[HAL 9000]

Three words describe Donald
1: Man
2: Among
3: Boys

I have watched a-lot of games in my lifetime. To give reference, I would consider myself to be an old geezer that has been watching football since the Gabriel days (not RFU member, Max, old but quite old, sorry Max). But I digress, so back to the point. In other words I've seen a lot of games in my lifetime, but that game against the Niners is the single most dominating defensive performance I have ever witnessed.

He made the second most dominating game I had ever seen, against Seahawks last year, look like child's play. You all remember when he was throwing Wilson around like he was his own little Rag Doll.

Truly amazing performance. Rams got their money worth and then some.

Carry on....

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[Rams 1974]

^^^^ That !

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Rams’ Aaron Donald on pace for record number of sacks for a defensive tackle

RICH HAMMOND

https://www.dailynews.com/2018/10/26/ra ... ve-tackle/

THOUSAND OAKS – Fruits, vegetables and Aaron Donald sacks come in bunches. Only the latter is not conducive to a healthy lifestyle, and Donald is consuming opposing quarterbacks at a record pace.

After a slow start, at least in a statistical sense, Donald recorded a career-high four sacks in last week’s victory over San Francisco. Based on a per-game average, he’s on pace to record the most career sacks by a defensive tackle in NFL history, and he’s playing even better than last year, when he was Defensive Player of the Year.

So it will be the Battle of the Aarons at the Coliseum on Sunday – Donald vs. Rodgers – and Aaron Rodgers, the Packers’ veteran quarterback, is well aware of how quickly Donald can ruin an offense’s day.

“He’s a menace inside,” Packers quarterback Rodgers told reporters in Green Bay this week. “You’ve got to try to find a way to get bodies on him and slow him down with different looks.”

Best of luck, the Rams’ recent opponents would say. Donald, who missed all of training camp and the preseason during negotiations for the new contract he signed in late August, failed to record a sack in his first three games this season but now has eight sacks in his last four games.

Eight sacks ties Donald for the NFL league lead with Minnesota defensive end Danielle Hunter, and that’s the thing. Donald is unparalleled as a pass-rushing defensive tackle, certainly in the last 15 years.

“He’s relentless, is one of the best ways that you can put it,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “When you go back and you just tally up all the plays that he’s made, and how he’s getting there and affecting and influencing the game in a variety of ways from his position, it’s really impressive. That’s why he’s the man.”

That’s because it’s not just about sacks. The analytics website Pro Football Focus this week noted that Donald has totaled 47 quarterback pressures this season. The site said that’s the second-most most for any player during the first seven weeks of a season since at least 2006.

In his career, Donald has recorded 47.0 sacks in 69 regular-season games. That’s an average of 0.68 sacks per game. John Randle, who holds the NFL record for sacks by a defensive tackle, with 137.5, averaged 0.63 sacks per game during his Hall of Fame career with Minnesota (1990-2000) and Seattle (2001-03).

Randle set his sack mark in 219 games, and it won’t be easy to pass. Even if Donald maintained his sack pace and didn’t miss a game – neither of which seems highly probable – he wouldn’t pass Randle’s mark until the final game of the 2026 season, when Donald would be 35 years old.

Then there’s Alan Page, the Hall of Fame tackle who played from 1967-78, when the NFL didn’t keep sacks as official stats. Estimates from film have given Page 148.5 sacks, which would top Randle’s mark for a tackle.

None of this is exact science. Randle sometimes played defensive end, and even Donald moves around a lot in the Rams’ 3-4 scheme. If nothing else, Donald certainly is on pace to top this century’s best pass-rushing tackle, Warren Sapp, who had 96.5 sacks in 198 career regular-season games.



The short-term question is whether Donald can be the first tackle to lead the NFL in sacks since La’Roi Glover recorded a league-high 17 with New Orleans in 2000. Since 1982, when sacks started to be recorded, only Glover and Randle (in 1997) have led the league in sacks as defensive tackles.

Donald’s career high is 11 sacks, which he recorded last season and as a second-year player in 2015. He’s already within three of that mark, with nine games to go, and that number steeply increased last week.

Donald dominated the 49ers with four sacks, one other tackle for loss and a forced fumble, which he also recovered after he yanked the ball out of the hands of running back Matt Breida.

“You don’t see those kind of games very often by a defensive player who dominates a game like that,” Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. “I’ve been very lucky to be around some great ones, and they’ve done it every once in a while, and it’s a tremendous accomplishment and obviously helps your team so much. It lifts your team when he’s making all kinds of plays like that.”

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Packers plotting how to keep Rams’ Aaron Donald from disrupting offense

Jim Owczarski, Packers News

https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/n ... 754035002/

GREEN BAY – Corey Linsley’s eyebrows raised involuntarily.

