I know a ton of discussion in the WC game thread, but I thought this stupidity deserved it's own thread.
Oh Troy...
Donald's a great player, Canton bound for sure but better than LT AND White? Well, I guess everyone's entitled to their opinion, no matter how stupid that opinion might be.
Recency bias and the unending need to make whatever is good today out to be the best. We can't just enjoy things for what they are - they have to be classified as the greatest for some reason.
And I mostly like Aikman as an analyst.
But holy heck...
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all too common in sports and many other things.
Recency bias and the unending need to make whatever is good today out to be the best. We can't just enjoy things for what they are - they have to be classified as the greatest for some reason.
It’s probably done most with QB’s
You mean people outside of this site? Not even close.
Deserved its own thread. Donald is a going to the HOF but he's another guy who's just not LT. Not White. What a joke
I don't know it Danold is even the best DT ever.
See the DTs: Joe Greene, John Randle, Warren Sapp, Cortez Kennedy, etc.
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all too common in sports and many other things.
Recency bias and the unending need to make whatever is good today out to be the best. We can't just enjoy things for what they are - they have to be classified as the greatest for some reason.
Bingo!
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all too common in sports and many other things.
Recency bias and the unending need to make whatever is good today out to be the best. We can't just enjoy things for what they are - they have to be classified as the greatest for some reason.
A coworker the other day told me that Anthony Davis is the best center of all time. Granted, the kid is in his mid 20s, but I had to roll my eyes.
I don't know it Danold is even the best DT ever.
See the DTs: Joe Greene, John Randle, Warren Sapp, Cortez Kennedy, etc.
If we extend it to DL you can add Deacon Jones as well
"Better than" may be hyperbole but he's earned the right to sit at that table.
I don't know it Danold is even the best DT ever.
See the DTs: Joe Greene, John Randle, Warren Sapp, Cortez Kennedy, etc.
He's better than Sapp, Randle and Kennedy. No idea on Greene. He's the best interior DL I've seen.
Probably a result of injury but Watt didn't have the staying power. I think peak Donald is just as good too. He's special. That's all Troy was saying.
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ever.
I don't know it Danold is even the best DT ever.
See the DTs: Joe Greene, John Randle, Warren Sapp, Cortez Kennedy, etc.
He's better than Sapp, Randle and Kennedy. No idea on Greene. He's the best interior DL I've seen.
Randle had 138 career sacks.
Talk to me when Donald breaks 100.
I don't know it Danold is even the best DT ever.
See the DTs: Joe Greene, John Randle, Warren Sapp, Cortez Kennedy, etc.
He's only played 7 years, but it well on his way to being the best DT ever. Sapp only has 11 more career sacks. He played 6 more seasons.
I don't think Donald is better than LT, but I think some of you aren't giving him enough credit. He's played 7 years. In 5 of those years he has 11 or more sacks. The other 2 years he had 9 (Rookie year) and 8. Donald also has 131 TFL in 110 career games.
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In comment 15116412 bw in dc said:
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ever.
I don't know it Danold is even the best DT ever.
See the DTs: Joe Greene, John Randle, Warren Sapp, Cortez Kennedy, etc.
He's better than Sapp, Randle and Kennedy. No idea on Greene. He's the best interior DL I've seen.
Randle had 138 career sacks.
Talk to me when Donald breaks 100.
Will do.
He's an excellent player, but as pointed out - he's \not even the best DT ever.
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ever.
I don't know it Danold is even the best DT ever.
See the DTs: Joe Greene, John Randle, Warren Sapp, Cortez Kennedy, etc.
He's only played 7 years, but it well on his way to being the best DT ever. Sapp only has 11 more career sacks. He played 6 more seasons.
I don't think Donald is better than LT, but I think some of you aren't giving him enough credit. He's played 7 years. In 5 of those years he has 11 or more sacks. The other 2 years he had 9 (Rookie year) and 8. Donald also has 131 TFL in 110 career games.
Danold is a great player. Let's see how his fully body of work looks when completed.
At one point, JJ Watt was on a "greatest" trajectory, too.
I mean Donald is great, going to the HOF.
