AJ Epenesa Head Injury

[Motorin']

First let me say I like this guy. He's flashed some explosiveness and violence from the DE position, and has made some plays. I think losing him and Dane Jackson against the Cards hampered the defensive effort last Sunday.

 

Now to his head injury. I was very surprised to see him walking off the field bc the last play I remembered him in was when he chased down Kyler Murray for the tackle while attempting a wild tomahawk chop. Then he jumps up in celebration towards the Bills sideline and tumbles over as the cameras cut away. Did he face plant right in front of McDermott and give himself a concussion? 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 18, 2020 by Motorin'

[DeltaDigital]

Probably. #billsy

[Gugny]

Well, his father's one of them table jumpers.

[ctk232]

18 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

First let me say I like this guy. He's flashed some explosiveness and violence from the DE position, and has made some plays. I think losing him and Dane Jackson against the Cards hampered the defensive effort last Sunday.

 

Now to his head injury. I was very surprised to see him walking off the field bc the last play I remembered him in was when he chased down Kyler Murray for the tackle while attempting a wild tomahawk chop. Then he jumps up in celebration towards the Bills sideline and tumbles over as the cameras cut away. Did he face plant right in front of McDermott and give himself a concussion? 

 

Hopefully this starts at the right timestamp (4:22) - but if you watch when he tomahawk tackles, Murray falls on the side of his head/neck. It looks like he still has the adrenaline kicking until he stands up, and the concussion sets in. Kinda scary if that's how it played out, but the kid is hungryyyy. If he had to have it happen, the week before the bye is a better time than any. 

 

On another note, he is night and day faster from his college seasons after dropping some of the weight. He plays with enough tenacity that I'm just excited to see how the rest of his season goes. 

Edited November 18, 2020 by ctk232

[BillsVet]

In 8 games Epenesa has participated in 110 snaps or 16% of those in games he's played.  Has 2 TFL and 2 QB hits:

 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/EpenAJ00.htm

 

I'm not seeing what you're seeing. 

[MJS]

He probably fell over due to the head injury.

[GunnerBill]

3 minutes ago, BillsVet said:

In 8 games Epenesa has participated in 110 snaps or 16% of those in games he's played.  Has 2 TFL and 2 QB hits:

 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/EpenAJ00.htm

 

I'm not seeing what you're seeing. 

 

And 1 sack. 

 

I don't see enough either way yet. I am actually in favour of trying to get him on the field more so we have an idea whether he can play a bigger role next year. 

 

[BuffaloBillies]

Maybe he felt sick.

AJ Epenausea

[Hapless Bills Fan]

27 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

First let me say I like this guy. He's flashed some explosiveness and violence from the DE position, and has made some plays. I think losing him and Dane Jackson against the Cards hampered the defensive effort last Sunday.

 

Now to his head injury. I was very surprised to see him walking off the field bc the last play I remembered him in was when he chased down Kyler Murray for the tackle while attempting a wild tomahawk chop. Then he jumps up in celebration towards the Bills sideline and tumbles over as the cameras cut away. Did he face plant right in front of McDermott and give himself a concussion?

 

Unlikely on that latter.

 

Bangedupbills (Dr Kyle Trimble) has this to say:

DE AJ Epenesa (Concussion)

Epenesa missed the second half of the game due to a concussion possibly sustained with 3:32 left in the 2nd quarter when he took down Kyler Murray from behind to set up 4th down. The play below shows how Epenesa attempted to knock the ball out of Murray’s hand as he took him down, regrettably slamming his head into the turf. He stood up quickly and appeared to be momentarily unsteady before walking off to the sideline motioning to his head.
 

He was quickly taken to the locker room for further evaluation of a head injury where he was later ruled out with a concussion. He will enter concussion protocol as does every other NFL player, but time will tell how long it will take him to return. According to what I could find from his injury analysis this summer, this is Epenesa’s first publicly documented concussion. 

[DrDawkinstein]

5 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

And 1 sack. 

 

I don't see enough either way yet. I am actually in favour of trying to get him on the field more so we have an idea whether he can play a bigger role next year. 

 

 

I'm giving him a big pass on this season with the lack of rookie OTAs, the shortened offseason, etc with COVID.

 

Hope to see much more from him next year.

[The Tomcat]

After the missed tomahawk chop the Cardinals player lands on AJ's earhole.

Edited November 19, 2020 by The Tomcat

[Gregthekeg]

7 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I'm giving him a big pass on this season with the lack of rookie OTAs, the shortened offseason, etc with COVID.

