Rams-Bucs: Mancrush Monday Leaves So Many Options...

Where to start? So many players from yesterdays victory (how good does THAT sound???) deserve recognition. Our CBs held their own against the Bucs mammoth WRs. Brian Quick had another game where he performed like the #1 WR he was drafted to be. Hell, even Schotty was earning some praise amongst fans for his play-calling.

Selecting just one was impossible, so I'm gonna do things a little differently this week. With so many players worthy of man-crushing over, I'm taking a 3 stars approach similar to what the NHL does after every game.

3rd Star - Greg Zuerlein

After a rough preseason and an uncharacteristic miss in Week 1, many fans were starting to wonder if Greg Zuerlein was over-rated...then yesterday happened. In poor field conditions, Legatron didn't have his typical power and only got touchbacks on 2 of his 6 kickoffs. However, he was 4-4 on field goals (35, 36, 38, and 46 yards) quelling any doubters among Rams faithful that he is more than just a man of many nicknames.

2nd Star - T.J. McDonald

How can you NOT be man-crushing on TJ Mac right now? On top of blocking a FG and a Punt, he also quite possibly preserved a Rams win with a big hit on Bucs rookie WR Mike Evans in the final seconds. He single-handedly caused a 3 point swing (likely 6 if the Bucs convert a FG as time expires). That's astonishing. When you think of dominating performances by safeties, the names Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed come to mind. TJ Mac had one of those performances in Week 2.

1st Star - Austin Davis

I don't think any of us really knew what to expect from our QB situation going into yesterday. I'd be willing to go out on a limb and say that not many people expected this though. Davis had a 76% completion percentage yesterday and ZERO turnovers. He looked comfortable in the pocket, and was able to keep his composure in his 1st start in the NFL. To top it all off, he led a 71 yard drive late in the 4th quarter to put the Rams up for good. This kid surprised everyone today, energizing fans and teammates alike. Rams fans aren't used to seeing that intensity from their QBs, and it was invigorating to watch.