The Aaron Donald Happy Memories and Positivity Tribute Thread.

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SWAdude

And don't call me Shirley
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Here is the AD clip, tackling the QB and RB of Duke when he didn't know who had the ball, so he tackled both just to be sure...lol
I saw this before he was drafted and made me want him so badly! It's been a great 10 years, Aaron.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSlvm7kMGBg

I had never seen that.

Surprising he didn't go first pick in the first round after that.

Game changer.

To me the true best player ever. No one has changed an entire game solely by one man alone. Ever.

GO RAMS!!!
 

tempests

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I remember one probably forgotten sequence of plays from Aaron's second year. This was back when he was still playing in the preseason.

We went up against the Colts and they had one drive near their own goal line. They tried three running plays. Gained one yard, lost three yards, lost two yards. And Aaron made the tackle, three plays in a row. The announcers were astonished, and they were talking him up right before that drive started too. Preseason or no, you just don't see a DT doing that, pretty much ever.
 

Allen2McVay

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https://www.nfl.com/prospects/aaron-donald/3200444f-4e13-4977-da01-4e2f082de38b

Just for shits and giggles, a look back on the NFL Draft Profile on the greatest Defensive Player of all time.
Nolan Nawrocki wrote that infamous Draft Profile.

In 2019, the Raiders, under the leadership of the Brilliant Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock hired Nawrocki for their Scouting Department.

How the Hell did the Raiders draft so poorly with such a gifted trio of NFL talent evaluators?
1710678546139.png
 

tempests

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I remember one probably forgotten sequence of plays from Aaron's second year. This was back when he was still playing in the preseason.

We went up against the Colts and they had one drive near their own goal line. They tried three running plays. Gained one yard, lost three yards, lost two yards. And Aaron made the tackle, three plays in a row. The announcers were astonished, and they were talking him up right before that drive started too. Preseason or no, you just don't see a DT doing that, pretty much ever.
There's the video.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma-P4DsjwXs
 

Classic Rams

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They replayed Americas Game 2021 and the SB win over the Bengals on NFL network yesterday. Rewatching with a new feeling of wow, we had lightning in a bottle. What a time to look back and enjoy his presence and contribution. Probably will be doing that more during the offseason.
 

Selassie I

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@Ramrasta and I were at a game together. I think it was in Jax but it might have been Tampon. We aren't 100% sure. Somewhere in an old thread I posted a few pics.

Anyway... it was early in the game, probably 1st quarter. The person sitting behind me started kicking the back of my seat. I looked back and saw that it was a hot chick with 2 young children sporting Rams gear. The very young son was the person kicking my chair. So when I spun around to see who was kicking I was fine with it. He was very young and he was having fun.

A little later in the 1st half I hear the other young child (a girl older than the boy kicking me)... "Kill Him Daddy!!!". Rams were on D at the time. That's when I looked back again and noticed the charms on the 2 kid's necklaces. I asked the girl who her Daddy is. She said... Aaron. I looked at all 3 of them and said how awesome that is. I didn't want to bug them though and purposely didn't go star struck. The little boy never stopped fucking with me though. He was relentless.

After the game... Aaron's son jumped in my arms and I carried him down to the front row where my son and Aaron's daughter were standing side by side waiting for the players and Papa to come over. Donald didn't come over right away, but Robert Quinn and a few other of the O-Line players did. They had eyes locked on me for sure though. They were obviously wondering who in the F was holding Aaron's boy. I've never had NFL players give me that kind of eye contact before. It was an interesting experience for sure. LOL.

I just had a memory pop now. It was Jax. I remember Aaron's girl (now his wife) screaming out at the beginning of the game when Calais Campbell came out on the field. She could not believe how giant he is and was screaming about it. Hahahahahahaaaaa.

So somewhere on the site is a pic of my son and his daughter that I took after that game.

What a blessing that AD only played for us and ONLY us!
 
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RamFan503

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So the picture I'm holding in my avatar is me, my dad, and @Selassie I immediately after the tackle for a loss of Lynch to end the Thordaddy memorial game.

AD always figured out a way to come up with the biggest plays in the biggest moments.

In my over 5 decades of watching football, I don't ever remember someone so concentrated on any time he stepped on the field. There was nothing sneaky or subtle about the way Aaron Charles Donald played the game. He was there to wreck your whole day.

I can't think of a player I will miss more than AD. What an honor it has been being able to watch him strap on the horns.
 

Alaskan Ram

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I haven't chimed in on the AD news yet. Been numb and still processing it.

For 10 seasons, my eyes have scanned the D-line to see where #99 is lined up before the snap.
Fuck, I'm going to miss doing that on Game Day.
 

fanotodd

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This is a great tribute thread. Thanks to everyone who has posted all of those great video clips and stats.

One memory I have that hasn’t already been mentioned is from a game vs the ravens (IIRC). #99 shot through the OL, grabbed the RB, spun him and violently threw him down like he had done his whole career.
This time, though, the impact broke the guy’s arm!
We were actually laughing at the time!

I used to say Deacon Jones was the “greatest “ Ram, but I grew up watching Jack Youngblood and he was my “favorite “ Ram.
AD 99 has replaced them both.
 

Turducken

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I did a little historical accounting and figured out that i have attended 13 games where Aaron played. The first one was a thrilling 2015 game against the Chargers in SD.

I knew who Donald was and celebrated when he got a crucial 4th quarter sack, but i wasn't watching him in that game the way I did later.

Over the years, i began to watch him on defense right from the snap. You don't get instant replay at the game, and I began to realize that there was always a chance that he would wreck a play within a split-second of the snap. As I focused on his battles at games, I found them so compelling that I eventually adopted the same habits watching on TV. Every time the defense line up my mind would quickly run through a Where's Waldo game to figure out what part of the offensive line he was testing next. I was a defensive lineman in HS (a long time ago) and it brought me back to appreciating that fundamental part of the game.

Last year I took my daughter to three games and taught her to do the same thing. Her appreciation of football exploded in the process. She took notice of Kobie Turner's rise before i did.

Fast forward to last Friday, when she texted me from school in tears at the news of Aaron's retirement. I understand that he "was full" and it was his time to walk away.

I wasn't full, but I'm still grateful for the time we had with him. I'm also thankful that he stayed long enough to serve as a bridge to our rebuilt defense.

My enduring memory of this season will be Aaron and Kobie skipping off the field with giant grins after turning a goal line stand into a safety.
 

PARAM

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10 years
10 Pro Bowls
8 time All Pro
Defensive ROY
3 time Defensive POY
2 Superbowls
1 Superbowl Champion
176 TFL, most by any player in their first 10 years (turned out to be his only 10 years :bigcry:)
10 TFL every year in first 10 years (first since 2008)

2014 All rookie team
2015-2023 NFL Top 100 (#92 in 2015, then averaged #6.8 from 2016-2023, with highs of #1 in 2019, #2 in 2021-22, #3 in 2020)

He played an amazing 82.3% of snaps for his career. I don't know if another DT has accomplished that.

But most of all, he did all that with 2 guys on him most of the time. Incredible.
 

Force16X

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my top 5 AD99 plays

5- both strip sacks of Mahomes in that epic MNF game
4- tossing Wilson around like a rag doll in the epic beatdown of the Hawks
3- stopping Lynch on 4th and 1 in OT of the Thordaddy game...season opener 2015
2- forcing the bad throw by Jimmy G( oh God he's a Ram now) in the NFCCG
1 -Super Bowl winning QB hit on Burrow
and in his collegiate career, the ever famous "aaron donald has tackled the backfield." pitt vs duke.