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Monday on the AFC East blog, dropped interceptions were a hot topic.

Today, I want to broach a totally different subject: dropped interceptions.

We already know New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez threw the most passes defenders dropped.

But which defender dropped the most? He's from the AFC East, too.

Football Outsiders research shows Miami Dolphins right cornerback Sean Smith tied for the league lead with five dropped interceptions last year even though he didn't re-assume his starting role until Week 9.

Smith's proxy, Jason Allen, also dropped two, giving the Dolphins seven at that position alone.

The NFL average for an entire defense was 6.3 dropped interceptions last season. The Dolphins had 19 of them. The Green Bay Packers were next with 14.

Dolphins free safety Chris Clemons dropped three interceptions, tying him for sixth in the league. Cornerback Benny Sapp dropped two. Defensive ends Phillip Merling and Kendall Langford, outside linebacker Koa Misi, inside linebacker Karlos Dansby, cornerback Nolan Carroll and safeties Reshad Jones and Tyrone Culver had one apiece.

The Dolphins actually snagged 11 interceptions. Only three teams recorded fewer.

Think defensive coordinator Mike Nolan tore out his hair much?

The other three AFC East teams combined didn't have nearly as many dropped interceptions as the Dolphins did.

In fact, the rest of the AFC East had just as many as Smith, Allen, Clemons and Sapp alone.

The Jets and Buffalo Bills each had five dropped interceptions. Strong safety Donte Whitner was the only defender on either team with two. Bills cornerback Drayton Florence didn't have any drops one season after leading the league with five.

The New England Patriots were incredibly fortuitous when it came to interceptions. They had 25 picks, but dropped only two: inside linebacker Jerod Mayo and cornerback Darius Butler.

Sports labor squabbles often are described as billionaires arguing with millionaires over money.

While that's a catchy rhyme that sums up fan frustration, the phrase is not entirely true.

Inspired by a blog entry from the minister of all things AFC South, Paul Kuharsky, I looked at NFL Players Association files to count up the number of AFC East players scheduled for $1 million base salaries in 2011.

Granted, up-front bonuses and incentives can make base salaries misleading. But base salaries are the only figures that create a common ground, player for player.

You'll see a vast majority of NFL players make much less than $1 million a year. Although many will make seven figures before they walk away from the game, careers are short and treacherous. They'll never see that kind of cash again for the rest of their lives.

That's why they're fighting for every dollar now.

Of the 226 players under contract in the AFC East, only 62 of them (27.4 percent) will make base salaries of $1 million or more.

The NFLPA hasn't acknowledged any franchise tags that have been signed. Those players are marked with an asterisk and not factored into the totals.

Buffalo Bills

• Receiver Lee Evans, $3.275 million
• Cornerback Terrence McGee, $3.2 million
• Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, $3.195 million
• Defensive end Spencer Johnson, $3 million
• Outside linebacker Shawne Merriman, $2.75 million
• Defensive end Dwan Edwards, $2.6 million
• Center Geoff Hangartner, $2.55 million
• Outside linebacker Chris Kelsay, $2 million
• Running back Fred Jackson, $1.75 million
• Defensive lineman Kyle Williams, $1.75 million
• Kicker Rian Lindell, $1.45 million
• Punter Brian Moorman, $1.425 million
• Cornerback Reggie Corner, $1.2 million
• Receiver Steve Johnson, $1.2 million
• Safety Bryan Scott, $1.15 million
• Linebacker Andra Davis, $1.1 million
• Receiver Roscoe Parrish, $1.025 million
• Safety George Wilson, $1.025 million
• Cornerback Leodis McKelvin, $1 million

Base salaries of $1 million or more: 19

Players under contract: 54

Percentage of roster making $1 million or more: 35.2

Miami Dolphins

• Nose tackle Paul Soliai, $12.47 million*
• Tackle Jake Long, $11.2 million
• Receiver Brandon Marshall, $6.5 million
• Tackle Vernon Carey, $4.15 million
• Safety Yeremiah Bell, $3.7 million
• Defensive end Randy Starks, $3.625 million
• Inside linebacker Karlos Dansby, $2.7 million
• Inside linebacker Channing Crowder, $2.5 million
• Tight end Anthony Fasano, $1.9 million
• Cornerback Benny Sapp, $1.9 million
• Inside linebacker Tim Dobbins, $1.7 million
• Cornerback Will Allen, $1.5 million
• Safety Tyrone Culver, $1.25 million
• Fullback Lousaka Polite, $1.25 million
• Receiver Davone Bess, $1.013 million
• Kicker Dan Carpenter, $1.005 million

