THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The secret to Aaron Donald's astounding success lies in a conventional spiral-bound notebook. That's the word, at least.
"Oh," Donald says, his eyes lighting up, "you wanna see it?"
The Los Angeles Rams' standout defensive tackle reaches into his locker, takes out his black leather backpack, pulls on the zipper, and there it is, with a plastic, dark-blue cover, a ball-point pen wedged in the middle and his name autographed in purple marker on the front, just in case there is any confusion. He flips to the first page, and the word "49ers" is written boldly up top, right at the center, underlined three times to indicate the Rams' first opponent this season.