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The Miami Dolphins signed versatile defensive back Richard Marshall to a three-year, $16 million contract this week. Marshall spent most of his career at cornerback before making the switch to safety last season with the Arizona Cardinals.

It's unknown what role Marshall will play in Miami's secondary. The Dolphins have needs at both safety and nickel corner behind starters Sean Smith and Vontae Davis. According to Marshall, Dolphins coaches told him they will sort everything out in the spring during offseason workouts and minicamps.

"I'm most comfortable with doing either or," Marshall said on a conference call this week. "Last year was my first year really getting back there and playing safety. I got comfortable with it after a while. I'm happy and ready to come in just to contribute any way I can."

Marshall was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in 2006 to play cornerback. He didn't work his way into the starting lineup full-time until 2009. The Panthers eventually let Marshall go after the 2010 season.

But Marshall had arguably the best year of his career with the Cardinals last season. He played in all 16 games, including nine starts, and recorded three interceptions and tied a career-high with 11 passes defensed. Even while trying a new position at safety, Marshall stayed around the football. That caught the eye of Miami's coaching staff heading into free agency.

"I feel like I'm big enough to play any position," Marshall said. "I'm an aggressive guy. I come up and tackle, so I've never had a problem with that. Safeties, they have a lot to cover as well. With my corner background, I don't have a problem going back there and playing safety if that's something they want me to do."

Miami could have a solid starting secondary with Davis and Smith at cornerback and Marshall and Yeremiah Bell at safety next season. If not, Davis, Smith and Marshall also would make a good trio of cornerbacks against multiple-receiver sets.

Here are seven notes and observations from Week 14 in the AFC East:

CBSTom Brady's Patriots beat the Washington Redskins Sunday, 34-27, however, the All-Pro quarterback can't win every game on his arm alone.
• Are the New England Patriots putting too much pressure on quarterback Tom Brady? For those who don't believe Brady should be considered for MVP, simply look at how poorly New England's defense played in a 34-27 victory over the Washington Redskins. Brady (357 yards, three touchdowns) kept giving New England the lead and his defense kept giving it back. He made his first real mistake late in the fourth quarter with an interception in the end zone. And when offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien chewed him out, Brady exploded with an uncharacteristic tirade. Pressure busts pipes and I think that had a lot to do with Brady's response. His teammates, particularly on defense, were making mistakes left and right. Yet when Brady has one slip, his coach was all over him about it, and Brady didn't appreciate it at that moment. Cooler heads eventually prevailed. But the bigger picture is the rest of the team needs to do a much better job so New England doesn't require near perfection from Brady.
• The AFC East blog wants to send a congrats to Patriots receiver Wes Welker, who reached 100 receptions for the four time in his career. Welker's consistency and production should be applauded. He’s caught at least five receptions in 12 out of 13 games this season. Welker's career high for catches is 123 in 2009. He needs 24 receptions in the final three games to surpass his personal best.
• If the playoffs started today, the New York Jets (8-5) would travel to play the AFC South champion Houston Texans (10-3). Houston is the No. 3 seed but is without its starting quarterback Matt Schaub and backup Matt Leinart. New York's defense would face third-string rookie T.J. Yates, who helped the Jets by beating the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. The Texans are strong in other areas. But I think the Jets' defense against Yates in his first playoff game would be a good matchup for New York. It's much better, in my opinion, than the Jets traveling to face Baltimore (10-3) or New England (10-3) in the wild-card round. New York also lost this season to Tim Tebow and the surging Denver Broncos (8-5), who are favorites to win the AFC West.
• It's no surprise that Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez puts up better numbers when his offense can run the football. The past three weeks New York has pounded opponents via the run. As a result, Sanchez benefited from less coverage in the secondary and the ability to use play-action, which is one of his strengths. New York has rushed for 399 yards the past three games, and Sanchez has accounted for nine total touchdowns (seven passing, two rushing) and one interception in that span.
• The Buffalo Bills (5-8) will miss the playoffs for the 12th consecutive season, which is an NFL high. The Detroit Lions (8-5) have a chance to tie the Bills if Detroit also doesn't qualify. But Buffalo, with six straight losses, clearly has a long way to go. The Bills have a lot of work to do in the offseason, particularly on defense. But the biggest decision was already made at quarterback. Via a $59 million contract extension, Buffalo has agreed to go forward with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick for the foreseeable future. Fitzpatrick was an abysmal 13 for 34 with 176 yards and two interceptions in Sunday's loss to the San Diego Chargers. Fitzpatrick needs to be more consistent and less streaky if he wants to get the Bills to the next level in future seasons.
• Aside from quarterback Chad Henne, the Miami Dolphins have been relatively fortunate with major injuries to key players. But that wasn't the case Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Dolphins lost starting quarterback Matt Moore (head), left tackle Jake Long (back) and cornerback Vontae Davis (neck). Miami has talent, but it certainly isn't good enough to sustain losing three of its best players. I'm curious to see how competitive Miami will be if any or all of these players miss significant time.
• Finally, I want to offer more thoughts on the Miami Herald's report of the Dolphins planning to fire coach Tony Sparano and keep general manager Jeff Ireland. It's an interesting concept if owner Stephen Ross goes in that direction. Dolphins fans want change and this would not be a complete overhaul. I believe Miami has to make a huge splash at head coach to get fans excited again. But that probably won't happen with Ireland still on board. The Dolphins may have to go the assistant route. They also will have a lot of competition for top coaches this offseason with Kansas City firing Todd Haley and jobs expected to open in San Diego, St. Louis and Jacksonville.

