DAVIE, Fla. -- The basic role that Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito shared as offensive linemen for the Miami Dolphins was protecting quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The roles are now reversed. Tannehill is defending both Martin and Incognito, the central characters in a bullying saga that has taken both offensive linemen off the field and continued to evolve Wednesday when the NFL appointed a lawyer to investigate possible misconduct within the team workplace. Shortly afterward, many Dolphins spoke out about the matter for the first time -- and with at least one questioning Martins motives. "I dont know why hes doing this," offensive lineman Tyson Clabo said. "And the only person who knows why, his name is Jonathan Martin." Two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Martin considered quitting football in the past, with one of those people saying it was because of how other offensive linemen treated him. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the organization has not given specific reasons about his departure from the team. Incognito is suspended. Martin left the Dolphins last week after a lunchroom prank, and remains excused. "If you had asked Jon Martin a week before who his best friend on the team was, he would have said Richie Incognito," Tannehill said, on another day when dozens of reporters descended on the team complex. "The first guy to stand up for Jonathan when anything went down on the field, any kind of tussle, Richie was the first guy there. When they wanted to hang out outside of football, who was together? Richie and Jonathan." The prank was a silly one -- when Martin sat down to eat, everyone else at the table stood up and walked away. Its apparently a go-to comedic ploy for the Dolphins; Tannehill and offensive lineman John Jerry both said theyve been targets of that very act in the past, and that its typically just laughed off. Not this time. Martin left the team on Oct. 28 after it happened. The story has continued spiraling ever since, with questions about not only whether bullying was tolerated, but if Incognito used racially charged terms against his teammate in phone and text messages. Incognito is white. Martin is biracial. "Whats perceived is that he was a racist, psychopath maniac," Clabo said, defending Incognito. "The reality is Richie was a good teammate, and that Richie and Jonathan Martin were friends, or appeared to be." Added Jerry, who is black, speaking about Incognitos alleged use of a racial slur: "I know the type of person he is and I know he dont mean it that way." How everything inside the Dolphins locker room is meant will now be probed by New York attorney Ted Wells, the NFLs choice to dig into the matter. Wells has experience with high-profile sports matters, having been involved with special investigations into the Syracuse basketball sexual harassment case and the NBA players union leadership dispute. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said the team will co-operate fully with Wells investigation. "The type of culture that Ive championed since the day Ive walked through these doors has been one of honesty, respect and accountability to one another," Miami coach Joe Philbin said. "I consider those to be hallmarks of this program, and I believe our locker room reflects those beliefs. I believe in the men in our locker room, and I believe in our coaching staff." Inside that locker room, players defended both themselves and Philbin. "Whats been bothering me is kind of things that you hear from outside this locker room about things that maybe undermine the integrity or the leadership or the type of players and the class of guys that we have here and the class of this organization," defensive end Cameron Wake said. "Ive been here five years and coach Philbin has done nothing but turn this organization in a positive direction from top to bottom." Wide receiver Brian Hartline said seeing the franchise take hits over the saga was difficult to bear. "Now were able to say our opinion and protect ourselves from being bullied by you guys because we werent talking," Hartline said. "We werent fighting back. We never said a word. We had to sit back and listen for a couple of days. Were kind of tired of it." Clabo said theres a way the offensive linemen treat one another, that no one is exempt from the ribbing and that its done to keep the mood light in the room. "You have to earn the trust of your teammates in this league," Clabo said. "No one is going to walk in the door and just automatically be somebody that you want to go into a game with and believe and trust and know that that persons going to be there when hes supposed to be there. Those things have to be earned." At this point, its unknown if Martin will have that trust -- or even if hell return to the Dolphins, period. Tannehill said that if either Martin or Incognito returned, he would be inclined to try to move on from this saga. "All I know about Richie is hes a great teammate to me," Tannehill said. "I saw him being a great teammate all the time. Does he like to give guys a hard time? Yes. Does he like to pester guys and have fun? Yes. But he brought a lot of laughter to this locker room, he brought a lot of cohesiveness to this locker room and he was the best teammate that I could ask for." ------ Mike Condon Jersey . They were right in that they responded