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RD 2, Pick 54: DE AJ Epenesa, University of Iowa


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13 hours ago, whorlnut said:

So now you’ve resorted to mocking since I don’t agree with you. Ok...cool...
 

We are a top ten defense already. Good offenses beat good defenses. Just ask the Rams how their number one defense made out against the packers number one offense. 

Not mocking, just equaling your fervor on disagreement.  We at not a top ten D, we are ranked 16th. KC was slowed down by better Ds this season. We made them unstoppable with a soft zone no rush and zero ability to cover TEs, at which we are the worst in the league. KC has a better D and they are the better team. And ask the Packers how they made out against the Tampa D. 

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1 hour ago, Green Lightning said:

Not mocking, just equaling your fervor on disagreement.  We at not a top ten D, we are ranked 16th. KC was slowed down by better Ds this season. We made them unstoppable with a soft zone no rush and zero ability to cover TEs, at which we are the worst in the league. KC has a better D and they are the better team. And ask the Packers how they made out against the Tampa D. 

Ok bud...whatever. 
 

The Rams had the number one defense. The Packers had the number one offense. That was my argument. It was an equal comparison on both sides. Only one team can win the SB each year. And it’s not always the best offense or the the best defense. 
 

I get it though...you think another defensive first rounder can neautralize the chiefs. I just completely disagree.  You aren’t stopping those guys. The best you can hope for is to keep up. Another offensive weapon would allow that more than another high pick on defense thay will just look silly trying to guard Kelce or hill. 

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Just now, whorlnut said:

Ok bud...whatever. 
 

The Rams had the number one defense. The Packers had the number one offense. That was my argument. It was an equal comparison on both sides. Only one team can win the SB each year. And it’s not always the best offense or the the best defense. 
 

I get it though...you think another defensive first rounder can neautralize the chiefs. I just completely disagree.  You aren’t stopping those guys. The best you can hope for is to keep up. Another offensive weapon would allow that more than another high pick on defense thay will just look silly trying to guard Kelce or hill. 

Who said 1sr rounder? We need a MLB, a 1Tech and a pass rusher to advance. On O, we need a center, a guard (maybe 2), RT and a speed RB. A better TE would be nice. With all those needs pick the BPA in the first round. You and I disagree on shrugging off the D and think we can just outscore everyone. KC has a Top 10 D and their D line abused our middle OL with just 4 down linemen, allowing for 6 DBs. That's why we lost.

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As an Iowa Hawkeyes fan, I was able to watch AJ throughout his entire collegiate career and now through his rookie NFL season.

 

There are parallels. AJ was a rare recruit for the Hawkeyes. He was the type of player that, had his father not been a former Hawkeye, he likely would have been playing at a school with a higher probability of winning a championship.

 

Still, when he came to Iowa, despite obvious NFL-level talents, he rarely saw the field in his first season. They brought him along more slowly, starting with 3rd-and-long scenarios and working out from there.

 

To his credit, there was never a peep from AJ about the long process and he improved every single season.

 

This year, we saw a lot of the same process with AJ. He was only on the field for very specific situations and the coaches started to trust him a bit more later in the year.

 

This off-season is so important for him. I hope the parallel continues and that both body and mind make another improvement - just as we saw from his freshman to sophomore years in college. I am an absolute homer, true, but I’m confidently betting on AJ getting better.

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16 hours ago, machine gun kelly said:


I think you’re right.  They should’ve allowed him to remain in the 270’s and he would’ve been able to penetrate and contain better.  He’s just not the same as a 255 lbs. Hughes.  Epenesa is more like a Phil Hansen type than a light quick burst Hughes.  Hopefully he’ll figure it out in the off season.

Love the comparison. And guess what position Phil Hansen played (I'm sure you know)? That's right: 3-4 DE. I'd like to see Epenesa gradually get his weight up closer to his college days, and lined up right over the OT more often. More of a 4-3 Over alignment, I think?

 

Or, what I really prefer, is for the Bills to say EFF dogma, and be much more multiple with their alignments. I think they've got athletes who don't precisely fit the mold of McD's preferred scheme, but might be successful in different roles (Edmunds and Epenesa mostly). Get creative. 

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22 hours ago, Doc said:

 

Yeah, a 1st round pick that could have played had a far greater chance of helping the team than one that didn't.  This isn't hard WEO.

Cmon man.  Don’t waste any more of your time with this.  You’re arguing with a guy who said GB was a fluke in 2019, wouldn’t win 13 games in 2020 and that their run was over.  Yet they ended up right back where they were the previous year.  One game short of the super bowl.  
 

he obviously has no clue he’s talking about in this regard and has to talk nonsense in saying that draft picks couldn’t have made the 2020 packers a better then than they were.  Draft picks usually have a positive effect on a team.  In the case of the 2020 packers, their draft picks had zero effect.  


The only thing he should be talking about is that Love could be a franchise QB and that in itself. is worth not improving their team in 2020.  If he is a franchise qb and wins a super bowl, he may have a point. If he never wins a SB, than this is all for nothing and they completely wasted another year with a goat under center.  Asking “name one rookie that would’ve made the difference in the Bucs game” is discussion for 13 year olds.  We’ll say a name and you say noooooooo, prove it.  It can’t be proven.  None of this can be proven.  The only thing we KNOW for sure is that their 2020 draft picks did nothing to help them beat the Bucs and their season ended in the same spot as last year.....while the drafting of other players may have helped them. 
 

oh yeah, we also know that @Mr. WEOwas way off base with his assessment of the packers. 

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20 hours ago, Green Lightning said:

Who said 1sr rounder? We need a MLB, a 1Tech and a pass rusher to advance. On O, we need a center, a guard (maybe 2), RT and a speed RB. A better TE would be nice. With all those needs pick the BPA in the first round. You and I disagree on shrugging off the D and think we can just outscore everyone. KC has a Top 10 D and their D line abused our middle OL with just 4 down linemen, allowing for 6 DBs. That's why we lost.

We don’t NEED upgrades at all of those positions to beat the chiefs.  We needed a better game plan from our DC, OC and HC.

 

the chiefs didn’t just abuse us with 4 down lineman.....they blitzed a lot. We didn’t adapt. 

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1 hour ago, NewEra said:

We don’t NEED upgrades at all of those positions to beat the chiefs.  We needed a better game plan from our DC, OC and HC.

 

the chiefs didn’t just abuse us with 4 down lineman.....they blitzed a lot. We didn’t adapt. 

Reading Joe B's All 22,  confirmed what I saw. Our middle OL had zero push in the run game and was pushed around by the base KC DL. Chris Jones abused Mongo and Morse and Clark did likewise to Darryl Williams. We need OL to progress.

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21 minutes ago, Green Lightning said:

Reading Joe B's All 22,  confirmed what I saw. Our middle OL had zero push in the run game and was pushed around by the base KC DL. Chris Jones abused Mongo and Morse and Clark did likewise to Darryl Williams. We need OL to progress.

Chris Jones abuses every OL in the league. He’s a future 1st ballot ball of famer who lays waste to every OL in front of him. 
 

i agree that we need to retool the OL, but with a better game plan on both sides of the ball and going for TDs instead of Fgs, I feel we could’ve beat the chiefs. We played the game they were begging us to play.  We paid with an L

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5 hours ago, NewEra said:

Cmon man.  Don’t waste any more of your time with this.  You’re arguing with a guy who said GB was a fluke in 2019, wouldn’t win 13 games in 2020 and that their run was over.  Yet they ended up right back where they were the previous year.  One game short of the super bowl.  
 

he obviously has no clue he’s talking about in this regard and has to talk nonsense in saying that draft picks couldn’t have made the 2020 packers a better then than they were.  Draft picks usually have a positive effect on a team.  In the case of the 2020 packers, their draft picks had zero effect.  


The only thing he should be talking about is that Love could be a franchise QB and that in itself. is worth not improving their team in 2020.  If he is a franchise qb and wins a super bowl, he may have a point. If he never wins a SB, than this is all for nothing and they completely wasted another year with a goat under center.  Asking “name one rookie that would’ve made the difference in the Bucs game” is discussion for 13 year olds.  We’ll say a name and you say noooooooo, prove it.  It can’t be proven.  None of this can be proven.  The only thing we KNOW for sure is that their 2020 draft picks did nothing to help them beat the Bucs and their season ended in the same spot as last year.....while the drafting of other players may have helped them. 
 

oh yeah, we also know that @Mr. WEOwas way off base with his assessment of the packers. 


