It’s no secret that to defeat Tom Brady and the Patriots opposing defenses must rattle him. They must pressure him from the inside and hit him to disrupt his rhythm and prevent him from establishing a good rapport with his receivers.
If on February 3 the Los Angeles Rams don’t work on this all game long Brady will have free rein to pick their defense apart and lead New England to yet another Super Bowl victory.
Of course, applying that pressure is easier said than done as not everyone in the league has the right personnel to achieve it, but this year’s Rams have proved that they’re one of the few teams that are capable of doing it. In fact, this season, nobody applies interior pressure better than the Rams as they have defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who is one of the premier players at his position.
The Rams are one of the best teams applying pressure on the inside thanks to their intensity and the mentality of not only Donald but Ndamukong Suh and the rest of their excellent defensive front.
Donald is of course the leader of that group of players and has the skills to get to the quarterback on any given play, something that usually forces opposing coaches to double-team him to try to slow him down.
This postseason his impact has been somewhat diminished because of the double-teams he’s facing, but he’s so skilled that he still is able to find ways to get in the face of opposing quarterbacks to get to them, force them to hurry their throws, knock them down, or even sack them.
Even though Brady is one of the few quarterbacks that excel at getting rid of the ball quickly, a constant interior pressure against him should benefit the Rams as the game progresses because of the Rams secondary.
The Rams secondary is full of very talented players that can harass and wreak havoc in the route running of opposing receivers to slow them down. When presented with his type of situation even a passer of Brady’s caliber’s can be forced to hold on to the ball an extra second and give Donald and the rest of his linemates the chance to get to him.