to coach Randy Carlyles goaltending switch to erase a two-goal deficit. Custom Ottawa Senators Jerseys . -- Antoine Bibeau bought the Val-dOr Foreurs valuable time at the Memorial Cup with his 51-save shutout Friday. http://www.authenticsenatorspro.com/Crai...enators-jersey/. - Doug Kalitta led Top Fuel qualifying Friday in the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway with a 3. Mark Stone Jersey . It has been eleven years, eight months, and 261 days since I played my last CFL game. Mikkel Boedker Jersey .com) - Generally you want to be the guy who replaces the guy who replaced the legend. ST. LOUIS -- Tampa Bay pitcher Alex Cobb threw 10 pitches off the mound on Tuesday and was unhappy. "It was horrible," Cobb said. "I was not looking forward to coming into tonight." However, he was very glad he made the start Wednesday night. Cobb struck out 10 and drove in a run with his first major league hit, leading the Rays to a 3-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, the Rays seventh straight win. Cobb (6-6) blanked the Cardinals on five hits over seven innings. It was the fourth time this season he has thrown at least seven innings without an earned run. Cobb missed 50 games last season with a concussion after he was hit near the right ear by a line drive off the bat of Kansas Citys Eric Hosmer. "Tonight was the best Ive felt on the mound hands down since Ive come back and even before that," Cobb said. "When my mechanics are right, all my pitches play off each other." St. Louis manager Mike Matheny agreed. "You could tell right from the top, he had a good split working today," Matheny said. "The guys had trouble laying off it below the zone. Their timing was right on it and it was just disappearing below the bat. He was locked in with it." All three Tampa Bay pitchers were locked in, finishing with 15 strikeouts. Jake McGee pitched the ninth inning for his ninth save in 10 opportunities. The Rays have won 25 of their last 36 games and are 13-4 in July. On June 29, they had the worst record in the majors and have passed 11 teams since. Tampa Bay completed its road trip at 5-0 and its eight-game road winning streak ties the franchise record set twice. The loss was the third straight for the Cardinals. "We played well. We had a great vibe in the dugout," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. St. Louis starter Lance Lynn (11-7) had won three straight and was 4-1 in his last five home starts. He struck out seven and gave up six hits in 6 1-3 innings. Lynn walked three, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch but stranded seven runners in the first five innings. "I threw the ball well, I just gave up a couple too many with the way he was throwing the ball," Lynn said. "Some nights, you get outpitched." Tampa Bay pitchers, hitting eighth, drove in the first runs in both games of the short series. On Tuesday, Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi drove in the first run with a safety squeeze bunt. Cobb was not to be outdone.dddddddddddd He picked up his first career hit in eight at-bats when he doubled down the first base line with two outs in the second inning to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead. "That was the coolest thing Ive done in my big league career," Cobb said. "I was kind of secretly hoping it was going to be a 1-0 win." In the fourth, Cobb was hit on the right elbow by a fastball. "Honestly, my initial thought was I had broken my elbow," Cobb said. "Id never been hit by a 94 mile an hour (pitch) before. Once I got on first base, it wasnt hurting. It was like getting hit on your funny bone." Maddon was worried. "I told him I didnt want to miss his bat," Maddon quipped. "I had so many different thoughts. He didnt wince and there no hesitation on his part." Tampa Bay made it 2-0 in the seventh with an unearned run. After a one-out single by Desmond Jennings, St. Louis second baseman Kolten Wong mishandled a possible double play grounder to chase Lynn. Randy Choate walked pinch-hitter Brandon Guyer to load the bases. Evan Longoria drove in the run with a sacrifice fly off Seth Maness. The Rays added a run in the ninth on an RBI single by Guyer. After the first inning Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo left two packages of crackers for Tampa Bay catcher Jose Molina on home plate. They were from Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, who is on the disabled list with torn ligaments in his right thumb. Rays shortstop Yunel Escobar was ejected in the fourth inning. Escobar, who was leading off, vehemently argued with home plate umpire Dan Bellino, who called him out on a 3-2 pitch. Logan Forsythe replaced Escobar and played second base with Ben Zobrist moving to shortstop. NOTES: Rams Pro Bowl P Johnny Hekker threw out first pitch. ... Cobbs hit was the first by a Rays pitcher this season. ... The Cardinals activated P Kevin Siegrist from the 15-day DL. He missed 52 games since May 24 with a left forearm strain. St. Louis optioned P Nick Greenwood to Triple-A Memphis. ... One day after outpitching Adam Wainwright, Odorizzi got to visit with his boyhood hero at the batting cage Wednesday. "He just said hello and a nice-to-meet-you sort of thing," said Odorizzi, who is from nearby Highland, Illinois. "We talked pitching a little bit, talked shop. Hes a really nice guy." 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