Rodgers abs LaFleur blew the Packers chance at the SB.

 

No matter how long you go on about some fantasy rookie who they didn’t draft, you cant change the fact that they were on the threshold of the SB...and choked.  They blew it,  HC and QB.  


Everything that happened before that game (improved OffenseImproved Defense,  MVP career best stats) also happened without that 1st rounder.  You also can’t change those facts either.

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5 hours ago, NewEra said:

We don’t NEED upgrades at all of those positions to beat the chiefs.  We needed a better game plan from our DC, OC and HC.

 

the chiefs didn’t just abuse us with 4 down lineman.....they blitzed a lot. We didn’t adapt. 

Yes we do. D scheme may be one thing but the coaches can only scheme around talent till a certain point. When you are down to the four best in the league, the flaws in personnel showed up. We need more talent at key positions

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On 1/30/2021 at 12:08 PM, Green Lightning said:

Who said 1sr rounder? We need a MLB, a 1Tech and a pass rusher to advance. On O, we need a center, a guard (maybe 2), RT and a speed RB. A better TE would be nice. With all those needs pick the BPA in the first round. You and I disagree on shrugging off the D and think we can just outscore everyone. KC has a Top 10 D and their D line abused our middle OL with just 4 down linemen, allowing for 6 DBs. That's why we lost.

This is really the model the Bills should follow on defense. Try to improve the pass rush and add speed on the back end. If you can get a rush with four and cover with 7, including 5 or 6 DBs, they you are going to be tough to pass against, even for the Chiefs. Take your lumps vs the run and try to outscore running teams.

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So they asked him to come in light.  He came in around 260.  He came in lighter than even they wanted.  If he can come in next year in the mid 270's he will a very good player.  He flashed a bit.  Under a regular offseason he wouldnt have gotten as light as he got.  Knowing where he needs to be I expect no issue.

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On 1/31/2021 at 3:54 PM, vincec said:

This is really the model the Bills should follow on defense. Try to improve the pass rush and add speed on the back end. If you can get a rush with four and cover with 7, including 5 or 6 DBs, they you are going to be tough to pass against, even for the Chiefs. Take your lumps vs the run and try to outscore running teams.

Can't agree more.

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On 1/31/2021 at 4:05 PM, Mat68 said:

So they asked him to come in light.  He came in around 260.  He came in lighter than even they wanted.  If he can come in next year in the mid 270's he will a very good player.  He flashed a bit.  Under a regular offseason he wouldnt have gotten as light as he got.  Knowing where he needs to be I expect no issue.

It's not just his weight, he was letting guys get into his body and control him and that's more of a mental thing. Hapless had posted earlier in this thread (in the single digit pages I think) his pros and cons during the pre-draft e v a l. One of the items in the con was him having trouble recognizing the play which is what I saw at times this year. He needs to be able to stop guys from getting into him and until he does that it won't matter what weight he is. Hopefully the playing time he got will help him elevate his game. 

 

I am thinking he can do it, and I think if he does he will exceed the expectations of most folks on this board. 

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8 hours ago, 4BillsintheBurgh said:

It's not just his weight, he was letting guys get into his body and control him and that's more of a mental thing. Hapless had posted earlier in this thread (in the single digit pages I think) his pros and cons during the pre-draft e v a l. One of the items in the con was him having trouble recognizing the play which is what I saw at times this year. He needs to be able to stop guys from getting into him and until he does that it won't matter what weight he is. Hopefully the playing time he got will help him elevate his game. 

 

I am thinking he can do it, and I think if he does he will exceed the expectations of most folks on this board. 

Playing DE in this system seems to require more discipline than just pinning your ears back and getting to the QB, and this is probably why we saw what you're describing.  If he was stressed about keeping contain, it would be easy to let that Olineman get into you on a pass play.  He will get coached up and play much more confidently next season I am sure.

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On 1/29/2021 at 8:52 PM, whorlnut said:

 

 Good offenses beat good defenses. Just ask the Rams how their number one defense made out against the packers number one offense. 

I rest my case after the best offense just got B slapped by a great D in the SB. Draft D Line or Oline. It starts up front. 

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