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Here are the most interesting stories Thursday morning in the AFC East:

• New England Patriots defensive end Andre Carter is excited to play his former team: the Washington Redskins.

Morning take: Carter gets a return trip to Washington and will be excited for this game. He’s quietly been one of the best free-agent additions for New England in a class that included flops Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco.

• Why were the Buffalo Bills reportedly interested in Green Bay Packers backup Graham Harrell?

Morning take: I'm not sure about this one. Buffalo probably was just looking for depth behind Ryan Fitzpatrick and took a look at Green Bay's practice squad. But it's interesting nonetheless.

• The New York Jets will keep offensive consultant Tom Moore on full-time.

Morning take: This is not a good sign for offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. The Jets have not performed well offensively and wants to have another experienced voice involved.

• With Matt Moore, the Miami Dolphins came out on top with their quarterback search this season.

Morning take: With names like Kyle Orton, David Garrard and Carson Palmer being mentioned, who would have thought the best quarterback for the Dolphins this year was the No. 2 guy already on the roster? It's a great story, but will it continue in Miami beyond this season?

MIAMI -- Here are some initial thoughts on the Miami Dolphins' dominant 34-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders:

What it means: Miami won its fourth game in five tries and continues to relish its role of spoiler. The Dolphins improved to 4-8 and will have their third consecutive non-winning season. But they continue to share their misery by beating other teams late in the season. This was Miami's most complete and impressive performance of the year. The Dolphins took advantage of their 10 days of preparation and looked very sharp offensively and defensively. It also came against an Oakland team (7-5) that is leading the AFC West.

Defense continues to dominate: The light has come on for Miami's defense. The group has been one of the league's better units for the past month. The Dolphins baffled and battered Oakland's offense Sunday. Miami held Oakland to just 14 points, which were scored in garbage time, and sacked Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer two times. Miami was the NFL's sixth-rated unit in 2010, but started slow this season during its 0-7 start. The group is finally rounding back to its expected form.

Bush continues to thrive: Dolphins starting running back Reggie Bush continues to have his most successful season running the football. Bush rushed for 100 yards on 22 carries. By the fourth quarter, Dolphins fans were chanting "Reggie! Reggie!"

Seymour Watch: A fine could be forthcoming for Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymour. He was ejected in the third quarter after a half-hearted attempt to punch Miami guard Richie Incognito. Seymour has a reputation for questionable play and the refs wasted no time ejecting him. This was the second ejection in as many seasons for the former Pro Bowl player. Seymour also was ejected last season for a shot to the face of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after the whistle.

What's next: The Dolphins will play their second consecutive home game next week when the Philadelphia Eagles (4-8) come to town. Miami is looking to win its fourth consecutive game at home.

Here are the most interesting stories Thursday in the AFC East:

• New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan defended starting cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who has been inconsistent.

Morning take: I expected Cromartie to make more big plays this season. He signed a big free-agent contract and hasn't had an interception since Oct. 9. He also allowed a long touchdown pass last week against the Buffalo Bills.

• The Miami Dolphins will face a tough challenge against Oakland Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer.

Morning take: It would have been better if Miami played Oakland a few weeks ago while Palmer was learning the playbook. Now, the Raiders are playing their best football of the season. This is a good matchup of two hot teams.

• Will the New England Patriots (8-3) and quarterback Tom Brady look past the winless Indianapolis Colts?

Morning take: Highly unlikely. The Patriots usually are a focused group. I expect a romp for New England this weekend.

• The Buffalo Bills are suffering from a lack of pass rush.

Morning take: This should be Buffalo’s biggest concern entering the draft and free agency next year. The Bills desperately need an edge rusher to put pressure on the quarterback.

