Random Ramsdom: Aaron Donald sounds motivated by young supporting cast

What the Los Angles Rams are have done so far on defense is interesting. The team has lost quite a bit of talent and are seemingly sticking to the plan of seeing what they have on their roster. I don’t expect this team to make any big signings and I think most would agree that the Rams are going to roll with what they have. Some would say they may be trying what the Kansas City Chiefs tried last year and I don’t disagree with that take.

The top link today has some solid quotes and you know what? I am actually excited to see what this defense can do. I am excited to see which players grow and develop and we should try to pay attention to what this defense looks like at the beginning of the year because I think there’s going to be plenty of changes throughout the season as the Rams try to find the best combination of players. This will most likely not be the relative same 11 dudes holding it down like in years past. We’ve got another link for your today discussing Aaron Donald wanting this team to get back to the top.

So let us know what you think, are you excited for the Rams defense this year? If you are not excited what are you feeling? Thanks for checking out our links today and happy Monday!

Rams’ defense finding new energy, leaders from youth movement (ocregister.com)

“IRVINE — It started first as a trickle, with linebacker and captain Bobby Wagner agreeing with the Rams to part ways. It picked up steam when the Rams began taking phone calls on cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Then it turned to a flood as Leonard Floyd, Troy Hill, Nick Scott, Taylor Rapp and A’Shawn Robinson departed Los Angeles.

By the time it was done, the veteran Rams defense was all but gone, taking with them 49 years of NFL experience. In their place, as the Rams began training camp this week, were 19 rookies and four second-year players competing for playing time and roster spots.

“It’s different, man. I ain’t gonna lie, it’s really different,” three-time defensive player of the year Aaron Donald said. “You miss them guys definitely when you had so much success with them and you been working with them so long. But now obviously is a new chapter.”

This new chapter has had a certain youthful exuberance to it through the first four days of camp.

Any pass break up of a pass intended for star receiver Cooper Kupp leads to the defense pouring off the sidelines onto the field in celebration. An interception by rookie safety Rashad Torrence led to his unit following him down the field into the opposite end zone. The defense fell to its knees after corner Timarcus Davis dropped an interception.

“We’re just a young energetic group, man,” linebacker Ernest Jones said. “We all care about each other and we’re excited to prove a lot of people wrong and go out there and be dominant like we know we can be.”

“These young guys bring a lot of juice,” Kupp added. “I don’t know a bunch of their references, but they bring some juice.”

If energy is not an issue, then the question becomes, what happens to this defense when it encounters its first level of adversity?

Whether that be in the form of a preseason or regular season game or an injury to an expected contributor, how do these young Rams weather the storm? Who steps up to provide some level of comfort when eyes go wide or coverages get broken?

That will be one the challenges the Rams face this year, finding leaders in a group that is largely trying to find its way in the league. Players in their fourth seasons, like safety Jordan Fuller and outside linebacker Michael Hoecht, or their third, like linebacker Ernest Jones, will have to fill roles vacated by the likes of Wagner and Ramsey.

“I think a lot of those guys do have natural leadership traits and characteristics,” head coach Sean McVay said. “You’re not going to replace a Jalen Ramsey and what a special player that he was for us. Nobody’s going to be Bobby Wagner. But I want them to be the best versions of themself, and if they do that, I am confident that good things can happen.”

Rams star Aaron Donald’s motivated take should scare rest of NFL (clutchpoints)

“The Rams were a mess last season, finishing with a 5-12 record while Donald only appeared in 11 games due to an ankle injury. Some murmurs of Aaron Donald’s retirement started to get louder this offseason before the star defensive tackle put them to rest and made it clear he was rejoining the Rams.

The bad news for opposing quarterbacks around the league just keeps getting worse, as it sounds like Donald is coming back to the Rams with a chip on his shoulder as well, as he explained to ESPN.com.

“Right now, we’re just trying to get back on top,” Donald said. “Obviously, we didn’t have the season we wanted as a team last year. Now you are kind of looked over as a team so I feel like we got something to prove. So that is the motivation right there.

“We all need some type of fire, something to push you, something to get you going. And that is something that I am hanging on right now. I feel like we got something to prove as a team, I think I got something to prove as a player.”

It’s been a long time since Aaron Donald got to play the role of underdog. The Rams superstar is a 9-time Pro Bowler and 3-time AP Defensive Player of the Year, and is considered to be not just one of the best defenders of his era, but perhaps the greatest defensive player in NFL history. Donald was an unstoppable force for the Rams in their Super Bowl win two years ago against the Cincinnati Bengals, recording 3 tackles and 2 sacks despite constant double-teams.”

Royce Rolls to Rams: RB Signs to Replace Sony Michel (fannation/ramsdigest)

“The NFL running backs fraternity is going to hate this, but … the Los Angeles Rams may have just fortified the argument that solid backs are affordable and interchangeable.

The Rams’ submission before the football jury? Literally hours following the weekend retirement of Sony Michel, the Rams on Sunday signed veteran Royce Freeman.

Freeman, who played the last two seasons with the Houston Texans, has credentials. He was a third-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and at 6-0, 235 can play with power.

A 2018 first-round pick by the New England Patriots, Michel retires at just 28 years old, seemingly in the middle of his prime. He retires with 3,243 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, plus two Super Bowl rings, one with New England in 2018 and another with L.A. in 2021. Although his career was brief, Michel made the most of his time time in the league.

Freeman joins a room featuring Cam Akers, Kyren Williams, Zach Evans and Ronnie Rivers. The Rams suggest they might add another running back for camp.

“The epitome of a pro, great competitor and his next chapter is going to be exciting,” Rams coach Sean McVay said of Michel. “He’s got so many gifts that he can offer to people and so we’ll wish him the best. It’s a bummer, but his body’s feeling like it’s talking to him and I have nothing but respect and appreciation for the competitor that he is.”

Stetson Bennett Praised by Rams HC McVay After Having ‘His Best Day’ at Training Camp (bleacherreport)

“Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay said rookie quarterback Stetson Bennett has his “sharpest” day of training camp with the team on Saturday.

“You could see he’s getting more comfortable with just some of the concepts, because it is very different,” he told reporters. “Football is still football and when the ball is snapped there are some things that just kind of make sense to him. I think what you said, I think today was his best day, kind of like I mentioned. Those things I think are fair to say.”

McVay added that Bennett is “pretty steady” and said that he liked about the rookie quarterback that “if a play doesn’t go well, he’s able to reset himself and go to the next play. You can definitely feel the athleticism show up that you guys saw on display throughout his career at Georgia and I think he’s getting more and more comfortable.”

Bennett, 25, was a two-time national champion as Georgia’s starting quarterback, though there were questions about whether he would find a home in the NFL. The Rams answered that in a resounding (and surprising) way, using a fourth-round pick to draft him.”