LOS ANGELES RAMS at MIAMI DOLPHINS, 1 PM ET

BetOnline NFL Betting Odds: Rams -3.5 (-106), Dolphins +3.5 (-114)
Total: 45.5 points

When you evaluate this game, it perhaps becomes a referendum on how ready you think Tua Tagovailoa is to step into the quarterback role and make his first NFL start, in what has to be considered less than favorable circumstances. I say that because he may be an unpopular choice among his teammates, at least at the moment. Ryan Fitzpatrick was very popular because he is a blood-and-guts guy who lays it all out there, and there is no doubt that they have responded to him. Last season, when the Dolphins had perhaps less talent than any team in the NFL, they followed him to five victories, after an 0-7 start. Now he's gotten them to second place, with a 3-3 record and three wins in their last four tries.

But the philosophy of management may be understandable; Fitzpatrick has had 15 previous seasons in the NFL and has not been in a playoff game. In other words, he can only take a team so far. And the Dolphins obviously must feel that Tua can get them to the next level. But this was not handled smoothly; the announcement that Fitzpatrick was being benched came as a complete surprise and he did not hide his disappointment. Some members of the Miami press have suggested that the locker room is somewhat "divided" over this abrupt decision, since Tua did not exactly "earn" the starting job, and it is reminiscent of the way the team (albeit a rather different-looking team) reacted to Adam Gase coddling Ryan Tannehill a few seasons ago.

We write all of this because these are the things that can have a residual, negative impact on a team's performance. Not that they won't block for the guy, but it has an effect on the way the team prepares. Disgruntled people very rarely help the situation.

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As for Tua himself, he is coming in kind of cold, especially as there was no pre-season to speak of. And he is not coming in against a "soft" defense either. The Rams happen to be a pretty formidable team defending the pass, allowing just 5.9 yards per pass, which is best among all NFL teams. They have even improved themselves against the run, to where they rank in the league's top ten in yards allowed per attempt.

Of course, they guy Tua's going to have to worry about from beginning to end is Aaron Donald, who is probably the last guy you'd want to run into in your starting NFL debut. And let's not forget that he has not played a down of competitive football since he dislocated his hip at Alabama.

There are definitely some positives about the Dolphins; they are #1 in the league in third down defense, for example. But they have been vulnerable against opposition ground attacks, allowing 5 ypc. And it is imperative that the Rams be able to run, since it sets up play action for Jared Goff. In fact, Goff has thrown more play action passes, and for more yards, than any other NFL quarterback.

Sure, we have a situation here where the West Coast team has traveled cross-country, playing the early game, laying points on the road. But with shutdown corner Jalen Ramsey, they can almost take one side of the field from Tua. Sooner or later, this rookie will come around. But there might be a little confusion, and some bumps along the way, before he has his legs under him, and before he has the full respect of his teammates.

While he's on the learning curve, we'll lay the points with the RAMS.

And by the way, there is a +1300 price on Tua having 300 or more passing yards and leading the Dolphins to victory. That's all at BetOnline, which has an amazing array of options when it comes to NFL betting. Just check out the sportsbook and you'll see what they have available. And there is still time to enter the Halloween Blackjack Tournament! ........ Greatly enhanced payouts on pre-selected parlays are available with Odds Booster, and you can make your deposits using a lot of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin!