Tag: Aaron Donald

4 players to watch in Rams vs. Seahawks

Here are four players to watch in Thursday night’s pivotal game between the Rams and the Seahawks.

The Los Angeles Rams have a quick turnaround following their first loss of the season to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4. The Rams will travel to take on the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football in what is expected to be somewhat of a shootout with most sportsbooks having the over/under set at 54.5 points at the time this is being written.

It was far from a picture-perfect performance from the Rams in Week 4 versus the Cardinals. After cruising through the first three weeks of the season, Los Angeles was stonewalled by Arizona, 37-20. The Cardinals were able to slow down the offense of the Rams, and Los Angeles had no answers for Kyler Murray and co.

Even though players typically despise having to play on Thursday night, it does allow the Rams to put their recent loss behind them by securing a victory on the road against another NFC West rival. The Seahawks are looking to avoid a 2-3 start to the season after taking down the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4.

In what should be a must-watch game in Week 5, let’s take a look at four players that everyone should keep tabs on during the anticipated matchup between the Rams and the Seahawks.

Seahawks vs. Rams: 4 important matchups to watch in Week 5

Here are four matchups that we’ll be keeping a close eye on this week.

The Seattle Seahawks’ most bitter division rivals may be the San Francisco 49ers. However, the Los Angeles Rams are the NFC West opponents that have been the thorn in their side lately – winning six of the last eight matchups between these teams. Seattle will host LA on Thursday night with a chance to catch them in the standings on the line.

Here are four matchups that we’ll be keeping a close eye on this week.

Matthew Stafford cracks joke about Aaron Donald’s post-game hug

Matthew Stafford used to be chased by Aaron Donald. Now, he’s getting hugged by No. 99.

Getting hugged by Aaron Donald can be both good and bad, depending on what team you play for. If you’re on the Rams, those hugs probably come after a win on Sunday. If you play for another team, hugs from Donald most likely mean you’re getting tackled by the three-time Defensive Player of the Year on the field.

Stafford prefers the former to the latter, and he got one after the Rams’ massive win over the Bucs in Week 3.

Donald said in his press conference that he gave Stafford a big hug and told him he loved him after the game, showing his appreciation for the quarterback. Stafford is just happy that he’s no longer being chased by Donald like he was with the Lions.

At 3-0, all is well in Los Angeles now that the Rams have their guy at quarterback.

Colts’ Quenton Nelson on facing Aaron Donald: ‘It was an honor’

Colts’ Quenton Nelson said ‘it was an honor’ to play against Rams DT Aaron Donald.

For the first time in his career, Indianapolis Colts left guard Quenton Nelson faced off against Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald for a number of snaps in the 27-24 loss at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.

This was a highly-anticipated matchup during the game. Donald is considered arguably best player in the NFL and certainly the best defensive player in the league. Whereas Nelson is considered arguably the best guard in the NFL.

For Nelson, he felt honored to line up across from one of the most elite players to ever see the field.

“It was an honor going against the best player in the NFL. I just knew on every play that in order to have a chance to win my rep against him, I would have to be at my best with my technique and fundamentals,” Nelson told reporters after the game Sunday. “He definitely pushed me to play to my best ability in that sense.”

While Nelson had a solid game on the interior, the same cannot be said for the rest of the offensive line. For the second week in a row, the Colts struggled to keep a clean pocket for quarterback Carson Wentz.

The 28-year-old quarterback was running for his life the entire day when he wasn’t getting hit, which he did unofficially 12 times.

The Colts offensive line also failed to provide any push in several goal-line attempts throughout the day. The running backs for the Colts averaged a paltry 3.4 yards per carry on the day.

“It’s unacceptable. We, I think, ran the ball three out of the four times. You’ve got four downs to, shoot, get one yard and we weren’t successful,” Nelson said. “It’s unacceptable and we need to be better in that situation and I don’t know. We’ve got to block them better and just get in there and punch it in.”

It was another rough outing for the offensive line, which is supposed to be the strength of the offense. Nelson and the rest of the front have to get better moving forward if the Colts are going to make a comeback after starting the season 0-2.

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Quenton Nelson called it ‘an honor’ to play against Aaron Donald

Quenton Nelson offered some extremely high praise for Aaron Donald after their matchup on Sunday.

When it comes to individual matchups in the NFL, most fans pay attention to wide receivers and cornerbacks – like Jalen Ramsey against DeAndre Hopkins. But for those who enjoy offensive and defensive line play, Sunday was a treat.

Six-time All-Pro Aaron Donald went toe-to-toe with two-time All-Pro Quenton Nelson in the Rams-Colts game, pitting two of the best at their respective positions against each other. Donald was held without a sack, but he did have three quarterback hits and one tackle for a loss. After the game, Nelson paid Donald some major praise, calling it “an honor” to play against him.

Donald got a lot of chances to rush against Eric Fisher at left tackle, as well as against the right guard Mark Glowinski, but he also got opportunities to face Nelson. It’s hard to say who won this battle, but both players were at the top of their game – as is often the case with them.

