Aaron Donald hasn't made a final decision on whether he will come out of retirement to re-join the Los Angeles Rams just yet, but the hype hasn't and likely won't die down until he does. Rams head coach Sean McVay isn't sure what his former superstar will do, but the Seattle Seahawks should prepare for his return anyway.
The Rams have overtaken the Seahawks as NFC and Super Bowl favorites. The blockbuster moves to acquire Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, and Myles Garrett over the summer have made the Rams even better than they were last year, at least on paper. No one will know if the moves have truly worked until they take the field.
The Seahawks haven't taken kindly to being overlooked so soon after winning it all earlier this year, and rightfully so. That said, is the hype on the Rams building more steam as the season approaches? If Donald does return, could that be even more trouble for the Seahawks? ESPN's Dan Orlovsky is pretty confident in that "trouble"; perhaps Seahawks fans should listen.
Dan Orlovsky's bold claim about the Los Angeles Rams should give the Seattle Seahawks something to think about
The defending Super Bowl champions, no matter who they are, should never be doubted heading into a title-defending season. So maybe it's not doubt that those who were heavy on the Seahawks to repeat in their division, conference, and the league next season are struggling with. Maybe it's just respecting what the Rams have done this summer, and who leads them.
The Seahawks certainly can repeat, but that doesn't mean the Rams aren't a better team as currently constructed (including Donald for argument's sake). The argument against the Rams is the glitz-and-glam names on their roster, and that alone doesn't automatically secure a championship, which is the correct way of thinking.
Teams have signed Hall of Fame names in the past and still fell short of the overall goal of winning it all. That said, if any team in recent memory has the best chance to reverse that failure, it may very well be these Rams. Which means the Seahawks will have a lot more to put up with than just names on paper.Â
Confidence around the Rams continues to build, and ESPN's Dan Orlovsky is one of the media pundits boasting that confidence. Furthermore, what he recently said about the Rams on Get Up this week makes sense.Â
"No one's beating this team if they're healthy, I don't care," Orlovsky said. "This is a team that has one of the good, if not the great coaches in the game. They're gonna have a top-five offense with a quarterback playing as good, if not better than anybody. They already have a top-five defense. Aaron Donald is playing...if you can't run the ball against this defense, you're going to get slaughtered."
Orlovsky would also state he believes the Rams will have the best third-down defense ever with Donald back in the mix, which he also believes will happen. The Seahawks have a shutdown defense of their own, but whether they have the strength and firepower to match what the Rams have? That's a legitimate question.
The Seahawks are, of course, not focused on the talk about the Rams or what they're doing. They're centered on their training camp procedures and gearing up for the season. Yes, they're defending Super Bowl champions, and yes, they should be considered threats to repeat.Â
That said, a growing feeling regarding the Rams is getting stronger. Maybe this is the year the glitz-and-glam method actually gets it done. What then for the Seahawks?Â
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