The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Run game could benefit Falcons
Despite presence of Donald, Rams have been soft in middle.
FLOWERY BRANCH — Depending on how Saturday night unfolds in Los Angeles, there could be an unusual description of the Falcons’ wild-card game against the Rams. Will the Falcons finally commit to run up the middle, or will L.A. finally stop that stuff ?
Should the Falcons (10-6) run the ball effectively against the Rams (11-5), they may have to credit uncommon success behind the plowing of their men in the middle.
The Rams are awful against
the run, especially in the middle of action, and the Falcons were awful running it Sunday against the Panthers. Yet the weirdest part of this is that one of the very best players in this game will be Los Angeles Pro Bowler Aaron
Donald, the best defensive tackle in the NFL.
He’s undersized and at the same time one of the great nightmares for offensive coordinators and quar- terbacks — and not just because he led all tack- les with 11 sacks in only 14 games.
“What makes Donald so unique as a defensive tackle is he has the quickness of a defensive end,” said Falcons coach Dan Quinn of the 6-foot-1, 285-pound tackle. “Anytime you have someone with that quickness who has that kind of speed and athletic ability ... he can cover up a guard ... that makes him unique.”
For the Rams’ prowess up front — they ranked fourth in the regular season with 48 sacks — they stink against the run.
Los Angeles ranks No. 28 in the NFL against the run, allowing 122.3 ground yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry to rank next-to-last in that metric.
When opponents run up the middle against the Rams, they rank dead last, or perhaps first in flailing. You give up 5.25 yards per carry in the gut, and, well, maybe it’s a miracle Los Angeles is in the playoffs.
At first glance, this seems odd.
Not only do many consider Donald the best in the game, but L.A. nose tackle Michael Brockers is really good by standard metrics.
But when a team plays a 3-4 defensive scheme, the definitions and expec- tations of tackles change.
So does the fact the Falcons seem scared to run up the middle; they rank next- to-last in the NFL in rushing plays behind center with 38 such tries in 16 games. Why is that the case, especially with one of the NFL’s best centers, Alex Mack, lead- ing their line?
To add intrigue, Mack has been hurt.
The five-time Pro Bowler has landed on the injury report the past couple of weeks with a calf issue, and he slipped in the final rank- ings of Pro Football Focus to miss the PFF All-Pro Team.
“Mack ended the year with back-to-back poor per- formances against tough defensive interiors.,” PFF opined. “Mack’s highs this year were as good as anybody at the center position, but there were just a couple more performances than he needed to maintain a spot on the All-Pro teams.”
Where last season the Falcons saw every offen- sive lineman start every game – they were the only NFL team able to say that — that hasn’t happened this season.
Ben Garland will make his fourth start at left guard. His predecessor, Andy Levitre, lasted five plays last week- end in his return to action from a torn triceps injury, and the former Air Force pilot — Garland — knows all about Donald thanks to tape.
“He has a really good understanding of the game. ... You can see him based on movement or formation kind of adjust. Say a play where he’s clearly supposed to be a three-technique, all of the sudden he’ll widen out with an understanding of where the ball is going.”
Donald will not be the Falcons’ only concern.
Rams outside linebacker Robert Quinn has 11 sacks. Quinn said he’s “loose” and very able to evade blocks when he rushes the passer.
While Brockers is not that big either — the former LSU Tiger is 6-5, 302 — he has 5.5 sacks.
For sake of comparison, Falcons run-stopper Dontari Poe is 6-3, 346. He’s one of the few Falcons defenders where the team surpasses the league average in heft by position.
As for Donald, he often lines up at DT, but because the Rams play a 3-4 with an outside linebacker on the other end of the line, he’s sometimes the outermost defender on the other side de. Like a defensive end.
Wherever he is, he’s a pain in the line.
Consider what Pro Football Focus said this week:
“Aaron Donald isn’t just the best interior player in football, but he has a very good case to make as being the best player in the National Football League, period,” the report recently said. “Donald led the league with 91 total pressures (in just 14 games) ...
“His pass-rushing ability is second to none, including the league’s best rushers, and he is a relentless force affecting the quarterback from his interior alignments.”
Whether the Falcons run up the middle, they want to run the ball more, and stay away from Donald.
Even though they won Sunday, when runn i ng backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman each rushed 11 times for 23 super-sluggish yards, the Falcons want to run the ball more.
Quinn said, “We felt ... we left some opportunities out there (against the Saints).”