Ive been thinking about this and forgive me for being thick, but if the ram bursts on a flipper, the thing will simply continue to rotate around its hinged pivot. I cant see that tethering anything will stop this, unless the tethers reinforce the pivot point. If you try and stop the sepearting ram you are trying to stop a tremendous force, if you simply allow it to continue in its arc, its likely to flip the robot but not to send any shrapnel anywhere???
Please let me know if Im missing the point.