LARAMSinFeb.
Legend
The theory was AD getting so much attention would free others to wreak havoc, but I always wondered why that never really panned out much.
Is Donald coming back??
- Thread starter WestCoastRam
- Start date
-
To unlock all of features of Rams On Demand please take a brief moment to register. Registering is not only quick and easy, it also allows you access to additional features such as live chat, private messaging, and a host of other apps exclusive to Rams On Demand.
Who’s to say any of it anyways ??
History will play its way out,but it’s pretty cool to see the situation The Rams are in Right Now with this AD99 THING !!!
When you see a HC starting Training Camp all GEEKED UP about The IDEA of AD99 is pretty cool.
I’m drinking The KOOL-AIDE early in 2026. To say JARED VERSE & those Picks not worth The TRADE with or without AD99 ??
I guess that has yet to be seen.IMO I like The TRADE & the McDuffie trade as well.What a Freaking Combo !! Jaylen Watson & AD99 could both be reasons AD99 seems like he is testing The ENGINE!! My point NOW is what does he want his LEGACY to BE ?? Not that Cleveland QB Verse will be playing with either.
What this will do if he comes back will postpone his HOF induction.He might be a First Ballot HOFer even more than ever.
No way. I'm still making that Garrett trade. You get 1 year of Donald to NOT make the Garrett trade? Not me.
And the entire premise is false, Donald doesn't come back WITHOUT the Garrett trade, so how can you even consider it???
Last edited:
But isn't it fun to consider a lot of things?
Did the Rams need Garrett over Verse? Do they need Donald?
Last year the Rams ranked first in pressure rate (31%) when sending only 4 pass rushers. A lot of that was Verse. But certainly he didn't convert his pressures into a lot of sacks. And that's what impresses fans. Still, without Garrett and without Donald, the Rams got to the CCG but couldn't push over the line to the Super Bowl. Garrett should help change that. Donald surely will. And Verse will probably be doing that long after Garrett is retired and AD is re-retired.
Having said that, the only way Donald comes back is if they acquired Garrett (or Parsons)......we think.
YES, the Rams need Garrett over Verse, did they need Stafford over Goff???
Again, I get why he might come back and that its due to Garrett. However, when you think about it, had he played last year, the Rams and Donald have another ring last year. So I am just pointing out that the Garrett hype, getting Donald to think about it while understandable, he could have had a 2nd ring last year had he comeback. Or would still be a heavy favorite this year even without Garrett.
Looking forward to this year with Garrett, and possibly Donald, just saying we could have had a ring last year had Donald played last. And certainly would be heavy favorites this year with Donald/Verse as well.
Yeah, but drafting Jared Verse I guess was never enough to sway Donald out of retirement, or make him think he wouldn't be double teamed. Yes if Donald never retired after the 2023 season there were chances we would have won the Super Bowl in 2024 AND 2025. And there's also the chance if we don't make the Garrett trade and Donald plays this year we could win the Super Bowl in 2026 as well. The bottom line is this, the only hint Aaron Donald ever gave of returning was when Micah Parsons was traded and that's only if he was traded to the Rams which seems to be the only team AD would consider playing for. The 2nd time he brought it up and brought it up in a very big way and there's probably a better than 50/50 chance he does return ( and still a chance he doesn't) is when we acquired Myles Garrett. Otherwise, absent a Hall of Fame level player and talent there's no reason to think Donald was ever coming back to play with the likes of a Jared Verse or a Byron Young, with no discredit to them as they are both well above-average players. Not trying to knock them but only a player like Garrett, and possibly Parsons, could have gotten Donald to even consider.
Last edited:
Now it just seems like he would be jumping on the bandwagon. And if he gets a 20M deal for a year, he will cost us good young player for the next 4 years.
I agree with that. And there's also arguments to be made that he shouldn't be doing that. It's just that he's a such a huge part of the Rams family that there's no way the Rams would decline, short of Donald holding our feet to the fire for a boatload of money. But you can definitely question it from Donald's standpoint that he IS actually jumping on the bandwagon simply with the Garrett acquisition. What if Myles (GOD FORBID!!!) went down for the season in Week 1? Would Aaron immediately hang the cleats back up again? Why didn't Donald play with a close to Superstar player like Jared Verse? Like you said, we might have won one of the last two Super Bowls.
I'm missing something.. how will he cost the Rams a good young player for the next four years?
Also.. personally? I couldn't care less if it "took" getting Garrett to make him interested in coming back.. Donald gave everything and wasn't feeling it. If this is something different that triggers excitement? Fuck yeah, let's go!
If Donald wanted to come back and ring-chase with another team? That would be another story... but the man is a RAM.. through and through. Love him.
Hope he decides to make it happen.
That's one opinion.
I don't see the connection......Garrett/Verse, Stafford/Goff........it's not even comparable......Goff was limited, a failure in McVay's eyes IMO. Verse was terrific and more than likely only getting better. Don't get me wrong, I loved the acquisition of Garrett and to get it done, it took losing a great player. But like Fiske said in the training camp presser, you can be both happy and sad.
