Rams new NT Poona Ford was shockingly this All-Pro center's Kryptonite

When it comes to the career of Los Angeles Rams All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald, he was able to dominate almost every encounter that he faced in the NFL. But whenever he faced the Philadelphia Eagles, he did not always dominate in ways that Rams fans had come to expect. That is because the Eagles' offensive line almost always dedicated two offensive linemen to block Donald on every play.

Making matters worse, one of those offensive linemen was Eagles All-Pro center, Jason Kelce.

Of course, Kelce did not earn All-Pro honors by specializing in shutting down Aaron Donald exclusively. He was a formidable blocker, knowing exactly how to win battles with opposing defenders. On some occasions, Kelce out-leveraged bigger nose tackles by getting under their shoulder pads and applying greater force to stand them up to move them out of the way. For smaller nose tackles, Kelce use his reach to keep the defender at bay.

So who gave Jason Kelce fits to block? You may be shocked to learn that a defensive lineman that gave Jason Kelce the most fits is none other than newly signed nose tackle Poona Ford. How can that possible be?

So how is it that the 5-foot-11, 310 pound defensive lineman consistently got the upper hand on an All-Pro NFL center like Jason Kelce? Well, it's all due to the tools that Kelcer learned to master in his NFL career. Kelce has three basic tools in the toolbox when blocking NFL defensive linemen:

(1) Getting better leverage - The primary method of securing and immobilizing defenders is to get under their shoulder pads, secure grips, and then move them out of the way. But that method works on bigger opponents. Because Poona Ford is shorter, only 5-foot-11, it's Ford who has the advantage at getting under Kelce's pads and tossing him to the side.

(2) Longer arms keep defenders at bay - Not every defender that Jason Kelce faced throughout his career has been bigger than he is. When he was the taller player, he had to pivot to using his longer reach to keep defenders away from his body. That allowed him to avoid giving the shorter defender a leverage advantage (see 1 above). That ploy did not work on Poona Ford, however, as Ford had longer arms and wingspan than Kelce. With Ford's wingspan, Kelce was once again at a disadvantage.

(3) When all else fails, power prevails - Finally, if neither leverage nor wingspan enabled Kelce to dominate his opponent, it defaulted to a greco-russo wrestling match. While Kelce checked in at 295 pounds throughout his NFL career, he remained one of the most athletic offensive lineman in the NFL. But when facing Poona Ford, Kelce had to yield. Poona Ford is a muscle-bound powerhouse who moves like a cat and who has the power of a juggernaut.

We love adding Poona Ford to the Rams defensive front. The front office is not finished yet, as the Rams have already lost both NT Bobby Brown III and NT Neville Gallimore. I loved Ford's stats, but statistics only tell you part of the story. Jason Kelce's testimony on why Poona Ford was such a difficult opponent to best on the line of scrimmage is the type of confirmation needed to feel really good about adding him. And I hope that you feel good about the Poona Ford addition as well.

As always, thanks for reading.

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