Aaron Donald talks up Greg Gaines: 'Every day he's getting better'

[Riverumbbq]

By: Andrew Ortenberg | May 28, 2019 6:15 pm ET


Aaron Donald is participating in OTAs for the first time in the Sean McVay era. The Los Angeles Rams star stayed away from the voluntary practices the past two seasons as he held out for a new contract, but now that he’s landed his record deal, he’s back in the fold for his first full offseason since 2016.

Speaking to the media after practice Tuesday, Donald said he’s happy to be back working with his teammates instead of training solely on his own.

“Good to be here with the guys, grinding with the guys, and just been working. It’s been good,” he said.

Donald was then asked about the differences between the team before and after McVay took over. “Well that’s obvious: We’ve been winning,” Donald said with a smile. Donald said McVay changed “the mindset, the culture around here. When you’ve got a coach like McVay that nonstop his mindset is to be the best at what he does, and it just trickles down to us and everybody got that same mindset,” he explained.

Donald was also asked about rookie defensive tackle Greg Gaines, who the Rams have indicated they plan on starting next to Donald.

“He’s good, good player. One of the guys that asks a lot of questions and wants to know things, that’s good. He’s out there working, grinding, and you can see it on film, every day he’s been getting better.”

Gaines had said during his press conference a couple of weeks back that he was starstruck by the veteran, and Donald seems open to taking him under his wing.

“If any guy, anybody got a question they need to ask, if they just want to pick my brain, I’m always [here]. They ask me stuff, I’m giving them feedback, or they want me to watch film and tell them something I see that they need to improve, I try to do that as best as I can,” he said. “So just trying to lead by example and if the young guys need questions answered or just need me to help them work on something, I’m here and they know that.”

Donald taking on such a strong leadership role is a great sign for the team and the locker room. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year also talked about his new positional coach, defensive line coach Eric Henderson, and things seem to be going well.

“I’ve been loving coach thus far, that’s one of the main [reasons] why I wanted to be here, to work with the guys and also work with him. He’s working a lot of different drills that I feel like can help me get better, help me improve my game. He’s pushing me. Like I said, he broke down stuff with me and showed me things I need to correct in my game,” Donald said.

“Having him here, having him coach me, with the different drills he’s got us out there doing, things that I actually needed to work on that I needed to improve, I’m just excited to keep working with him,” he continued.

The new pairing is clearly working so far, and it sounds like the Rams made a nice hire. There’s a long way to go, but with a full offseason under his belt, there’s no reason to think Donald won’t be able to win his third straight DPOY award.


https://theramswire.usatoday.com/20...&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=pos2image

 

[Ram65]

AD going to help all the D Lineman. Gaines will learn from the best. Great match on the D Line!

 

[Memento]

He’s working a lot of different drills that I feel like can help me get better, help me improve my game.

If the sentence is true, that Donald can actually improve his game? Fate help our opponents. Or...not? I'd be fine with fate not helping the Saints, in particular.

 

[Merlin]

Leadership is the one thing AD hasn't stepped up and done a whole lot of as a Ram. Great to see him doing that and hope it continues. This is his time to make this his defense.

 

[CGI_Ram]

I respect the job Suh did for us, but you see “the extras” we get with Donald vs historically big contract guys like Suh.

Said another way, Donald is more than a game day investment.

 

[kurtfaulk]

Leadership is the one thing AD hasn't stepped up and done a whole lot of as a Ram. Great to see him doing that and hope it continues. This is his time to make this his defense.

He's been leading since the day he entered the building. By playing out of his mind since he stepped on the field for the rams.

.

 

[CGI_Ram]

I respect the job Suh did for us, but you see “the extras” we get with Donald vs historically big contract guys like Suh.

Said another way, Donald is more than a game day investment.

As example;

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...tas-as-offense-is-installed-hes-missed-a-lot/

Browns coach Freddie Kitchens on Odell Beckham skipping OTAs as offense is installed: He's missed 'a lot'
Beckham has attended only one of nine voluntary OTAs

As the Browns install their offense under new coach Freddie Kitchens and new offensive coordinator Todd Monken at voluntary OTAs, they've been forced to do so without their best skill-position player, wide receiver Odell Beckham. According to Cleveland.com, Beckham has attended only one of nine OTAs, which isn't what the Browns expected of him, in addition to skipping the team's voluntary three-day extra minicamp.

Beckham's absence has finally been called into question by his coach. On Thursday, one day before the team's final OTA, Kitchens admitted that Beckham has missed "a lot -- the offense."

"I just want to see him," Kitchens said, per Cleveland.com.

And then there's what Monken said last week regarding the absence of both Beckham and Jarvis Landry, who is working his way back from an injury that is expected to prevent him from participating in minicamp next week. Monken called it "a challenge for our quarterbacks."

"You do what you can," Monken said, per Cleveland.com. "The most important part is we have a vast majority of our guys here. In terms of your installs, what we're doing offensively, our calls and our adjustments receiver-wise, it's obviously a challenge for our quarterbacks in terms of the receiving corps that are out there, but that's part of the deal. It's their job to make them right."

Just to reiterate, the sessions are voluntary. Beckham is not required to be there. He's hardly the only NFL player to skip voluntary OTAs. Even Tom Bradyhas skipped voluntary OTAs the past two years, which certainly appears to go against the Patriots' "No Days Off" mantra. Beckham also isn't the only newcomer around the NFL to skip voluntary OTAs, as Le'Veon Bell has done the exact same thing with the Jets.

The Browns still have all of minicamp, training camp, and the preseason to master their new-look offense with Beckham. Provided he stays healthy, Beckham should remain one of the league's best receivers and the team's primary playmaker. Nobody should overreact to comments made by Kitchens at the end of May; it probably won't matter come September. Kitchens has previously indicated that while he wishes Beckham was with the team, he understands why he isn't.

"I have never disputed the fact that it's not important for him to be here, but it's also also important for him to be mentally ready to be here," Kitchens said last week. "I'm not giving him an out by any stretch of imagination, and nobody here knows the conversations that Odell and I have. I'm just saying it is better for him to be here when he can present his best self -- emotionally, physically, everything.''

All that said, it is understandable why Kitchens could be irked. All coaches want their players to practice, especially the newcomers. Given the player that's missing is Beckham, who the Giants considered to be enough of a distraction to trade him away less than a year after giving him a monster extension, it's going to draw headlines. But that doesn't mean it's going to have a significant impact during the season.

As second-year quarterback Baker Mayfield said during the first week of OTAs, Beckham's been in the league a long time. By now, he's developed a routine that works, evidenced by a resume that includes 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns in five seasons.

"You let a guy like that be him," Mayfield said. "Everybody has their routine. Stick to what is working, and for him, obviously, it's been working for a while. He's going to do what he's going to do. You have to trust that he is going to be there when it matters, and we know who he is."

 

[Merlin]

He's been leading since the day he entered the building. By playing out of his mind since he stepped on the field for the rams.

.

Disagree. Owning that room is different than being the best player on the unit.

But I sincerely hope that changes here this season.

 

[Legatron4]

Disagree. Owning that room is different than being the best player on the unit.

But I sincerely hope that changes here this season.

I actually thought Donald always took a back seat to leadership. Seems he does his own thing. Good to see him step up a bit.

 

[Ramstien]

When you are blessed with someting for example a great talent like Donald it is so important to give someting back, this is what I'm seeing Donald step up and doing here.