Donald is just happy to have gotten the win, too, the Rams’ fourth straight 2-0 start under Sean McVay.

Behind Enemy Lines: 5 questions with Rams Wire

We went behind enemy lines with Rams Wire editor Cam DaSilva.

The Indianapolis Colts (0-1) are set to host the Los Angeles Rams (1-0) at Lucas Oil Stadium for a Week 2 bout on Sunday.

The Colts are looking to bounce back from a season-opening loss—their eighth in a row—while the Rams are hoping to push the train forward after a dominating win to open their campaign.

Before the matchup arrives, I caught up with Rams Wire editor Cam DaSilva to get the scoop on the visiting team. Be sure to follow Cam and Rams Wire for all of your Rams needs this week.

Here are five questions I asked Cam entering Week 2:

Aaron Donald: There’s no player in the NFL like Jalen Ramsey

Aaron Donald called Jalen Ramsey a “special talent,” explaining why there’s no one like him in the NFL.

Jalen Ramsey was an excellent cornerback with the Jacksonville Jaguars, which is why the Rams were willing to trade two first-round picks for him in 2019. But in Los Angeles, he’s taken his game to another level.

He was an All-Pro last season and although it’s early, he seems destined to be one again this year if he continues to play the way he did in Week 1 against the Bears. Ramsey had nine tackles, one pass breakup and two tackles behind the line of scrimmage, regularly lining up in the box and as the slot defender.

Aaron Donald couldn’t help but notice Ramsey’s versatility when watching film from Sunday’s win, saying there’s no player in the NFL like him.

“It’s different. I was watching film and seeing him coming up in the box, hitting offensive linemen and holding the ends,” Donald said Thursday. “Ain’t no player like him in the National Football League. He can do it all. He’s a special talent. He loves the game. He plays with a lot of passion. He flies around and he’s a playmaker. So I’m just happy he’s on our team.”

Donald and Ramsey are both captains for the Rams and are among the leaders in the locker room. Ramsey is a bit more outspoken than Donald is, but both players help their teammates on and off the field to get better.

“He’s a great teammate, great guy,” Doanld said. “Like I said, he plays with a lot of passion. You could tell he cares about the game and cares about his performance, the way he does things and it shows. So that’s why he’s able to play at a high level like he does.”

Ramsey is in his third season with the Rams and though he’s only 26 years old, he’s someone younger players look to. After all, there’s no better cornerback to learn from than the four-time Pro Bowler.

Donald loves having him as a teammate, both for his ability and passion on the field.

“You could see him. I could see him. He helps the young guys a lot more,” Donald said. “He’s definitely a vocal guy and he speaks up a lot. He’s leading. He leads by example. He leads by what he says. Me, personally, I like playing with a guy that plays with passion like that, so I love playing with him.”

Colts vs. Rams: 5 things to watch in Week 2

Here are five things to watch in the Week 2 matchup between the Colts and Rams.

The Indianapolis Colts (0-1) are coming off their eighth straight opening weekend loss and will be looking to avoid the 0-2 start against the Los Angeles Rams (1-0).

If it makes fans feel better, Frank Reich is 3-0 in his Week 2 games since taking over as the head coach. This is a matchup that doesn’t happen often, the two teams have only played against each other twice since 2013, the last time they faced was in 2017. LA dominated those matchups, outscoring Indianapolis 84-17.

It’s still early in the season but this is already an important matchup so the team doesn’t have to climb out of a hole in the first quarter of the year.

Here are my five things I am keeping an eye out for on Sunday:

Colts vs. Rams: 7 things to know entering Week 2

Here are 7 things to know about the Week 2 matchup between the Rams and Colts.

The Indianapolis Colts (0-1) will be looking to bounce back when they host the Los Angeles Rams (1-0) in Week 2 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The opening week of the season could not have gone more differently for these two teams. The Colts were dominated at home en route to a 28-16 loss that raised many questions while the Rams were brilliant in their 34-14 win over the Bears.

Here are seven things to know entering the Week 2 matchup between the Colts and Rams:

Matt Nagy attempted to compare Aaron Donald to star basketball player, and Bears fans were confused

Bears HC Matt Nagy compared Rams DT Aaron Donald to a great scorer in basketball. But the execution of the comparison left people confused.

When the Chicago Bears open the season against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football, they’ll have to contend with the best defensive player in the NFL in Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

No one needs to be told just how dominant Donald is, but Bears head coach Matt Nagy attempted to compare Donald to a great scorer in basketball, which left many people confused by the comparison.

It’s easy to see what Nagy was attempting to do here. He was acknowledging that Donald is going to make an impact — it’s just what he does — but it’s up to the Bears to contain him as much as they can. That much was understandable.

The perfect example of this is how the Bears dealt with Donald back in 2018, when then-rookie guard James Daniels held his own against Donald, who was held to two tackles, one quarterback hit and, most importantly, no sacks.

But Nagy’s execution of said comparison didn’t exactly translate, and Twitter had plenty to say about it.