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  • in reply to: Ebukam – Defensive Player of the Week. #94331
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    BonifayRam

    The KC vs LA game worked in Ebukam’s favor. Ebukam plays much better in the passing game. The Seattle gm was totally different.

    The trade for Dante Fowler Jr. is taking LATE root in Wade’s defense. Both OLB’ers, Ebukam & Fowler, are bringing speed from the outside edges now. The two above are working well in Wade’s front four DL passing scheme.

    In addition…DE John Franklin Myers is improving now with every new gm under his belt. These 3 are coming on…………..

    I expect rookie OLB’er Og Okoronkwo to show up & take Matt Longacre’s relief role after the bye. Longacre no longer has enough quickness nor speed to be effective playing starting OLB’er especially in the passing game or when facing a nimble quick QB. That late 2017 back surgery put a major dent into Matt’s performance. ML will be a UFA in 3 months anyway. His future best playing post will be as a 4/3 DE in a rotational role. It also appears that ML has put on a lot of lbs since last season around his mid section. Though ML still tackles very good when he can get his hands on them.

    in reply to: Goff 10-21-18 … and cont'd #94329
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    Now and then Goff just has his “goof” throws.

    It’s weird that he does THAT and yet also just doesn’t throw INTs. His. 1.6% INT percentage is the lowest by a Rams qb, since, I think–ever.

    So he throws 2 kinds of passes.

    Freakily accurate “balls with eyes” thrown with uncanny anticipation and ball placement.

    Passes that don’t go near anyone, friend or foe.

    (That’s not entirely true, he has dodged an INT or 2, but the above was fun to say, and even partly true.)

    in reply to: highlights, Chiefs game + play breakdowns (Orlovsky, etc.) #94328
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    in reply to: Suh #94321
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    But I’d Donald is being doubled 70-80 percent of the time, doesn’t Suh have to be doubled substantially less than that?

    Agree he is taking a little attention away from Donald, but the same is true in reverse. My expectation was we’d hear his name more than we are.

    Maybe they are both getting a ton of double teams and Fowler and Ebukam will benefit. Then again, Suh is used to double teams and still making plays.

    Maybe Suh has slowed down just a hair?

    Well several things. First yeah Suh has slowed down but that didn’t start this year. The previous 3 years, he was averaging a little over 5 sacks a season.

    But he doesn;t have to be doubled SUBSTANTIALLY less than AD, just less. Teams can double 2 interior DL, especially when they don’t fear the edge guys.

    I really do personally believe, at the unsubstantiated “IMO” level, that adding Suh to the DL made AD even more effective.

    The last time a DT led the league in sacks was…uh…1997 I believe (Johns Randle).

    in reply to: reactions to the big KC game win #94319
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    After reading and hearing a barrage of commentaries about what a great game that was, I am actually tired of hearing it’s the future of the NFL when all some people mean by that is, there was lots of scoring.

    To me in terms of what a great game is, it’s plays not points. For example the classic Miami/Chargers playoff game of 1981 wasn’t great because it was double overtime (to name another merely corrolary thing like massive points). It was great because both teams just kept making spectacularly memorable plays.

    That ain’t gonna start happening regularly.

    There were 4 legit league MVP candidates in that game.

    But even the MVPCs aside, plays were made right and left, by practically everybody. Offense and defense plus Hekker. It’s the game that forced the USA to learn how to pronounce “EH-boo-kahm.” Among many other things.

    That’s not going to become a routine kind of commodity.

    in reply to: PFF ranks the playcallers … & other PFF bits #94317
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    I would rather get a defensive lineman than a safety.

    Yeah…they do acquire DBs at an astonishing rate so it’s entirely possible they already have one.

    ROSTER

    Marqui Christian
    41 S 5-11 207 24 3 Midwestern State
    Blake Countess
    24 DB 5-10 191 25 3 Auburn
    Darious Williams
    31 DB 5-9 187 25 R Alabama-Birmingham

    PRACTICE SQUAD

    Steven Parker
    38 S 6-1 210 22 R Oklahoma

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    in reply to: PFF ranks the playcallers … & other PFF bits #94312
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    NFL playoff contenders – strengths and weaknesses

    https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-nfl-playoff-contenders-strengths-and-weaknesses-2

    NFC
    NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
    Projected regular season record: 13-3

    Strength: Drew Brees and his 95.6 overall grade looks borderline unstoppable at the moment.

    Weakness: The next highest graded cornerback on the Saints roster after Marshon Lattimore is Eli Apple with a 53.1 overall grade.

    LOS ANGELES RAMS
    Projected regular season record: 13-3

    Strength: Pretty much everything works for them offensively, in large part because of their dominant line. They rank fourth overall in pass blocking and first in run blocking.

    Weakness: Have you seen the state of their secondary? Even supposed number one corner Marcus Peters has given up 613 yards – the fourth-most in the NFL.

    CHICAGO BEARS
    Projected regular season record: 10-6

    Strength: Khalil Mack has to be accounted for by opposing offenses on every play, and their secondary is too talented in zone coverage to attack without five men out in a route.

    Weakness: Mitch Tubisky’s game-to-game consistency is concerning. He’s had two games with grades above 88.0 (Tampa Bay and Detroit) as well as six below 60.0 (Green Bay, Seattle, Arizona, Miami, New England and Buffalo).

    WASHINGTON REDSKINS
    Projected regular season record: 9-7

    Strength: Outside of the Saints game, this has been one of the stingiest secondaries in the NFL. They’ve allowed a passer rating of 80.1 on throws targeted 10-plus yards down the field, the third-best in the NFL.

    Weakness: Alex Smith is done for the season, and Colt McCoy had a 61.5 overall grade on 160 dropbacks in his last action back in 2014.