Here are seven notes and observations in the AFC East:

• I'm convinced the Buffalo Bills could play the New York Jets 10 times and probably lose seven or eight of those games. It's not that the Bills are a bad team. The Jets simply have superior personnel at key positions that match up perfectly with what the Bills like to do. New York is one of the few teams comfortable going with six or seven defensive backs. The Jets were all over Buffalo's receivers, which made life tough for Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Jets were far from perfect Sunday, especially on offense, and still won going away by 16 points. If the Jets did not make key mistakes on offense, they could have scored 40 points. The game was that lopsided.
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  Tom Szczerbowski/Getty ImagesRex Ryan has the Jets in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC East.
  Jets head coach Rex Ryan brought up an interesting point in Sunday's postgame news conference. He challenged the New York media to pick another target who is struggling in order to motivate that player. It's worked all season for the Jets. The New York media at different points jumped on the back of the offensive line, wide receiver Plaxico Burress, tailback Shonn Greene and receiver Santonio Holmes this season. Each time that player or group responded with better performances and/or big plays.
• We are about to find out the road mettle of the Bills (5-3). Four of their next five games are away from Ralph Wilson Stadium. Buffalo will start a string of three consecutive away games Sunday with a matchup with the Dallas Cowboys (4-4). The Bills then travel to play the Miami Dolphins and have a rematch against the Jets. Buffalo also plays at San Diego (4-4) on Dec. 11. The Bills, who are 1-2 on the road, have the ability to win these games but have to be more consistent. How Buffalo comes out of this stretch will determine whether they have a chance to stay in the AFC East race.
• Bills receiver Steve Johnson showed me something against the Jets. New York corner Darrelle Revis was in his usual all-world form. I've seen plenty of receivers shut it down in the second half while on Revis Island. But Johnson kept playing hard and eventually got a 52-yard reception over Revis. It was one of the few big plays Revis gave up this year. Johnson will see Revis plenty of times in his career and this was a learning experience. Johnson had three receptions for 84 yards.
• New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady showed more frustration with receiver Chad Ochocinco Sunday than we've seen all season. Brady later backed Ochocinco in interviews after the game to prevent controversy. Ochocinco was targeted five times and had zero receptions in a loss to the New York Giants. The pair can't get on the same page. New England runs a very crisp and precise passing offense. That's not the type of receiver they have in Ochocinco, who had a reputation in Cincinnati as a "freelancer." Often Ochocinco would run the wrong routes, but Carson Palmer and Ochocinco played together long enough where they would still make plays. Brady and Ochocinco don't have that chemistry. Plus, New England is the type of team that won't bend the system to fit any one player.
• Why has New England gone away from the running game? The Patriots are 1-2 in their past three games. A major reason is New England is averaging just 83.3 rushing yards in those contests. The Patriots are a capable running team but they have gone away from that balanced attack. They have become more predictable and allowed defenders to easily drop in coverage. That has led to an usually high amount of turnovers from Brady.
• I feel odd writing this, but the Dolphins could have a lot of say in who wins the AFC East. Miami has been competitive the past three weeks. The Dolphins finally were rewarded with a 31-3 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Playing at this level, Miami has a chance to upset someone at the top of the division. If the Bills, Patriots or Jets are sleeping, the Dolphins could dish out a surprising loss that would be a big blow to one of these teams' playoff chances.

The Miami Dolphins will face the quarterback they wanted -- but couldn't get -- on Dec. 4. That is when the Oakland Raiders (4-2) and newly acquired quarterback Carson Palmer will travel to Miami to face the downtrodden Dolphins (0-5) at Sun Life Stadium.

Palmer probably will be vying for a playoff spot with Oakland, while the winless Dolphins will be playing out the season.

It makes you wonder how different things could have been if Miami was able to work out a trade with Cincinnati to land Palmer earlier this year. The Dolphins were certainly interested. They searched for several options to compete with Chad Henne but couldn't find one.

Instead, Miami went with Henne and the team lost its first four games. Henne separated his shoulder on Oct. 2 against the San Diego Chargers. Backup Matt Moore is stepping in for the rest of the season.

Miami will have a hard time turning its team around until it lands a franchise quarterback. It's something the team hasn't had since Dan Marino retired in 1999.

As we await the lockout's merciful conclusion, a commonly discussed topic is what Team X will do at quarterback.

Several clubs, including the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills, went into the draft with perceived quarterback needs and didn't pick up any significant help.

The most frequently discussed answers are Carson Palmer, Kyle Orton, Donovan McNabb, Matt Hasselbeck and Kevin Kolb. Often overlooked in the conversation is a lightning rod with talent.

Jonathan Comey of ColdHardFootballFacts.com presents a strong case that former Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young deserves more consideration -- maybe the most of all the veteran options.