In Aaron Donald’s brief yet illustrious career, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year has hit or sacked the quarterback in 54 of his 69 regular-season games. One of the teams to keep the three-time All-Pro defensive tackle off their quarterback? The 2015 Green Bay Packers.

It was an odd stat the Packers’ center did not know, but much has changed since Oct. 11, 2015 when the Packers beat the Rams 24-10 at Lambeau Field. Linsley was just a second-year starter that year, flanked by T.J. Lang and Josh Sitton. The Rams and Donald played in St. Louis then, under different coaches in a 4-3 defensive scheme.

“He’s gotten a lot better at what he does,” Linsley said with a sheepish smile. “He’s having a hell of a year. One of the most dominant players in the NFL right now. Thinking back to that game, I thought we had a pretty good game plan. Honestly, they’re an entirely different team. The only person you can look back on is Aaron Donald.”

Yet for the Packers, once again keeping Donald away from Aaron Rodgers on Sunday will be paramount to having offensive success.

“The guy’s a dynamic player,” Packers guard Lane Taylor said. “This is my first time going against him and really studying him but he’s definitely a good player. I can see why he got paid $20 million.”

After he sat out training camp for the second straight year, the Rams satisfied Donald with a six-year, $135 million extension. And after working back into form the first three games of the season (seven tackles, one quarterback hit), the 27-year-old has exploded into offensive backfields.

Over his last four games he has sacked the quarterback eight times, hit passers 12 times, recorded 10 tackles for loss and 19 total tackles.

“You’ve got to be aware of where he’s at,” Rodgers said. “He’s one of the more dominant players that the league has seen in a number of years, and then you pair that with a future Hall of Famer right next to him (Ndamukong Suh) who can dominate the game as well and has since his first year playing.”

For the Packers, the first part of preparing for Donald is being ready for Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Long known for his 3-4 defensive front, Phillips has tailored his game plans to his talent – so Donald and the rest of the defensive line actually play more of a traditional four-man game up front.

“It’s an illusion. It’s not a 3-4,” Packers guard Byron Bell said.

The reason for the illusion is simple: Donald can remain in his preferred “3-technique” position, which means he lines up on the offside shoulder of a guard as opposed to moving further down the line to play off Packers tackles Bryan Bulaga or David Bakhtiari.

“It’s not a 3-4,” Bell reiterated. “It’s an illusion to throw guys off, get their eyes in places. It says it’s a 3-4 but it’s not. You’ve got play the personnel you’ve got. They play to their strength, and their strength is a good 3-technique.

“Teams get lost in the whole ‘3-4, who do they got?’ – just go out there and play your style of ball.”

Donald’s positioning allows Suh and defensive end Michael Brockers (20 career sacks) to see more single blocks and also move to other spots on the line. Suh, 31, isn’t asked to anchor a defense anymore, but his power rush remains elite in one-on-one situations. Brockers is also widely respected for his ability in the Packers’ offensive line room.

But the straw that stirs that pass-rush formula is Donald, and it’s not just the speed-to-power combination he has. It’s how he can use his leverage as a “shorter” player at 6-feet-1 and how good his footwork and hand actions are.

“He’s a dominant player,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said flatly. “Probably clearly one of the best or the best defensive players in the league.”

Add all that with what Linsley and Taylor say is an underrated part of his game, which is a motor that matches his athletic ability.

“One of the best defensive players, probably, of our generation,” Bell said. “He plays hard. He plays fast. He’s a great player.”

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“He’s gotten a lot better at what he does,” Linsley said with a sheepish smile. “He’s having a hell of a year. One of the most dominant players in the NFL right now.

“He’s a dominant player,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said flatly. “Probably clearly one of the best or the best defensive players in the league.”

Rodgers said. “He’s one of the more dominant players that the league has seen in a number of years

“One of the best defensive players, probably, of our generation,” Bell said.

I wish they had kept going.

Then eventually we would reach "one of the most dominant players of all time--in the known universe, and beyond."


..

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from PFF--Trending Up: Looking at PFF's highest-graded defensive players in Weeks 4-7

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/p ... -weeks-4-7

AARON DONALD, DI, LOS ANGELES RAMS
95.4 overall grade
Through the first three weeks of the season, Donald had only a 92.1 overall grade. While it doesn’t represent a huge leap number wise, his play over the last four weeks has been inspired. Over that span, he’s had the three highest single-game grades of any interior defensive lineman this season, and his 32 combined pressures in his last four games are six clear of the next best player in the NFL, regardless of position. The Rams defensive tackle is doing things we’ve never seen done from a purely interior role.

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[AvengerRam]

It’s a shame how he’s become complacent since signing that big contract.

[aeneas1]

holding out until the start of the regular set him back last year and this year, it's a shame really, he could have put up great numbers, booked great seasons, had he been in camp from the get-go, not seeing any preseason snaps also hurt him, set him back, oh well.