Fansided

One silver lining for every team that missed the playoffs

By Luke Dahlgren

Nov 30, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns fans in the stands against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Ravens won 33-27. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns fans in the stands against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Ravens won 33-27. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 13, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (99) runs onto the field during player introductions before the game between the St. Louis Rams and the Detroit Lions at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 13, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (99) runs onto the field during player introductions before the game between the St. Louis Rams and the Detroit Lions at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

St. Louis Rams (7-9)

Aaron Donald exploded onto the scene.

And lastly for potential moves, the Rams are the third team involved in the stadium proposals. Their proposition is set to build a stadium in Inglewood, either as a stand alone Rams stadium or as a shared venue with the Chargers. Of all of the propositions, the shared Rams/Chargers stadium may be the most likely, either in Inglewood as Rams owner Stan Kroenke appears to want or in Carson as Chargers owner Dean Spanos wants. At this point everything is rumors except for the applications.

Of the three, the Rams were in Los Angeles the longest, from 1946 to 1994. They also have the most distance to go to move. The motive for this move is exclusively greed on the part of Kroenke, and the victims are the Rams themselves.

Throw on top of this the frustratingly mediocre tenure of Jeff Fisher, highlighted by the ineffectiveness of Nick Foles under pressure, and the Rams’ season was fairly miserable even for their record.

The bright spot for the team remains their defensive line of Chris Long, Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers and Robert Quinn. After a glorious second season, Donald has now emerged as the best element of that group. He has outpaced other interior linemen at generating quarterback pressure, and has been stout against the run by cleaning up playsnear the line of scrimmage.

Aaron Donald finished with 11 sacks from the interior of the line, and stacked up well, comparatively, with defending Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt in regards to quarterback pressures, even though Watt lines up on the outside of the line and has more opportunity to create pressure.

If his production continues, Donald will be quickly regarded as the best defensive tackle in the NFL, and possibly the league’s best defensive player.

Next: Detroit Lions

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