Comey's bullet points on Young:

• Former No. 3 overall pick after brilliant college career.
• Career .638 winning percentage as an NFL starter.
• Coming off seasons in which he went 12-6 as a starter; the other guys who started for Tennessee went 2-12.
• Competitive, above-average passer rating of 84.9 from 2008-10.
• NFL's second-best running quarterback, and still in his athletic prime.
• Two-time Pro Bowler.
• Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2006.

The Titans already have publicly stated they'll unload Young. That's a buyer's proposition. As such, Comey contends Young would be a "dream commodity," a low-risk, high-reward player.

Comey uses data and sound reasoning to make a compelling statement about Young's value.

Young still has upside, should feel like he has something to prove and can be had in a trade for a discount. If the Titans can't trade Young and are forced to release him, then he wouldn't be in position to demand a big salary.

Miami Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland and Buffalo Bills general manager Buddy Nix have stated on the record their teams need to add quarterbacks to their roster. ESPN analyst Tim Hasselbeck breaks down the best five options in this video clip.

Buffalo Bills

For many rookies, opportunities for playing time will be limited if the lockout drags into the summer because they won't have time to learn what they need to know, writes Allen Wilson of the Buffalo News.

Safety Donte Whitner is leaving the door open for a return to Buffalo.

Miami Dolphins

Former Dolphins coach Don Shula feels for the current NFL coaches who are trapped in the labor dispute.

The Sun-Sentinel's Andrew Carter looks at some veteran quarterback options for the Dolphins, including Matt Leinart, Vince Young, Brady Quinn, Carson Palmer and Tarvaris Jackson.


New England Patriots

Although there were some questions about Ryan Mallett in the run up to the draft, none of them concerned his throwing ability.

Mallett's father said his son wants "payback" after the Dolphins traded up in the draft but did not take the Arkansas quarterback.


New York Jets

Rex Ryan explained his reasoning for turning the week leading up to the Jets' AFC divisional playoff game against the Patriots into a matchup between himself and Bill Belichick.

Seventh-rounder Greg McElroy joined Mark Sanchez's "Jets West" camp to work out with teammates.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- As expected, a famous quarterback was the first pick in Thursday night's NFL draft.

Then things got a little strange. Another quarterback didn't go off the board until No. 8, and it wasn't the prospect anybody expected. Then -- boom, boom -- two more went.

Four quarterbacks were off the board inside the first dozen picks, a third of the selections. Quarterbacks were a hot commodity.

Yet the two AFC East clubs that went into the draft with quarterback curiosity steered clear of the frenzy. The Buffalo Bills certainly did so by choice, the Miami Dolphins perhaps by circumstance.

Either way, they made safer plays.

Will they regret their decisions?

The NFL is driven by quarterbacks. Neither club has one. Neither club drafted a prospect Friday night.

The Bills had their chance to add any quarterback other than Auburn star Cam Newton with the third pick. The Bills could've snapped up Missouri's Blaine Gabbert, but took Alabama defensive lineman Marcell Dareus instead.

"I don't think there's any such thing as a safe pick," Bills general manager Buddy Nix said. "But I think [Dareus] is about as close as it gets."

Buffalo made the decision, knowing it still had the option of drafting a quarterback with the 34th selection Friday, but then the draft broke in such a way that made that scenario seem less likely -- for a bit.

Three more quarterbacks were gone in a hurry.

As expected, Gabbert was off the board, although he surprisingly slid to the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 10. The Tennessee Titans plucked Washington quarterback Jake Locker with the eighth pick, and the Minnesota Vikings took Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder 12th.

When the Dolphins were on the clock with the 15th pick, the value of quarterbacks had skyrocketed. Yet despite their uneasiness in Chad Henne and minus a second-round draft choice, the Dolphins avoided any temptation of reaching.

Arkansas lightning rod Ryan Mallett was available. So was Texas Christian quarterback Andy Dalton.

Like the Bills, the Dolphins played it safe and addressed a need in the trenches. They filled a need on their interior offensive line with Florida center Mike Pouncey.

Henne certainly appreciated that selection. Not only did his protection get that much better, but he also avoided competing with a high draft choice in training camp.

Even so, the Dolphins might have the chance to add a veteran soon enough. The NFL can't delay free-agent signings or trades forever. Those kinds of transactions could be permissible as soon as this weekend, allowing the Dolphins to pursue Carson Palmer or Kyle Orton or Kevin Kolb or Vince Young or whomever.