Here are some thoughts on the Philadelphia Eagles' 26-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins:

What it means: There wasn't anything at stake in terms of playoff implications. But with the loss, the Dolphins (4-9) are guaranteed their third consecutive losing season under embattled head coach Tony Sparano. The Dolphins were playing well under Sparano for the past month. But laying an egg at home doesn't help his already slim chances of returning next season.

What I liked: Dolphins veteran defensive end Jason Taylor did have his best game of the season with a pair of sacks. Miami starting tailback Reggie Bush also rushed for 103 yards on 14 carries. Other than that, there wasn't much to like from Miami's perspective.

What I didn’t like: This looked like the 0-7 Miami team from the first half of the season. The defense suddenly lost its way against Philadelphia and the offense turned over the football. Miami was playing too well to get blown out at home by a team with a similar record. The effort just wasn't there. The Dolphins didn't show up and fell behind to Philadelphia, 24-7, at halftime. I expected more from the Dolphins, especially at home.

Injuries galore: The Dolphins suffered some big injuries. Starting quarterback Matt Moore (head), left tackle Jake Long (back) and cornerback Vontae Davis (neck) were all knocked out of the game. Miami will have a tough time winning without these players going forward. We will keep an eye on these injuries next week.

What’s next: The Dolphins will travel to play the Buffalo Bills in an AFC East battle. Miami won the first meeting convincingly, 35-8, in Week 11 at Sun Life Stadium.

Here are the final Week 3 injury reports in the AFC East:

New England Patriots (2-0) at Buffalo Bills (2-0)

Patriots

Out: OL Sebastian Vollmer (back), TE Aaron Hernandez (knee), DL Mike Wright (concussion)

Questionable: CB Ras-I Dowling (hip), S Patrick Chung (thumb), LB Gary Guyton (hamstring), DL Albert Haynesworth (back), LB Jerod Mayo (thigh), P Zoltan Mesko (knee), WR Taylor Price (hamstring), OL Ryan Wendell (calf)

Probable: CB Kyle Arrington (concussion), S Josh Barrett (thumb), CB Leigh Bodden (hand), LB Dane Fletcher (thumb)

Bills

Out: LB Kirk Morrison (hamstring), CB Terrence McGee (hamstring), G Kraig Urbik (knee)

Probable: WR Stevie Johnson (groin), DE Spencer Johnson (hip), DT Torell Troup (back)

Skinny: Stevie Johnson's "probable" status is good news for Buffalo. The Bills have to keep pace with New England’s offense and would have a tough time doing it without Buffalo’s No. 1 receiver. The Patriots have a lot of players questionable. But secondary players like Chung and Dowling are much needed to defend Buffalo's spread offense.

