5 ways DC Brandon Staley unlocks DT Aaron Donald potential

The LA Rams All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald, one of the NFL’s best defenders today. Here are 5 ways new DC Brandon Staley unlocks his potential

When the LA Rams brought new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley aboard, no doubt one of the interview questions touched base with what Staley would do on defense with defensive tackle Aaron Donald.  That should not be surprising, as the  LA Rams have one of the most talented defenders in the game today, and perhaps of this generation, in All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

Donald is a no-nonsense blue-collar sort of player who loves the game and exacts the type of production few can ever hope to achieve. He is strong, agile, sharp, fast, and decisive in virtually every move he makes on the football field. Well, I could go on and on about Donald does for the Rams, but what can the Rams do for Aaron Donald?

After all, a guy who routinely scores 90+ on Pro Football Focus for his first six seasons in the NFL seems to need very little. A defensive lineman who records an average of 12.0 sacks, 52 tackles and 19.5 tackles for losses seems to do quite nicely on his own. But that type of production tends to draw the focus of opposing offenses.  In fact, Donald gets more double teams than any other player in the NFL.

But offenses do not stop at two-blockers.  Sometimes they send three blockers at Donald. In fact, I have seen plays where four offensive linemen blocked Donald.  They seem to have the “everyone block Aaron Donald” default settings.

Primetime

Defensive tackle Aaron Donald is human, after all. He stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 280-pounds. And at the age of 28, he is hitting his NFL prime time for play.  In 2019, he has been the Rams’ best defender in so many ways. So talented in fact, that the 2020 Rams’ free agents entering the marketplace face the unanswered question for their 2019 success. Was it all them, or did those players simply benefit by playing near on in the shadow of Donald?

Perhaps it’s a bit of both. And in the face of the LA Rams defense possibility of playing without OLB Dante Fowler Jr., ILB Cory Littleton, DE Michael Brockers, ILB Bryce Hager, and retired safety Eric Weddle, there is some comfort knowing that the Rams top defender will show up in 2020. After all, how bad can the Rams defense get with Aaron Donald continuing to pressure the quarterback, stuff runners, and split double-team blockers?

If the Rams cannot afford to buy the talent worthy of lining up next to Donald, the next best thing is to coach defensive schemes that will unleash the full talent of Aaron Donald. And that is why the Rams have moved towards DC Brandon Staley.

Staley has been un understudy to NFL defensive legend Vic Fangio, and as such has adopted the “disguised defense” philosophy.  It’s that willingness to show one defensive play but act in a different manner, which will be the key to getting the most out of Aaron Donald. What might that be? Here are five options for Staley to use, all from his mentor, the Vic Fangio house of defenses.

I: Defensive line stunts

Hit ’em where they ain’t.  Simple enough to say, but awfully complex to put into practice.  Unless of course, you are Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio. Through his career, he often inherited defenses of young players, who had little NFL defensive experience. What they lacked in experience, however, they made up for with speed, athleticism, and the ability to be coached.

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In a December 2016 article by the Athletics.com Dan Durkin, he described how Fangio took a young core of defenders and used defensive line stunts to create quarterback pressure.  Fangio took those young defenders to school by giving them a disguised look, thwarting offenses aiming at defenders who were no longer there or were moving to new positions. Oftentimes, Fangio would align in a 3-4-4 and stunt the defensive front to swap assignments. The confusion created in the offensive line allowed inferior defenders to have big games.

The Rams defense is perfectly suited for defensive line stunts. The quarterback, and virtually all the offensive linemen, will track DT Aaron Donald on virtually every play.  With the defensive secondary in place to support the front seven, Staley can run circus stunts on the defensive line in 2020.

Donald is versatile enough to line up at nose tackle, as a defensive tackle, or on either side of the defensive line.  Wherever he goes, the offensive follows. That sets up Staley to stung Donald to the interior from a starting position on the outside of the defense.  It also sets up the Rams to make use of second-year defender Greg Gaines to help with run defense.

II: Revitalize the flex defense

The Dallas Cowboys former head coach Tom Landry created the flex defense to counter a Green Bay Packers run offense where backs would run to daylight. The flex defense countered that by lining up defenders in all gaps and placed two up on the defensive line, staggering two defenders about a yard off the line of scrimmage.

