The Los Angeles Rams have a chance to make another statement versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football in Week 11.
The Rams have their defense to thank for the 6-3 start to the 2020 NFL season. Not only is defensive tackle Aaron Donald setting the pace with another dominant year, but the rest of the defense has stepped up under rookie coordinator Brandon Staley.
The stellar play of the talented, young secondary under the leadership of cornerback Jalen Ramsey has helped to kick things up a notch. Regardless, they will have their work cut out trying to contain this star-studded offense led by quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady has endured his fair share of battles against the Rams’ star defensive tandem. He shared some rather high praise for Donald and the rest of this elite unit, via CBS Sports:
“Well, it’s a top-10 defense in every category,” Brady said. “Aaron Donald is as good as there is probably ever played in the National Football League at D-line. An incredible player, explosive, quick powerful. It’s amazing the production he has even when people are double-teaming him, triple-teaming him but he never lets down. He’s a aard-working guy, you can tell football means a lot to him, but he really sparks that whole defense.”
Brady added that Ramsey’s efforts alongside his fellow members in the secondary make for a difficult matchup:
“Brockers is a great player, Ebukam’s a great player, they got some really athletic linebackers,” Brady added. “Jalen in the secondary. They’ve got some really good players that maybe some people haven’t heard of that are playing really well. Williams had two picks last week, Johnson’s a really good safety. Fuller’s a really good player. Troy Hill’s a player, I’ve played against him quite a bit. they’re really good. They’re fast, they attack, they’re aggressive, they’re in a good scheme. You don’t have a lot of time as a quarterback to sort things out because this D-line’s on you so quick.”
Donald and Ramsey have long been regraded as two of the premier players at their position. However, there is no question that the emergence of defensive backs like Jordan Fuller and Darious Williams have proven to be the most pleasant surprise of the season.
Of course, they face perhaps their biggest challenge yet going against a receiving corps headlined by the likes of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown. Having Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette in the backfield gives Brady good reason to be confident at home against the Rams.
Either way, the showdown between these two elite groups should fit the billing on primetime.