Miami Dolphins (0-2) at Cleveland Browns (1-1)

Dolphins

Out: CB Vontae Davis (hamstring), DL Tony McDaniel (hand)

Doubtful: WR Roberto Wallace (hamstring)

Questionable: CB Will Allen (hamstring), S Chris Clemons (hamstring)

Probable: RB Reggie Bush (groin), LB Karlos Dansby (groin), WR Brandon Marshall (groin)

Browns

Out: LB Titus Brown (ankle), DB Eric Hagg (knee)

Questionable: WR Josh Cribbs (groin), RB Peyton Hillis (illness), OL Tony Pashos (ankle), WR Mohamed Massaquoi (ankle)

Probable: LB Marcus Benard (non-injury), WR Carlton Mitchell (finger), DL Scott Paxson (shoulder)

Skinny: Davis is obviously the big loss for Miami. But the Dolphins did get a boost with Dansby's availability. Browns coach Pat Shurmur expects Hillis to play through his illness. But if Hillis isn't 100 percent, that would be an advantage for Miami.

New York Jets (2-0) at Oakland Raiders (1-1)

Jets

Out: C Nick Mangold (ankle), WR Logan Payne (wrist), G Robert Turner (ankle)

Questionable: DE Muhammad Wilkerson (shoulder)

Probable: DT Mike DeVito (shoulder), DT Marcus Dixon (knee), LB David Harris (toe), WR Santonio Holmes (quadricep), S Jim Leonhard (hamstring), WR Derrick Mason (knee), QB Mark Sanchez (right elbow), S Eric Smith (ankle)

Raiders

Out: WR Jacoby Ford (hamstring), S Mike Mitchell (knee), WR Louis Murphy (groin)

Questionable: CB DeMarcus Van Dyke (knee)

Probable: TE Kevin Boss (knee), S Jerome Boyd (knee), QB Jason Campbell (foot), WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (knee), K Sebastian Janikowski (left foot), CB Chris Johnson (groin), RB Darren McFadden (shoulder)

Skinny: No surprise with Mangold, despite his best intentions to return from a high-ankle sprain. That injury takes time to heal. Wilkerson, the Jets' rookie defensive end, is questionable but expects to play. The Raiders are going in shorthanded at receiver for the second straight game. But it didn't seem to both them last week against Buffalo.

MIAMI -- A few thoughts on the Houston Texans' 23-13 victory over the Miami Dolphins.

What it means: The Dolphins fell to 0-2 by dropping their second home game to start the 2011 season. They're already two games behind every team in the AFC East. The New England Patriots (2-0), Buffalo Bills (2-0) and New York Jets (2-0) are off to fast starts in a deep division. Miami was 6-2 on the road last year and have to post a similar mark if it wants to get back in the race. The Dolphins have just one home game left in the month of September and October.

Turning point: Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis went down early in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury. The Texans quickly took advantage. Houston quarterback Matt Schaub connected with Pro Bowl receiver Andre Johnson on a 23-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach. Schaub fooled Dolphins backup corner Nolan Carroll with a pump fake to free up Johnson in the back of the end zone.

Rookie producer: One of the few bright spots for Miami was the play of Dolphins rookie running back Daniel Thomas. He rushed for 107 yards on 18 carries in his regular-season debut. Thomas did well in between the tackles, which is needed in Miami’s offense. He missed Week 1 with a hamstring injury.

Injury watch: In addition to Davis, Miami linebacker Karlos Danby also suffered a groin injury in the second half and didn't return. For Houston, Pro Bowl running back Arian Foster re-aggravated his hamstring in the second half and didn't return.

What’s next: Miami (0-2) will travel to play the Cleveland Browns (1-1) in Week 3. The Browns won their first game of the season Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. The Dolphins are in must-win territory early in the season. It's going to be a long year for Miami if the team can't win on the road.

The ugly battle between NFL owners and players apparently hasn't taken the edge off rivalries.

As one of my Facebook friends pointed out via private message, a recent ESPN video affirms San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis' long-standing feelings toward certain members of the Arizona Cardinals.

Dana Jacobson was interviewing the Pro Bowl tight end's younger brother, Miami Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis, when she brought Vernon into the conversation over the phone. Near the end of the video, Jacobson asked each brother which NFL player he'd like to face in a steel-cage match.

"A steel cage match? That is tough," Vernon Davis said. "I would probably like to go against Darnell Dockett of the Cardinals."

There wasn't time for Jacobson to follow up, but NFC West fans didn't need much elaboration. Last year at this time, Davis was calling out Dockett over the success 49ers running back Frank Gore enjoyed against Arizona. Dockett then warned Davis about punishment forthcoming from teammate Adrian Wilson.

As much as NFC West fans wouldn't mind seeing Dockett and Davis square off in a steel cage, most of us would settle for getting them on a football field. Separate football fields would suffice at this point of the lockout.

My money would be on Dockett in a steel-cage match, though. He's about 40 pounds heavier than Davis and his experience battling offensive linemen in close quarters would surely help.

A couple hours ago, I wasn't feeling too good about the NFL atmosphere, what with all the headlines about gunplay and underage prostitution and heroin and purple drank and lawsuits and labor sniping.

That, of course, shouldn't taint all NFL people.

Admirable acts are being carried out every day by players, teams and the league.

Freelance writer Steve Terrill wrote a feature about a group of nine players who spent a month touring Rwanda with the Starkey Hearing Foundation to fit functionally deaf people with hearing aids.

Miami Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis was part of the group, along with his brother, San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

"The first time I helped someone to hear, I was so moved. I was emotional," Fitzgerald told Terrill. "To see a child hear their mother's voice for the first time and see their family's reaction is one of the moments I will never forget. We all have basic needs, and hearing is one of those needs."

If you're feeling a bit jaded about what's going on with the NFL these days, do yourself a favor and read this piece. It will do your football conscience some good.

Reader input didn't make compiling the 2010 All-AFC East team a simple process.

Despite your tremendous response to help me assemble the quintessential roster, I had to make an executive decision, break a deadlock, defend one of my no-brainer selections and throw out some ballots because of shenanigans.

In the end, we have an All-AFC East squad everybody should be satisfied with.

We began the process a week ago, when I chose 10 players I believed were automatic. The other 17 positions were for you to vote upon. You didn't disappoint.

There were some great races, most notably at left tackle and nose tackle.

As with any voting process on the AFC East blog, I always can be convinced to move from a stance. My instructions were to vote for one nose tackle for a 3-4 scheme with emphasis that New England Patriots keystone Vince Wilfork and Buffalo Bills standout Kyle Williams must be considered nose tackles because that's how each team identifies him.

But enough readers made the case that Wilfork and Williams played elsewhere along the line so frequently that they should be eligible for some quasi position. I do appreciate the point.

The Patriots' official game-by-game player participation record says Wilfork started eight games at defensive end. Williams started every game at nose tackle (12) or defensive tackle (four).

I decided to add Wilfork and Williams as "defensive tackles" on a defensive front with New York Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis, who received an avalanche of votes. But I didn't want to slight the No. 2 defensive end, Kendall Langford of the Miami Dolphins. Langford received a healthy number of votes. Too many to dismiss.

That left me with a dilemma: How can I honor four defensive linemen and still maintain a 3-4 alignment? I took the easy way out. I added a 12th defender. I'm not thrilled with my final decision, but it's an appropriate way to give proper credit where it's due.

On the other side of scrimmage, Dolphins left tackle Jake Long and Jets left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson finished in a tie, forcing me to make the call. Each was selected to be a Pro Bowl starter. Long was voted All-Pro.

I chose Long. He played hurt for much of the season. He slipped on plays here or there, but he mostly remained dominant.

A few readers took me to task for my coronation of Dolphins punter Brandon Fields without allowing a vote because Jets punter Steve Weatherford had a great season. Weatherford tied an NFL record with 42 punts inside the 20-yard line. He was impressive.

But I found Fields more remarkable this year. He ranked fourth with a 46.2-yard average (3.6 yards longer than Weatherford). Fields' net average of 37.8 yards was only 0.3 yards shorter than Weatherford's, but the Dolphins were atrocious on special-teams protection and coverage. They fired their special-teams coordinator after Week 4. Fields had two punts blocked and one returned for a touchdown.

The Jets have venerable special-teams coach Mike Westhoff and sensational coverage men, as illustrated by four Jets receiving at least two votes for the special-teams position on the All-AFC East team.

And it's not often a punter is MVP of a game, but Fields certainly was against the Jets in Week 14.

There were some surprises in the balloting.

Bills receiver Steve Johnson ran away with one of the two available spots, but I didn't expect Santonio Holmes to take the other one so handily over teammate Braylon Edwards or Patriots star Wes Welker.

I assumed Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski would win, but in a close race, especially with the possibility of splitting votes with teammate Aaron Hernandez. Gronkowski crushed everyone else. He had four times as many votes as his closest competition, Dustin Keller of the Jets.

Bills linebacker Arthur Moats finished a distant second to Calvin Pace. But I found it amusing that almost every time a vote came in for him, the reader stipulated it was because Moats injured Brett Favre.

Patriots rookie Devin McCourty had six times as many votes as Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis for the position opposite Jets star Darrelle Revis. Antonio Cromartie wasn't remotely in the race.

The most balanced voting happened at the safety positions. Patriots strong safety Brandon Meriweather edged out Jim Leonhard of the Jets, with Donte Whitner of the Bills closely behind in third.

Bills free safety Jairus Byrd, a Pro Bowler as a rookie in 2009, accumulated just 14 more votes than Patrick Chung of the Patriots.

The special-teams race was fun to track. Thirteen players received at least one vote, with Jets hitter Eric Smith barely beating teammate James Ihedigbo and Bills fullback Corey McIntyre.

A few thoughts on the end of another late-game victory for the Detroit Lions:

What it means: The Lions won their third consecutive game, two of which have come on the road, and now have a chance to elevate out of the NFC North basement for the first time in three seasons. A victory in next Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Minnesota Vikings will ensure it. Sunday’s game should be an instant classic in recent Lions history.

What I liked: The Lions scored the final 17 points to complete a comeback from 10 points down in the fourth quarter. A 53-yard touchdown reception by tailback Jahvid Best, Dave Rayner’s 47-yard field goal and DeAndre Levy’s 30-yard interception return accounted for the scoring. Levy’s decision to cut back at about 10-yard line was a smooth, veteran and knowledgeable football play.

What I liked II: Cornerback Nate Vasher intercepted Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne to set up Rayner’s field goal and also made a textbook tackle of Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown on the final play of the game, keeping Brown in bounds with the Dolphins out of timeouts. Vasher seemed buried two years ago in Chicago, and his career took him to San Diego and finally to Detroit. But Sunday, we got a reminder of how good of a player he once was.

What I liked III: Nate Burleson’s 30-yard block of Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis in the fourth quarter allowed tailback Best to maneuver downfield for his touchdown. Burleson basically face-guarded Davis across the field and down the right sideline before pancaking him near the goal line. Best got the credit for the score, but it wouldn’t have happened if Burleson hadn’t stayed with Davis.

Secondary woes: The Lions began the game without safety Louis Delmas, who was deactivated because of a concussion, and I checked my Lions roster a few times to identify some unfamiliar numbers. At different point, you saw Eric King, Prince Miller and Tye Hill playing in the Lions’ beleaguered secondary. While Vasher bailed out the secondary, it’s worth noting that Hill should have intercepted a Henne pass late in the second quarter. But the ball glanced off his hands and into those of Davone Bess for a 13-yard touchdown that gave the Dolphins a lead heading into halftime.

What I wasn’t sure of: Receiver Calvin Johnson wasn’t on the field for much of the fourth quarter. Did he have an injury? There was no official announcement that I saw or heard. *Update: Johnson had an ankle injury.

What’s next: The Lions will return home for their season finale to take on the Vikings, who might or might not have played their Week 16 game against the Philadelphia Eagles by then.

» NFC Stock Watch: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

FALLING

Steve Johnson, Bills receiver: A player can't fall much harder than Johnson did Sunday. He was riding a wave of national media attention for his breakout season and three-touchdown performance in Week 11. Against the Steelers, he dropped five passes, including a perfectly thrown 40-yarder in the end zone in overtime.

Brandon Tate, Patriots receiver: He's not getting on the field as much as he used to and dropped his best opportunity to make a play Thursday against the Lions. Tate, since scoring his first receiving touchdown against the Vikings in Week 8 to outperform Randy Moss, has three catches for 62 yards, and no receptions in his past two games.

Vontae Davis and Sean Smith, Dolphins cornerbacks: Head coach Tony Sparano will not say what team rules they violated, but both were removed from the starting lineup Sunday in Oakland. They came off the sideline to play well, however.

Mark Sanchez, Jets quarterback: Maybe he doesn't belong on the list, but I did bang the drum last week for him to receive MVP consideration. He had a ho-hum game for the first time in a long while. He did not throw for 300 yards or multiple touchdowns or conduct a winning drive in overtime. His 166 yards were his lowest output since Week 4.

RISING

Chad Henne, Dolphins quarterback: According to a South Florida Sun-Sentinel report, Henne's season was all but over when he injured his left knee in Week 10. Turns out, he missed one game, and returned Sunday for one of his best pro performances. He completed 57 percent of his throws for 307 yards and two touchdowns with one interception to beat the Raiders.