    MINNESOTA VIKINGS
    Projected regular season record: 9-6-1

    Strength: They have so few weaknesses on defenses for opposing offenses to exploit and have come on strong of late. Only one defensive starter has a grade below 65.0.

    Weakness: The Vikings’ offensive line is a double entendre at this point. Their 154 pressures allowed are 17 more than any other line in the NFL.

    CAROLINA PANTHERS
    Projected regular season record: 9-7

    Strength: The Panthers employ one of the most creative and effective running games in the NFL, as they’re averaging the third-highest EPA per run in 2018

    Weakness: Carolina has struggled to consistently impact opposing quarterbacks with their front four. As a team, they rank 23rd in pass-rushing grade.

    SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
    Projected regular season record: 8-8

    Strength: The Seahawks’ run game has brought back the option in a big way this season. Their 108 option runs are the most in the NFL, and they’re averaging 5.2 yards per carry on those plays.

    Weakness: Seattle’s pass-rush at the moment comes and goes with Frank Clark. He has 38 pressures this season with the next best being Jarran Reed with 22.

    DALLAS COWBOYS
    Projected regular season record: 8-8

    Strength: This defense is chocked full of blue-chip talent. Byron Jones, Leighton Vander Esch and Demarcus Lawrence all have grades of 80.0-plus on the season.

    Weakness: I’m surprised Skip Bayless hasn’t nicknamed him Sak Prescott yet the way the Cowboys quarterback has been taking bad sacks. We’ve charged him with a ridiculous 12 already this season.

    GREEN BAY PACKERS
    Projected regular season record: 7-9

    Strength: Their strength is quite obviously Aaron… Jones. Believe it or not, the Packers lead the NFL in EPA per run, and Jones has the third-highest rushing grade among all running backs.

    Weakness: Clay Matthews and Nick Perry have been comically bad rushing the passer this season. They’ve combined for a total of 30 pressures.

    PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
    Projected regular season record: 7-9

    Strength: This isn’t too far off from the dominant offense we saw a season ago. The talent is still there although their red-zone touchdown rate has dropped from 65.5 percent last year to 54.3 percent this year.

    Weakness: Injuries in the secondary look too much to overcome at this point. Safety Rodney McLeod and number one corner Ronald Darby are already on IR, and now their backups, Avonte Maddox and Sidney Jones, could miss time.

    ATLANTA FALCONS
    Projected regular season record: 7-9

    Strength: Even without Devonta Freeman, the bevy of weapons on offense is a matchup nightmare for defenses. Julio Jones currently ranks second in yards per route run among receivers while Calvin Ridley is 29th.

    Weakness: The Falcons’ edge rush has been non-existent this season. They rank 26th in terms of total pressures despite having the 11th-most pass attempts against.

    AFC
    KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
    Projected regular season record: 12-4

    Strength: Have you seen this offense? That.

    Weakness: Have you seen this defense? That.

    PITTSBURGH STEELERS
    Projected regular season record: 12-4

    Strength: Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster are a handful for even the most talented secondaries. They both rank in the top-12 for receiving yards at the moment.

    Weakness: The secondary has settled in considerably well since their early season hiccups, but linebackers Vince Williams and Jon Bostic are still far from consistent in coverage. Williams is currently the 12th lowest-graded linebacker in coverage.

    NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
    Projected regular season record: 11-5

    Strength: Tom Bradyā€˜s short-area accuracy and James White’s route running present a lot of problems for opposing defenses. White’s 1.94 yards per route is fifth-best among backs.

    Weakness: They’re going to struggle getting pressure against lines the likes of Kansas City’s and Pittsburgh’s. They currently rank 23rd in team pass-rushing grade.

    HOUSTON TEXANS
    Projected regular season record: 10-6

    Strengths: Deshaun Watson has rare playmaking ability and even without Will Fuller, he has a stable of receivers that can rack up yards at will.

    Weakness: The Texans own quite easily the worst tackle duo in the league. The trio of Julie’n Davenport, Martinas Rankin, and Kendall Lamm have combined to allow 90 pressures so far this season.

    LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
    Projected regular season record: 10-6

    Strength: It’s a shame Hunter Henry won’t be returning this season, but even without him, this might be the most dangerous group of weapons in the league. Keenan Allen (9th), Tyrell Williams (37th), and Mike Williams (49th) are all top-50 graded receivers, while Melvin Gordon (2nd) and Austin Ekeler (1st) are the top-two graded backs at the moment.

    Weakness: The offensive line is still a talented defensive line away from costing them the game. Left guard Dan Feeney’s 39.7 pass-blocking grade is the second-lowest of any guard.

    TENNESSEE TITANS
    Projected regular season record: 9-7

    Strength: Fully healthy, this is one of the best offensive lines in the NFL and ranked third in our most recent line rankings.

    Weakness: Marcus Mariota has been a roller coaster this year, and his sack-taking is worrisome. He’s converting pressure to sacks 30.2 percent of the time, the highest in the NFL.

    INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
    Projected regular season record: 8-8

    Strength: The Colts’ offensive line has dominated of late, not allowing Andrew Luck to be sacked since Week 5.

    Weakness: The talent in the secondary is still marginal at best. Pierre Desir (71.3) is the only corner on the roster with a coverage grade above 65.0.

    BALTIMORE RAVENS
    Projected regular season record: 8-8

    Strength: This secondary is about as good as it gets in the NFL at the moment. Every starter has at least a 70.0 coverage grade.

    Weakness: The Ravens completely flipped the script offensively with a run-heavy attack led by Lamar Jackson. The early returns were encouraging, but he’s still a rookie starting at quarterback.