But LT was just different.
I think you really had to live thru his era and watch him play to really understand, beyond the highlights.
LT just had football charisma, his play wasn't just great but it lifted his teammates too.
That’s a joke, right ?
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In comment 15116412 bw in dc said:
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ever.
I don't know it Danold is even the best DT ever.
See the DTs: Joe Greene, John Randle, Warren Sapp, Cortez Kennedy, etc.
He's better than Sapp, Randle and Kennedy. No idea on Greene. He's the best interior DL I've seen.
Randle had 138 career sacks.
Talk to me when Donald breaks 100.
Of course Randle had more. He played 14 seasons and had 137.5 sacks. He averaged 9.82 sacks per season.
Donald has only played 7 seasons and has 85.5 sacks. Which is 12.21 sacks per season.
Link - ( New Window )
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Some have said our LW may now be as good as or better than Donald.
That is the epitome of overvaluing our own players. LW has been a pleasant surprise but he’s had one good season. Donald has looked like a future hall of famer basically from the start
You mean people outside of this site? Not even close.
He's been the consensus best defensive player in football for the last 3-4 years. He was in the discussion with Watt a few years before that.
Does that sound like a defensive player Giants fans knew in the 80s? Special players don't play in only one era.
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Some have said our LW may now be as good as or better than Donald.
That’s a joke, right ?
I think he's probably just talking about this past season. I personally don't think so, but they had similar numbers.
Donald - 45 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 14 TFL & 27 QB hits.
LW - 57 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 14 TFL and 30 QB hits.
He's been the consensus best defensive player in football for the last 3-4 years. He was in the discussion with Watt a few years before that.
Does that sound like a defensive player Giants fans knew in the 80s? Special players don't play in only one era.
Yeah he will most likely be very close to 100 sacks next season.
I don't know it Danold is even the best DT ever.
See the DTs: Joe Greene, John Randle, Warren Sapp, Cortez Kennedy, etc.
LT was not only the best OLB ever he was the best Defensive player ever.
The man wasn’t just dominant but changed the way the game was played and forced HOF coaches like Joe Gibbs to come up with new offensive schemes to try and deal with him.
Before LT I don’t ever remember O’s using an OT to block an OLB or there being an H Back.
He's been the consensus best defensive player in football for the last 3-4 years. He was in the discussion with Watt a few years before that.
Does that sound like a defensive player Giants fans knew in the 80s? Special players don't play in only one era.
Sounds more like Carl Banks than LT.
LT wasn't just special - he transformed the position. That's the part. Ray Lewis was an excellent LB, but LT literally had OC's changing gameplans for him. Blocking schemes were put in place just for him.
Ron Jaworski once called timeout because he couldn't locate where LT was - he was on the bench!
He's been the consensus best defensive player in football for the last 3-4 years. He was in the discussion with Watt a few years before that.
Does that sound like a defensive player Giants fans knew in the 80s? Special players don't play in only one era.
This discussion is a great football IQ test.
You’re not doing very well.
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may be next December when we talk about him cracking 100 sacks...
He's been the consensus best defensive player in football for the last 3-4 years. He was in the discussion with Watt a few years before that.
Does that sound like a defensive player Giants fans knew in the 80s? Special players don't play in only one era.
This discussion is a great football IQ test.
You’re not doing very well.
The football IQ test comment is actually a football IQ test. Chew on that.
To be fair Donald changed football too, just not to extent LT did. Never been a player like Donald and teams had to adjust. But LT is LT.
So Aikman, who was drafted in 89, wasn't watching pro football prior to being taken in draft? Huh?
Well when did he play against Donald?
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Donald is a great player. There is a big difference.
To be fair Donald changed football too, just not to extent LT did. Never been a player like Donald and teams had to adjust. But LT is LT.
I think there’s been a couple of players mentioned is this thread like Donald. He might be a tad better than them maybe but they’re like him.
Not so for LT. There has never been another player like him.
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Donald is a great player. There is a big difference.
To be fair Donald changed football too, just not to extent LT did. Never been a player like Donald and teams had to adjust. But LT is LT.
