New Orleans Saints: Players that must thrive to beat Los Angeles Rams
By Jason Reed
2. Andrus Peat
Just like it is no surprise that the Los Angeles Rams have a great rushing attack, it is also no surprise that they have arguably the best defensive player on the planet and someone who can single-handily shift the momentum of the game in Aaron Donald.
The two-time defending Defensive Player of the Year is so good in fact that it is not completely out of the realm of possibility for him to be an MVP candidate by year’s end. It is a longshot, but Donald is so good that people are not ruling him out entirely, which is huge for a defensive player.
What is even scarier is that Donald had a very lackluster Week 1, which might be a sign of him exploding in the first home game of the year and having a massive game against the New Orleans Saints.
The Saints’ offensive line is one of the best in the league but Donald presents one of the best challenges in the league. If the Saints are going to win this game, they are going to need Andrus Peat, their best interior lineman, to have a near mistake-free game.
The Saints are going to have to do something creative at the line of scrimmage as putting rookie center Erik McCoy on Donald duty for most of the game is a recipe for disaster. While there will be times that he blocks Donald, Peat should be taking on most of the responsibility.
Aaron Donald is a player that will capitalize on any little mistake you make and can completely shift the momentum of the game with a huge sack. It might be impossible to completely neutralize him two weeks in a row, but they have to limit him.