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Will Epenesa be inactive on Sunday? Interesting scenario


YoloinOhio

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1 minute ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:


with out Lee and DiMarco, I guess they’ll have to rely on Brown and Diggs Downfield 🤷‍♂️ 

 


you can mitigate that disappointment if you consider #14 the first pick

I'm going to go with our roster is so good a 2nd rounder could not get on the field vs he sucks.  For the time being, lol

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4 hours ago, BarleyNY said:


What depth chart?  The unofficial depth chart published by the Bills media team?  Please don’t read anything into that.  As someone else previously posted the Ravens unofficial depth chart has JK Dobbins listed as their 4th RB, and we know that’s not true.  Jeez.  Relax. 


Is Dobbins  a healthy scratch today?

 

Look, Epinesa might turn out to be a good productive DE.  I’m just saying that the fact he was made a healthy scratch given his high draft selection, the position he plays, and the player who beat him out, his career is off to a very disappointing start.  
 

Find me another 2nd rounder who is a healthy scratch in week one?

3 minutes ago, DuckyBoys said:

I'm going to go with our roster is so good a 2nd rounder could not get on the field vs he sucks.  For the time being, lol


Ha!  Well this is partially true.  There are some good veteran players who’d be ahead of most rookie DE’s like Jerry, Mario, and Jefferson.  But a stronger training camp by Epinesa probably pushes Murphy off the roster and saves the Bills $7 in cap space next season

Edited by JohnNord
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4 minutes ago, JohnNord said:


Is Dobbins  a healthy scratch today?

 

Look, Epinesa might turn out to be a good productive DE.  I’m just saying that the fact he was made a healthy scratch given his high draft selection, the position he plays, and the player who beat him out, his career is off to a very disappointing start.  
 

Find me another 2nd rounder who is a healthy scratch in week one?

This is a hot take

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Disappointing, but not totally unexpected. They can bring him along slowly, and we have very good DL depth. Plus, he is not a special teams guy, unlike DJ. That's the key difference here.

 

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21 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

Really, you don't think OCs are game planning for the athletic freak clogging up passing lanes in the middle of the field? Alright.

 

IDK, he does a great job in pass pro but I've seen many an OC run right at him.   Until his gap control and tackling improve, he's not yet in the "game plan away from him" category, IMO...

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4 hours ago, JohnNord said:


Also, a player that you drafted 54th overall should be good enough to dress on Sunday.

 

 

My point is, the fact that Epinesa is buried as the 4th DE on the depth chart behind a 2019 7th round pick probably isn’t a good sign.

 

To an extent what you say is correct, but again.... it is very rare for a second round DE to be so far down the depth chart that they are listed as a healthy scratch.  Don’t pretend that it’s common, because it isn’t.  I think it’s a bad sign but we’ll see

Dude it doesn't matter what round you're drafted in. Once you're in the league and you make the squad the number is irrelevant

 

Daryl Johnson has a lot of potential, and we have a log jam of defensive ends

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16 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

Dude it doesn't matter what round you're drafted in. Once you're in the league and you make the squad the number is irrelevant

 

Daryl Johnson has a lot of potential, and we have a log jam of defensive ends


No doubt and the depth at DE is a factor here.  But at the same time, you’d want your 2nd round draft pick to be good enough to play in Week 1

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1 minute ago, Brennan Huff said:

It’s disappointing to see our top draft as healthy scratch no matter how you spin it


Yes it is.  As Bills fans we sometimes try to be immune to criticism or negativity, but the fact that your 2nd round pick wasn’t impress enough to dress in Week 1, is not good.

 

Again, I’m not saying he won’t turn out to be a productive DE.  It definitely can happen but clearly he has a very long way to go.  
 

Given his contract, Murphy seemed to be a goner before camp.  IMO they kept him because AJ was so unimpressive

1 minute ago, YoloinOhio said:

This 

 

 


Him not playing is not earth shattering.  A 2nd round draft pick not dressing, is very uncommon

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4 minutes ago, JohnNord said:


Yes it is.  As Bills fans we sometimes try to be immune to criticism or negativity, but the fact that your 2nd round pick wasn’t impress enough to dress in Week 1, is not good.

 

Again, I’m not saying he won’t turn out to be a productive DE.  It definitely can happen but clearly he has a very long way to go.  
 

Given his contract, Murphy seemed to be a goner before camp.  IMO they kept him because AJ was so unimpressive


Him not playing is not earth shattering.  A 2nd round draft pick not dressing, is very uncommon


having the depth we have at DE is not common.  You’re making way too much of this.

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18 minutes ago, JohnNord said:


Yes it is.  As Bills fans we sometimes try to be immune to criticism or negativity, but the fact that your 2nd round pick wasn’t impress enough to dress in Week 1, is not good.

 

Again, I’m not saying he won’t turn out to be a productive DE.  It definitely can happen but clearly he has a very long way to go.  
 

Given his contract, Murphy seemed to be a goner before camp.  IMO they kept him because AJ was so unimpressive


Him not playing is not earth shattering.  A 2nd round draft pick not dressing, is very uncommon

 

I understand Murphy had an excellent camp. I expect him to start opposite Hughes.

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Unless there’s an injury or a QB being groomed as a replacement, and player drafted in the top few rounds that’s inactive Week 1 is a concern.  
 

I’ve read he didn’t show much in training camp and was seriously overmatched.  
 

I’m not making any assumptions, but concern and disappointment is warranted. 