Buffalo still has options if it wants a quarterback Friday.

Four quarterbacks inside the first 12 picks indicated a couple more might come off the board before the first round concluded, but none did.

Mallett and Dalton still are around. Buffalo could have a decision to make on at least one of them Friday.

Nix didn't sound like he was going to be in that hunt. Nix declared he could "get another starter" with the No. 34 pick. Ryan Fitzpatrick still would project as the leading man over any quarterback left.

So all the AFC East quarterback situations look the same now as they did 24 hours ago because the Bills and Dolphins played the percentages. Other teams gambled a bit and snagged quarterbacks they hope will lead them into the future.

Let the speculation begin.

It is possible to be safe and sorry.

U.S. Department of Labor analysts have confirmed Mel Kiper is the second-busiest man in the country this week and would have been first had the president not felt compelled to hold a weird news conference Wednesday.

Even with Kiper's heavy workload -- imagine how much care must go into crafting his final notes and hair the night before the draft -- he took the time to share his thoughts on our AFC East reader mock draft.

We verified our first round Wednesday with a long-form certification process: a six-week, pick-a-day reader vote.

Kiper's intrepid editor, Chris Sprow, caught up with him to go over the AFC East reader mock draft.

Here are Kiper's thoughts:

• It's hard to argue with any of the top three picks here. If the trade domino doesn't fall, no reason this couldn't happen.
• I'm going to stick with A.J. Green to the Bengals. Blaine Gabbert makes some sense, but if they still believe there's hope they can somehow hold onto Carson Palmer, they don't make that pick. But this could be one they are still undecided on, which is a theme this year.
• If Green isn't there for Cleveland, I don't expect them to pass on Julio Jones, which means I don't think he's still there at No. 10 for the Redskins.
• I like the pick of tackle Anthony Castonzo to Detroit because my gut says they know protecting Matthew Stafford is priority No. 1. I just think they might still see Tyron Smith there.
• Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will love Robert Quinn if he's around with the 11th pick. If Quinn is not, Aldon Smith could go that high. His tape is phenomenal in spots.
• J.J. Watt and Cameron Jordan are perhaps the most interchangeable picks, so these picks don't seem off at all for the Patriots and Chargers. Could play out that way.
• I'm not as high on Derek Sherrod as some, but would love to be proven wrong. I just think he's there past Philly at No. 23. Slight reach for me.
• Danny Watkins is a definite possibility at No. 28, but I think New England can go in so many different directions because of how many picks they have.
• No Jake Locker? No Andy Dalton? I wouldn't count on it.

The last point lends itself to the nature of our project. We began six weeks ago, and quarterback buzz always ramps up as we draw closer to the draft.

Mock drafts also can't accurately factor trade scenarios, and those kinds of draft-day maneuvers will dictate where quarterbacks are drafted after Cam Newton and Gabbert.

It was nice of Kiper and Sprow to share some bonus analysis for us. Much thanks.

It won't be long until we find out how well we did.

Miami Dolphins

• Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes Dolphins icon Dan Marino would like to trade for Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer -- but only for a third-round draft choice.
• South Florida Sun-Sentinel columnist Mike Berardino is shaking his head over another Chad Pennington injury.

Buffalo Bills

• Buffalo News reporter Mark Gaughan wonders if the Bills' strategy will be to skip quarterback with the third pick and target Florida State's Christian Ponder in the second round.
• Brian Galliford of BuffaloRumblings.com examines the Bills' best players with two years or less of NFL experience.

New England Patriots

• ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss catches up with punter Zoltan Mesko, who has found an interesting diversion to help him cope with the NFL.
• Boston Herald writer Karen Guregian passes along comments from Patriots cornerback Leigh Bodden on Sirius NFL Radio. Bodden is excited about returning from his shoulder injury.

New York Jets

• USA Today's Jarrett Bell catches up with Freeman McNeil. The former Jets running back doesn't think much has been learned from previous labor battles.
• Newark Star-Ledger reporter Jenny Vrentas relays some everyday problems Jets players are having while the NFL is in limbo.