    CINCINNATI BENGALS
    Bengals 8-8

    Strength: I’ll be honest, there’s not much of a strength at the moment with an injury-addled receiving corps and defensive line. Geno Atkins is a very strong man, though, so we’ll go with him.

    Weakness: The pass defense has completely gone in the tank and their linebackers have been the main culprit. The Bengals’ backers have allowed 1,237 yards in their coverage this season, 172 more than any other team.

    in reply to: PFF ranks the playcallers … & other PFF bits #94311
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    from 2019 NFL Draft needs for all 32 teams

    https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-2019-nfl-draft-needs-for-all-32-teams

    LOS ANGELES RAMS
    Edge defender, linebacker & safety

    If you watched Monday night, these needs aren’t too surprising. Basically, any position on the defensive side of the ball beside the one Aaron Donald plays is up for grabs. With Lamarcus Joyner set to hit free agency yet again after a year on the franchise tag, safety needs to be addressed, as well.

    https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-32-nfl-observations-week-11-2

    Los Angeles Rams: Todd Gurley has had 90 carries of five or more yards this season, which is 25 more than any other back.

    in reply to: power rankings week 12 #94310
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    The Rams check in at No. 2 after a wild Monday night shootout against the Chiefs. Very clearly the best regular season football game this year, the new look NFL was on full display, as the two teams combined for 105 total points. The Rams have the highest expected win total in the NFL and therefore our favorite to secure the one seed in the NFC playoff race. Jared Goff is by far the most valuable player on this team posting a 4.84 WAR. For comparison, Todd Gurley ranks seventh on this team with .43 WAR.

    in reply to: power rankings week 12 #94309
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    The Rams check in at No. 2 after a wild Monday night shootout against the Chiefs. Very clearly the best regular season football game this year, the new look NFL was on full display, as the two teams combined for 105 total points. The Rams have the highest expected win total in the NFL and therefore our favorite to secure the one seed in the NFC playoff race. Jared Goff is by far the most valuable player on this team posting a 4.84 WAR. For comparison, Todd Gurley ranks seventh on this team with .43 WAR.

    in reply to: power rankings week 12 #94306
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    I like that Ryan Clark vid. It’s fun. “If loving the Rams is wrong, we don’t want to be right.”

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 9 months ago by Avatar photozn.
    in reply to: vids: MJones-Drew, Good Morning Football, etc. … 11/20 #94305
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    Possibly ā€˜the’ dummest thing Ive heard on sports-tv this year:

    That stuff is manufactured for fake controversy, right? I mean, he doesn;t believe that stuff, does he?

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    There’s nothing O-Lines can do about Aaron Donald

    https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2806398-rams-aaron-donald-is-the-proud-product-of-his-blue-collar-roots

    He’s been described as humble and kind. But the unblockable Rams defensive end, who can bench press 500 pounds and tear a facemask off of a helmet, will mow down your QB without saying a word.

    Helmets, arms and shoulders hinder his vision, but Aaron Donald bulldozes his way through double-team after double-team. It’s the first half of a Week 4 game against the Minnesota Vikings. Donald has yet to sack anyone in this game, or this season. He isn’t worried, though.

    By the fourth quarter, the All-Pro defensive tackle of the Los Angeles Rams has had enough. He eyes QB Kirk Cousins and prepares to strike.

    NFL quarterbacks fear getting sacked by Donald in the same way ordinary people fear getting older: They know it will happen, and they know they can’t do much about it.

    That doesn’t make it any less terrifying. Not when 6’1″, 280-pound Donald is mowing down 6’4″, 350-pound offensive linemen and anyone else in his way.

    Take a Rams practice Donald’s rookie year, back in 2014. An offensive lineman hit him after a one-on-one drill, and Donald grabbed the lineman’s facemask and completely ripped it off the helmet.

    There was also one game in college at Pittsburgh when Donald tackled Duke’s quarterback and running back at the same time in the middle of a handoff, leaving both men lying helplessly on top of each other.

    “You don’t want to mess with that man,” says Trumaine Johnson, a former Rams cornerback now with the Jets. “He’s a one-man wrecking crew.”

    Not even Donald’s own teeth can catch a break. He used to chew through three mouthpieces a game at Penn Hills High in Pittsburgh, intimidating offensive linemen even before the snap. He was explosive then too, once tearing through a 200-pound resistance band that hugged his waist while he was running a 10-yard split.

    “Did you ever see Rocky IV, with the Russians? He would punch this machine, and the machine would register 2,000 pounds per square inch? Just forces off the charts? That’s Aaron Donald,” former Rams defensive line coach Mike Waufle says. “He has that kind of force in his body.”

    Cousins felt it during that Vikings game. Donald grabbed the QB and threw him to the ground so effortlessly, so powerfully, that Cousins spun nearly 360 degrees on his way down.

    But Donald shrugs recalling that game, in which he finished with two sacks and a career-high 13 QB pressures in a 38-31 victory. Standing to the side of the practice field at the team’s Thousand Oaks facility a week later, he’s not quite frowning, not quite smiling. He looks a little bothered.

    “There was a couple rushes I know I had the opportunity to sack ’em, I let ’em get away,” Donald says.

    His gaze catches the field again, like he wants another crack at it. “I know you ain’t gonna win every single one-on-one, but in my mind, I’m supposed to.”

    This is not hyperbole, not a sound bite for attention. Donald expects to get a sack every time he rushes the QB. He’s disappointed when he doesn’t. Not in a way where he berates himself or harps on plays for hours in a destructive manner.

    Instead, he approaches each down like he’s on the verge of getting cut. Like he’s not the second-highest-paid defensive player in NFL history (he is). Like he’s not the best interior defensive lineman to ever play (he could be).