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While I agree it isn't ideal that he hasn't shown enough to make him a must dress let's be clear what has happened here. The Bills are in win now territory and they have 3 vets they like. Murphy might have been on the bubble before camp but played well and might even start. And then their 4th defensive end is a core special team player with rare athleticism at the position. He played more special teams snaps than any other Bill in 2019. If it came down purely to DE play AJ might have dressed. Once you add in teams Daryl Johnson was always dressing.

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1 hour ago, JohnNord said:


Is Dobbins  a healthy scratch today?

 

Look, Epinesa might turn out to be a good productive DE.  I’m just saying that the fact he was made a healthy scratch given his high draft selection, the position he plays, and the player who beat him out, his career is off to a very disappointing start.  
 

Find me another 2nd rounder who is a healthy scratch in week one?


Ha!  Well this is partially true.  There are some good veteran players who’d be ahead of most rookie DE’s like Jerry, Mario, and Jefferson.  But a stronger training camp by Epinesa probably pushes Murphy off the roster and saves the Bills $7 in cap space next season

Found one.  Josh Uche.  That didn't take long.

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7 hours ago, Virgil said:

Unless there’s an injury or a QB being groomed as a replacement, and player drafted in the top few rounds that’s inactive Week 1 is a concern.  
 

I’ve read he didn’t show much in training camp and was seriously overmatched.  
 

I’m not making any assumptions, but concern and disappointment is warranted. 

Similar concern with Ed Oliver.

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41 minutes ago, Cheektowaga Chad said:

If the defensive line wasn't as deep as it is I would be really worried.

 

As it stands right now it should be a concern because you drafted him high and you expect those players to be instant contributors. 

 

The real test is when there is an injury and how they handle him

 

Don't forget he was a 2nd round pick. Not a 1st.  There's no need to play him until you need him.

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9 hours ago, Virgil said:

Unless there’s an injury or a QB being groomed as a replacement, and player drafted in the top few rounds that’s inactive Week 1 is a concern.  
 

I’ve read he didn’t show much in training camp and was seriously overmatched.  
 

I’m not making any assumptions, but concern and disappointment is warranted. 

That’s 2 years in a row the Bills 2nd round picks have had disappointing starts to their careers...that’s not a trend you want to see...

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18 minutes ago, JaCrispy said:

That’s 2 years in a row the Bills 2nd round picks have had disappointing starts to their careers...that’s not a trend you want to see...

 

Ford played decent to end the season once Ty went down with injury. AJ not even dressing while a concern I wouldn't exactly call a need for panic or a pattern just yet. Ford looked pretty good today.

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20 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

While I agree it isn't ideal that he hasn't shown enough to make him a must dress let's be clear what has happened here. The Bills are in win now territory and they have 3 vets they like. Murphy might have been on the bubble before camp but played well and might even start. And then their 4th defensive end is a core special team player with rare athleticism at the position. He played more special teams snaps than any other Bill in 2019. If it came down purely to DE play AJ might have dressed. Once you add in teams Daryl Johnson was always dressing.


To everyone trying to pretend that AJ sitting is normal, take the word of Matthew Fairburn on the Bills Beat podcast:

 

“2nd round pick not dressing for his NFL game is fairly significant”

 

”Bills have a deep defensive line and he’s got a long road ahead of him”

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8 minutes ago, JohnNord said:


To everyone trying to pretend that AJ sitting is normal, take the word of Matthew Fairburn on the Bills Beat podcast:

 

“2nd round pick not dressing for his NFL game is fairly significant”

 

”Bills have a deep defensive line and he’s got a long road ahead of him”

 

I never said it was normal. It is sub optimal. But the fact is he has to be in our top 3 to be sure to dress given that the guy he is currently battling with for that 4th spot is always going to dress because he is a core STer.

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5 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

He was excellent first half, got loads of push Darnold had guys in his lap constantly.

 

These people don't know what they are watching.

 

They really don't.  Oliver wrecked Darnold's timing and confidence from the jump yesterday and was a big reason the Bills got out to such a big lead.  

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I don’t know where he would be getting reps at the moment, but generally you would hope he was good enough to let them release Murphy, save that cap and see some production from a 2nd rounder.   Then again, you can’t overlook the fact he really didn’t have a huge impact at Iowa until late in his career and he was really just out there clubbing baby seals with raw power, which in the NFL is not enough.

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1 minute ago, DCofNC said:

I don’t know where he would be getting reps at the moment, but generally you would hope he was good enough to let them release Murphy, save that cap and see some production from a 2nd rounder.   Then again, you can’t overlook the fact he really didn’t have a huge impact at Iowa until late in his career and he was really just out there clubbing baby seals with raw power, which in the NFL is not enough.


Man this board is obsessed with releasing Murphy.  
 

AJE is a rookie, playing behind 3 vets, 2 of them are pretty damn good too.  Gunner pointed out, the 4th spot isn’t up for grabs because of ST contributions.

 

This is not common, but also not a big deal.  This is COVID era, no preseason, limited camp reps, etc.  They went with the two vets who KNOW our defense in Hughes and Murphy and also the guy they signed as a FA whose been a stud in Addison.
 

How is this so hard for so many people to grasp?  If we had losers at DE ahead of him, that would be a concern.  But week 1 against a divisional opponent they rolled with their ST ace, our two starters who know the D, and our FA guy whose a double digit sack DE (and also learning the D).

 

Seriously, this is no where near the issue like 99% of the people here are making it out to be.  And let’s not forget, McD loves bringing rookies along slow as well.  End of the day, AJE was a luxury pick (in terms of this year) at a position we are deep at for the intention of being a guy for our future to take over for our older DEs.  It was never about week 1.

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