How did Donald change the game?? Sapp, Randle, Kennedy before him did similar things. Where have coaches put in specific schemes to counteract Donald? Where have league-wide changes been taken going forward like they were with LT?
Donald in a great player, but he hasn't changed the game. He's excelled at it
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"that I've played against".
Well when did he play against Donald?
I could have misheard it. But I remember him saying "I played against LT and Reggie White". The implication is that he's basing his opinion off his time playing against them.
Who cares though? I personally think that LT and White were better but I do think we're splitting hairs if Donald keeps this up. He's the best defensive player of this era.
Well yeh, he's 7 years in. If he maintains like 80% of this pace over the next 5 years he's right there.
Iean, I'll NEVER say a defender is greater than LT. But Donald deserves to have his name mentioned alongside them.
He said “ I played against LT and Reggie White and I think Donald is the best D player ever”. He used his playing experience to give credence to his opinion. As if because he played against them his statement carries more weight and is correct.
For the record I like Troy a lot and think he’s an excellent analysis but totally disagree with his take here.
The guy actually cut off a finger during a game so he could still play.
The guy actually cut off a finger during a game so he could still play.
He cut off his finger during a game? I thought he broke it, then later decided to amputate to avoid long recovery? (Amazing either way)
Here’s the thing though. LT wasn’t just a great outside pass rusher. He could cover guys in pass pro, run guys down when teams rushed away from him and also was used a lot inside by Parcells in goal line D.
He would blow up many goal line plays from the inside but as also able to get it done sideline to sideline from there.
He might be best known for his pass rushing ability but he excelled at so much more and why he was the best ever,
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"that I've played against".
He said “ I played against LT and Reggie White and I think Donald is the best D player ever”. He used his playing experience to give credence to his opinion. As if because he played against them his statement carries more weight and is correct.
For the record I like Troy a lot and think he’s an excellent analysis but totally disagree with his take here.
Yeh that's accurate. The implication is that he's using his play experience with those players from when he played coupled with his time as an analyst to justify that opinion.
I really don't care if Donald is better, I do think he deserves to have a seat at the table though. He is the best defender of this era so by extension, he is deserving of being in the conversation with the best defensive players from other eras.
If you really want to get up in arms, tell me who has been a better defender since 2014? We've brought up Watt, but already agreed that he isn't in the discussion anymore. Who is it? Is there even a debate?
So we're talking about a guy that doesn't even warrant a serious discussion when talking about his contemporaries. That's what LT was. I don't care who was better when we're talking about different players at different positions in different eras. He's that level player based on that fact assuming he kind of keeps it up in the back 1/3 of his career.
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get lost in the sauce for greatest defender of all-time discussion, btw.
The guy actually cut off a finger during a game so he could still play.
He cut off his finger during a game? I thought he broke it, then later decided to amputate to avoid long recovery? (Amazing either way)
You're right - my bad. It was after the game.
Still... ;)
Dude, shut the fuck up and talk football. I don't care who you're talking to, if you're gonna be an asshole at least have the balls to engage who you're talking to. This type of shit drags the site down.
It’s all bs announcers can say without much consequence. Much like predictions, no one every keeps track of this stuff. Not worth getting worked up over.
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I caught the 90-93 version of LT. Still awesome but probably not the same as prime LT. It's the same one Troy saw when he made that statement though. So I definitely get how calling him "better than LT" is ridiculous. I just think we need to slow down and appreciate the kind of player that Donald is...he's kind of redefining his position in the same way. Maybe not to the extent that LT did at outside pass rusher but Donald is legit and I'm sure there will come a time in 30 years where Rams fans get pissed off when an announcer says that a player is better than him.
Here’s the thing though. LT wasn’t just a great outside pass rusher. He could cover guys in pass pro, run guys down when teams rushed away from him and also was used a lot inside by Parcells in goal line D.
He would blow up many goal line plays from the inside but as also able to get it done sideline to sideline from there.
He might be best known for his pass rushing ability but he excelled at so much more and why he was the best ever,
And the Giants used to use him on special teams too.