Brad Smith, Jets Swiss army knife: Smith took an end around 53 yards for a touchdown then returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown, sprinting the final 40 yards or so without his left shoe on. He also had one reception for 23 yards.

Kyle Williams, Bills nose tackle: His Pro Bowl-caliber season continued with two sacks against the Steelers. Williams, who's more penetrator than run-stopper, created havoc along the Steelers' offensive line and drew multiple penalties.

Devin McCourty, Patriots cornerback: The rookie picked off two Lions passes in the second half, giving him five for the season. His third-quarter interception prevented the Lions from taking a two-score lead. His fourth-quarter interception kept the Lions from getting back into the game.

MIAMI -- The equation was part Randy Moss, part Mike Heimerdinger, part Kerry Collins and Vince Young, part Dolphins defense.

The result from Moss was one catch for 26 yards.

In terms of influence on a game for a team expecting a jolt from a big addition, it was about zero. And the Titans needed significantly more than that in a disheartening 29-17 loss to Miami at Sun Life Stadium.

That’s hardly the sort of production we’ve seen in his four previous debut games, when he averaged 122 yards and 22.2 yards per catch and scored five touchdowns.

Unsurprisingly, Tennessee talked about his impact on coverages and the room he helped create for Chris Johnson.

It’s easy to Monday morning quarterback while watching replays, but there sure seemed to be a half-dozen plays where Moss was open or would have had a good chance to go get a ball when he didn’t have one come his way.

In most of those situations, the quarterback appeared to be looking the other direction. Offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger said he intended to move Moss around and get him the ball. Moss lined up at least 30 times on the left, a little more than half that often on the right and a handful of times in the slot.

Second-year cornerback Vontae Davis, who has played well against Moss in the past, was usually in coverage and said, “I kind of got his tendencies.”

But he also had assistance.

“He had help over the top or underneath -- either really soft under, which opened up the other side, or someone over the top, which opened up the other side,” Heimerdinger said. “I talked with [Moss] on the sidelines and he was pretty good about it. He said, ‘I don’t care. Let the coverage dictate it.’”

Said Jeff Fisher: “Our quarterbacks are throwing where the progression takes them. We had some open receivers and we had three or four balls either deflected or [where] Kerry was hit. If we catch those balls, maybe it’s a different ballgame.”

Given advantages in coverage, the rest of the Titans’ pass-catchers didn’t do much damage.

Bo Scaife had a game-high seven receptions for a 7.3-yard average. Nate Washington and Justin Gage were targeted nine times each like Scaife, but had only three catches apiece. Moss’ 26-yard reception was the long pass of the game for the Titans, who got a 30-yard run from Johnson.

Moss gave himself a poor review.

“I don’t think that I had a very good overall game,” he said.

If players such as Gage and Washington are to be the beneficiaries of the big experiment, they’ll have to do more and the quarterback will have to be more accurate in getting them the ball.

“They were going to leave a guy on him press and leave a guy on him over the top,” said Gage, who worked as the third receiver. “That singled us up on the backside a lot of the time and gave us opportunities.”

But the offense was not sharp and could not take advantage.

Collins, who has an injured middle finger on his throwing hand, was off in the first half with only 51 yards passing and didn’t return from intermission after suffering a calf injury on the second-to-last play of the half.

Young didn’t fare much better with 92 passing yards in the second half. Along with his pretty touchdown throw to Washington, he lost a fumble deep in Titans’ territory and threw an interception.

“I wasn’t pleased with the fumble early and there were a couple things early that weren’t what we wanted,” Heimerdinger said. “But then he got into a rhythm.”

Young engineered an 11-play, 74-yard march in the third quarter that ended with that nice 14-yard score to Washington. On that drive, not even looking at Moss paid off. But the same couldn’t be said for much of the rest of the passing game.

The two quarterbacks combined to complete 18 of 38 passes -- 47 percent. That’s awful.

“Some of the things they were doing on defense … [Moss] wasn’t open,” Young said.

The run game did appear to benefit from Moss’ presence. Chris Johnson had 17 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown, and Young, held out to be sure an ankle injury would heal, ran twice for 14 more.

And as unlikely as the Titans were to convert a fourth-and-20 with 3:28 remaining, it seemed especially ridiculous that it was one of the four or six plays for which Moss was off the field.

