It doesn't take a football expert to figure out that there are no secret weapons. But there's no doubt that when it comes to the top issue facing the Giants offense this Sunday against the Rams, it is hoping to contain – forget outright stopping – Los Angeles defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

“He's just an alien,” defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said. “There's no other – he’s just unreal and it's down after down after down after down. He is one of the best. He'll go down as one of the best three techniques of all time.”

Donald, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, seven-time First-team All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowler, has just seven sacks on the year but 78 total quarterback pressures (14 hits and 57 hurries) along with 29 stops. Pro Football Focus grades him as the third-best interior defender in the NFL this year.

Brian Daboll called Donald “one of the best to ever do it.”

“He’s always a problem when you play him. As much as you try to gameplan for him, he always finds ways to make plays. He’s one of the best defensive players, he’s unbelievable,” the head coach said Wednesday.

While the history of football is marked by tremendous play from edge rushers dominating the game, the interior linemen are getting a bit of their moment in the spotlight especially because of guys like Donald because of his ability to contain the run game and rush the passer. The Giants’ Dexter Lawrence – PFF’s No. 1 graded interior defender – is another example of how much an interior player can impact and wreck a game.

“You know you can do different things and slide, but it’s a little bit different when you have edge guys that you can chip and do different things,” Daboll said about game-planning against the inside pressure. “When they are inside, they get matched up, whether it’s a protection issue, you have to turn some way. Their one-on-ones, they’re hard to block.

“[Donald] is obviously smaller than a guy like Dex but he is as explosive as a player that there’s been. He’s a fantastic player and he’s been that way for a long time.”

All of this spells a long day for the Giants' interior lineman and a real challenge for rookie center John Michael Schmitz.

“Aaron Donald’s a Hall of Fame-type player,” offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said. “It’s going to be a big challenge, not for just a rookie but for everyone on the front line.”

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