Base salaries of $1 million or more: 15

Players under contract: 55

Percentage of roster making $1 million or more: 27.3

New England Patriots

• Quarterback Tom Brady, $5.75 million
• Cornerback Leigh Bodden, $3.9 million
• Tackle Nick Kaczur, $3.4 million
• Defensive end Ty Warren, $3.1 million
• Center Dan Koppen, $2.9 million
• Safety James Sanders, $2.8 million
• Tight end Alge Crumpler, $2.4 million
• Outside linebacker Tully Banta-Cain, $2.3 million
• Receiver Deion Branch, $2.2 million
• Receiver Wes Welker, $2.15 million
• Kicker Stephen Gostkowski, $1.7 million
• Cornerback Jonathan Wilhite, $1.2 million
• Offensive lineman Dan Connolly, $1.025 million
• Inside linebacker Gary Guyton, $1 million

Base salaries of $1 million or more: 14

Players under contract: 60

Percentage of roster making $1 million or more: 23.3

New York Jets

• Quarterback Mark Sanchez, $14.75 million
• Inside linebacker David Harris, $10.1 million*
• Cornerback Darrelle Revis, $6 million
• Tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, $5.615 million
• Inside linebacker Bart Scott, $4.9 million
• Outside linebacker Calvin Pace, $3.855 million
• Outside linebacker Bryan Thomas, $3.2 million
• Guard Brandon Moore, $2.75 million
• Running back LaDainian Tomlinson, $2.425 million
• Center Nick Mangold, $2.26 million
• Defensive end Mike DeVito, $2.125 million
• Safety Jim Leonhard, $1.95 million
• Receiver Jerricho Cotchery, $1.8 million
• Defensive tackle Sione Pouha, $1.28 million
• Quarterback Mark Brunell, $1.25 million

Base salaries of $1 million or more: 14

Players under contract: 57

Percentage of roster making $1 million or more: 24.6

From one special teams coach to another, Mike Westhoff sent his regards to John Bonamego.

The Miami Dolphins fired Bonamego on Tuesday morning. Westhoff, the New York Jets' coordinator, said he reached out to let him know others were thinking of him.

"I'm the guy to do it," said Westhoff, who's in his 28th NFL season. "I've been around the longest. I think I know enough that I can talk from experience on both sides of it, from having good days and bad days. ... I know one thing. I know he appreciated it when we talked."

The Dolphins fired Bonamego hours after the New England Patriots annihilated them 41-14. The Patriots scored 21 points off special teams gaffes: a 103-yard kickoff return, a blocked punt and a blocked field goal.

Westhoff called a play that helped the Jets block a Dolphins punt the week before. As a result, the Dolphins cut linebacker Erik Walden supposedly for not picking up Jets safety Eric Smith on that punt block.

"I helped it happen," Westhoff said of the Bonamego's dismissal, "but it's happened to everybody."

Westhoff coached for the Dolphins from 1986 to 2000. His tenure ended when Dave Wannstedt fired him.

Westhoff said he was disappointed in the Dolphins' decision and sounded bothered Bonamego took the fall alone, with no players getting released, too.

One Dolphins player was at fault for two of the three special teams implosions, Westhoff claimed.

"It's interesting that there was one particular guy that was involved in two of those major breakdowns," Westhoff said. "Frankly, I don't think he could play. I don't want the guy either."

Who could this player be?

"I'm not going to tell you," Westhoff said. "That wouldn't be fair, but there was a common denominator."

Let's try to figure it out.

We can eliminate the blocked field goal as a play Westhoff was referring to for two reasons: 1) It was pretty obvious left wing Lydon Murtha simply let Patriots safety Pat Chung blow right past him; 2) nobody on the field-goal unit was on for punt protection or kickoff coverage.

Only four players were on both the punt and kickoff units: Bobby Carpenter, Patrick Cobbs, Lex Hilliard, Tim Dobbins and Tyrone Culver.

We can eliminate Dobbins and Culver from the discussion because they lined up on the right side for the punt, and Chung's block came through the left. Carpenter was the left tackle. Hilliard was the left wing. Cobbs was the personal protector.

