Rams’ Donald has all the tools to succeed; offense finally catches fire

Already one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL, St. Louis Rams star Aaron Donald has one solution for everything he does on a football field.

Keep working harder than everyone else.

“I’ve still got work to do,” Donald said after racking up a career-high three sacks and pushing his season sack total to 11, the highest by a Rams’ defensive tackle since 1995. “I’ve still got a lot more work to do. I ain’t satisfied yet so I’ve just got to keep working.”

Will Donald ever be satisfied?

“When I’m done playing, probably,” he said. “Right now, I’m still working.”

The 6-foot-1, 285-pound lineman simply overwhelms the interior of most offensive lines while blazing a path to opposing quarterbacks. He has 20 sacks in 29 career games coming off a 2014 season that saw him named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

“He’s got to be in Hawaii,” Rams defensive end Chris Long said, mentioning the site of the Pro Bowl. “He’s the best D-tackle in the league. He’s everything a lot of other guys are supposed to be. Maybe people don’t realize it because we’re a smaller market or whatever, but he should be a face of the league.”

With Pro Bowl defensive end Robert Quinn out of the lineup with a back injury, Donald sacked Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford three times. His combination of size, speed and strength are rare for someone of his size.

“He’s special, man,” Rams defensive tackle Michael Brockers said. “The things that he can do as far as getting pressure on the quarterback are ridiculous. I’m just glad he’s on our team.”

Brockers and the other linemen are key to Donald’s success, but they never shy away from giving him the bulk of the credit.

“I just do my part, I let him do the heavy lifting ... the sacks and stuff like that,” Brockers said. “I just do my part and try to make sure I don’t mess up.”

Brockers explained what makes Donald so effective.

“He has great leverage and that’s what a lot of guards and centers have trouble with when he’s pass rushing,” Brockers said. “He’s always in a great leverage position to either power you or run you over — and also he’s quick enough to get around you.

“Guards and centers, they struggle against him just because they don’t know what he has in his tool belt — and he has everything.”　　　

ALTHOFF CRUSADERS AND COACH HONORED

Althoff High football coach Ken Turner was honored during a pregame ceremony on the field Sunday for the Crusaders being the Rams’ Illinois Team of the Year.

Turner guided Althoff to 13 straight wins and a runner-up finish at the Class 4A state tournament. The Crusaders finished 13-1, losing to Chicago Phillips in the state title game.

NOT SANTA, BUT A VISIT FOM JAY Z

Famous rapper, music producer and sports agent Jay Z was in the house Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome visiting one of his rising star clients, Rams rookie running back Todd Gurley.

After he ran for 140 yards and two TDs in the win over the Lions, Gurley and his teammates got a locker room visit from the music celebrity.

“I was happy, I was excited,” said Gurley, who said the visit was pre-planned. “At the time we were losing, so it’s just like hopefully he can come and you know, bring some good luck. I didn’t know if he was coming for sure because he’s a busy man, you never know his schedule.

“He stuck to his word and came, so you’ve definitely got to respect that.”

Gurley said his favorite Jay Z songs are “Hard Knock Life” and “Never Change.”

“I’ve got a lot, man,” Gurley said. “My brother had that as his ring tone (Hard Knock Life), just all the tough times growing up and stuff like that. Just listening to that song, that kind of just brought my family together. It meant a lot me.

Gurley was asked if the offense was much different under new offensive coordinator than it had been under recently fired Frank Cignetti,

“Same plays and same concepts, but like I said we’ve just got to execute,” Gurley said. “That was the biggest thing for us and we weren’t doing that in past weeks. Today was a good day, everything was just going right.”

One difference was an increased attention on the Rams’ two top playmakers on offense, Gurley and Tavon Austin. Gurley had 16 carries and also caught one pass, while Austin ran four time for 40 yards and also caught three passes for 19 yards.

“The attitude was the same,” Gurley said. “Coach ‘Cig’ is a passionate guy and he did a great job. Coach Boras stepped in and did the same thing, we just executed today. Hats off to Coach Boras and his play calling today.”

Gurley seemed a bit sore after the game, but downplayed any lingering effects with the Rams set to play again at home Thursday against Tampa Bay.

“I banged my knee up just a little bit, but you know, it’s just part of the game,” he said. “It happens every game, so we’ve got a quick turnaround. I’ll get in there, get some treatment and I’ll be fine.”

RAMS OVERCOME ADVERSITY

Leading Detroit 14-7 late in the third quarter, a long punt return for a touchdown by Austin was nullified by a holding penalty by teammate Benny Cunningham. The way the Rams’ season has gone, that seemed like a bad omen of a potential comeback win by the Lions.

Instead, the Rams took over on their own 9-yard line and turned in a 91-yard scoring drive capped by Gurley’s 14-yard TD run with 12:4 remaining. It proved to be the game-winning touchdown.

The drive included a 25-yard pass to Kenny Britt and a 25-yard run by Gurley.

“Obviously everybody was upset but I thought, heck ... let’s go,” Rams quarterback Case Keenum said. “Let’s go 90 yards or whatever it is. The offensive line did a great job of holding their water. We hard-counted them and Kenny, I just kind of threw up a floater. It was a bad enough ball where the defender, I don’t know, he kind of slipped in behind him there and Kenny did a great job of doing that.

“And I threw it this time, instead of letting some guy dribble my head off the turf like I did the last time that happened. Then Todd went off and we were able to make some big plays and score. You could feel the momentum changing in the huddle."

This story was originally published December 13, 2015 at 7:42 PM with the headline "Rams’ Donald has all the tools to succeed; offense finally catches fire."