    On first glance, he doesn’t look like he fits that description. Not just because of his shorter, leaner frame—jacked, but not necessarily imposing—but because he walks around like he’s an ordinary person with an ordinary job.

    The 27-year-old is soft-spoken and economical with his words. Those who know him say he is quiet, humble, kind. Yes, kind. Even if Donald scuffled with Seahawks 315-pound center Justin Britt in Week 10, looking like he might bear hug the air out of his lungs after Britt shoved him out of bounds. Even if Donald then put his helmet back on after the Rams’ win to personally seek out Britt for another fight and grabbed his facemask again.
    “He’s a true gladiator,” former Penn Hills coach Ron Graham says, “but he’s a real likable guy.”
    Donald’s doughy cheeks accentuate his baby face, his gentle alter ego. He’s funny. A little mischievous. Classic Aaron pranks include secretly sprinkling salt in a teammate’s Gatorade and hiding helmets.

    “He’s super playful. He jokes around,” Rams defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh says. “But that turns into complete seriousness when we’re on the field.”

    Which is where he spends most of his time. On cue, Donald says, “My dad always told me, ‘Hard work pays off.'” He says the words “hard work” and “work hard” six times over the course of 10 minutes that day after practice. Donald says these things not because they’re his script, but because they’re his compass—the guiding principles of his life.

    Bill Johnson, the Rams’ defensive line coach, has never entered the team’s meeting room without Donald already being in there first, dissecting film for hours on end. It is the “blue collar” in him, the Pittsburgh in him. Like a mechanic or a factory worker, Donald puts in an honest day’s work. “He is either at his house or here,” Johnson says. “He’s sort of got a boring life.”

    And he doesn’t get much sleep. After evening games back in college, Donald would head straight to Pitt’s D-line office and watch film of the game. Meanwhile, his teammates would be dancing, laughing, drinking into the night at Peter’s Pub off Oakland Ave. As the moon disappeared in the black sky, Donald would pull four of Pitt’s navy-blue office chairs into a single line and make that his bed for the night.
    He is still low-maintenance, hardly resembling his superstar counterparts in the NFL—the bright personalities whose popularity hinges as much on their branding off-field as their play on it.

    Donald is unique not just because there is no one at his size at his position who is as quick or as strong or as powerful (earlier this year, he bench-pressed 500 pounds), but also because he adheres to a concept that is not universally popular or glamorous: Work in silence, and let the results speak for themselves.

    “He will be in the Hall of Fame someday,” Waufle says.

    Donald doesn’t think about that. He doesn’t think about racking up a franchise-record 12.5 sacks in this season’s first 10 games, all while being double-teamed 70 percent of the time, per NFL Next Gen Stats. He doesn’t talk about being the quiet leader of one of the NFL’s loudest teams, either; the one who has the 9-1 Rams fantasizing about a deep run in the playoffs.

    He is still concerned with his missed sacks. “I just feel like I ain’t played my best football yet,” he says.
    Donald wasn’t destined to be a Ram, as the franchise almost missed out on him heading into the 2014 draft. Some people within the Rams’ scouting department were worried that he was undersized. That despite his impressive film, the leverage he was able to create and the lengthy list of national college awards bestowed upon him, he still wasn’t tall enough, big enough.

    Waufle typically coveted big linemen. He spent five years as the Raiders’ defensive line coach under Al Davis, whose teams were big and brutal. But Waufle saw something in Donald that you can’t teach and shouldn’t ignore. Donald was the best defensive lineman he had seen in his 20 years in the NFL. Hell, he was the best player in the draft, Waufle thought.
    Even though the Rams defensive line was already deep and wasn’t in dire need of any new players, Waufle wrote Donald’s name above eventual No. 1 pick Jadeveon Clowney on the team’s mock draft board. Scouting reports be damned.

    About those scouting reports: The word “undersized” was practically superglued to Donald’s name his entire life. He heard the description so often that he became numb to it. That was part of his appeal: He did not keep a running list of his doubters as other slighted prospects might.

    “He had great confidence in himself,” says Paul Chryst, his former Pitt coach, who now coaches at Wisconsin. “He put all his focus and energy on what he could control.”

    Because Donald knew he’d never pass the eye test for a defensive lineman, he didn’t train like one. Starting in high school, he busted through agility cones and ladders and zigged and zagged before flying into endless green. He labored on technique, hand coordination—the small details bigger players might overlook.

    And he couldn’t be contained. Donald was so fast that he used to intercept handoffs before quarterbacks could get the ball to the running back. He’d destroy players who were 6’7″, 300 pounds and were receiving recruiting interest from programs like Michigan and Notre Dame.

    As a senior, Donald had 63 tackles, with 15 for a loss, and 11 sacks. But he received just four scholarship offers. Rivals.com rated him only a 3-star prospect.

    He didn’t talk about it, didn’t whine about it. Donald rolled up his sleeves and went back to work. By the time he arrived at Pitt, he was wrecking offenses so often that his coaches had to pull him out of practice. “He was that disruptive, that impactful,” former Pitt defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield says.
    “Thank God I never had to go against him,” says Shakir Soto, former Pitt defensive end, now with the Raiders. “He’s a silent assassin.”
    As dominant as Donald was, the doubts about his size persisted until the Rams selected him 13th overall.

    Waufle made sure his first meeting with the rookie was to the point. The strategy for his first year would be simple: let AD be AD.

    “Aaron, don’t listen to one word I say,” Waufle said. “Learn the defensive part of it, but don’t listen to anything technically, fundamentally, physically.

    “You keep playing your game. Just do what you do.”

    The coach had never let a rookie go like that before, but he knew trying to change things could ruin an intuitive player like Donald. It could make him slow down, contemplate every move. The strategy was effective, as he terrorized quarterbacks.