There’s no one on planet Earth that believes that. Cmon LW has 0.5 sacks last year. He was good this year, but that’s disrespectful to Donald.
This link is to an article comparing him and Michael Dean Perry (he’s the Fridge’s brother).
Michael Dean Perry and Aaron Donald—Statistically Comparable - ( New Window )
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Dude, shut the fuck up and talk football. I don't care who you're talking to, if you're gonna be an asshole at least have the balls to engage who you're talking to. This type of shit drags the site down.
I think he was referring to Aikman, bro
I am not even going to dignify that statement with a response.
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In comment 15116592 No Where Man said:
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Dude, shut the fuck up and talk football. I don't care who you're talking to, if you're gonna be an asshole at least have the balls to engage who you're talking to. This type of shit drags the site down.
I think he was referring to Aikman, bro
Then I take it back, guy. You've been here long enough to know why I said what I said.
Saying williams is better than Aaron Donald is levels worse than saying Darnold is better than LT/Reggie white. The latter has at least a chance of being close to true when all is said and done
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Donald is great, but I don't think he is close to prime JJ Watt let alone LT
Probably a result of injury but Watt didn't have the staying power. I think peak Donald is just as good too. He's special. That's all Troy was saying.
No he said he's the best ever. Period. It's whst he said and your defending him by changing what he said is one of those I'm not a homer posts that some people seem to feel the need to do. Why I don't know. Donald is t close to LT. period.
Mike Tyson was a bully more than a fighter, destroyed guys who were not as good as him. Didn't do so well against Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield who made him fight.
Like Wilt Chamberlain and the 3-second lane Reggie White change the game of football. Eric Williams slapped the living bed bugs out of him. He had Reggie looking for a place to hide.
They outlawed the offensive lineman's head slap as a consequence, and to my mind those circumstances diminished Reggie's greatness.
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ever.
I don't know it Danold is even the best DT ever.
See the DTs: Joe Greene, John Randle, Warren Sapp, Cortez Kennedy, etc.
LT was not only the best OLB ever he was the best Defensive player ever.
The man wasn’t just dominant but changed the way the game was played and forced HOF coaches like Joe Gibbs to come up with new offensive schemes to try and deal with him.
Before LT I don’t ever remember O’s using an OT to block an OLB or there being an H Back.
Sapp is a HOF'er and his career can't touch Donald's. Consider Sapp played 13 seasons and is a 4x All-Pro. Donald has played 7 seasons and is a 5x All-Pro. Donald is likely to win DPOY for the 3rd time this season (Sapp once). I could go through other numbers but Donald is FAR superior to Sapp and that says a lot on it's own.
This is a joke, right? I mean...this is about as ignorant a football statement I've ever read.
Donald has been consistently great every season. That can't be said about Sapp. John Randle is a pretty good comp and Randle was one of the best to ever do it. And I'd still pick Donald.
LT of course, would have none of that. He, supposedly, didn't even lift!
Which partly, to my eyes, is what creates the gulf between LT and everyone else. Donald should be applauded for his unbelievable wirk ethic and desire to be great. He has quickness like a cat, for a DT, but he is nowhere near the bolt of lightning that LT was from the first day he set foot on an NFL gridiron.
LT's power and explosion was something altogether different from anyone else's. If you have never been up close to it and felt it, you can't really judge him compared to anyone else.
Oh well I can't really explain it without sounding ridiculous, but I have seen the type of power LT had naturally in grandmaster level martial artists who took 30 years of breathing training to achieve, and they acknowledged in private conversations that some rare 1:1,000,000 people, like LT, have access to the strength they develop through 20+ years of training, naturally.
LT had that for sure. It was simply obvious when you watched him bull rush OL thst outweighed him by 50#, and he'd toss people his own size around like rag dolls. Literally.
He was just DIFFERENT from everyone else.
I do wish we had taken Donald over OBJ back in the day but alas what is...is...and we must continue to build up the team.
I do wish we had taken Donald over OBJ back in the day but alas what is...is...and we must continue to build up the team.
I disagree with your one point.
LT is 1, all others are a notch below that starts with 2. No one is on the same tier as him IMO.
