The Los Angeles Rams finally return home after a successful two-week road trip that put them in the top spot of the NFC West division. Now, they move on to face head coach Rex Ryan and a Buffalo Bills team that is fresh off a game where they shut-out an offensive juggernaut in the New England Patriots.
However, before Ryan was released by the New York Jets, the always boisterous head coach made a few harsh comments regarding Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald during his rookie season. After Donald’s spectacular season in which he was earned Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, he was then voted over Jets defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson for the Pro Bowl.
To no surprise, Ryan took issue with this according to Dom Constentino of NJ.com:
“If it kept him out of the Pro Bowl because some guy had x-amount of sacks, and that guy can’t hold his jock as a player, to be honest with you, think that’s kind of strange to me.”
While Ryan did not specify exactly which Pro Bowler he was referring to, sources close to Ryan at the time confirmed it was directed towards the Rams rookie. To be fair, Richardson is no slouch as another former Defensive Rookie of the Year turned Pro Bowler. Donald admitted that Ryan’s comments struck a chord with him according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
As if Donald did not have a big enough chip on his shoulder, he came out of the draft as somewhat of an undersized defensive lineman by prototypical standards. With that being said, Ryan’s comments have now only added fuel to the fire of the top interior defender in the game.