And like I said earlier, it's fun to consider/discuss lot's of things, so I see where PhillyRam is coming from.
Everything changes if any piece of the existing scenario changes. If AD didn't retire the Rams might have made other draft picks. Would they even pick Verse? Maybe they don't work out as well, all of this would affect stafford. Who knows.
If came back last year good chance the Rams win the SB but he would be gone this year and chances the Rams go after the Chiefs CBs let alone Garrett are slim. Would Stafford retire? Who knows. Doubt the Rams would be as good a position as they are today.
The Butterfly effect makes it impossible to know and I guess it is fun for some to think about and speculate, for me there are to many possible outcomes. I like where we are. Now that TC is starting there will be plenty to post about without speculating on things that can't be changed.
If came back last year good chance the Rams win the SB but he would be gone this year and chances the Rams go after the Chiefs CBs let alone Garrett are slim. Would Stafford retire? Who knows. Doubt the Rams would be as good a position as they are today.
The Butterfly effect makes it impossible to know and I guess it is fun for some to think about and speculate, for me there are to many possible outcomes. I like where we are. Now that TC is starting there will be plenty to post about without speculating on things that can't be changed.
Last edited:
Oh... I get what the "four years" thing is now...
And I'd disagree. The Rams would've still gone after Garrett.
The Rams should have gone after Garrett. It's a great trade for the Rams. No doubt. Looking forward to seeing how it works out. And absolutely Donald returning isn't even an idea if not for Garrett, unless they traded for Micah Parsons. And that wasn't going to happen.
A description of Garrett made me laugh my ass off......
Last edited:
In my opinion, the difference between Garrett and Verse is just as wide as the difference between Stafford and Goff.
I don't think we are realizing just HOW GREAT Myles Garrett might be. He just registered 23 sacks for a 5-win team!!!! The Browns were basically ALWAYS trailing and he got 23 sacks! Jared Verse had 7.5 sacks. The Rams were basically ALWAYS winning and he had 7.5 sacks. Do people understand how vast between the two actually is? Verse is not a "closer." Garrett is Mariano Rivera,. That is unlike a Quarterback throwing for 300 or 400 yards per game for a 5-win team that is always trailing and the other team lets them throw to kill clock.
To do what he's done on CLEVELAND, might just mean what he does in L.A. may dwarf the first half of his career. Like he's already a Hall of Fame player that will reach a level even beyond that on THIS team.
Not very dissimilar to what Stafford achieved out of Detroit and into Los Angeles.
Last edited:
Yes! Yes, they did.
Verse has not been a closer. He's been great at generating pressure, but not translating that into sacks.
McVay felt we didn't win because we lacked a big time closer on defense. Garrett is the best non-QB player in the league and obviously solves that problem.
If he gets a $20M or $25M deal for this year, it will have void years thst will stretch into the future and thus likely one of our guys in their last contract year, will not be re-signed. Not to mention he will bump a young DL off this year's roster. Maybe Keenan or Hamilton. Murchison was already going to get bumped by Keenan. Now maybe Keenan doesn't make it.
I know he is worth more than that one guy he bumps this year, but this roster is getting old and that's one more guy to replace along with a guy they now can't extend. So there is a cumulative negative effect to Donald coming back.
All things considered, it would be awesome seeing the pairing of Donald & Garrett, but there are aspects that aren't great capwise and in regards to roster building for the future.
please please please let the season begin already!
I felt we didn't win because we couldn't cover JSN.....or Coker in Carolina......or because we couldn't stop Bijan in Atlanta. I thought we lost because our special teams sucked. Or because nobody on defense thought to pick up the ball on that failed 2 pt conversion. Or because we gave away points on offense. Or because we couldn't "close" on offense when we needed to vs Seattle, Carolina, Atlanta, Seattle, etc. I thought we lost for a variety of reasons not just 1. But I also don't know anywhere near as much as McVay.
I'm glad you said the last sentence because after I read the first one, my thought was, "yeah, I'm going with McVay's expertise."I felt we didn't win because we couldn't cover JSN.....or Coker in Carolina......or because we couldn't stop Bijan in Atlanta. I thought we lost because our special teams sucked. Or because nobody on defense thought to pick up the ball on that failed 2 pt conversion. Or because we gave away points on offense. Or because we couldn't "close" on offense when we needed to vs Seattle, Carolina, Atlanta, Seattle, etc. I thought we lost for a variety of reasons not just 1. But I also don't know anywhere near as much as McVay.
All of the things you mention are valid.
But without looking at the stats, my sense is that the defense didn't make big-time plays down the stretch of the season. It felt like the pass rush dropped off significantly from the first half of the season. This was my perception before McVay mentioned lacking closers. Once he and Snead mentioned that, I agree that that was the biggest issue at the end of the season.
As far as covering JSN, the pass rush affects the coverage. Having a closer will help keep him in check.