Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald has some ideas when it comes to his ideal playing scenario. The 29-year-old jokingly said on Thursday that he wished opposing teams didn't double-team him so much, which got a good laugh from reporters. As it turns out, he wasn't kidding at all.
For starters, this was Donald's exact statement last week:
“I wish people could just not worry about me and just let me play,” Donald said last week (h/t Mike Florio NBC Sports). “Don’t give me no attention. You ain’t got to slide, you ain’t got to double-team me, you don’t have to do nothing. Let’s all play football fair, get some one-on-ones and let’s just do what we’ve got to do. That’s all I want.”
That certainly was wishful thinking for Donald, but apparently, this was a genuine desire from the defensive tackle. He doubled down on his earlier remark, and further explained his rationale behind his claim:
“I wasn’t joking when I said that,” Donald told reporters. “I wish I was. You’re still going to get attention and guys still slide the protection and do certain things to try to slow you down. You just have got to take advantage of certain opportunities that I’m going to get. If I get a one-on-one, I’ve got to win it and that’s what I’m here for. That’s my job, is to continue to be productive and take advantage of the one-on-ones and make plays. I don’t know what the game plan is for [the offense]. Hopefully they ain’t got to worry about me. They just block one-on-one and see what happens.”
The fact that opposing offenses always double-team Aaron Donald speaks volumes of his defensive prowess. He completely understands this, and he knows how effective this tactic has been against him. This perhaps is the very reason why Donald is pleading with other offenses here. Clearly, though, that's not going to happen anytime soon. If anything, Donald's statements here are just going to encourage other teams.
Nice try, though, Aaron.
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