Aaron Donald makes Grantland's Triangle All-Stars

[RamBill]

Rams' Aaron Donald makes Grantland's Triangle All-Stars
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...on-donald-makes-grantlands-triangle-all-stars

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald earned no shortage of awards for his breakthrough rookie season. After the year, he went to the Pro Bowl and was named Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Which has many wondering just how high his ceiling extends. Over at Grantland, apparently that ceiling is essentially limitless. Robert Mays unveiled his list of the Triangle All-Stars, the players who are worth watching every week because you never know what they're going to do next. Donald was the choice as the lone defensive lineman, including this line:

"This may seem like a stretch, but by season’s end, Aaron Donald has a chance to be the best non-J.J. Watt defender in football," Mays wrote.

The crazy thing is, it really doesn't seem like that much of a stretch at all. Donald didn't start until the team's fifth game a year ago and after he jumped into the starting lineup he had nine sacks and consistently dominated in the run game as well.

Now, Donald will get a full season's worth of snaps and is committed to taking his game to the next level. It's not outlandish to say that Donald will only continue to improve as he gets more opportunities.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Tuesday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... In the Ram-blings, we opened the day with a look at Austin Davis' new home. ... In our season preview, we examined how things could go well for the Rams and how they might not in 2015. ... I then unveiled my game-by-game predictions for the Rams. ... Former Rams coach Mike Martz revealed some interesting leftovers from how the Spygate scandal unfurled.

Elsewhere:

The ESPN fantasy staff's top 300 players for 2015.

There are no Rams on Mike Sando's "long shot" MVP candidates but there is a former Rams quarterback on the list.

Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr. offered an extensive report on the New England Patriots' history of scandal.

Here's Las Vegas' version of a season preview on the Rams.

At 101sports.com, Bernie Miklasz writes about the importance of the Rams getting off to a fast start.

At stltoday.com, Jim Thomas revisited 10 questions from before training camp.

Thomas also participated in his weekly chat.

 

[DCH]

Haha, Bradford a "long-shot" MVP... I'd love it if he won. And then lost to us in the NFC title game.
Also, yeah, Donald is a monster. The thought of him playing with the same athleticism and strength he showed last year but with some added veteran savvy is terrifying.

 

[RamBill]

Rams DT Aaron Donald believes he can improve on stellar rookie season
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...-donald-believes-his-best-football-lies-ahead

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- In case anyone forgot that St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald has the ability to be the most dominant player on the field on any given day, he offered a resounding reminder in the team's third preseason game against Indianapolis.

Backed up to their 5-yard line, the Colts simply wanted to move the chains and find some breathing room. So they handed it off to running back Daniel Herron, who attempted to find a crease up the middle. Donald met him at the line of scrimmage and Herron fell forward for a gain of 1.

On the next play, the Colts tried Herron again, this time toward right guard. Donald beat his man so quickly that he was nearly able to steal the handoff and he converged with fellow tackle Michael Brockers for a 3-yard loss.

On third down, the Colts clearly hadn't learned their lesson as they again tried Herron and again Donald was in the backfield so fast that Herron had barely even taken a step forward. The result? A 2-yard loss.

You will have to excuse Herron if he hires Leonardo DiCaprio to perform an inception to remove Donald from his mind. Those three plays yielded minus-4 yards with Donald making all three tackles. Which brings up an important question heading into 2015. Is Donald getting better?

The answer, it seems, is an easy yes.

"I’ll tell you this, and I really do believe this," defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said. "Last year you guys talked to me a lot about the fact that you wanted me to compare him to people that have already played the game way before him. And you know what? He is his own person. I really believe he just scratched the surface last year."

Cue the alarm bells in Seattle, San Francisco, Arizona and every other team that has to try to contend with Donald in 2015. Improvement upon his rookie season would require a year that would go down in history as one of the most productive ever for a defensive tackle.

That's because Donald's Defensive Rookie of the Year award came last season after he posted nine sacks, which was the most among rookies and second among all defensive tackles. He also led the team in tackles for loss with 17, throwing in 12 quarterback hits and 32 quarterback pressures according to coaches review of the game film.

So improvement shouldn't come easy for Donald going into Year 2, right? After all, teams now have film on him and should be able to scheme ways to better block him. Sounds nice in theory but it doesn't account for one important factor: Donald didn't even take over a starting role and the snaps that go with it until the Rams' fifth game in 2014.

In other words, almost all of that rookie production came in the final three-quarters of the season.

"He’s worked very, very hard the entire offseason," coach Jeff Fisher said. "All of the things he accomplished last year, he started this offseason on a mission. He’s in great shape. He has a good feel. He knows every snap he has a chance to win and he’s motivated by that. That’s going to be good for us and [make him] very hard to block this year."