I’d start with Reggie White as 2a and then Donald is in the discussion at 2b.
I also loved how he said Donald never takes a play off as the camera showed him on the sidelines for the first two snaps of an entire series.
They play different positions so comparing Aaron to LT is wrong. But LT was the best defensive player the NFL has every seen. He would be just as good now as he was then. Remember he played ILB one season when Harry was injured and he dominated there too. Also, Khalil Mack, JJ Watt, and Vonn Miller have been also called the best defensive players in the NFL in the last 5-8 years. Nobody was considered better than LT when he played even with Reggie White playing.
Hindsight is 20/20, but Donald over Beckham would have been the better pick, especially after the injuries and antics played out. I missed that one, many of you did not.
I pulled stats afterwards, he had like 0 sacks, 5 tackles, 4 ASST in 3 FKNG GAMES, including the SB
He's the Nomar Garciapara of the Rams!!
When you research football history, the DT position might be the most impressive position. It makes sense too since the DT is the closest defensive player to the ball and the game was more run-based back in the day. There are a ton of legendary DTs.
Bob Lilly, Joe Greene, Merlin Olsen, Alan Page, Randy White. Those guys are pretty much the consensus greatest DTs in NFL history in some sort of order. The #1 kind of varies depending on the voter, but generally that's the list. Out of those 5, Alan Page is probably the hardest to place historically because he was the worst run defender of the group but also the best pass rusher. The Purple People Eaters were on the shortlist of the most dominant DLines in NFL history, yet the reason they never won a Super Bowl is because they were vulnerable to having the ball run right down their throats in big games. So despite Page being the only defensive MVP besides LT, a lot of old school writers kind of placed him closer to the bottom of that group rather than the top.
John Randle and Warren Sapp were the evolutionary versions of Alan Page, the pure 4-3 DT pass rushing phenoms who weren't the best run stoppers. Randle was more consistent for longer but Sapp was probably better at his best (as much as I hate the guy). Aaron Donald is in the process of blowing past Randle and Sapp as a DT of this prototype, he's simply more dominant than either of those 2 guys in terms of prime vs. prime. He's won 2 DPOYs and really should win DPOY this year even though they're gonna give it to TJ Watt. He's been the best defensive player in the sport over the last 4 years and it really hasn't been close (Mack, Miller, Watt have all been less consistent/healthy).
So I'd go so far as to say Aaron Donald is the best pass rushing DT since Alan Page and arguably the best DT of the last 35 years. Whether he can pass Alan Page and the other great DTs or not depends on how the rest of his career unfolds, but he's certainly been off to a great start.
Sidenote: I'd personally consider Peak JJ Watt > Peak Aaron Donald by the slightest of margins. As impressive of Donald's ability to wreck the game from an interior DL position is, I felt like Watt was more of an anomaly with the way he overpowered OTs and knocked down so many balls on top of being so dominant vs. both the run and pass.
When you research football history, the DT position might be the most impressive position. It makes sense too since the DT is the closest defensive player to the ball and the game was more run-based back in the day. There are a ton of legendary DTs.
Bob Lilly, Joe Greene, Merlin Olsen, Alan Page, Randy White. Those guys are pretty much the consensus greatest DTs in NFL history in some sort of order. The #1 kind of varies depending on the voter, but generally that's the list. Out of those 5, Alan Page is probably the hardest to place historically because he was the worst run defender of the group but also the best pass rusher. The Purple People Eaters were on the shortlist of the most dominant DLines in NFL history, yet the reason they never won a Super Bowl is because they were vulnerable to having the ball run right down their throats in big games. So despite Page being the only defensive MVP besides LT, a lot of old school writers kind of placed him closer to the bottom of that group rather than the top.
John Randle and Warren Sapp were the evolutionary versions of Alan Page, the pure 4-3 DT pass rushing phenoms who weren't the best run stoppers. Randle was more consistent for longer but Sapp was probably better at his best (as much as I hate the guy). Aaron Donald is in the process of blowing past Randle and Sapp as a DT of this prototype, he's simply more dominant than either of those 2 guys in terms of prime vs. prime. He's won 2 DPOYs and really should win DPOY this year even though they're gonna give it to TJ Watt. He's been the best defensive player in the sport over the last 4 years and it really hasn't been close (Mack, Miller, Watt have all been less consistent/healthy).
