LA Rams All-Pro DL Donald and DB Ramsey focus on Packers

The LA Rams boast two All-Pro award winners: DL Aaron Donald and DB Jalen Ramsey, and they are focusing upon the Packers

The LA Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley may be a hot commodity in the list of names for potential NFL head coaching positions, but do not for one second think that he’s coached the top-rated NFL defense without help. He’s had some help along the way, folks. Big help by some accounting, as the Rams defense, boasted two All-Pro players.

Both defensive lineman Aaron Donald and defensive back Jalen Ramsey were named to the Associated Press All-Pro first team. It’s an honor that both have enjoyed previously, but it is the first time the duo have shared the honors on the same defense. Both were very deserving of the honors.

The two are not only great at what they do individually. But they elevate the play of their teammates, as well as compliment the efforts of one another.

Donald and Ramsey, the chicken or the egg?

If you ever get bored, try this. Try to speculate which player benefits more by playing on the same defense as the other?  If you say Ramsey benefits more by playing with Donald, you miss the fact that Ramsey neutralizes the best receiver on the other team, forcing the quarterback to look elsewhere. That delay gives Donald the extra time required to break through the double or triple-team and get to the quarterback.

But if you say that Donald benefits more by playing with Ramsey, you miss the fact that Aaron Donald is legendary in his pursuit of the quarterback. He has forced quarterbacks to flee, throw prematurely, throw off balance, and off-schedule. All things will aid the defensive back who now needs fewer seconds to cling to the receiver.

Dynamic duo

Perhaps a better to exhaust any free time you may have (besides catching up on the latest Ramblin Fan articles, of course) is to realize just what the Green Bay Packers offense faces this Saturday, January 16. While the Rams certainly must travel and compete with the NFC’s best this weekend, the Packers must attempt to move the ball and score against the number one NFL defense. That’s a tall order for the Packers’ offense on a good day.

But the Packers lost star left tackle David Bakhtiari for the season on December 31. While they were able to beat back the Chicago Bears despite a huge deficit in time of possession, the expectation to put up 35 points against the Rams defense is a rather lofty expectation. The Rams surrendered 35 points just once, on the third game of the season. That was the second Rams trip to the East Coast in two weeks and was before the Rams truly had a good grasp of how their defense needed to work.

The LA Rams are underdogs on the road once more.  But don’t let that status fool you, as the Rams are very dangerous even as a sixth-seed in the NFL Playoffs. In fact, the Rams had a shot at the top-seed of the NFC before losing to the New York Jets in week 15. That’s thanks to the top defense in the NFL.  Will Donald and Ramsey be enough? They’ll need help from their teammates. But neither has a Super Bowl ring, so they have an extra bit of motivation.