Donald has taken plenty of steps to ensure that Fisher's words prove prophetic. From the moment the Rams used the No. 13 overall pick on Donald in the 2014 draft, he quickly gained favor with coaches and veterans for his voracious work ethic. Stories are often told of players being the first in the building, but Donald is known for occasionally arriving when the coaches do as the sun comes up.

Teammates say when they arrive they often find Donald in the film room with breakfast, watching and taking notes on himself and/or that week's opponent. The soft-spoken Donald doesn't much care for the accolades or hype that come with things like his Pro Bowl berth or the rally towel bearing his name and jersey the team will give away in Sunday's opener against Seattle.

What Donald does care about is finding a way to improve daily.

"I haven’t played my best football yet," Donald said. "I feel like I’ve got a lot of football things I need to work on to have that success that I want to have in this league."

Pushed to name some things that he believes he needs to work on, Donald points to technical things so small that the average person wouldn't be able to identify them by watching the tape. Defensive line coach Mike Waufle has essentially taken a hands-off approach with his prodigy, afraid that too much tinkering will have a negative impact on Donald's performance.

In practice, Donald tries to identify two or three things he perceives as a weakness and improve on those things daily. Although he had a dominant rookie season, it still bugs Donald that he didn't have two sacks in any single game last season, even though he managed to post a string of six in seven games.

And if Donald takes the next step and reaches, say, 12 sacks and 25 tackles for loss, it's a safe bet that he will come back next year discussing all the ways he can get better again.

"You can never be satisfied until you are done playing this game," Donald said. "So I’m just working."

 

[RamBill]

Wagoner: Rams DT Aaron Donald a Rising Star

ESPN Rams reporter Nick Wagoner talks about the skill set defensive tackle Aaron Donald has and his upward trajectory.

Watch Wagoner Talk Donald

 

[ramfan46]

He's my favorite pick of the Fisher era. The talent is unreal with this guy, just stay healthy and watch him work.

 

[Afro Ram]

The who and the what?

 

[Faceplant]

He's my favorite pick of the Fisher era. The talent is unreal with this guy, just stay healthy and watch him work.

He might be my favorite Rams pick since Eric Dickerson. No hyperbole intended.....

 

[RamBill]

My Story: Aaron Donald

All Rams fans in attendance for the home opener will receive an Aaron Donald rally towel.

Watch Donald Promo

 

[LetsGoRams]

He's going to be up in Marshawn Lynch's grill on day on Sunday!

 

[LumberTubs]

How many snaps do you think it will take for the Seahawks to miss Unger at centre? I've no idea how good or bad their new centre is (Nowak?) but we can safely say he isn't as good as Unger and I hope Donald exposes that mistake quickly and repeatedly on Sunday.

If Donald can take advantage and Long/Quinn can do their usual good job of containing Wilson on the outsides then they'll be in for a long day.

Also, I like this from the article posted above by @RamBill:

On the next play, the Colts tried Herron again, this time toward right guard. Donald beat his man so quickly that he was nearly able to steal the handoff and he converged with fellow tackle Michael Brockers for a 3-yard loss.

It describes how quickly Donald gets off but casually mentions the fact that Brockers was also in the backfield in a flash, otherwise how does he converge with Donald for the tackle? Can't wait to see them in action again.

 

[RAGRam]

How many snaps do you think it will take for the Seahawks to miss Unger at centre? I've no idea how good or bad their new centre is (Nowak?) but we can safely say he isn't as good as Unger and I hope Donald exposes that mistake quickly and repeatedly on Sunday.

If Donald can take advantage and Long/Quinn can do their usual good job of containing Wilson on the outsides then they'll be in for a long day.

Also, I like this from the article posted above by @RamBill:

On the next play, the Colts tried Herron again, this time toward right guard. Donald beat his man so quickly that he was nearly able to steal the handoff and he converged with fellow tackle Michael Brockers for a 3-yard loss.

It describes how quickly Donald gets off but casually mentions the fact that Brockers was also in the backfield in a flash, otherwise how does he converge with Donald for the tackle? Can't wait to see them in action again.

I'd say 2, once they're looking at 3 and 26 and they've only called RB dives, they might know something has gone wrong.

 

[fearsomefour]

Haha, Bradford a "long-shot" MVP... I'd love it if he won. And then lost to us in the NFC title game.
Also, yeah, Donald is a monster. The thought of him playing with the same athleticism and strength he showed last year but with some added veteran savvy is terrifying.

Stats are one thing and actual performance can be another within the scheme of a defense....see Michael Brockers. However, Donalds job is to be disruptive and make plays. His stats were seller....among the best in the NFL for any DT. That is particularly exciting given his limited number of stats the first quarter of the season. He is a game changer for sure.
I expect a lot of holds vs him this year, I just hope some of them get called. That is as good as a making a play.

 

[RamBill]

Rams Players react to Aaron Donald’s Rally Towel that will be given away at this weekend’s home opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

Watch Players React to the Donald Rally Towel