So I'd go so far as to say Aaron Donald is the best pass rushing DT since Alan Page and arguably the best DT of the last 35 years. Whether he can pass Alan Page and the other great DTs or not depends on how the rest of his career unfolds, but he's certainly been off to a great start.
Sidenote: I'd personally consider Peak JJ Watt > Peak Aaron Donald by the slightest of margins. As impressive of Donald's ability to wreck the game from an interior DL position is, I felt like Watt was more of an anomaly with the way he overpowered OTs and knocked down so many balls on top of being so dominant vs. both the run and pass.
Excellent post Osi Osi Oy Vey!
The one thing I haven't seen mentioned, when a few folks commented that Donald might not stand up to the greatest DTs in NFL history, let alone a transcendent defender like LT, is that ALL OF those great DTs of history: Lily, White, Greene, Page, Sapp (and we missed noting Buck Buchannon and Curly Culp) all of the historically great DTS had awesome DL linemen aside them and often great LBs behind them - they were prettty much all part of GREAT Front Fours or Front Sevens.
Donald and JJ Watt both - not so much, or not at all parallel. They did a lot more without an amazing surrounding cast.
The East was a brutal dominant division from 81-91. Aikman and Dallas of his time never had to contend with much. 93 Giants gave them a good fight with Simms last stand and LT a old broken down player from who he was. LT has even said he played a little his last couple years. From 81-90.......
I think AD is a incredible talent but not at LT’s level.
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this kind of bold claim forces people to make negative comments on Aaron Donald when we should simply just be in awe of how good he is.
When you research football history, the DT position might be the most impressive position. It makes sense too since the DT is the closest defensive player to the ball and the game was more run-based back in the day. There are a ton of legendary DTs.
Bob Lilly, Joe Greene, Merlin Olsen, Alan Page, Randy White. Those guys are pretty much the consensus greatest DTs in NFL history in some sort of order. The #1 kind of varies depending on the voter, but generally that's the list. Out of those 5, Alan Page is probably the hardest to place historically because he was the worst run defender of the group but also the best pass rusher. The Purple People Eaters were on the shortlist of the most dominant DLines in NFL history, yet the reason they never won a Super Bowl is because they were vulnerable to having the ball run right down their throats in big games. So despite Page being the only defensive MVP besides LT, a lot of old school writers kind of placed him closer to the bottom of that group rather than the top.
John Randle and Warren Sapp were the evolutionary versions of Alan Page, the pure 4-3 DT pass rushing phenoms who weren't the best run stoppers. Randle was more consistent for longer but Sapp was probably better at his best (as much as I hate the guy). Aaron Donald is in the process of blowing past Randle and Sapp as a DT of this prototype, he's simply more dominant than either of those 2 guys in terms of prime vs. prime. He's won 2 DPOYs and really should win DPOY this year even though they're gonna give it to TJ Watt. He's been the best defensive player in the sport over the last 4 years and it really hasn't been close (Mack, Miller, Watt have all been less consistent/healthy).
So I'd go so far as to say Aaron Donald is the best pass rushing DT since Alan Page and arguably the best DT of the last 35 years. Whether he can pass Alan Page and the other great DTs or not depends on how the rest of his career unfolds, but he's certainly been off to a great start.
Sidenote: I'd personally consider Peak JJ Watt > Peak Aaron Donald by the slightest of margins. As impressive of Donald's ability to wreck the game from an interior DL position is, I felt like Watt was more of an anomaly with the way he overpowered OTs and knocked down so many balls on top of being so dominant vs. both the run and pass.
Excellent post Osi Osi Oy Vey!
The one thing I haven't seen mentioned, when a few folks commented that Donald might not stand up to the greatest DTs in NFL history, let alone a transcendent defender like LT, is that ALL OF those great DTs of history: Lily, White, Greene, Page, Sapp (and we missed noting Buck Buchannon and Curly Culp) all of the historically great DTS had awesome DL linemen aside them and often great LBs behind them - they were prettty much all part of GREAT Front Fours or Front Sevens.
