year are some big time pass rushers.

 

Guys like:

 

TJ Watt

Joey Bosa 

Miles Garrett

Bud Dupree

Carl Lawson

 

and this year the #2 guy behind only Joey Bosa is none other than A.J. Epenesa.  Jeremiah's exact quote was if you believe in these #s, which he certainly does "I'd be buying some AJ Epenesa stock because he's living in the right neighborhood."

 

This "get off" time stat certainly pairs with what I've seen from AJ. He just looks super strong and super super fast out there.  Really encouraging signs from a young promising DL.

 

Now if we could just get that QB firing on all cylinders......

Cool information. Thanks OP. 

[eball]

3 hours ago, MJS said:

Bruce Smith coached the dlinemen for a few days this off-season and that's what he preached. He said the best thing you can do as a pass rusher is time the snap and beat olineman out of their stances.

 

Seems like Epenesa and others have been taking that advice to heart.

You were there? Damn, that’s some access. 

[NewEra]

3 hours ago, PonyBoy said:

Well.. Let's not go start S****** each other's D**** just yet. A good post though. 🙂

[Special K]

5 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

Credit AJE for committing to it but credit to the Bills for taking a guy in round 2 - their first pick in that draft - and then saying "we love your talent but are gonna strip you back to very foundations of your game and your body and rebuild you in your rookie year." 

 

I mean I would have said that sounds like a hugely risky strategy. But the early results it looks like it is paying off. 

 

Seems like they are taking the same approach with Boogie Basham this year.....hopefully with similar results next year.

[BADOLBILZ]

2 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

That was the bills scouting departments downfall during the drought

 

It's not about getting the best football player on draft day... It's about who's the best player three years after the draft

 

Player development and projection is key.. bills did a terrible job at projection for a long time

Yeah that was one of them.

 

The main issue was not getting a QB, obviously.

 

But next was constantly letting good young players leave in FA or via trade and then trying to draft their replacements early.   

 

That was just treading water and maintaining mediocrity.........they could never get ahead.......and sometimes those high picks would bust(like Leodis) and then they weren't even getting back to square one at that position.

 

Also desperate regimes without the best long term interest of the organization making bad "draft for immediate need" decision.

 

And drafting lesser positions too early (see drafting Spiller and Whitner top 10).

 

Finally, drafting 20 year old underclassmen year after year and plugging them into bad culture situations with very little leadership in the locker room.    Things like drafting Sammy Watkins and not having a vet in the WR room was absolutely asinine........but the list was long,  Whitner, Lynch, Dareus, Watkins.......all very young players drafted very high and handed lot's of money.   Hard to excel at player development like that. 

[DrDawkinstein]

6 hours ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

Is this like Dogecoin? 🤨

 

Could be!

 

 

[Augie]

4 hours ago, Utah John said:

So who's going to turn out better, Epenesa or Rousseau?  Both look great so far.  With Ed Oliver finally having figured things out, the D line looks the best it has in years.  Last year's weak spot has become a position of strength.

 

Much like the WR room a few years ago, or the soon to be revamped OLine,  I’m guessing. They seem to focus on position groups and it takes a couple years to get it done. Draft and develop. Find your own winners and re-sign the best who earn it. In the meantime, you have some “cheap” talent and can let some expensive, older vets move on. Look at the “cheap” talent on our DL right now. It’s amazing based upon early reviews. I’m hoping Oliver has a break out year as well. 

[MJS]

2 hours ago, eball said:

You were there? Damn, that’s some access. 

He came on OBL and talked about it.

[NewEra]

The highlights he put together are worth the watch if you like watching pass rush and our DE’s getting held over and over and over.  Such OBVIOUS holds.  No calls.  Poor Jerry.  
 

Austin Jackson definitely was our best on Sunday. 

Edited September 24, 2021 by NewEra

[BigDingus]

8 hours ago, BillsShredder83 said:

Really shows some big brass from AJ. That had to be shocking and scary as all heck. Credit the staff for seeing it, and AJ for trusting the (really freaking scary) process. I can't imagine many guys in the league willing to do that. I can hear alot of- no thanks, please don't draft me.

 

Are there any good articles discussing what they told AJ they wanted & how he wanted to rebuild him? For whatever reason I just don't remember much talk about it, but you can clearly see how drastically he changed from a physical standpoint. The guy went from just looking like a typical large defensive linemen, standing at 6-6 & 280 lbs, to now looking like he could be DB (a tall one) on the field. 

 

Seeing him face to face against those much larger linemen makes him look super small, like he couldn't possibly challenge them, but then you see him win matchups not only using his speed, but also through straight power moves. It's impressive.