 

Hope to see much more from him next year.

This X 100!  It seems that they like to have rookies take their time getting acclimated on defense (See what they did with Oliver last year)  Let him get his feet before throwing them to the wolves.  They got him for long term, not to use this year.  Hopefully he can be a strong contributor and be the next A.Schobel on the team, never flashy but always solid and consistent. 

 

[Big Turk]

21 minutes ago, BillsVet said:

In 8 games Epenesa has participated in 110 snaps or 16% of those in games he's played.  Has 2 TFL and 2 QB hits:

 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/EpenAJ00.htm

 

I'm not seeing what you're seeing. 

 

More productive than "Mayhem" Maybin who was too busy producing this gem in the studio:

 

 

 

Maybe Epenesa will release something better??

[Motorin']

11 minutes ago, ctk232 said:

 

Hopefully this starts at the right timestamp (4:22) - but if you watch when he tomahawk tackles, Murray falls on the side of his head/neck. It looks like he still has the adrenaline kicking until he stands up, and the concussion sets in. Kinda scary if that's how it played out, but the kid is hungryyyy. If he had to have it happen, the week before the bye is a better time than any. 

 

On another note, he is night and day faster from his college seasons after dropping some of the weight. He plays with enough tenacity that I'm just excited to see how the rest of his season goes. 

 

Oh, I see how it happened now, thanks man. Rewatching that play you also see him chase down Murray while passing Trent Murphy was was dogin' it and had given up on the play. 

 

9 minutes ago, BillsVet said:

In 8 games Epenesa has participated in 110 snaps or 16% of those in games he's played.  Has 2 TFL and 2 QB hits:

 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/EpenAJ00.htm

 

I'm not seeing what you're seeing. 

 

Jerry Hughes has 3 TFL over 436 plays compared to AJ's 2 TFL across 110 plays. That's a TFL ever 145 plays for Jerry and every 55 plays for AJ. It's too small of a sample size probably, but you're not really making your case by focusing on the #'s. AJ's QB hits are ever 55 plays and Jerry's is 1 every 54.5 plays. 

 

I want to see him take snaps away from Murphy who is a waste of space far too often. 

[DrDawkinstein]

3 minutes ago, Gregthekeg said:

This X 100!  It seems that they like to have rookies take their time getting acclimated on defense (See what they did with Oliver last year)  Let him get his feet before throwing them to the wolves.  They got him for long term, not to use this year.  Hopefully he can be a strong contributor and be the next A.Schobel on the team, never flashy but always solid and consistent. 

 

 

I see his ceiling be more along Shaq Lawson than Aaron Schobel.

 

Schobel was unsung outside of Buffalo, but a dominant pass rusher for almost a decade. Nto sure we'll see that type of production from AJ. Fingers crossed tho.

[Comebackkid]

24 minutes ago, BuffaloBillies said:

Maybe he felt sick.

AJ Epenausea

That's a sick joke 😛

[YoloinOhio]

27 minutes ago, BuffaloBillies said:

Maybe he felt sick.

AJ Epenausea

You got Dad jokes huh

[Gregthekeg]

8 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I see his ceiling be more along Shaq Lawson than Aaron Schobel.

 

Schobel was unsung outside of Buffalo, but a dominant pass rusher for almost a decade. Nto sure we'll see that type of production from AJ. Fingers crossed tho.

That's why I was hoping haha.  Dreams can come true!

 

[4BillsintheBurgh]

11 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I see his ceiling be more along Shaq Lawson than Aaron Schobel.

 

Schobel was unsung outside of Buffalo, but a dominant pass rusher for almost a decade. Nto sure we'll see that type of production from AJ. Fingers crossed tho.

I like him more than I thought I would. He has some power and twitch, he is just getting caught not knowing where the block is coming from and letting blockers get into his body. If he's just rushing the passer he looks a lot better to me. I think that's going to be relatively easy to correct over time and he has a chance to be a good pass rusher. At this point I like his chances much more than R Johnson who doesn't seem to be taking that next step.

[H2o]

19 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I see his ceiling be more along Shaq Lawson than Aaron Schobel.

 

Schobel was unsung outside of Buffalo, but a dominant pass rusher for almost a decade. Nto sure we'll see that type of production from AJ. Fingers crossed tho.