That formation gave defenses 1-gap assignment, but 2-gap ability to shed blockers and move to the play. Linebackers must be fast, react to the plays unfolding before them, and arrive with enough power to shed the lead blocker and make the tackle.

As offenses moved away from the power running game towards the faster stretch-the-field type of offenses made famous by the college spread offense, defenses have countered by getting faster and more focused upon defending the pass.   Now the San Francisco 49ers are leading the NFL towards that running offense once more, where running backs follow lead blockers and simply run to daylight.

Since the Rams now face the 49ers, and similarly opportunistic offenses of the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals, reverting back to a flex-formation defense would make offensive coordinators pause and scratch their heads.  Forcing quarterbacks and offensive linemen to process new defensive alignments reverts the advantage to the defense.

III: Two-man defensive fronts

One of the most unusual defensive fronts in the NFL today is the two-man defensive front. And, not coincidentally, Vic Fangio runs it to perfection. While he runs a base 3-4 defense, Fangio will toss in the 2-3 front and the 2-4 front to change up what the quarterback sees and processes.

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Offenses have 30 seconds from the referee signal to start the clock with which to call the offensive play, line up into formation, run their motions and read the defense, and finally snap the ball. Fangio, and now Staley, leverage that limited time to confuse the offensive personnel responsible for reading the defense.

With just two defensive linemen, blockers miscount on blocking assignments, rushers have easier routes to the quarterback, and the entire defense becomes so unpredictable that defenders play above their talent level.  The run faces swarming linebackers and defensive backs on the outside

Staley’s two-man front will depend on the incredible brute strength of Donald and perhaps either Greg Gaines or a young powerhouse out of the 2020 NFL Draft to line up on the offensive guard and play two-gap assignments in the middle of the offense.  That creates a complete mismatch for the offensive blocking assignments.  Double Donald with the center and the A-Gap opens up a huge lane for a blitzing linebacker right up the middle for a sack. Double Donald with a tackle and the edge rusher now has an inside rush route straight to the passer.

IV: Zone blitzing

Another defensive tactic that works very effectively despite its appearance is the zone blitz technique. In a zone blitz, the Rams would send one or two defenders from pass coverage roles on the same side.  Other defenders slide into those areas to defend the pass receivers.

Donald benefits from this in two ways.  First, the blockers who normally focus on him must peel off and pick up the defenders endangering their quarterback, freeing Donald to face just one blocker.

A second way Donald wins in this tactic is the possibility of defensive linemen dropping back into coverage.  While a 6-foot-1 Donald dropping back is a misuse of talent, the Rams could launch another lineman into coverage while Donald catches baffled blockers with his patented quick step pass rush.

Offenses facing the LA Rams in 2020 will need to be prepared for anything. The Rams’ new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley will have many options to create havoc in opposing offenses.

V: 3-3 defensive fronts

Another unusual defensive formation used in some NFL defenses today is the 3-3 defensive front. In this formation, the defense sets up a standard nose tackle with a slant offset to either side and sets the linebackers to an off-set on the other side.  This gives defenses the option to play with an extra defensive back.  This is basically the 3-4 defense version of the nickel defense so popular with the passing offenses featuring four wide receivers and one running back.

The 3-3 defensive alignment gives the offense a different look to process.  It can appear to be a 2-4 front, a 3-4 front, or even a 2-5 front to the offense, depending on how players line up.  Staley will likely turn to the 3-3 defense to confuse quarterbacks.  The pair of solid safeties, either John Johnson or Taylor Rapp, gives the Rams options to switch up either to play as the deep middle or man defender out of single-high coverages. The other safety can transition close to the line of scrimmage to play shallow zones and man.

That flexibility is a tremendous advantage for the Rams defense. And that is exactly what will prove to be the difference-maker in 2020. Especially when we are considering the production of DT Aaron Donald.

Aaron Donald relied upon the talent level of his teammates to make plays in the Wade Phillips 3-4 scheme. For the most part, his production was solely dependant upon his talent, his strength, and his speed. In 2020, he will have what may prove to be his greatest ally yet, defensive coordinator Brandon Staley.