On Brandon Tate's 103-yard kickoff return up the sideline, when he "broke around the edge, he had two unblocked guys," Westhoff said. "Make the tackle."

Carpenter was the first to miss. Nolan Carroll appears to be the other unblocked pursuer Westhoff referred to, and he's not on the other units.

Carpenter, a backup linebacker, was the first-round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys in 2006, when Dolphins consultant Bill Parcells and general manager Jeff Ireland were there.

"If they had included some personnel with [Bonamego's dismissal], I might have not felt so bad," Westhoff said. "That bothers me. I know the guy worked hard. It's their business. It's not mine. They have the right to decide their own. I respect that, but I'm disappointed when those things happen."

» AFC East weaknesses: Bills (6/1) | Dolphins (6/2) | Patriots (6/3) | Jets (6/4)

This is not only the biggest weakness on what is a pretty good defense, but the biggest weakness on this team right now.

The Dolphins have one solid starter in strong safety Yeremiah Bell. However, Bell is 32 and has become more of a box-type safety who is limited in space. Bell piled up 114 tackles last season and still plays downhill in the run game. He runs the alleys well as a force player. He is an excellent inside-out tackler who is effective getting ball carriers down inline or out in space.

The bigger issue is at free safety, where the projected starter is Tyrone Culver. He has been a part-time player for Miami over the past two seasons and really has not shown enough to make you believe he can move into a starting role. He has excellent size for the position. He can cover some ground in center field when playing in deep coverage. Ideally, though, you would like your free safety to be able to get people lined up in the middle of the field when he is in the deep third, and this is an area where Culver is going to struggle. He does not have the necessary experience to run the defense. He is going to have trouble getting himself lined up, let alone trying to get everyone else aligned.

Culver is not a quick-reacting safety in the little I have seen him on film. He is slow to break from the middle of the field. His lack of experience hinders his ability to read routes quickly and get a jump on the football. He does not always take good angles against the run or the pass.

What is even more alarming for Miami is the complete lack of depth at the position. The Dolphins have only three other true safeties on their roster. One of those is rookie Reshad Jones, whom they took in the fifth round of the draft. Jones will have to contribute early and often in the sub packages if this unit is not going to be exposed in 2010.

Football Outsiders writer Vince Verhei has conducted a post mortem on the AFC East draft to identify remaining holes for every roster.

Here's a synopsis of Verhei's findings for an ESPN Insider article.

Buffalo Bills

Not surprisingly, the offensive line stands out as the biggest problem. Football Outsiders pinpointed the line as the primary concern heading into the draft, and the Bills waited until the fifth and seventh rounds to make their only O-line picks, tackles Ed Wang and Kyle Calloway.

Verhei writes that while ninth overall pick C.J. Spiller still could shine, "On third-and-long, though, prospects seem dismal. Bills quarterbacks could spend a lot of time on the Ralph Wilson Stadium turf -- or on the disabled list."

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins cut free safety Gibril Wilson and hotly pursued Ryan Clark before he re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. So they recognized the need, then waited until the fifth round to draft Reshad Jones, who will compete with Tyrone Culver (two career starts in three NFL seasons) and Chris Clemons (two starts last year as a rookie).

"One of these men will be the last line of defense on a team with serious playoff aspirations in 2010," Verhei writes.

New England Patriots

Verhei identifies outside linebacker as the biggest weakness, but doesn't seem as down on this void as with the others. The Patriots drafted Florida pass-rusher Jermaine Cunningham in the second round. But Verhei calls Tully Banta-Cain's 10 sacks "a one-year fluke" and describes the rest of the depth chart as a collection of quasi-capable castoffs.

New York Jets

Two areas that seemed most pressing for the Jets heading into the draft were safety and getting younger along the defensive line. The Jets didn't select a safety or a D-lineman among their four picks.

Verhei sees defensive line as the biggest problem. Marques Douglas, a 12-game starter, remains unsigned and probably isn't coming back. The Jets have moved Vernon Gholston from outside linebacker to end.

» NFC draft analysis: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Just once, I'd love to hear an NFL general manager lean into the microphone and admit he didn't get the players he wanted in the draft.

Alas, the moment the draft wraps up is the most optimistic time of the year. Every front office loves its new prospects. Fans hope every one of them will be a superstar.

