Bills head coach Sean McDermott is a football guy through and through. There’s many traits he sees in particular football players that cause fall in love with their game. Effort, selflessness, worth ethic are among those, but what’s the one thing McDermott loves above all else?
Wrestlers.
McDermott, a former wrestler himself (naturally) has seen that same experience in some of his own players, such as Bills defensive tackle Harrison Phillips. While a solid pro, Phillips is no Aaron Donald. No one is.
The Los Angeles Rams defender is one of the NFL’s premier stars, but is a smaller-sized guy for his position, who has still racked up four double-digit sack seasons in his career. So as Donald and the Rams (2-0) head to Buffalo in Week 3, what’s the one thing McDermott loves about Donald’s game. You guessed it…
“I think it’s really one line… he was a wrestler,” McDermott said via video conference on Wednesday. “That really speaks for itself, everything that goes into wrestling, man. When I watched him warmup in the Super Bowl, I watched him on TV and he’s warming up like a wrestler. If my research is right or my information is right, he was a wrestler and he was a good one. That background serves people well.”
Perhaps that wresting background truly does help Donald stand above the rest? Because he certainly does, and even if Buffalo’s coach did a little jokingly mention Donald’s background as a wrestler first, the Bills know they have to game plan for his talents this weekend.
“Definitely. You can’t just have a blind eye towards one of, if not the best player in the NFL,” McDermott said.
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen provided almost the same context from a player perspective as well on Wednesday.
“He’s the best in the world at what he does,” Allen said.
And certainly Allen means wrestler or not. Whatever extra gear Donald has in him, the Bills have to go above and beyond to deal with it.
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