Donald and JJ Watt both - not so much, or not at all parallel. They did a lot more without an amazing surrounding cast.
Donald's career he's been w some ripe end DLs. Fowler and Brockers foe a few years. Robert Quinn. Now they added Leonard Floyd. He's a HOF player but people most Seem to not need to act like he's the only player on that D. And know w Ramsey? They always had a great secondary.
He's one of the best DTs. We get it hit your post is
Just wrong
I won't go into the linebakers behind those great DL, but will mention Donald performed at a very high level with Alec Ogletree... And we damn well know what a piece of garbage he is/was.
Back in the day, without free agency and a salary cap, the better teams accumulated obscene levels of talent. The Rams, to keep Donald at his salary and the cap, have had to let talented folks go.
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In comment 15117085 Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy said:
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this kind of bold claim forces people to make negative comments on Aaron Donald when we should simply just be in awe of how good he is.
When you research football history, the DT position might be the most impressive position. It makes sense too since the DT is the closest defensive player to the ball and the game was more run-based back in the day. There are a ton of legendary DTs.
Bob Lilly, Joe Greene, Merlin Olsen, Alan Page, Randy White. Those guys are pretty much the consensus greatest DTs in NFL history in some sort of order. The #1 kind of varies depending on the voter, but generally that's the list. Out of those 5, Alan Page is probably the hardest to place historically because he was the worst run defender of the group but also the best pass rusher. The Purple People Eaters were on the shortlist of the most dominant DLines in NFL history, yet the reason they never won a Super Bowl is because they were vulnerable to having the ball run right down their throats in big games. So despite Page being the only defensive MVP besides LT, a lot of old school writers kind of placed him closer to the bottom of that group rather than the top.
John Randle and Warren Sapp were the evolutionary versions of Alan Page, the pure 4-3 DT pass rushing phenoms who weren't the best run stoppers. Randle was more consistent for longer but Sapp was probably better at his best (as much as I hate the guy). Aaron Donald is in the process of blowing past Randle and Sapp as a DT of this prototype, he's simply more dominant than either of those 2 guys in terms of prime vs. prime. He's won 2 DPOYs and really should win DPOY this year even though they're gonna give it to TJ Watt. He's been the best defensive player in the sport over the last 4 years and it really hasn't been close (Mack, Miller, Watt have all been less consistent/healthy).
So I'd go so far as to say Aaron Donald is the best pass rushing DT since Alan Page and arguably the best DT of the last 35 years. Whether he can pass Alan Page and the other great DTs or not depends on how the rest of his career unfolds, but he's certainly been off to a great start.
Sidenote: I'd personally consider Peak JJ Watt > Peak Aaron Donald by the slightest of margins. As impressive of Donald's ability to wreck the game from an interior DL position is, I felt like Watt was more of an anomaly with the way he overpowered OTs and knocked down so many balls on top of being so dominant vs. both the run and pass.
Excellent post Osi Osi Oy Vey!
The one thing I haven't seen mentioned, when a few folks commented that Donald might not stand up to the greatest DTs in NFL history, let alone a transcendent defender like LT, is that ALL OF those great DTs of history: Lily, White, Greene, Page, Sapp (and we missed noting Buck Buchannon and Curly Culp) all of the historically great DTS had awesome DL linemen aside them and often great LBs behind them - they were prettty much all part of GREAT Front Fours or Front Sevens.
Donald and JJ Watt both - not so much, or not at all parallel. They did a lot more without an amazing surrounding cast.
Donald's career he's been w some ripe end DLs. Fowler and Brockers foe a few years. Robert Quinn. Now they added Leonard Floyd. He's a HOF player but people most Seem to not need to act like he's the only player on that D. And know w Ramsey? They always had a great secondary.
He's one of the best DTs. We get it hit your post is
Just wrong
Those players greatly benefit from Donald's greatness, not the other way around. Brockers probably owes half his paycheck to Donald's greatness.