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Wait, did I get that wrong? Do the Dolphins have someone throwing the football all over defenses who isn't named Dan Marino? I had just assumed he had come out of retirement to end the pain of the era of...well...every Dolphins quarterback since him.
Alas, the great Marino is still retired. Instead, the Dolphins have rookie Ryan Tannehill behind center for them. Tannehill is coming off of a two game stretch where he completed about 65% of his passes for over 9.5 yards per attempt, for a total of over 650 yards. Tremendous stats for any quarterback, much less a rookie who most experts thought would be a disaster as a starter in year one. For the first time in thirteen years the Dolphins are looking like they have a future at the most important position on the field.
Alright, enough gushing about the Rams opponent this week. On to Wednesday's links.
Rams Links
The Rams are prepared to steal the heart of St. Louis - Burwell really hit the nail on the head with this one. St. Louis has been so starved for a good NFL team to root for for so long. If this team is still playing well and winning games when the Cardinals run ends, we could build an entire new generation of Rams' fanatics, just like all of us here at TST.
NFC West atop divisional power rankings - As the author says, this division has come a long way from having a 7 - 9 champion just two years ago. Now all four teams are playing winning football, having combined for a total of 3 losses to teams outside of the NFC West. Pretty exciting time to be a fan of the NFC West. These teams are set up to be very good for a long time.
Ramblinfan does a 2013 draft preview - Each week, there will be a preview of two players the Rams could potentially add in the 2013 draft. This week, Keenan Allen is the offensive player, and Star Lotulelei is the defensive player. I'm not a college football aficionado (like 3K) but I do watch some, and anytime you see Allen on the field, you can tell he is going to be a big deal in the NFL. He is a player I would love to have, even going so far as to say the Rams should jump up to get him, assuming there are no red flags that come to light about him between now and the draft.
Other NFL Links
The bountygate penalties were (mostly) upheld - And the story will never end...a couple of the suspensions were trimmed, a couple of the suspensions were not. Either way, that's not the interesting part. The interesting part is that Gregg Williams submitted a signed affidavit to the commissioner stating that Vilma had offered up $10,000 to anyone who can knock Brett Favre out of a game. This would, essentially, end the career of Gregg Williams in the NFL. If you turn on your players like that, when they are fighting for their livelihood (no matter if they did something awful or not), no team and no players will ever feel like they can trust you again. As of today, I never expect to see Gregg Williams with an NFL team again.
Clay Matthews has some tough words for the NFL - Matthews really nailed it on this one. Either the NFL wants to protect its' players or it doesn't. You can't protect some and not protect others. That chop block that put Cushing out for the rest of the season was as egregious as any play in the NFL this year, short of maybe the hit on Heyward-Bey. The NFL better suspend Matt Slauson for at least a game, or risk looking foolish in public for about the 100th time this year.
RG3 has been cleared to practice - I can't be the only one to think the Redskins are INSANE to play him this week, can I? I happen to think that the concussion thing is somewhat overblown, but the evidence of how easy it is to reinjure yourself shortly after a concussion is overwhelming. They want RG3 to be the leader of their franchise for the next dozen years. Risking him in year 1, game 6 is a huge mistake. If you don't believe me, ask Jahvid Best...
Thanks for the read, as always, and have a Ramtastic Day!