In reality, the draft is a scattershot event. There will be more failures than successes, and we probably won't know for a couple years which teams truly did well over the past three days.

But the infusion of newcomers will have an immediate impact. It only takes one or two players -- Mark Sanchez, Shonn Greene or Jairus Byrd to name a few -- to make a difference, especially in a tightly contested division.

Here are some draft highlights from the AFC East:

Best move

The New England Patriots traded up two spots in the second round to outmaneuver the Baltimore Ravens and select Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski with the 42nd pick.

Gronkowski is a first-round talent, but slipped because of medical concerns. He entered the draft a year early despite missing last season because of lower back surgery.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick wasn't concerned. He said the team's medical staff signed off on Gronkowski's back.

"We have a deal," Belichick said. "I don't diagnose the players and they don't call plays.

"He's a hard matchup for a defensive back. He's big, and he plays big, and he has a big frame. A lot of times he just boxes them out, and they stuff it in there to him, and he's just a hard guy to cover. He's a strong runner with the ball in his hands."

Riskiest move

The Gronkowski selection could be listed here because back problems can plague a physical athlete, but the biggest gamble was the Buffalo Bills' decision to take Clemson running back C.J. Spiller with the ninth overall pick.

Spiller very well could be a star for Buffalo. He better be. The Bills ignored several serious needs -- offensive tackle, nose tackle and quarterback among them -- and added Spiller to a backfield that already included a pair of 1,000-yard backs.

Who will get him the ball? Who will block for him?

The Bills passed on Iowa tackle Bryan Bulaga and Tennessee nose tackle Dan Williams, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen twice and Texas quarterback Colt McCoy thrice.

Buffalo didn't pick an offensive tackle until the fifth round, taking Virginia Tech's Ed Wang at 140th overall -- a span of 429 picks league-wide since the last time Buffalo drafted a tackle.

Most surprising move

Thanks to an active offseason that featured several trades and free-agency signings, the New York Jets went into the draft with few glaring needs.

But they did have a couple. Analysts expected them to bolster an aging defensive line or add a safety.

The Jets chose to address stable positions, however, and also added players to their deepest positions.

Their first four picks were Boise State cornerback Kyle Wilson (despite having Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie), UMass guard Vladimir Ducasse (before cutting Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca), USC running back Joe McKnight (despite having the No. 1 run offense) and fullback John Conner (with a pick acquired in a trade that sent Leon Washington to the Seattle Seahawks).

File it away

The Miami Dolphins drafted a pair of defenders within the first 40 picks, Penn State defensive lineman Jared Odrick and Utah edge-rusher Koa Misi. You would expect both of them to contribute right away.

A player taken much later also could find his way into the starting lineup. Hard-hitting Georgia safety Reshad Jones was projected by many to be a third-round draft pick. The Dolphins got him in the fifth.

The Dolphins have a major need at free safety. They cut last year's starter, Gibril Wilson. The only other options on the roster are Tyrone Culver (two career starts in three NFL seasons) and Chris Clemons (two starts last year as a rookie).

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

MIAMI -- Drew Brees looks very un-MVP-like.

The Miami Dolphins are giving Brees fits here at Land Shark Stadium. The New Orleans Saints quarterback has thrown two interceptions, one that sailed long to Dolphins safety Tyrone Culver and nearly returned for a touchdown, and another that was tipped at the line by blitzing safety Gibril Wilson and caught by linebacker Reggie Torbor.

The Dolphins turned both interceptions into touchdowns and lead 24-3 with 8:55 to go in the first half. Brees has 22 yards passing.

Ricky Williams, who scored on back-to-back carries, punched it in one play after Culver's interception to put the Saints behind on the scoreboard for the first time this year. Williams also scored on a career-long 68-yard dash one Dolphins snap later.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

The Miami Dolphins this afternoon made four roster moves.

They've signed S Tyrone Culver and waived CB Joey Thomas. They also tweaked their practice squad, adding DT Anthony Toribio and releasing WR Jayson Foster.

Culver was a 2006 sixth-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers. He played 14 games as a rookie but spent all of last year on injured reserve because of a bad shoulder. The Packers cut him Sunday.

Foster developed a bit of a cult following. He was an undrafted rookie out of Georgia Southern, where he was the starting QB as a senior. Foster has blazing speed, but is listed at 5-foot-7 and 175 pounds. He apparently was too much of a project to keep around.