    Donald eventually morphed into the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year. Someone who is unblockable. That’s partially because he rarely wastes movement. He doesn’t move side to side as much as some players do. He accelerates forward so quickly and with such force that offensive linemen are often overwhelmed.

    But few realize that nobody moves like him because few think like him.

    Say there’s a car on the street. A red one. Donald and another defensive lineman are across the street, staring at it. They’re asked to describe what they see. The other lineman might say he’s looking at a red car. Donald, on the other hand, might say the front left tire is ripped, the bumper scratched and the front headlights dimmer than the back ones
    This is how Donald analyzes football film: He obsesses over details and tendencies others might not recognize. Earlier this season, he was dissecting the angle and timing with which a certain guard’s knee twitched. He stared closer, harder, plotting how he might react or even exploit the twitch.

    “He knows more about the offense than they probably know about themselves,” former Pitt defensive end Bryan Murphy says.

    His devotion is obsession. Back in college, Florida State dismantled Pitt 41-13 to open Donald’s senior year. Jameis Winston was commanding in his college debut. Donald had a respectable performance, recording a sack and three tackles, but as soon as Pitt returned to campus, he asked for the game video. He had to know what he did right, and did wrong, that night.

    “That was his fun,” former Pitt defensive end David Durham says. “It’s not like he was trying to beat the guy next to him. He just really loved watching film.”

    Waufle remembers catching Donald in the Rams’ facility parking lot at 6 p.m. on Christmas Day in 2015. He realized then that Donald had been there all day. More film. This didn’t surprise Waufle, though. It used to tick him off when Donald would already be in the D-line office, jotting down notes, at 6 a.m. Waufle had to find a new room to prepare for the day.

    Donald doesn’t do these things just because he wants to “be the best.”

    He just doesn’t want to be beat.

    It’s noticeable when he’s clobbered by double-teams. Some players, when they have little room to maneuver out of a jam, will give up on a play. They’ll jog, maybe run to the ball. But Donald doesn’t allow himself to quit, to ever be completely blocked.
    That’s Pittsburgh again. “That’s the way I was raised,” Donald says.
    As a kid, Donald knew there were certain things he could do and certain things he couldn’t. He couldn’t cheat repetitions, and he couldn’t make excuses. He saw how hard his parents worked, how hard everyone in his Pittsburgh community worked, and he knew he had to work hard, too.

    His father, Archie Donald, worked for a company that recycles tires, and his mother, Anita Goggins, was a bus driver. Archie started working out Aaron and his older brother, Archie, a linebacker who eventually starred at the University of Toledo, at 4:30 a.m. before school. They’d lift weights in the family’s basement as Archie taught them discipline.

    “There was a code of conduct,” former Penn Hills assistant coach Demond Gibson says. “It was the fiber of their family.”

    When Donald wasn’t getting recruited by many colleges, his parents stayed positive. But they also told him he wasn’t owed any offers. “Keep working,” Archie would tell him.

    Donald’s goal, throughout two years of laborious negotiation and holdouts with the Rams, was to ensure his parents did not have to work any longer. So when he received his six-year, $135 million contract extension at the end of August, becoming the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history for 24 hours until Khalil Mack surpassed him, he felt immense gratitude.

    “My family, ain’t no more struggling to pay this bill, pay that bill,” Donald says.

    “If anything, it just motivates me to work a little harder,” he says. “Anytime your organization invests a big amount of money like that into you, you want to do everything and more to thank them.”
    DeWayne Brown, owner of Two Tenths Speed and Agility in Pittsburgh, has been close with Donald since his junior year of high school. Sometimes Brown jokes with Donald about how “big time” he’s gotten, once leaving Donald a voicemail singing Michael Jordan’s classic Gatorade commercial, with one exception: I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be like Aaron.

    Donald laughed it off, deflecting the attention. Similarly, Brown says Donald was quiet about the contract extension, feeling relieved and motivated. And something else: “He doesn’t want to disappoint,” Brown says.

    Not just himself, but his team. Until the Rams did. The team’s defense disappeared in a Week 9 loss to the Saints, giving up 45 points and giving Drew Brees free rein. Brees’ 72-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Thomas quelled any hope of a Rams comeback.

    Donald played every defensive snap for the first time in his career, but the Rams’ flawless record now had a blemish. He doesn’t say much about losses, leaving it to his play. Sometimes, though, he speaks up.

    Johnson, the Rams’ defensive line coach, remembers a game last season, which he will not name, when his line spectacularly failed to execute on two plays. He was furious, but just as he was about to tear into the group, Donald stopped him. He told his coach something along the lines of, “Settle down, we’ll fix it,” Johnson says.
    “He was the one that set me straight,” Johnson says. “His composure was better than mine.”
    His teammates watch how he takes responsibility, even if a loss isn’t his fault. They watch how much he agonizes over each missed opportunity. “He motivates me,” Rams defensive end Michael Brockers says. “If I see him coming in here and working, I’m like, ‘OK. I gotta get better, too.’ He’s definitely a guy that pushes you in that way.”

    They also follow him because they like him. And each other. Though the defense gave up a season-high 190 rushing yards in Week 5 to the Seahawks, each of its players seems to like the other despite those moments. It does make a difference—liking the person next to you—when a loss (like the one to the Saints) can spoil a locker room like soured milk.

    That kind of camaraderie translates to the field, to coming back to practice after a loss and starting over as a unit.

    “[Head coach Sean] McVay talks about being yourself,” Suh says. “He’s not going to limit any of us by saying, ‘You have to do it this particular way.’ It’s a team-oriented way.”
    Donald was ready to attack as the Seahawks had the ball with about 20 seconds remaining in a tight Week 10 game.

