Aaron Donald has chance to shine on national stage

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- When the St. Louis Rams play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on NFL network Thursday night, it can be the opportunity for defensive tackle Aaron Donald to increase his visibility and become a legitimate candidate for the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award.

Last season, Donald took home the award for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Playing on a 5-8 team and not having a Papa John's commercial like Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt might affect Donald. But, there's no question he belongs in the rarefied air of the debate.

Said Rams defensive end Chris Long to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "He should be a face of the league. He is that good. People that know football know he is on the J.J. Watt level. He absolutely is. And I say that with a lot of respect for J.J. Watt. This guy, if people know about him, if he was out there a little bit more, people would see."

Defensive end William Hayes was more effusive in his praise for Donald, telling the Post-Dispatch, "I'm not taking anything away from J.J. He is one of the best in the league. He's a great football player. It's one, two (between Watt and Donald). I haven't looked at J.J enough, but I know I haven't seen guys do what Aaron is doing this year.

"A lot of times, play gets determined by sacks. But if you just sit and look at a whole game, just look at his reps; he's playing on a whole different level. I know it's going to sound a little extra, but there isn't any other D-tackle in the NFL (playing like Donald). I mean, he's hitting the quarterback, and I'm not exaggerating, probably five, 10 times extra, on top of what you see during the game. He's doing the same thing he was doing last year, but he's just playing super dominant. He is winning the bulk of his rushes. He's a talented guy. Me and Chris were talking today. I told Chris, he is the best football player I've ever played with."

Donald, who middle linebacker James Laurinaitis said is "literally unblockable for a full game," terrorized the Lions in Sunday's 21-14 Rams victory. He had three sacks, five tackles, three of which were losses, and six quarterback hits. For the season, he has 11.0 sacks, tops in the league for defensive tackles, along with 72 tackles (21 for loss), 33 quarterback pressures, 22 quarterback hits and two forced fumbles.

When Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter was asked how disruptive Donald is, he said, "Extremely. We have an advanced scout from our scouting department that scouts teams a couple weeks in advance and he told me (Donald) was on the same level as J.J. Watt. I thought to myself, 'Wow, that's hard to believe.' Then it came my time to watch the tape and I said, 'Oh wow, he's on the same level as J.J. Watt.' This guy is having a fantastic year. (He is) definitely a game-wrecker for this game."

Most notable is that Donald has continued his production despite the absence of defensive end Robert Quinn for five of the last six games. In the one game Quinn played, he was on the field for just 14 snaps.

Before the game against the Lions, head coach Jeff Fisher said, "Despite the fact that we've lost consecutive games, he's playing at a level that I've not seen other defensive linemen play, inside like that. It's just been overshadowed just because of the five losses, but he's playing really, really well.

"What's remarkable is the player we're getting out of (him) without the presence of Rob. It really speaks volumes of how well Aaron's playing. When Rob's out there, Aaron has a better opportunity to be productive. When Rob's not out there, then they can focus on Aaron, as they have been doing, yet he's still making those plays, play after play."

So, how does the somewhat undersized (6-foot-1, 285) 2014 first-round pick do it? A large part is his work ethic, constantly watching tape after hours. Also is his quickness and relentlessness. Then, there is the way he is being utilized by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

Said Rams defensive tackle Michael Brockers to the team website, "He has great leverage and I think that's what a lot of guards and centers have trouble with when he's pass rushing because he's always in the great leverage position to either power you or run you over. And also he's quick enough to get around you. Guards and centers struggle against him because they don't know what he has in his tool belt and he has everything. Really getting them on their toes and making them wonder what you're doing is a good thing for him."

Added Williams, "We're trying to do some things with Aaron because the same way that you possible would with a receiver or a running back, people are starting to, you'll see, plan him. So, if they're going to do that, I want to see if that quarterback or if that offensive line coach has a check system to find him. Sometimes we can force the declaration of what they're going to run when all of the sudden they notice he's in a different spot, what does that check system do?

"Are we smart enough, am I smart enough to see what's going on? We're moving him around just so we can continue to have him as an advantage. And we can affect some thought processes going on in their huddles by the multiple positions he's playing. There's another complementary thing with that is, you wouldn't be able to do that if he wasn't as sharp of a kid as he is. He's a sharp kid and he takes a lot of pride in being kind of a young coach on the field. It's been good for us and we'll continue to do that with him."

Added an impressed Laurinaitis, "He's just super talented. He's one of those guys whose skill set is uncanny to, really, I think any D-tackle in the NFL. To be able to go nose, three (technique), out to end in our three-down stuff -- and not just go out there, but go out there and be effective -- is really impressive. It shows his talent level and his range."

Said Fisher, "He'll line up and he'll scan and he'll see backfield sets and formations and anticipate things. He's really smart as far as that's concerned. Then, we're doing our best to create the one-on-one in passing situations. In run situations, he's going to get doubled and he's still consistently splitting double teams and getting penetration and affecting the run game."

The soft-spoken Donald doesn't talk a lot, but when asked if he feels his game has improved this season, he said, "Yes, I feel like I got better - from rushing the passer to stopping the run. I worked my butt off during the offseason. Just having more pass rushers to change up with and work with helped me a lot me this season, too. I feel a lot more comfortable, too. It's just working for me."

Then, when asked if he might ever be satisfied with how he plays, Donald measured his words and said simply, "When I'm done playing probably, but right now I'm still working."

A national audience will witness the fruits of those labors Thursday night.

SERIES HISTORY: 21st regular-season meeting. Rams lead series, 12-8. The Rams have won the last three games in the series in each of the last three seasons. Two were in Tampa, and one was in St. Louis in 2013. Twice in their history, the teams played in the NFC Championship Game with the Rams winning both: 9-0 in Tampa during the 1979 season and 11-6 in St. Louis during the 1999 season.

GAME PLAN

--On offense, it's the same. Establish the run with Todd Gurley and hope to keep the game close so they can keep feeding Gurley the ball. Mix in some passes from QB Case Keenum to keep the defense honest and make play-action successful.

Defensively, the Rams will have to slow down RB Doug Martin and keep QB Jameis Winston in the pocket. With WR Vincent Jackson not expected to play, the focus will be on CB Mike Evans.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH

--Rams DT Aaron Donald vs. Buccaneers RG Ali Marpet.

Donald is a handful for any offensive lineman, and the entire Tampa Bay line will have to be cognizant of where Donald lines up.

--Rams RB Todd Gurley vs. Buccaneers LB Lavonte David.

A sideline-to-sideline player, David leads the Bucs with 118 tackles and seven for loss. Gurley will try to avoid David.