The last time he was interviewed, Miami Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland repeatedly added a caveat when speaking about quarterback Chad Henne's status:

"Right now, our starter is Chad Henne."

"Right now, he's the guy on our football team that we have to be committed to because he's the only one we have right now."

Right now, the Dolphins are considering all options when the NFL's work stoppage concludes and we get back to signing free agents and making trades.

A prominent name is Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer.

Miami Herald columnist Armando Salguero wrote "Palmer is the one veteran quarterback in whose availability the Dolphins would almost definitely show interest."

Others considered to be on the market are Philadelphia Eagles backup Kevin Kolb, Washington Redskins veteran Donovan McNabb, Denver Broncos veteran Kyle Orton and San Francisco 49ers bust Alex Smith. Free agent Vince Young is out there, too.

Palmer is under contract, but he wants out of Cincinnati after seven seasons and two Pro Bowls but just two playoff games -- both losses.

The Bengals have stated they want Palmer back, but Sports Illustrated writer Peter King wrote sources tell him Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has been telling people within the football community Palmer won't return.

King listed his "leaders in the clubhouse" to trade for Palmer, but didn't mention the Dolphins.

But the two reports together look intriguing.

New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez showed notable growth in his sophomore season, flipping his touchdown-to-interception ratio from deplorable to dependable.

As a rookie, he threw 12 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. Last season, he recorded 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. His passer rating increased 12.3 points.

Numbers often can be misleading. Randomness aided Sanchez considerably.

Football Outsiders game-by-game research concluded Sanchez led the NFL -- by far -- in dropped interceptions.

Sanchez had 15 of them, three times as many as his rookie season. He had six more dropped interceptions last year than the closest quarterbacks, Carson Palmer and Peyton Manning.

Sanchez made 507 pass attempts, far fewer than Palmer (586) or Manning (679). Sanchez threw an interception or had one dropped on 5.5 percent of his throws.

His combination of interceptions and drops were lower as a rookie. Only five of them were dropped for a total of 25, but they accounted for 6.9 percent of his 364 attempts.

Football Outsiders' criteria to determine a drop: "We don't mean a defender sort of near the play, or guys who dive and see interceptions go off their fingertips. We mean guys who dropped balls that hit them right in the hands or chest."

The other three AFC East starters added together didn't have as many dropped interceptions as Sanchez.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady won the MVP award in large part for his absurdly low interception percentage. He threw four all season and none over the past 11 regular-season games. Only five of his 492 attempts were dropped.

Even if all of Brady's misfires had been caught by defenders, he would have posted a respectable 1.8 interception percentage.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had 15 interceptions and six more of them dropped on 441 attempts, or 4.8 percent.

Fitzpatrick's predecessor, Trent Edwards, had some of the NFL's worst numbers. Edwards passed 101 times for the Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars. Five of them were intercepted. Three more would-be interceptions were dropped. That's 7.9 percent of his passes earmarked for the opponent.

Chad Henne was Mr. Tough Luck. He led the AFC East and was tied for fourth in the league with 19 interceptions, but only one was dropped. So of all interceptable passes he threw, defenses snagged 95 percent of them.

» NFC labor impact: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

A team-by-team look at how a continued labor impasse and extended NFL freeze on transactions would affect the division:

Buffalo Bills: The Bills are a young team that built momentum toward the end of last season. They went 4-4 in the second half. Over a six-game stretch in October and November, they went 2-4, and each loss was by three points to an eventual playoff team. Three of those losses were in overtime.

A prolonged work stoppage would stunt Buffalo's development. Coach Chan Gailey is entering his second year but his first offseason with Ryan Fitzpatrick as starting quarterback. The Bills also could draft a quarterback next month but they wouldn't be able to sign him or work with him until there's a new collective bargaining agreement.

Inexperienced players with one or two years dot the roster: running back C.J. Spiller, guards Eric Wood and Andy Levitre, nose tackle Torell Troup, outside linebackers Aaron Maybin and Arthur Moats and safety Jairus Byrd. They would benefit from as much prep time as they can get.

Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins' offense will have serious difficulty taking shape if there's a long work stoppage. Incumbent quarterback Chad Henne wouldn't be on the securest footing if we were heading into a normal offseason. The Dolphins were frustrated enough to remove him as their starter twice last year. Now he's working with a new offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll, and new quarterbacks coach, Karl Dorrell, who never has been a quarterbacks coach before.

