Sean McVay: Officials are missing 'a lot of holdings' on Aaron Donald
Cameron DaSilva
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theramswire.usatoday.com]
After nearly two years of negotiating, the Los Angeles Rams finally rewarded Aaron Donald with a massive six-year, $135 million contract this offseason. It made him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history before Khalil Mack one-upped him, setting a new standard for players on that side of the ball.
He’s one of the most dominant players in the league regardless of position and has been for years, but his newfound money hasn’t changed him. He’s remained a game-wrecker at defensive tackle for the Rams, constantly commanding the attention of nearly every offensive lineman around him.
Through six games, he has four sacks and 17 total tackles, but his impact goes far beyond the stat sheet. If you count the number of holding penalties he’s drawn, too, you begin to see why the Rams were happy to lock him up for six more years.
There are also holds that go uncalled, too, which even Sean McVay admits officials are missing.
“You talk about an elite competitor, brings it every single day, the way that he approaches it. He, again, is one of those guys that’s what’s right about our building. He’s a special talent, special player, special person. All those things,” McVay said on ESPN LA 710. “And yeah, I agree with you. There’s a lot of holdings that aren’t getting called that should be, but if they flagged him every single play, the pace of play would be a little slow.”
Donald is such a great player that opposing linemen have almost no choice but to grab him and wrap their arms around the big defensive tackle. If they don’t, he’s almost guaranteed to get a sack in some instances, costing the offense a large chunk of yardage and a loss of down.
At least if he’s held, the offense gets to re-play the down and get another shot at picking up the first. That goes for both the running and passing game with Donald having an impact against both.
“He’s doing a great job and he’s showing up in a variety of ways,” McVay added. “I thought he was outstanding, I thought he was one of the guys that really showed up in terms of being able to play the run really well as a defensive unit, and then he wasn’t going to leave any doubt on some of those where he’s closing in on Case [Keenum]. … He finished and he was getting there in a hurry.”
You can’t stop Aaron Donald. You can only hope to contain him.
