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http://www.espn.com/blog/st-louis-r...obert-quinn-ready-to-return-help-aaron-donald
Alden Gonzalez: ESPN
IRVINE, Calif. -- Back surgery, the resolution to a litany of ailments that hindered the early part of his 2015 season, prompted Los Angeles Rams defensive end Robert Quinn to sit out his final seven games. And because he did, Quinn was forced to watch his teammate, star defensive tackle Aaron Donald, draw an inordinate number of double- and triple-teams from opposing offensive lines, unable to do much of anything about it.
“Shoot,” Quinn recalled thinking, “now he knows what I feel like.”
Quinn -- the 2013 Pro Football Writers Association Defensive Player of the Year after recording an NFC-leading 19 sacks -- used to be the man opposing offensive coordinators feared. But that was before Donald's star ascended and before Quinn’s back gave out. On Saturday in Denver, Quinn will play his first game in more than nine months, suiting up for a drive or two against the reigning-champion Broncos in a 6 p.m. PT kickoff. And Donald might finally start feeling a little relief.
“That man’s fast,” Donald said of Quinn. “When you got a guy who’s that fast, who can come off the edge, who can bend like he can bend, you just have to show that guy respect.”
Quinn recovered from a benign brain tumor in high school and starred at the University of North Carolina as a freshman and sophomore. A suspension during his junior season, for accepting improper agent benefits, caused Quinn to slip to the Rams at No. 14 in the 2011 draft. He went on to record 40 sacks from 2012-14, third-most in the NFL in that three-season span, and quickly built a reputation as one of the game's best at getting to the opposing quarterback.
Alec Ogletree said. “The way he came back, you can definitely tell he still has the get-off of the ball and he’s definitely able to make plays.”
The Rams’ defensive line -- anchored by Donald, the game's best interior pass-rusher -- has the potential to be one of the NFL's best this season. But that will only be the case if Quinn can rekindle his prior dominance, which is no certainty given the type of surgery from which the 26-year-old is recovering.
Quinn himself is not sure.
“I feel like I have the power back, I feel like I have some explosion back,” Quinn said. “But I haven’t played a game, so who knows where it’s truly at. I feel great, but I guess the game will tell.”
Alden Gonzalez: ESPN
IRVINE, Calif. -- Back surgery, the resolution to a litany of ailments that hindered the early part of his 2015 season, prompted Los Angeles Rams defensive end Robert Quinn to sit out his final seven games. And because he did, Quinn was forced to watch his teammate, star defensive tackle Aaron Donald, draw an inordinate number of double- and triple-teams from opposing offensive lines, unable to do much of anything about it.
“Shoot,” Quinn recalled thinking, “now he knows what I feel like.”
Quinn -- the 2013 Pro Football Writers Association Defensive Player of the Year after recording an NFC-leading 19 sacks -- used to be the man opposing offensive coordinators feared. But that was before Donald's star ascended and before Quinn’s back gave out. On Saturday in Denver, Quinn will play his first game in more than nine months, suiting up for a drive or two against the reigning-champion Broncos in a 6 p.m. PT kickoff. And Donald might finally start feeling a little relief.
“That man’s fast,” Donald said of Quinn. “When you got a guy who’s that fast, who can come off the edge, who can bend like he can bend, you just have to show that guy respect.”
Quinn recovered from a benign brain tumor in high school and starred at the University of North Carolina as a freshman and sophomore. A suspension during his junior season, for accepting improper agent benefits, caused Quinn to slip to the Rams at No. 14 in the 2011 draft. He went on to record 40 sacks from 2012-14, third-most in the NFL in that three-season span, and quickly built a reputation as one of the game's best at getting to the opposing quarterback.
Alec Ogletree said. “The way he came back, you can definitely tell he still has the get-off of the ball and he’s definitely able to make plays.”
The Rams’ defensive line -- anchored by Donald, the game's best interior pass-rusher -- has the potential to be one of the NFL's best this season. But that will only be the case if Quinn can rekindle his prior dominance, which is no certainty given the type of surgery from which the 26-year-old is recovering.
Quinn himself is not sure.
“I feel like I have the power back, I feel like I have some explosion back,” Quinn said. “But I haven’t played a game, so who knows where it’s truly at. I feel great, but I guess the game will tell.”
