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Aaron Donald sets tone for fast-starting Rams defense
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...nald-sets-tone-for-fast-starting-rams-defense
ST. LOUIS -- Before Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks, the St. Louis Rams offered two resounding reminders of their belief in the power of a strong defense.
In the moments before the game, the Rams introduced their defensive starters, 10 of whom return from 2014. As if that wasn't enough, they followed by winning the coin toss, deferring to the second half and kicking off the 2015 season with their defense on the field.
It was only fitting that the same group was asked to finish it. Finish it they did, coming up with a stop on Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch on fourth-and-1 at the Rams' 43 with 9 minutes, 11 seconds to go in overtime.
"It was our job to hold them for the win," defensive tackle Aaron Donald said. "That’s the way you want to end games and we did it."
Earlier in the game, the Seahawks had given the Rams the same look they presented on the game's final play with quarterback Russell Wilson in the shotgun and Lynch next to him. According to defensive tackle Michael Brockers, he didn't play it right at the time and Lynch was able to shake loose to move the chains.
"We had been making two and three yards on that all day long," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. "That was a play we had been making all throughout the day, and it worked well. I don’t know how they got the penetration, but they did and we weren’t able to knock it in.”
The reason the Rams were able to get penetration was the same reason they were able to do it for most of the day: Donald. The emerging superstar whom end Chris Long calls the best defensive tackle in football, was mostly unblockable Sunday as he finished with nine tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss and three quarterback hits.
But none of Donald's tackles were more meaningful than the game's final down as Donald burst through the middle with help from Brockers pushing the pocket to drop Lynch for a loss of 1. Game over, Rams win.
"If you put one guy on him, you’re asking for trouble," end Robert Quinn said. "(No.) 99 is a special player. There’s no limit for him if he realizes the true potential he has to be a great player.”
In Sunday's win, Donald looked like the player many expect him to be, setting the tone for a defense that also looked like the group many expected it to be entering this season.
While Seattle still managed to post 31 points and 343 yards of offense, the Rams defense mostly came as advertised in a game in which they were on the field more often than not (Seattle had the ball for 37:28) and frequently found themselves in unfavorable positions. The scoreboard said 31 points but 14 of those came on a punt return and a fumble recovery for touchdowns. Three more came on a field goal after another Rams' turnover gave Seattle the ball at the Rams' 39 to open the drive.
Aside from those hiccups, the Rams were the high-pressure, dominant group that coordinator Gregg Williams has been building for two years. They harassed quarterback Russell Wilson to the tune of six sacks, nine quarterbacks hits and an interception. Those numbers came despite Seattle's concerted effort to get the ball out quick as Wilson attempted just three passes over 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, the second-fewest in a game in his career.
Going into Sunday's game, the Rams had already established themselves as a thorn in Wilson's side, sacking him more than any other team since he entered the league in 2012 with 25 in the previous six games.
Of more importance to the Rams, though, was the opportunity to get off to a fast start. The Rams set an NFL record for futility in 2014 when they had just one sack in the first five games. Those struggles were due in part to an inability to stop the run as teams didn't offer them many chances to rush the passer.
The Rams earned that right against the Seahawks, holding Lynch to 73 yards on 18 carries and Seattle to 3.9 yards per attempt on 32 rushes. Ten plays into a new season, the Rams had matched their sack total of the first five games a year ago. No surprise, it was Donald bringing Wilson to the ground.
“Of course we want to start fast," Quinn said. "We’re definitely far from last year. We don’t want to start like that. The guys got on a roll, we kind of got our energy and the guys are feeling great. So once we started getting back there, we just try to stay consistent. ‘A.D.’ started it off and after that, guys just tried to follow him. We’ve got a special guy in 99 so I guess we just need to follow his lead.”
If they do, there's no telling where Donald and the defense could go in 2015.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...nald-sets-tone-for-fast-starting-rams-defense
ST. LOUIS -- Before Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks, the St. Louis Rams offered two resounding reminders of their belief in the power of a strong defense.
In the moments before the game, the Rams introduced their defensive starters, 10 of whom return from 2014. As if that wasn't enough, they followed by winning the coin toss, deferring to the second half and kicking off the 2015 season with their defense on the field.
It was only fitting that the same group was asked to finish it. Finish it they did, coming up with a stop on Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch on fourth-and-1 at the Rams' 43 with 9 minutes, 11 seconds to go in overtime.
"It was our job to hold them for the win," defensive tackle Aaron Donald said. "That’s the way you want to end games and we did it."
Earlier in the game, the Seahawks had given the Rams the same look they presented on the game's final play with quarterback Russell Wilson in the shotgun and Lynch next to him. According to defensive tackle Michael Brockers, he didn't play it right at the time and Lynch was able to shake loose to move the chains.
"We had been making two and three yards on that all day long," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. "That was a play we had been making all throughout the day, and it worked well. I don’t know how they got the penetration, but they did and we weren’t able to knock it in.”
The reason the Rams were able to get penetration was the same reason they were able to do it for most of the day: Donald. The emerging superstar whom end Chris Long calls the best defensive tackle in football, was mostly unblockable Sunday as he finished with nine tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss and three quarterback hits.
But none of Donald's tackles were more meaningful than the game's final down as Donald burst through the middle with help from Brockers pushing the pocket to drop Lynch for a loss of 1. Game over, Rams win.
"If you put one guy on him, you’re asking for trouble," end Robert Quinn said. "(No.) 99 is a special player. There’s no limit for him if he realizes the true potential he has to be a great player.”
In Sunday's win, Donald looked like the player many expect him to be, setting the tone for a defense that also looked like the group many expected it to be entering this season.
While Seattle still managed to post 31 points and 343 yards of offense, the Rams defense mostly came as advertised in a game in which they were on the field more often than not (Seattle had the ball for 37:28) and frequently found themselves in unfavorable positions. The scoreboard said 31 points but 14 of those came on a punt return and a fumble recovery for touchdowns. Three more came on a field goal after another Rams' turnover gave Seattle the ball at the Rams' 39 to open the drive.
Aside from those hiccups, the Rams were the high-pressure, dominant group that coordinator Gregg Williams has been building for two years. They harassed quarterback Russell Wilson to the tune of six sacks, nine quarterbacks hits and an interception. Those numbers came despite Seattle's concerted effort to get the ball out quick as Wilson attempted just three passes over 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, the second-fewest in a game in his career.
Going into Sunday's game, the Rams had already established themselves as a thorn in Wilson's side, sacking him more than any other team since he entered the league in 2012 with 25 in the previous six games.
Of more importance to the Rams, though, was the opportunity to get off to a fast start. The Rams set an NFL record for futility in 2014 when they had just one sack in the first five games. Those struggles were due in part to an inability to stop the run as teams didn't offer them many chances to rush the passer.
The Rams earned that right against the Seahawks, holding Lynch to 73 yards on 18 carries and Seattle to 3.9 yards per attempt on 32 rushes. Ten plays into a new season, the Rams had matched their sack total of the first five games a year ago. No surprise, it was Donald bringing Wilson to the ground.
“Of course we want to start fast," Quinn said. "We’re definitely far from last year. We don’t want to start like that. The guys got on a roll, we kind of got our energy and the guys are feeling great. So once we started getting back there, we just try to stay consistent. ‘A.D.’ started it off and after that, guys just tried to follow him. We’ve got a special guy in 99 so I guess we just need to follow his lead.”
If they do, there's no telling where Donald and the defense could go in 2015.