    He had already been credited with 2.5 sacks of Russell Wilson. The QB has been one of Donald’s favorite targets, as 10 of his 51.5 career sacks have come against him.

    But he wanted more. On second down, he crashed into Wilson, his pressure causing an overthrow.

    After Wilson threw another incompletion on third down, with the outcome of the game hanging in the balance, Donald chased Wilson again, tackling him a split second after he released the ball. He overthrew again, sealing the Rams’ 36-31 victory.
    Afterward, knowing Donald, it’s easy to imagine him in the film room obsessing more over those two sacks he missed than the 2.5 he made.

    Whatever it takes, he doesn’t want to be beat.

    in reply to: it wasn't just about football for LA #94294
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    In a City Hurting After Tragedy, Rams-Chiefs Brought Something Extraordinary

    MICHAEL MCKNIGHT

    https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/11/20/rams-chiefs-monday-night-football-los-angeles-wildfires-shooting

    LOS ANGELES — The faint wisp of smoke that still hovered over Malibu, 30 miles from the Los Angeles Coliseum, provided the most obvious clue that Monday night’s Rams-Chiefs game would be different. The dozens of first responders hanging around the sideline before kickoff offered another hint. The bags under their eyes presented a third. Citizens of this city, especially its northwest corner, had been exhausted by the events of the previous twelve days. What they wanted—what everyone in L.A. needed—was for Monday night to feel normal.

    Instead, they got something extraordinary.

    One hundred and five combined points. More than 1,000 yards of offense. Thirteen total touchdowns. Most importantly, a win for the home team, against a worthy opponent—a victory marked, fittingly, by resilience.

    It was the first time that two teams had scored 50 points each in an NFL game. But this and all of the other eye-popping football stats were meaningless compared to the most important numbers of the day. Against overwhelming odds, the Woolsey fire had been stopped short of burning 100,000 acres—the damage stood at 96,949 at day’s end—and was 94% contained. A week earlier, it had blackened 91,572 acres with only 20% containment. That comeback had been made possible by people like Ken Roberts.

    A captain in the Ventura County Fire Dept., Roberts worked two straight days, with no sleep, in the aftermath of the Borderline Bar & Grill shooting, which claimed twelve lives on Nov. 7. When his work there was done, Roberts went straight to the front lines of the fires that had been sparked the day after the shooting. ā€œToday was the first day I’ve been home,ā€ he said just prior to Monday night’s kickoff. ā€œI had just enough time to take a shower and fight traffic to get here.ā€

    The aura inside the Coliseum on Monday night was not one of mourning. Not even during the national anthem, which was sung by the choir from Cal Lutheran University—site of the Rams’ practice facility, and alma mater of the late Justin Meek, who had been gunned down at Borderline and at one point sung bass in that choir.

    What the Coliseum felt like was relief. The 95-year-old building felt bright and shiny and full of life—the Rams’ canary yellow ā€˜Color Rush’ uniforms didn’t hurt—offering a haven from the wanton death and destruction of the fortnight just passed.

    The Rams had given discounted tickets to first responders earlier this season, Captain Stan Ziegler of the Ventura County Fire Dept., pointed out, ā€œbut tonight feels different.ā€ And not just because first responders got into the Chiefs game for free. ā€œWe’re not used to having the spotlight on us,ā€ Ziegler explained. ā€œIn fact, most of us run from attention. We’re just thankful for this chance to relax and enjoy an evening, away from the stress of fighting fire and helping evacuate people.ā€

    Before the national anthem, Ziegler and Roberts unfurled a massive American flag with hundreds other first responders, including Michael Williams of Ventura County Fire Station #36. Williams had been off duty when he first spotted the Woolsey Fire. After quickly calculating its path, he told his neighbors in Oak Park to evacuate. Then Williams watched his own home, where he lives with his wife and children, vanish into ash. He hardly paused, continuing to fight the wind-driven blaze that threatened his neighbors’ houses. He saved most of them.

    Monday night, Williams’s buddies at Firehouse 36 were gathered around the TV watching the Rams and Chiefs go at it. Things were ā€œpretty much back to normalā€ as far the fires were concerned, said chief David Schwab, lounging before the big screen. ā€œLocal residents have been coming by asking for sandbags. Soil erosion is the main concern at this point.ā€ The game was tied at 23 when Schwab and his team watched Aaron Donald of the Rams execute his second strip-sack of the game. Eight plays later, Schwab celebrated when Rams quarterback Jared Goff—the son of a firefighter, and, like Schwab, a Cal-Berkeley product—scrambled into the end zone and finger-rolled the ball over the crossbar to give L.A. a 30–23 lead.

    The efforts of firefighters like Schwab had been aided these last couple of days by a nighttime mist like the one that lowered itself into the Coliseum as Monday’s game wore on. This vapor, punctured by the 95 combined spirals thrown by Goff and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, mixed with the Coliseum’s lights to create a movie-set feel. The most suspenseful game of the NFL season finally loosed its grip on its audience when Rams safety Lamarcus Joyner intercepted a wobbly pass from Mahomes with twenty seconds left, to seal the 54–51 win. Rams general manager Les Snead approached head coach Sean McVay and said, ā€œHave you ever been through one like that?ā€ knowing full well the answer.

    The victors’ locker room smelled like torn grass and hours-old sweat. Happy profanity abounded. Marcus Peters—Rams cornerback, team deejay, and former Kansas City Chief—cued up YG on the sound system.

