Better watch out....

[purplefaithful]

Rams wrecker Aaron Donald comin' to town at bad time for VikingsThe Vikings offense has looked dysfunctional at times lately, and now here comes one of the NFL's best disruptors.

There was a point in the Los Angeles Rams' 38-31 victory over the Vikings in 2018 when Troy Aikman laughed at the ease with which Aaron Donald can turn professional guards into Keystone Kops.
"Donald gets past Mike Remmers before he even gets out of his stance!" the Hall of Famer turned analyst marveled when Donald exploded from his three-technique position, swam by Remmers and dropped Latavius Murray for no gain as Remmers whirled in the wake before landing on his backside 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was asked this week about that relatively nondescript play as a classic example of a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year's rare ability to obliterate. Zimmer's current team — 7-7, clinging to the NFC's last playoff spot and sans Dalvin Cook (reserve/COVID-19) — faces the Rams (10-4) at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday in the first meeting since Donald put a red-hot Kirk Cousins down for good in that prime-time shootout in L.A. three years ago.
Sometimes, the reporter said to Zimmer, Donald's dominance looks like some sort of lopsided matchup you'd see at the high school level.
"Yeah," Zimmer said, "unfortunately it does."
Then what's the antidote for this six-time first-team All-Pro game-wrecker?
"Well," Zimmer said, "there's things you have to try to do. It's not that you can do it all the time. There's things we can try to do, but I won't go into it."
Whatever they are, they better work. Avoiding back-to-back non-playoff seasons for the first time in the Zimmer era could depend on the game plan for No. 99.
Many of the Rams' faces have been upgraded since the Vikings last saw them. Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd, Von Miller, Odell Beckham Jr. and, of course, former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford have joined owner Stan Kroenke's all-in effort to create a Hollywood dream team whose only acceptable finish to this season is winning Super Bowl LVI at home in SoFi Stadium.
But make no mistake. The key to beating Los Angeles on Sunday starts with neutralizing Donald, the Rams' greatest strength, with an interior offensive line that's better than three years ago but still a weakness against the likes of Chicago's Akiem Hicks, Green Bay's Kenny Clark and, of course, "the best" three-technique defensive lineman the 65-year-old Zimmer says he has ever seen.
"[Donald's] got great determination, which I think is part of it," Zimmer said. "But also, he's got excellent quickness and strength, and so when you combine those two, guys can give you a little shake and then power you, or they can just run by you."
Cook has seen it, felt it.
"The way [Donald] gets his hands in and out [of blocks], the way he attacks defenders, the way his mind processes before the ball is even snapped … it's crazy," he said. "We have to find a way to deal with him."
Cook said that Wednesday when the Vikings thought they'd be at full strength, as receiver Adam Thielen was moving toward returning from an ankle injury. A day later, COVID-19 dealt the Vikings a potential season-altering punch.


https://www.startribune.com/better-watch...600130331/

[Guest]

[Guest]

Meh, what else is new? Same shit. Stop him or game plan around him. Vikes can't do either.