Henne got a head start on his offseason by meeting with Daboll and Dorrell to try to absorb as much of the playbook as he could. Henne intends to communicate Daboll's philosophies to his teammates with informal workouts in South Florida.

That's where the Dolphins can have an advantage if they remain diligent. A large percentage of their players maintain homes in South Florida, making it easy for them to assemble for group sessions.

All of Henne's work could be rendered moot if the Dolphins want to acquire another quarterback, but then they'll have another problem. Until there's a new CBA, teams cannot sign free agents or make player trades. That means the Dolphins are in limbo if they want to make a play for an intriguing group of candidates that includes Kevin Kolb, Kyle Orton, Carson Palmer, Donovan McNabb and Vince Young.

New England Patriots: If any team can withstand a protracted work stoppage, it's the reigning AFC East champions. The Patriots have a solid roster filled with veterans, particularly on offense. Their coaching staff remained mostly intact. They're flush with draft picks.

The biggest impact probably would be felt on defense, where the Patriots sometimes started four rookies: end Brandon Deaderick, outside linebacker Jermaine Cunningham, inside linebacker Brandon Spikes and cornerback Devin McCourty.

Although a couple of veteran defenders returning from injuries (defensive end Ty Warren and cornerback Leigh Bodden) should help stabilize them, the Patriots will have difficulty coaching up their youngsters and improving their terrible third-down defense in a compacted offseason.

Another issue could be the way the Patriots flip through interchangeable parts. The Patriots are adept at discovering undrafted free agents and reclaiming other teams' castoffs, while constantly overturning the bottom of their roster. With no CBA, those roster moves cannot happen.

New York Jets: Free agency will be the Jets' biggest issue if a work stoppage drags out. They have the most free agents in the AFC East and declined to re-sign any of them, aside from placing the franchise tag on inside linebacker David Harris. The Jets didn't want to make any decisions until they knew what the next CBA looked like. That created several questions up and down the roster.

Receiver is the biggest question mark. Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards are without contracts, and quarterback Mark Sanchez needs a strong supporting cast. On defense, safety is a concern with Brodney Pool, Eric Smith and James Ihedigbo about to be free agents, too.

No CBA means the Jets won't be able to sign incoming free agents either. Polls have shown players around the league would love to play for Rex Ryan more than any other coach. But the Jets can't use that to their advantage until there's a new deal.

The Cincinnati Bengals don't need to get Joey Greco involved. No need for the "Cheaters" host to set up surveillance or orchestrate an ambush.

Chad Ochocinco continues to make his flirtations public and would love to get with three-quarters of the AFC East.

Ochocinco is under contract with the Bengals for one more season at a base salary of $6 million. That hasn't stopped him from stating his desire to play for the New England Patriots, the New York Jets and, most recently, the Miami Dolphins.

Ochocinco was a guest at ESPN The Weekend in Orlando, Fla. Although he reiterated his legal status as a Bengal, he didn't squelch the idea of playing for another team.

"New York has a great coach that anyone would die to play for," Ochocinco told ESPNNewYork.com's Jane McManus.

The comments echoed what Ochocinco said on "The T.Ocho Show" in late January: "I'd do anything to play for someone like Rex Ryan or anyone who has that type of mentality."

Two other guests at ESPN The Weekend, Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis and inside linebacker Bart Scott, lobbied for an Ochocinco addition.

Ochocinco also sat down with Jeremy Marks-Peltz of ESPN 760 in West Palm Beach, Fla., and expressed his affection for the aqua and orange.

"Speaking of the Dolphins, I can say this: The Dolphins have always been my team since I grown up," Ochocinco said. "Anytime I play Madden, I play with the Dolphins. Everything, the Heat, the Marlins, the Panthers ... I've been a Florida guy all my life.

"I love Cincinnati. It's been good to me. I would like to win. I want things to turn around. I'm not in control of the situation. As you can see, my quarterback [Carson Palmer] is fed up. But we'll see what happens."

Ochocinco's first flirtation was with the Patriots on Jan. 17, when he sent a Twitter message to Boston Herald reporter Ian R. Rapoport that read "PePe and Bill #EPIC." PePe is one of Ochocinco's many nicknames.