Donald praise for January 2018

How the Rams’ Aaron Donald has become an NFL blocker’s worst nightmare

RYAN KARTJE

link: https://www.ocregister.com/2018/01/04/how-the-rams-aaron-donald-has-become-an-nfl-blockers-worst-nightmare/

When Aaron Donald held out for a new contract this past fall, the presumption was he hoped to be paid like the best defensive player in football.

For an interior defensive lineman, it may have seemed like a bold ask. Rarely do players at Donald’s position get the same respect as sack artists on the edge or even shutdown cornerbacks on the perimeter. In the muck of the middle, their work often goes unnoticed.

For Donald, however, that has not been the case this season. Since returning to the Rams — sans contract extension — Donald has proven himself as one of the most impactful defensive players in the league, regardless of position.

Donald is tied for 11th in sacks, but in just 14 games, his ability to terrorize opposing quarterbacks has been unmatched. According to Pro Football Focus, Donald has registered 91 quarterback pressures this season — eight more than the next-best pass rusher, Von Miller, and 21 more than any other interior lineman.

Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has been effusive in his praise, casually throwing out comparisons to Hall of Fame pass rushers like Bruce Smith and Reggie White. When asked last month whether he thought Donald deserved to be recognized as the best defensive player in football, Phillips went one step further.

“I was thinking more like most valuable player in the league,” Phillips said.

On Saturday, Donald will take the field against the Falcons in his first playoff game, and while the rest of the NFL world focuses on the offensive firepower at play, the Rams’ terror on the interior will have a chance to prove just how much one defensive tackle can change the course of an NFL playoff game.

“He’s one of the few people in the world that can totally disrupt a game plan from that spot,” Rams coach Sean McVay said.

In his fourth season, Aaron Donald is already a one-man wrecking ball. And with the playoffs now in full swing, close study of his tape from this tremendous season suggests he’ll be the Rams’ most impactful weapon in stifling an Atlanta offense one year removed from the Super Bowl.

WEEK 3 VS. SAN FRANCISCO

It’s 4th and 20, with less than two minutes remaining, and the 49ers are in desperation mode, down two points. Donald is lined up between San Francisco’s right tackle and right guard, and as soon as the ball is snapped, he bursts off the line as if shot out of a cannon.

Donald fires left, forcing 49ers guard Brandon Fusco to his outside foot. It’s not the gap Donald was supposed to rush. Donald is freelancing, but, as will soon be clear, he’s doing so with a purpose. As Fusco leans right, Donald uses his momentum against him, pushing off with his right hand and swimming with his left. With a clear path to the quarterback, Donald zooms past Fusco and wraps up Brian Hoyer.

The game ends with Donald’s sack, his first of the season. The last-second gap shift didn’t seem to matter so much then.

“He put the game away, which just emphasizes what he does,” Phillips said. “Under pressure, he’s just as good.”

WEEK 6 VS. JACKSONVILLE

The Rams lead by 10, midway through the third quarter, but the Jaguars are driving. It’s a crucial third down, inside the red zone.

As soon as the ball is snapped, left tackle Cam Robinson focuses his attention outside, and Donald understands he has a 1-on-1 matchup against guard Patrick Omameh. According to Pro Football Focus, Donald has won his 1-on-1 assignments 29 percent of the time this season — a better rate than any other NFL defender.

“Some teams still don’t worry about me, I guess,” Donald says. “That’s what I like.”

Phillips’ defense has thrived this season in creating these 1-on-1 matchups for Donald, and as he charges at Omameh, Donald doesn’t need to reach deep into his toolbox of pass-rush moves. He simply bull rushes Omameh, keeping low and ripping around him with his left arm. Omameh is thrown off balance. By then, it’s too late.

Donald wraps up Blake Bortles from behind and brings him down. The Jaguars settle for a field goal and don’t score again. Donald finishes the game with 10 hurries — more than six other entire NFL defenses will register in Week 6.

WEEK 13 VS. ARIZONA

At the start of the third quarter, the Cardinals are still hanging on, down six. Donald has been relatively quiet, with no hurries in the first half.

He’s lined up directly across from Earl Watford, a right guard who was cut by the Jaguars after the preseason.

“When an offensive linemen they have is a backup or a rookie or something like that, he’s licking his chops,” nose tackle Michael Brockers says. “This is the best defensive tackle in the game.”

Donald fully expects there to be another linemen coming his way. But as soon as the ball is snapped, he unleashes a stutter step that disposes Watford with ease. It’s a move Donald uses often, one his teammates rave is almost impossible to counter. Faking left, then right, then left again, he confuses Watford in a split-second’s time, before finally juking to the right and swimming past him with his left arm.

Cardinals center A.Q. Shipley is waiting. It’s the rare occasion in which Donald’s blocker has a lower leverage point. But just as Donald bounces toward Shipley, he switches direction again, executing an instantaneous swim move with his opposite arm. Shipley desperately tries to push him left, but Donald bends around him, with his legs at a 45-degree angle. Then, he clicks into another, higher gear.

At that moment, right tackle John Wetzel charges in to help. It’s no use. In less than three seconds, Donald has beaten three offensive linemen to get to Blaine Gabbert.

“They slid the whole line to account for him,” inside linebacker Alec Ogletree says, “and then he beat every one of them. Not too many people can do that.”

WEEK 15 VS. SEATTLE

The Rams are blowing out the Seahawks, 27-0, and Donald is in full control. In no other game this season has he been more dominant. He ties a career-high with three sacks, but none will be as impressive as this particular second-quarter chase.

Left guard Luke Joeckel has been his main target all afternoon, and on first down, near midfield, Donald fakes to Joeckel’s outside shoulder, forcing Joeckel to lean all of his weight in that direction. But with one swim move inside, Joeckel is out of the play, and Seattle center Justin Britt shifts left to help.

Donald is too quick. He rips underneath Britt’s help block and chases Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson out of the pocket.

Suddenly, Wilson stops and changes direction on a dime, in hopes of forcing Donald back into one of his scrambling linemen. A mental chess match is playing out in a matter of seconds. Donald turns around in Wilson’s direction. Most of the time, this works for Wilson. But Donald doesn’t take the bait.

For all of his physical advantages, it’s Donald’s mental capacity as a pass rusher that can make him unstoppable. Just as Britt realizes where Wilson is scrambling, Donald has already cut back, anticipating Wilson’s path.

There’s no escape now. Donald throws Wilson down with both hands like a rag doll.

“That’s just total domination from an interior lineman,” linebacker Mark Barron said. “He pretty much took over the game. That’s special to watch.”

READY FOR WORK

His first playoffs are fast approaching, and Donald has never felt so fresh, so late in the season. “I feel amazing, actually,” he said earlier this week.

A snipet of @BrettKollmann's "The Film Room" ep. 59: Aaron Donald #LARams

Full Video: https://t.co/60dqhLdjZo pic.twitter.com/kt94973yqs

— DLineVids (@DLineVids) December 27, 2017

He credits his holdout for keeping him that way, even if that meant starting off a little rusty.

There is no rust now. That much is certain. And for the Falcons, Donald will be of the utmost concern. Early in the week, Atlanta placed starting guard Andy Levitre on injured reserve. His replacement, Ben Garland, has started three NFL games, and next to him, center Alex Mack continues to deal with a calf injury.

All of this points to a possibly transcendent performance from Donald, the kind of game that goes a long way in convincing Rams management to hand out $20-million per year to an interior lineman. But there will be plenty of time to think about that later.

“I feel good, and that’s all I’m going to say,” Donald says. “I’m ready. This is the first playoff game of my career. It’s been a long wait. I’m just ready to get out there.”