I wouldn't say he was dominant, but he did have 4 really good years in a Bills uni. I could see Epenesa having a similar career. I think a full offseason in an NFL strength and conditioning program will benefit him a lot. He looks to have dropped about 20lbs since his time at Iowa and I believe that weight loss has affected his playing strength. 

[dorquemada]

40 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

 

Maybe Epenesa will release something better??

 

If he releases anything at all it's bound to be better

[DrDawkinstein]

23 minutes ago, H2o said:

I wouldn't say he was dominant, but he did have 4 really good years in a Bills uni. I could see Epenesa having a similar career. I think a full offseason in an NFL strength and conditioning program will benefit him a lot. He looks to have dropped about 20lbs since his time at Iowa and I believe that weight loss has affected his playing strength. 

 

I think he'll need to stay slim in order to ever become a pass rusher like Schobel. If he bulks back up, that puts him back into the Kelsay/Lawson category.

 

I dunno. I go back and forth on this kid. Not making any concrete judgements until we get to a better year next year.

[H2o]

Just now, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I think he'll need to stay slim in order to ever become a pass rusher like Schobel. If he bulks back up, that puts him back into the Kelsay/Lawson category.

 

I dunno. I go back and forth on this kid. Not making any concrete judgements until we get to a better year next year.

Yeah, I definitely don't want to see him back up to 280lbs and losing the twitch we have seen on the field, but I do believe that an offseason in the strength and conditioning program will go a long way with his functional strength. This offseason was just completely jacked, especially for the rookies just coming into the league. 

[ProcessTruster]

1 hour ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I'm giving him a big pass on this season with the lack of rookie OTAs, the shortened offseason, etc with COVID.

 

Hope to see much more from him next year.

Oh yeah, he'll be bigger and stronger with a full offseason of pro level training.  We have a good one there.  Sucks not having Jordan and Shaq this year, but developing AJ in the offseaso will pay off to some extent when the salary cap man comes callin' next year.   He may even come on towards the end of this year.   We'll see.  McBeanes had him pegged right as a 2nd round prospect.   Trust the Process. 

[BillsVet]

1 hour ago, Motorin' said:

Jerry Hughes has 3 TFL over 436 plays compared to AJ's 2 TFL across 110 plays. That's a TFL ever 145 plays for Jerry and every 55 plays for AJ. It's too small of a sample size probably, but you're not really making your case by focusing on the #'s. AJ's QB hits are ever 55 plays and Jerry's is 1 every 54.5 plays. 

 

I want to see him take snaps away from Murphy who is a waste of space far too often. 

 

There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.  You get bonus points in your "argument" for telling me who said that.

[LABILLBACKER]

I'm confident he'll be exactly who the coaching staff is molding him into.

Lorenzo Alexander 

[BuffaloBillies]

6 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

I'm confident he'll be exactly who the coaching staff is molding him into.

Lorenzo Alexander 

 

Speaking of Lorenzo... this bye week is the perfect time for him to come back and enjoy the stretch run/playoffs.

C'mon Lorax/Bills, Make it happen!

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

I like his hands and his drive.  Both make him a good fit on this defense.  He doesn't have as much of a raw athleticism of murphy - but i think he can be a better player.

 

I can't stand murphy sometimes.  Epenesa almost forced a fumble sticking with a play when he rushed from the opposite side.  Murphy was trotting and epenesa (a slower player) ran right past him.  The play isn't over!  Get on your horse!

5 minutes ago, BuffaloBillies said:

 

Speaking of Lorenzo... this bye week is the perfect time for him to come back and enjoy the stretch run/playoffs.

C'mon Lorax/Bills, Make it happen!

 

Can it be for murphy?  

[LABILLBACKER]

12 minutes ago, BuffaloBillies said:

 

Speaking of Lorenzo... this bye week is the perfect time for him to come back and enjoy the stretch run/playoffs.

C'mon Lorax/Bills, Make it happen!

Not gunna happen. If McD was going to talk him into returning it would've been weeks ago.

[TigerJ]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

And 1 sack. 

 

I don't see enough either way yet. I am actually in favour of trying to get him on the field more so we have an idea whether he can play a bigger role next year. 

 

I think Epenesa is a guy who will need to win battles more with technique rather than natural talent (understanding that every player needs a mix of both) as such I'm not shocked that he lacks a little in the way of production early in his career.  He's going to need development to be a long term success.  Getting on the field is an important part of that.

[The Jokeman]

2 hours ago, Motorin' said:

First let me say I like this guy. He's flashed some explosiveness and violence from the DE position, and has made some plays. I think losing him and Dane Jackson against the Cards hampered the defensive effort last Sunday.