    ā€œWe felt like we had to do for this for the community,ā€ guard Rodger Saffold said over the music, ā€œbecause of the way they’ve stuck together. This win is a little more special than all the other ones.ā€ The nine-year veteran’s face brightened with a sudden realization. ā€œI’ve never been 10-1 in my life!ā€

    It would be disingenuous to report that the home crowd had cheered louder than usual for the Rams on Monday night. For the first time this season, though, the volume of the home team’s fans was not exceeded by the visiting team’s supporters. Such is the plight of playing in a metropolis full of transplants. On Monday night, though, it was hard not to be an L.A. fan.

    Ventura County Sheriff Sergeant Ron Helus had been a fan of Notre Dame football before he was killed at the Borderline Bar & Grill two Wednesdays ago. Moments before Helus entered the nightspot to try and put a stop to the shooting, he called his wife, Karen, and according to the Los Angeles Times, he told her, ā€œI gotta go handle a call. I love you. I’ll talk to you later.ā€

    Karen Helus and Jordan Helus, the 24-year-old son she raised with Ron, lit the Coliseum’s torch before Monday night’s game, just as someone on the sideline made the mistake of calling Ken Roberts—the firefighter who had worked, without sleep, at the scene of the Borderline incident, before moving on to the fires—a hero.

    Roberts’s smile faded. On a night full of courageous deeds—the athletic kind, whose stakes are comparatively small—Roberts wanted to make sure that the H-word wouldn’t be misused.

    ā€œNo,ā€ he said firmly. ā€œRon Helus was a hero.ā€

    in reply to: Goff 10-21-18 … and cont'd #94292
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    =

    Jared Goff has been a sight to behold this season. You can talk scheme all you want, but the fact of the matter is that Goff has the most big-time throws of any quarterback this season (29). Those are throws that require special ball placement and timing down the field and there’s no scheme that can ā€˜fake’ them.

    in reply to: articles & links … 11/21 #94291
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    in reply to: articles & links … 11/21 #94290
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    in reply to: Suh #94287
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    Just speculating but I think Suh being there is one of the reasons Donald is doing so well this year, meaning beyond even best expectations.

    I doubt anyone is going to single-team Suh a lot.

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    McVay on AD. From the 11/20 presser, posted here: http://theramshuddle.com/topic/mcvay-11-20-transcript-2/

    (On if DT Aaron Donald’s performance this season is a continuation of what he saw last year or if he seems to be playing at another level this year)

    ā€œI think he was well-deserving of Defensive Player of the Year last year and I think he’s even playing better this year. I think he’s truly taken his game to a different level. You feel him every single snap. The impact that he makes on the game in so many different ways that maybe don’t even show up on the stat sheet, even though he is putting up these eye-popping numbers where he’s leading the league in sacks and he’s forcing fumbles….You just kind of get accustomed to, ā€˜There’s another play (DT) Aaron (Donald) makes,’ but you don’t ever want to take that for granted. The best part about Aaron, and you guys know this, is when you hear Aaron interview, the first thing he says is, ā€˜I’ve got a lot of room for improvement.’ I think the one thing that I’ve been so impressed with, with him is he is a great player. He’s a special player, but he’s always continually focusing on what he can do to improve. There’s never that complacency that sets in. I think that’s why you see a great player playing at a really high level. I think he raises the level of his teammates. He certainly raises the level of this team and he is making big-time plays at the moments that we need them the most. He is a really, really special player that we are lucky to have.ā€

    in reply to: it wasn't just about football for LA #94279
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    Two weeks that could have knocked the Rams off track

    Lindsey Thiry

    http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/39357/two-weeks-that-could-have-knocked-the-rams-off-track

    LOS ANGELES — Music blared, and players angled their phones to record the scene on social media as laughter and cheers filled the Los Angeles Rams’ locker room at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.

    It was a rare glimpse at a postgame celebration, a display typically unseen by organization outsiders. But after the Rams defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 54-51 in one of the most anticipated Monday Night Football matchups in NFL history, the Rams felt too exuberant to calm down, even as reporters filed in.

    “It was a whirlwind,” Rams coach Sean McVay said after the highest-scoring game in Monday Night Football history.

    For an organization that endured a grueling series of circumstances over the past two weeks, McVay’s words might have been an understatement.

    In a span of 12 days, the Rams grieved with the Thousand Oaks community after a shooting at Borderline Bar and Grill claimed 12 lives. Then at least 100 employees in the organization were among more than 250,000 people across Ventura and Los Angeles counties who were ordered to evacuate their homes because of wildfires that scorched 96,949 acres.

    Even after the team arrived in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the previous Monday, where they had long planned to train at altitude in preparation for their showdown against the Chiefs in Mexico, the series of unexpected events continued. The field at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City was not suitable for play, the NFL determined, and the game was moved to L.A.

    The Rams remained in Colorado Springs for the week, a place to take refuge from the fires back home, to bond as a team and to prepare for a matchup of two 9-1 teams.

    “The players did an outstanding job of handling what seems like two weeks that was about two years’ worth of things that they had to go through,” McVay said Tuesday, 17 hours after the game ended and minutes before he said he would attempt to finally get some sleep. “All they did was just handle it like pros.”

    “Sean talks all the time about two things: being connected and being at your best when your best is required,” Rams COO Kevin Demoff said after the game. “I think for the entire organization, for the last two weeks, that explains everything.”

    On Nov. 8, 12 victims lost their lives at Borderline, just about four miles from the team’s practice facility and seven miles from their business headquarters. McVay held a team meeting to discuss the tragedy, and veteran left tackle Andrew Whitworth took the floor to implore teammates to embrace the community in a time of need.

    But by the afternoon, focus began to shift. The community was attempting to make sense of an otherwise inexplicable tragedy when smoke began to fill the air miles from where the team practiced, as strong winds fueled fires that had sparked in the area.

