Royale with Cheese Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Was this talked about at all after the draft or in training camp? I looked up his draft profile and he was at 275 lbs. Other sites had him listed as 280 lbs at Iowa. https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/2020-nfl-draft-profile-why-iowas-aj-epenesas-fits-49ers-no-31 The Bills site has him at 260 lbs. I thought he looked a little smaller but thought maybe he was around bigger dudes and was wearing a tighter jersey with smaller pads. I was wrong. https://www.buffalobills.com/team/players-roster/a-j-epenesa/ I'm guessing when Beane stated they might want to kick him inside in some situations...those plans changed. I can't imagine him losing 15-20 lbs without direction from McDermott. Maybe they want to keep him out in the edge? Lorax was about 250 lbs I believe and would rush inside on certain packages. But.....I think Lorax was more powerful. @Giuseppe Tognarelli 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsPride12 Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 That's interesting. I had the same observation about thinking Epenesa looked smaller but not being sure if it was just because he was surrounded by NFL players now compared to his college days. His bread and butter as an edge rusher was brute strength and power so I would be surprised if McDermott wanted him to play at a much lighter weight in the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giuseppe Tognarelli Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 I feel like his game is supposed to be power, and I've heard analysis saying they think his problem right now is he needs to get stronger. So I really don't understand the weight loss. He looks slight out there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 It's concerning, in an Aaron Maybin way, that he doesn't seem to be able to tranlate that "one good year" of college ball to the next level... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giuseppe Tognarelli Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 This is not the same guy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCBills Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 It’s weird.. his scouting report basically says he’s strong and a little slow.... except out there playing he looks slim and kind of fast 🤷🏼♂️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milanos Milano Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 2 minutes ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said: I feel like his game is supposed to be power, and I've heard analysis saying they think his problem right now is he needs to get stronger. So I really don't understand the weight loss. He looks slight out there. I think management wanted him to drop some weight to improve his speed around the edge. It hasn’t made any difference. My main concern with AJ was his speed and bend when we drafted him. I want a player that can bend and cut, not someone getting swept to the outside. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royale with Cheese Posted October 15, 2020 Author Share Posted October 15, 2020 1 minute ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said: This is not the same guy. His speed has picked up though. On the Goff play action to the flat pass....AJ got to Goff very quickly. Almost had the sack but Goff got it off. The bigger AJ wouldn't have gotten there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewEra Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 This is weird. So so so weird. He’s not the same guy I thought we drafted. I wonder if his combine was soooo bad that he or the coaches decided he had to get faster and more explosive. I remember watching his combine thinking. 23 better not draft this dude 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuncha Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Hope he doesn't end up like Aaron Maybin - that dude was way too light and couldn't keep weight on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madbillsfan Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Hope we weren’t Mamula’d. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 He may be small, but he’s slow! I kid, I’m sure they have a vision for him. I hope he lives up to that vision and draft spot. I thought he was going to be another Shaq, stout at holding the edge but not much of a threat as a rusher. Let’s hope he develops as that’s one of our greatest needs with a bunch of guys aging out. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royale with Cheese Posted October 15, 2020 Author Share Posted October 15, 2020 4 minutes ago, Azucho98 said: Hope he doesn't end up like Aaron Maybin - that dude was way too light and couldn't keep weight on. Maybin was playing at like 235 lbs. AJ is still a good size for a DE at 260 lbs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 He definitely looks thin. I thought the same thing about Joey Bosa on Monday night . He looks like he’s auditioning for Dallas Buyers Club. 3 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarleyNY Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 I thought Epenesa looked like he lost a lot of weight! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 39 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said: Was this talked about at all after the draft or in training camp? I looked up his draft profile and he was at 275 lbs. Other sites had him listed as 280 lbs at Iowa. https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/2020-nfl-draft-profile-why-iowas-aj-epenesas-fits-49ers-no-31 The Bills site has him at 260 lbs. I thought he looked a little smaller but thought maybe he was around bigger dudes and was wearing a tighter jersey with smaller pads. I was wrong. https://www.buffalobills.com/team/players-roster/a-j-epenesa/ I'm guessing when Beane stated they might want to kick him inside in some situations...those plans changed. I can't imagine him losing 15-20 lbs without direction from McDermott. Maybe they want to keep him out in the edge? Lorax was about 250 lbs I believe and would rush inside on certain packages. But.....I think Lorax was more powerful. @Giuseppe Tognarelli glad you started a thread about this. He was not recognizable out there. I was actually expecting him to be a beefier 3-4 DE, like a Cam Heyward. I am wondering if they are thinking of shifting him to a hybrid LB at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rigotz Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 I know we've mentioned this before, but guys ... very, very rarely do you see a rookie DE come in and dominate. This kid is 22 years old and he's playing against grown men. He has a big frame and we know he can put on the weight. I pulled up the stats of a few former Bills for comparison: Bruce Smith's rookie year (22 years old): 6.5 sacks Aaron Schobel's rookie year (24 years old): 6.5 sacks Jerry Hughes's first 3 years TOTAL: 5 sacks Kyle Williams first 3 years TOTAL: 4 sacks Mario Williams rookie year: 4.5 sacks Is this a Buffalo BIlls phenomenon? Nope. JJ Watt had 5.5 sacks his rookie year and 20.5 his second year. TJ Watt had 7 sacks his rookie year and 13 his second year. It takes time. We won't know what we have in Epenesa until year 2. Don't worry too much about the weight... it's his first year doing 24/7 weight training, professionally. 9 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 45 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said: His speed has picked up though. On the Goff play action to the flat pass....AJ got to Goff very quickly. Almost had the sack but Goff got it off. The bigger AJ wouldn't have gotten there. He did have a sack vs the Rams. Chased Goff down on a rollout to (Goff’s) right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royale with Cheese Posted October 15, 2020 Author Share Posted October 15, 2020 15 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said: He definitely looks thin. I thought the same thing about Joey Bosa on Monday night . He looks like he’s auditioning for Dallas Buyers Club. Jared Leto....that was an amazing performance. Just now, K-9 said: He did have a sack vs the Rams. Chased Goff down on a rollout to (Goff’s) right. Don't correct me in front of the children. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zow2 Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 cant speak about Epenesa. but i was on the field once for pregame and i’ve never seen a smaller waisted human than aaron maybin. he fit right in with the WRs . i swear he must’ve had a 28” waist back then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royale with Cheese Posted October 15, 2020 Author Share Posted October 15, 2020 Just now, zow2 said: cant speak about Epenesa. but i was on the field once for pregame and i’ve never seen a smaller waisted human than aaron maybin. he fit right in with the WRs . i swear he must’ve had a 28” waist back then I wear a 30''. Do you want me to send you a pic of my waist to see if it looks about the same size as Maybin's? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 1 minute ago, Royale with Cheese said: Jared Leto....that was an amazing performance. Don't correct me in front of the children. The kids are all asleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royale with Cheese Posted October 15, 2020 Author Share Posted October 15, 2020 Just now, K-9 said: The kids are all asleep. They better be....it's a school night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said: I feel like his game is supposed to be power, and I've heard analysis saying they think his problem right now is he needs to get stronger. So I really don't understand the weight loss. He looks slight out there. At a guess, they want him to slim down and train for speed, then add some muscle to train for power. But that's just a total guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transplantbillsfan Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Honestly I think he looks like an LB. Is he meant to be the LORAX replacement? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 1 minute ago, transplantbillsfan said: Honestly I think he looks like an LB. Is he meant to be the LORAX replacement? That's kind of the implication of the "slim down, train for speed, then build up muscle" recipe. Lorax converted successfully from DL to LB But He had a real head for the pro game as well Epenesa TBD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 An AJ breakout is just what we need. But he'll be in the dog house for a bit for jumping Offside. But I want him to get more playing time. He has actually flashed a couple times for me and I still have confidence he can be an effective edge rusher. SOMEONE needs to get pressure on the QB. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo716 Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 54 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said: I wear a 30''. Do you want me to send you a pic of my waist to see if it looks about the same size as Maybin's? I was a 31' In my playing days , I've been sending pics of my waist to maybin for years and he's never replied 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transplantbillsfan Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 6 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said: That's kind of the implication of the "slim down, train for speed, then build up muscle" recipe. Lorax converted successfully from DL to LB But He had a real head for the pro game as well Epenesa TBD The first game he played and I saw him in there I had no clue who he was and was shocked when I found out it was him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan in Cleveland Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Right now every snap I have seen he has been at DE with hand in the ground. If the want him to be a strong side LB then it was foolish of them to use a 2nd round pick. In this defense the strong side LB is on the field maybe 25% of the time. They play two LB's or less 75% of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanC883 Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said: glad you started a thread about this. He was not recognizable out there. I was actually expecting him to be a beefier 3-4 DE, like a Cam Heyward. I am wondering if they are thinking of shifting him to a hybrid LB at this point. MLB?? could solve that issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannc Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Madbillsfan said: Hope we weren’t Mamula’d. Maybin we were... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 6 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said: Right now every snap I have seen he has been at DE with hand in the ground. If the want him to be a strong side LB then it was foolish of them to use a 2nd round pick. In this defense the strong side LB is on the field maybe 25% of the time. They play two LB's or less 75% of the time. I dunno about strong side LB, but if they want him to be a Lorax equivalent (whatever you'd call him): Lorax was on the field close to 60% of the snaps for the last 2 years on D and 50% of ST. Low of 27% and high of 100%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan in Cleveland Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 5 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said: I dunno about strong side LB, but if they want him to be a Lorax equivalent (whatever you'd call him): Lorax was on the field close to 60% of the snaps for the last 2 years on D and 50% of ST. Low of 27% and high of 100%. I will be honest I don't know if he was on either kickoff or kick return team. Lorax played some stand up LB for both Rex and McD. I think he got most of his defensive snaps at DE # 4, but if I recall correclty he moved up and down th eline and ligned up at DT once or twice a game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 3 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said: I will be honest I don't know if he was on either kickoff or kick return team. AJ? He's not playing ST at all. 0 snaps. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Sack Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Espensa is gonna be alright kiddos 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOKBILLS Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 If the Bills plan with AJ is to slim him down and turn him into prototype end then...Well...I think they Drafted the wrong guy. AJ's success in College was not prototype anything. He's a technician...He got things done by being smarter, real good with his hands, and never wasting a step. I do think there was a power aspect as well, but not in a bull-rush kind of way...More leverage...He's a very different-type of DE, but I did feel he was a good choice to replace Shaq because AJ was a little bigger and in time would prove to be excellent vs the run and setting the edge. Which was the path Shaq took before he eventually became a decent, albeit less than spectacular pass rusher. I don't know...It's way to early to tell...I do think AJ will figure things out...He came in very polished in areas where some players never get...😎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WideNine Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Maybe another before and after pic...are the Bills trying to save on groceries. Feed that man a steak. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan692 Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 16 minutes ago, Dr.Sack said: Espensa is gonna be alright kiddos Yeah people been saying the same about edmunds for a couple years but im not seeing it 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOKBILLS Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 16 minutes ago, BillsFan692 said: Yeah people been saying the same about edmunds for a couple years but im not seeing it AJ is a better football player than Edmunds. Better floor...Lower ceiling... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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