Aaron Donald

Discuss candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the PFRA's Hall of Very Good
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GameBeforeTheMoney
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Re: Aaron Donald

Post by GameBeforeTheMoney »

Andy Dorris was a big part of those 1979 Oilers and had a great AFC Championship Game. Had an excellent wild card game against the Broncos, too, knocking Claudie Minor around, who was an excellent player in his own right. Played really well in the playoff win at San Diego when the Oilers were without Pastorini, Campbell, and Kenny Burrough. I've come to know Andy quite well and he is a first-class guy, super nice. Had a pretty long career and played a big part in the Oilers making that second straight AFC Championship Game and saved his best for important games. He made another great play shedding the lead blocker and stopping Rocky Bleier cold on a fourth-and-short on Monday Night Football late in the season in a huge win for the Oilers that took the AFC Central to the last week of the season. I know you're joking around but Andy is a great guy -- and he had some big moments for Bum's Oilers.
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Bryan
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Re: Aaron Donald

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How many players can say they played for the Cardinals, Saints, Seahawks & Oilers during their career? I'm guessing only one.
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JeffreyMiller
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Re: Aaron Donald

Post by JeffreyMiller »

GameBeforeTheMoney wrote:Andy Dorris was a big part of those 1979 Oilers and had a great AFC Championship Game. Had an excellent wild card game against the Broncos, too, knocking Claudie Minor around, who was an excellent player in his own right. Played really well in the playoff win at San Diego when the Oilers were without Pastorini, Campbell, and Kenny Burrough. I've come to know Andy quite well and he is a first-class guy, super nice. Had a pretty long career and played a big part in the Oilers making that second straight AFC Championship Game and saved his best for important games. He made another great play shedding the lead blocker and stopping Rocky Bleier cold on a fourth-and-short on Monday Night Football late in the season in a huge win for the Oilers that took the AFC Central to the last week of the season. I know you're joking around but Andy is a great guy -- and he had some big moments for Bum's Oilers.
I'm just not comprehending him being in a proposed "Silly" Hall of Fame ....
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Bryan
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Re: Aaron Donald

Post by Bryan »

JeffreyMiller wrote:I'm just not comprehending him being in a proposed "Silly" Hall of Fame ....

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GameBeforeTheMoney
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Re: Aaron Donald

Post by GameBeforeTheMoney »

Bryan wrote:How many players can say they played for the Cardinals, Saints, Seahawks & Oilers during their career? I'm guessing only one.
What's interesting about Dorris' career is that he didn't play that much until he got with a good team. Phillips brought him in after Elvin Bethea suffered a broken arm. With the Oilers, he had 25 sacks, including 9 1/2 in 79. That's over triple his sack total before he got to Houston.

Yes, there's the goofy photo of him. But he was a good player. In 79, the Oilers had a three-man line with Curley Culp, Elvin Bethea, and Andy Dorris. They had a super year as a trio. Dorris had to hold his own with two Hall of Famers on that line -- if he hadn't, teams just would have sent every play his way.

Like Donald, Culp was an exceptional defensive tackle. That Houston defense had several excellent players, but Culp was especially important with that three-man front.

Alan Page has been brought up in this thread. Absolutely one of the best. There are five DTs in history that really stand out above all the rest and those are Page, Bob Lilly, Joe Greene, Culp, and in present day, Aaron Donald. Before Donald, I really thought of those four as the best, but I added Donald to that category a few years ago. Anyone else rank anyone in the same category as these guys?
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Brian wolf
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Re: Aaron Donald

Post by Brian wolf »

Merlin Olsen, Randy White and John Randle were great as well. All of them could rush the passer better than Greene but werent as good against the run or splitting double teams, though Olsen used his strength very well against the run later. His pass rush was very disruptive and had Jones not been on his side, he would have had at least 130 career sacks himself. Randle didnt have to worry as much about the run with teammates Henry Thomas and Tony Williams next to him but had great tenacity, like White, who could overpower most guards blocking him. Even when guards like Russ Grimm or Bob Young were blocking White, he would still give great effort and get by them eventually.
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GameBeforeTheMoney
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Re: Aaron Donald

Post by GameBeforeTheMoney »

Randy White was very, very good. Always gave 100%. Maybe it's kind of a Cowboys Steelers thing and I always rated him lower than Joe Greene because of the Super Bowls. Greene was incredibly good against the run. I do remember John Randle being a very good tackle also, especially for his day. I'm not old enough to remember Merlin as a player but only with Enberg. I'll try to check out more film of him. Most of the stories I've read about him are about him being extremely tough.
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JuggernautJ
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Re: Aaron Donald

Post by JuggernautJ »

GameBeforeTheMoney wrote:....Anyone else rank anyone in the same category as these guys?
As mentioned, Merlin Olsen.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... seMe00.htm
14 consecutive Pro Bowls (in a time when that meant something), 5 All Pros (against competition like Bob Lilly and Alan Page) and 91 career sacks, not to mention both the All-60's and 70's teams have to rank him among the elites.

If I recall correctly, "we" decided several years ago that the "Mount Rushmore" of defensive tackles was Lilly, Page, Olsen and Greene. If you wanted to replace one of those Hall of Famers with Aaron Donald who would you drop?

Leo Nomellini deserves an honorable mention (at least).
With 10 Pro Bowls, 6 All Pros and the All-50's team he would've been on the pre-60's "Mount Rushmore".
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... meLe00.htm
NWebster
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Re: Aaron Donald

Post by NWebster »

I think that of the Mt Rushmore positions that DT is probably the one where there's the most agreement. I think over half of informed observers would take Lilly, Olsen, Page and Greene in some order as My Rushmore. I cannot think of another position with the same consensus view. I think pre Donald those were followed by Nomellini and Manster as 5 and 6. I think today Donald is tied with Greene and really one excellent season behind Lilly and Olsen. If he has 2 more AP 1st team seasons he's the GOAT. He is, however, right around the age when many of the previous great DT's started wearing down, Greene to injury, Olsen and Lilly just to general slowing, Page lost weight and maintained effectiveness as a pass rusher but lost effectiveness at the point of attack against the run. To me the next 2 years will decide if Donald is merely Rushmore or GOAT.
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Re: Aaron Donald

Post by racepug »

GameBeforeTheMoney wrote:Randy White was very, very good. Always gave 100%.
I read online one time (I believe on some Cowboys fan page) the opinion that between the two of them, "Bob Lilly was slightly better against the run, while Randy White was slightly better against the pass." I don't know if you agree with that but I do know that in the XOR® All-Time Greats roster for that team that Bob Lilly was rated one point higher (for "BLK" - the only attribute used for linemen in that simulation) than Randy White was. (Bob Lilly and "Mean" Joe Greene were each assigned "97" for BLK in their respective All-Time Greats roster)
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