ESPN NFL

DAVIE, Fla. -- Bryan from St. Augustine, Fla., was gracious enough to take the time out of his day and drop a note into my AFC East mailbag.

	AP Photo/J. Pat Carter
	Matt Roth has racked up 16 solo tackles and two sacks this season.

He was justifiably puzzled about something I wrote about Miami Dolphins outside linebacker Matt Roth, and I felt the need to clarify the issue outside the normal confines of my usual mail call on Saturday mornings.

Tim, in last week's mailbag, you were asked a question about who you would cut/replace on the Dolphins to make them a contender. I'm curious as to why you said you would cut Matt Roth. He seems to be an integral part of the Dolphins defense, and certainly played a big part in their win over the Chargers. Thanks Tim, and keep up the great work - love the blogs!

Bryan was referring to last week's mailbag in which regular contributor Alex from Pennsylvania asked a hypothetical question. Alex asked if I could pluck any one player from the offense and defense and replace him with anybody, who would I choose. After a couple minutes of thought, I chose to replace Roth with Dallas Cowboys superstar DeMarcus Ware.

Upon reading Bryan's note, I knew I needed to apologize to Roth for any misconception of my intentions.

When I saw Roth on Wednesday I explained I didn't single him out because he's not good. Quite the contrary; Roth has played well. I just made the decision because I predicted Ware would be the defensive MVP in our ESPN.com preseason poll.

Roth said he hadn't read it anyway. Wise man. Still, I figured this would be a good opportunity to get folks caught up with how well Roth is handling his transition from defensive end to strong-side outside linebacker in the Dolphins' 3-4 scheme.

Roth had been viewed as a disappointment. He was a second-round draft choice from Iowa in 2005, but had started only nine games in his three previous seasons.

He already has started three games this year. His 16 solo tackles are third-most on the team. He has a pair of sacks and a forced fumble.

"I figured it would be more like a 4-3 end," Roth said. "I felt if I could get on the edge and make plays like that ... That's one thing I believed I could do on the edge.

"I like the position, going against running backs, tight ends, tackles, being on the edge, just being able to go. I felt like that would be a good suit for me. I'm not surprised. Some people might be, but I feel pretty good at the position."

The biggest unknown about Roth's conversion was whether he would be able to handle pass coverage. He was spotted way downfield a couple times in Sunday's victory over the San Diego Chargers. Antonio Gates had one catch for 12 yards.

"Every week, somebody tries to do something to him," Miami coach Tony Sparano said. "They try to get him in space. They try to run the ball at him. They try to show him misdirection. They try to do those things, pick on him with the tight end into the boundary.

"He knows that every week there's going to be a challenge like that. One of the things that he's doing a really nice job of is he's working really hard at his fundamentals to play that position. He's big enough. He's strong enough."

Still, both Sparano and defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni used the phrase "work in progress" to describe Roth.

"It's a hard position to play because you're so involved in what happens with the run, all of those reads," Pasqualoni said. "Then you're so involved in the pass and what happens in all of those reads. It's an endless process. It really, really is. Matt has really embraced that process of learning."