[/zn/]

Well that's actually good as it may help them adapt to his absence more easily. Still would be good to make sure it works. .

Well, in a lot of ways, with a new coach, it's like a draft pick. He sees film, he likes the guy, he knows what he can do...and starts thinking, I can use him to do this.

Really, Demoff said Wade went out of his way to make sure he (Demoff) knew that he (Wade) REALLY wanted Donald.

That tells me Wade had big plans for him. And Wade knew who Donald was--he knows he wants what AD can do.

I don't think there's even the slightest chance it won't work.

...

[PARAM]

I expect this sort of (blame Donald) argument a lot ... I'm not saying you will do this ... but a Lot of the 99%ers will blame Donald for the Rams not having the complimentary guys in 2018 and 2019... my argument ( which will be dismissed by those 99%) is how many complimentary players could we have gotten if we didn't trade away 6 draft picks and took Prescott instead?

Bob is that a real question? As in, if we knew, anybody knew Prescott was going to do what he did last year? Hell yeah, if we knew it, we could have had a ton of complimentary players. But really? We might as well say our mistake wasn't trading away 6 (which is inaccurate as we got a pick or two in return) and taking Jared Goff last year. Our mistake was taking Trung Canidate instead of Tom Brady in 2000. Damn, how many Superbowl Championships would Martz have won with Warner and then Brady? And how much money would Martz be making in 2017 to coach the Rams, 6 time Superbowl Champs with Tom Terrific under center?

Here's the viewpoint I'm taking. Aaron Donald deserves a better deal. He's outplayed his rookie deal. He's an All Pro DT. He's earned a raise.

The Rams deserve a fair deal from AD. Almost half the league passed on AD (12 teams, including the Rams once) and the Rams took him at #13. The Rams gave him his start in the NFL. The Rams made him a first round pick. The Rams invested money in Aaron Donald. The Rams gave him a chance to showcase his talents, which they....and not 11 other teams, possibly more.....believed in.

I don't buy into "the highest paid whatever" (if in fact that's what he's seeking). I believe in a well paid, handsomely paid, justifiably paid whatever. The Rams could pay him well and he still might not be the highest paid DT in the league. Does he deserve to be? For what, 1 or 2 years until somebody else comes along and wants more than AD because their numbers are better or comparable? He deserves to be paid handsomely for what he's done and what he can do. He deserves to be paid handsomely for his performance and his contributions to the performance of the TEAM.

Jared Goff, if he develops under McVay and there's a pretty good chance he will, might be in line for a raise in a couple of years. What then? Do we ask AD to give back a little jack to help the team? Would he? He'd be a couple of years older, a 1/2 step slower perhaps.

I think the Rams are weighing their options with AD....they want to do right by him but maybe his agents demands are a bit high? Maybe they don't want to do right by him.....but I kinda doubt that.

Truth is NOBODY knows what's going on as both sides have kept it quiet and out of the press. I don't know if "the highest paid DT" requests are real. I don't know if the "opt out clause" is real. I do know the kid has a chance to either make a great deal of money, far beyond most players dreams OR he has a chance to eff up his entire career. I don't think there's anything in the CBA that says the Rams HAVE TO give him a raise. Sure they agree he deserves one. I don't recall them saying how much. But I'd bet they're not fools....they know it's got to be substantial.

[Zen_Ronin]

FWIW I asked Vinny about the opt out clause rumor yesterday and he said there is ZERO truth to it. He's certain that at this point it's about how much, how much guaranteed, and getting the guaranteed amount paid in the first 2-3 years.

[/zn/]

FWIW I asked Vinny about the opt out clause rumor yesterday and he said there is ZERO truth to it. He's certain that at this point it's about how much, how much guaranteed, and getting the guaranteed amount paid in the first 2-3 years.

Yes, all that's true (and thanks for asking VB that question).

What you see around the net is that people misread all that. You list three things and they reduce it to one (the amount). Some people act like simply offering AD more than Suh means the Rams are supergenerous and that's the end of the story. No...2 years after Suh, the market says the better player gets more than Suh. That's just automatic. The example I keep using is that 2 years ago Wilson get 21 M, now Stafford gets 27 M. Markets go up. So offering AD more than Suh at this point is just plain obvious DUH territory.

BUT it's a fair and legit negotiation point to wrangle over HOW MUCH more than Suh is fair at this point.

Plus as you made clear, and I already acknowledged, the AMOUNT isn't the ONLY issue anyway.

So good post.

[aeneas1]

We will rally behind Scott Tolzein and play...oops! Truly over the Donald situation, just Game Plan with the players you have available.

honestly, the donald holdout has struck me as a curiosity more than anything else, just something to keep an eye as the regular season approaches, i guess it's because from where i'm sitting the rams have a much bigger fish to fry, something that requires far more attention, and that's finally putting a decent offense on the field, putting goff in the best sitch to succeed, and if he doesn't look the part, putting all of their attention into figuring what to do about it.

[PARAM]

honestly, the donald holdout has struck me as a curiosity more than anything else, just something to keep an eye as the regular season approaches, i guess it's because from where i'm sitting the rams have a much bigger fish to fry, something that requires far more attention, and that's finally putting a decent offense on the field, putting goff in the best sitch to succeed, and if he doesn't look the part, putting all of their attention into figuring what to do about it.

Interesting take.

What good does an "elite", once in a generation DT do for a team who can't average 20+ PPG? The Lamborghini in the Yukon theory. Get the offense fixed FIRST. It's the most important at the moment.

[BobCarl]

Bob is that a real question?

No not really a question. ... I was going back to the future and rehashing out an argument that in 2019 we will be hearing ad nauseam to infinitum.

You eluded to it when you looked to the near future by saying:

I wouldn't like itIF we had to cut other good players(because of Donald)

two years from now people will be dropping the "IF" and exclaiming "WE HAD TO CUT OTHER GOOD PLAYERS"

Thus my response is: that we can't put this ALL on Donald, as the Rams had already cut six high-level draft picks the year before Donald's holdout. (yes I know we got a couple of comp-level picks in return)

You supported my (future) retort when you mentioned the following quarterbacks:

Prescott ... Warner ... Brady ... (BobCarl adds Derek Carr to this list)

How many high level picks did those teams cut to acquire their star quarterbacks? We know the answer is ZERO. Thus the Rams have ALREADY cut many good players BEFORE Donald's impasse. Thus the lack of surrounding players can't be entirely blamed on Donald.

Suppose the Raiders had cut 4 players to move up to pick Bortles? Derek Carr wouldn't be with the team, and Bortles as a Raider, would have caused 3 other elite players to be cut from the team before their careers started (Mack, Jackson, Cooper)

I guarantee you that in the near future, people will be blaming Donald for the lack of "other" quality players.

Back to the present, you said:

NOBODY knows what's going on ..(from the Rams side) But I'd bet they're not fools..

But in the near past, the Rams have been nothing but fools. Contracts of Jenkins, Tru, Austin, Brockers all made the Rams look like fools. I hope you are right that the Rams are not being fools. But I have valid reasons to worry that they are fools.

[snackdaddy]

At this point I'm no longer concerned about Donald. He'll return when he returns. Until then its next man up. Maybe there's a silver lining to all of this. I know no one's gonna replace what Donald can do, but they might find some needed depth they didn't know had.

[BuiltRamTough]

[Elvis]