AD confident that Rams can contain Kyler Murray: ‘We know what to do’...

Aaron Donald confident Rams can slow down Kyler Murray: 'We know what to do'

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

Cameron DaSilva

Kyler Murray is only in his second NFL season but he’s already become one of the most difficult quarterbacks to game plan against. His mobility, speed and elusiveness in the open field make him a tough assignment for any defender, and he’s become quite the good passer, too.

The Rams haven’t faced him yet this season, but in two games last year, they all but shut him down. In those games, Murray completed only 45 of 76 passes for 488 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He was sacked seven times and only rushed for 28 yards on six carries. Additionally, he lost two fumbles.

Murray has become a better player this year, but Aaron Donald is confident the Rams can slow him down once again. Why? Because they have a lot of experience facing mobile quarterbacks with Murray and Russell Wilson on their schedule a combined four times per year.

“Well, he’s a good football player that can do a lot. Obviously, you play a lot of quarterbacks in this league that’s mobile, but he’s definitely has a lot more quick twitch and can do things,” Donald told reporters Thursday. “So, you’ve got to just rush, have gap contain, don’t get up field, don’t leave rush lanes open to the point where you can step up and have a choice of running or passing. We know what to do, because play a lot of mobile quarterbacks. We’ve got two of them, we’ve got him and Russell Wilson in our division. So, we kind of know how to handle it, we’ve just got to make sure that we rush the right way pretty much and are gap sound.”


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Donald acknowledged that Murray is “playing more confident, feeling a little bit more comfortable” now that he’s in his second season. He said the Rams have “got our hands full” with Murray and the Cardinals’ other playmakers – namely DeAndre Hopkins – but his confidence remains high.

The Rams will try to do what few teams have this season, and that’s limiting Murray’s production on the ground. He’s rushed for at least 30 yards in all but two games, scoring 10 rushing touchdowns in only 11 years.

He’s picked up at least 60 yards rushing in seven of his 11 games and in those contests, the Cardinals are an impressive 5-2. Limiting big plays on the ground will be critical for L.A. and after watching Murray’s tape, the Rams have noticed some ways to keep him in check – though Donald understandably won’t divulge in those details.

“We’ve seen a lot of things, I’m not going to sit here and tell you guys what we have seen. But, you study film, you sit down with your coaches, they see certain things and you talk about certain things,” he said. “You have a game plan that you have against a team and you have to go out there. Hopefully they stick to what we’ve been watching. Obviously, they’re going to throw things that we don’t expect, and that’s just a part of the game, but they prepare you the best way they know how to get ready for that. To the point where on Sunday, now you’re able to play at a high level, play fast, do what you do and do everything you can to eliminate certain things to the point where we can win.”

If the Rams can beat Murray and the Cardinals on the road Sunday, they’ll improve to 8-4 and be back in the mix for a top-three seed in the NFC. A loss would drop them into a tie with Arizona at 7-5, however, which would hurt their playoff chances.