 

Now to his head injury. I was very surprised to see him walking off the field bc the last play I remembered him in was when he chased down Kyler Murray for the tackle while attempting a wild tomahawk chop. Then he jumps up in celebration towards the Bills sideline and tumbles over as the cameras cut away. Did he face plant right in front of McDermott and give himself a concussion? 

 

 

 

 

Losing Dane hurt especially since Worley drew a flag on one of the passes he was defending. Espenesa to me hasn't show that much thus far. 

[Motorin']

36 minutes ago, BillsVet said:

 

There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.  You get bonus points in your "argument" for telling me who said that.

 

The full quote is "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." And Mark Twain was quoting Benjamin Disraeli. 

[Mr. WEO]

2 hours ago, BillsVet said:

In 8 games Epenesa has participated in 110 snaps or 16% of those in games he's played.  Has 2 TFL and 2 QB hits:

 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/EpenAJ00.htm

 

I'm not seeing what you're seeing. 

 

 

Seems like the coaching staff is seeing what you're seeing.   

[BillsVet]

1 hour ago, LABILLBACKER said:

I'm confident he'll be exactly who the coaching staff is molding him into.

Lorenzo Alexander 

 

If he follows along Alexander's career track, we should see Epenesa become that sort of player by the year 2029. 

[Buffalo Junction]

2 hours ago, dneveu said:

I like his hands and his drive.  Both make him a good fit on this defense.  He doesn't have as much of a raw athleticism of murphy - but i think he can be a better player.

 

2 hours ago, TigerJ said:

I think Epenesa is a guy who will need to win battles more with technique rather than natural talent (understanding that every player needs a mix of both) as such I'm not shocked that he lacks a little in the way of production early in his career.  He's going to need development to be a long term success.  Getting on the field is an important part of that.

He’s surprisingly good at hand fighting. Seems that a big issue though is recognizing blocking angles and combo blocks quick enough to respond before they get into his body. He’s dedicated enough to get there and seems to be improving as he gains experience. I think a year of NFL 🏋️‍♂️ 🏃‍♂️ along with that drive will get him to a point where he’s a reliable starter. I don’t think he’ll truly be a top end DE though unless he somehow manages to get back up to 280ish without losing any explosiveness. 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

15 hours ago, Buffalo Junction said:

 

He’s surprisingly good at hand fighting. Seems that a big issue though is recognizing blocking angles and combo blocks quick enough to respond before they get into his body. He’s dedicated enough to get there and seems to be improving as he gains experience. I think a year of NFL 🏋️‍♂️ 🏃‍♂️ along with that drive will get him to a point where he’s a reliable starter. I don’t think he’ll truly be a top end DE though unless he somehow manages to get back up to 280ish without losing any explosiveness. 

 

Its a hard position to project - and there are plenty of stories of players breaking out as pass rushers well passed their rookie contracts.  Hand usage and technique are big, but understanding your role as the 1/11 and how to manipulate the QB and the pocket... there's a lot to learn there.  

[LABILLBACKER]

17 hours ago, BillsVet said:

 

If he follows along Alexander's career track, we should see Epenesa become that sort of player by the year 2029. 

I doubt its going to take that long.

[Buffalo Junction]

18 minutes ago, dneveu said:

 

Its a hard position to project - and there are plenty of stories of players breaking out as pass rushers well passed their rookie contracts.  Hand usage and technique are big, but understanding your role as the 1/11 and how to manipulate the QB and the pocket... there's a lot to learn there.  

It certainly happens. I just don’t think he has the athletic ceiling to put up Mack or Watt type of numbers, which is why he wasn’t a first rounder. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him turn into one of those 7-10 sack type of guys. Coming out I was more impressed with his ability to disrupt than his pass rushing. 

[CaptnCoke11]

Funny to see a lot of people writing him off already.  I don’t think the plan was to draft him and be a plug  n play guy day 1.  The coaching staff had him slim down so he’s development is still very much in progress.  

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

44 minutes ago, Buffalo Junction said:

It certainly happens. I just don’t think he has the athletic ceiling to put up Mack or Watt type of numbers, which is why he wasn’t a first rounder. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him turn into one of those 7-10 sack type of guys. Coming out I was more impressed with his ability to disrupt than his pass rushing. 

 

Yeah - Even just as an active tackler that's what i'd like to see.  If he can contribute 5+ sacks and lead the dline in tackles that'd be good.