    Hours later, evacuations began. Right tackle Rob Havenstein, his wife, Meaghan, and their 7-week-old daughter returned to the practice facility after they were evacuated from their home. They soon found a hotel, only to discover they’d have to evacuate it, too.

    The Havensteins’ experience was not unique. By the early morning hours on Nov. 9, the coach’s phone began to buzz, as a group-text message chain alerted McVay that many members of his staff had been forced to leave their homes.

    “The fire stuff is scary,” Marcus Peters said. “Personally, I seen it from my backyard in Thousand Oaks, so my family got out. … Things like that is just sad to see.”

    McVay canceled the team’s Friday practice ahead of its NFC West showdown with the Seattle Seahawks. At that point, 45 people in the organization, including 20 players and coaches, had been evacuated from their homes.

    On Nov. 10, the day before the Rams were to play the Seahawks, a team meeting was held at their downtown L.A. hotel, where several players and their families had stayed an extra night. Later that morning, a final practice was held on USC’s campus.

    By the time Sunday’s game arrived, it seemed plausible if not acceptable that if the Rams were to lose a second game this season, the circumstances would justify it. Even as warm-ups took place, many in the organization — now up to 100 evacuated — received status updates on their homes via texts or emails, whether their houses survived the fires or were among the 1,452 structures that burned.

    The Rams defeated the Seahawks after they made a defensive stand on the final drive.

    The game served merely as momentary distraction from the real-life issues that engulfed the L.A. area. Few are likely to remember that Sunday matchup. Many will likely never forget that Whitworth donated his game check, nearly $60,000, to the families of the Borderline victims.

    “There’s more for us to do as people,” Whitworth said. “We have to pull together.”

    The following day, the Rams boarded a plane to Colorado Springs, where they’d stay at the Broadmoor Resort to train at altitude for the fast-paced Chiefs. But as they departed L.A., reports began to surface that the field at Estadio Azteca was unsuitable for play. And sure enough, a day later the NFL announced that the game would not be played in Mexico City. It instead would move to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.

    “I was kind of skeptical of playing in the stadium just after seeing a lot of the pictures that came out and just seeing how bad the field was,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said. “I think a lot of the elder players, the players that were important to this team, stepped up and said that they didn’t want to play or weren’t going to play. So appreciate that.”

    McVay determined, despite the game returning to sea level, that the Rams would remain in Colorado Springs for the week. After all, owner Stan Kroenke had chartered a second plane to deliver family members, and the resort became a refuge from the uncertain situation back home.

    “It’s been a little bit wild for sure,” Jared Goff said from the Broadmoor Resort. “But with that being said, there’s a lot more people dealing with a lot worse than what we’re dealing with right now. We’re the lucky ones.”

    While in Colorado Springs, the Rams attended a Denver Nuggets game, enjoyed their weekly day off and turned to preparing for the Chiefs. A hotel ball room was converted into a make-shift football field, with tape on the floor to outline a football field for walk-throughs, and the players rode buses to and from Air Force Academy for two practices.

    “It’s been nuts,” said left guard Rodger Saffold, who added that he had never experienced anything quite like the past two weeks in his nine-year career. “It’s really been a roller coaster.”

    Keeping in theme, the Rams’ flight home Saturday night was delayed as an ice storm rolled across southern Colorado. Their flight left late, and players and staff members arrived home in the early-morning hours on Sunday.

    By Monday, normalcy set in as prime time approached. For all the inconveniences of the previous two weeks, the Rams proved to be fortunate. All found themselves in good health. Their homes remained standing, and they were able to provide strength — and an escape — that many in the greater L.A. area sought.

    Before kickoff against the Chiefs, the team honored the families of the Borderline victims and offered their gratitude to first responders who saved so many homes.

    “You sometimes realize that things are bigger than yourself,” Whitworth said after the game. “This has been one of those moments.”

    It was a trying two weeks. It could have broken a city or provided an endless list of excuses for a team. Instead, the Rams stayed together, entrenched themselves in the community and proved that nothing can knock them off track as they continue their approach to a date in February.

    “We all understand each other,” Todd Gurley said. “We all are working toward one goal.”

    in reply to: tweets … 11/21 #94273
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    J.B. Long@JB_Long
    If you take @J_Rey_11 stats from his 3 starts in 2018 (atSF, GB, KC) and project them across a 16-game schedule, this is how they look:

    53 rec / 752 yds / 16 TD

    Is that good? #LARams

    in reply to: highlights, Chiefs game + play breakdowns (Orlovsky, etc.) #94267
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    aeneas1

    from the 22 – GOFF TO EVERETT

    looks like the key to this play was manipulating #38, parker / left safety… parker sets up deep in cover-2 but tilts his hand a bit early as he starts to creep in, he’s watching cooks in the left slot, but then backs off because of the long count… but at the snap of ball he comes in to help with cooks and that’s all goff needed to see:

    in reply to: Ebukam – Defensive Player of the Week. #94264
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    So…. is he good now?

    That’s a fair question.

    Maybe he’s starting to break through.

    Then again Tree had games where he made big plays but in the end he wasn’t consistently good.

    So my inclination is to say great great game, but we’ll see if he holds up.

    .

    in reply to: Poverty "undermines democracy" #94258
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    There’s a bit of a lull on this board but thanks for posting interesting stuff.

    in reply to: power rankings week 12 #94252
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    in reply to: Ebukam – Defensive Player of the Week. #94249
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    From history. A play in the tradition of the Ebukam INT.

    in reply to: reporters on the Chiefs game #94247
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    in reply to: highlights, Chiefs game + play breakdowns (Orlovsky, etc.) #94246
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    in reply to: highlights, Chiefs game + play breakdowns (Orlovsky, etc.) #94245
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