“He was tired,” Fisher said. “They all were tired. There was a lot of running today. We tried to make a play in the end zone. He wasn’t not out there for any reason other than he was tired.”

There is not a more feared player than Moss in such a situation, and it sure seemed like a white flag move to have him on the sideline as Young threw an interception to Reshad Jones in the end zone.

“A little more practice, a little more work and we’ll get things together,” Johnson said.

Even if the Titans are able to get Moss the ball, they shouldn’t look to him as the guy who’s going to lift them on his own, strong safety Chris Hope said.

“Moss can’t win the game by himself,” Hope said, “and that’s not what we were depending on.”

A few thoughts from the Dolphins' 29-17 win over the Titans.

What it means: The Dolphins persevered through injuries to starting quarterback Chad Pennington (shoulder) and Chad Henne (knee) to score a crucial victory and remain in the AFC East race.

Injury report: Pennington's turn as starting quarterback lasted two plays. He injured his shoulder again. He was hit while completing a 19-yard pass to Brian Hartline. Henne came in for Pennington and played decently, going 19-of-28 for 240 yards and one touchdown with one interception. Henne was knocked out of the game in the third quarter.

Wildcat returns: The Dolphins went with their Wildcat offense rather than rely on third quarterback Tyler Thigpen right away. Thigpen eventually entered the game and completed four of his six throws for 64 yards and a touchdown.

Touchdown bonanza: The Dolphins' struggling offense received scoring contributions from all sorts of cast members. For the second straight week, the Dolphins scored on their opening possession with a Ronnie Brown run. Third running back Patrick Cobbs caught Henne's touchdown pass. Tight end Anthony Fasano caught Thigpen's.

Quiet day for Moss: In his Titans debut, Randy Moss made one reception for 26 yards. He did draw a 33-yard pass interference penalty on Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis that helped the Titans score a first-quarter touchdown.

What's next: The Dolphins have four days to prepare for the Chicago Bears on Thursday night, but at least the game is in Sun Life Stadium.

Power Rankings: Preseason: No. 13. This week: No. 17.

2010 schedule/results

Where they stand: The Dolphins are 4-4 and in third place in the AFC East, two games behind the New York Jets and New England Patriots. But the Dolphins' gap really is greater than that because they're in serious tiebreaker trouble. They've lost to the Jets and Patriots and two other AFC teams apparently bound for the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. Unless the Jets and Patriots collapse, the Dolphins might already be down to competing with a half-dozen teams for the final wild-card spot.

Falling: The Dolphins were supposed to have a magnificent and multifaceted offense after trading for receiver Brandon Marshall. That gave Chad Henne one of the NFL's elite go-to targets in addition to Davone Bess in the slot and one of the most respected backfield tandems around. The offense has been frail both on the ground and through the air. Offensive coordinator Dan Henning has overseen only 11 touchdowns. Only the Carolina Panthers have fewer. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams have combined for three rushing touchdowns. Marshall has one touchdown.

On defense, the Dolphins have been decent. They rank 13th in total defense and 16th in scoring defense. But they haven't been ball hawks under new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. The Buffalo Bills are the only team with fewer interceptions. No team has recovered fewer fumbles. As a result, the Dolphins are a minus-7 in turnover margin.

Rising: Outside linebackers Cameron Wake and Koa Misi have chased down quarterbacks well. That was a concern in the offseason after cutting ties with Joey Porter and losing Jason Taylor to free agency. Wake is in his second NFL season, while Misi is a rookie. They have combined for 12 sacks, four shy of Porter's and Taylor's total last year. Also on defense, left cornerback Vontae Davis remains prone to the occasional lapse, but he has emerged as one of the league's top young pass defenders.

Bess is one of the NFL's most underrated players, but the Dolphins certainly value him. They signed Bess to a lucrative three-year extension. He leads all Dolphins players with three touchdowns. He's on pace to have 88 receptions for 902 yards.

Midseason MVP: Based on statistical production, Marshall would be the choice. He's on pace for 104 receptions and 1,236 yards. But he has only one touchdown, and I have a hard time selecting any offensive player as Dolphins MVP. That's why my pick is Wake, who ranks second in the NFL with 8.5 sacks.

Outlook: The Dolphins will have trouble making the playoffs, but it's certainly possible to accomplish. You can reason they are one debatable officiating decision from being 5-3 with a victory over the Steelers. Nevertheless, the Dolphins will need to go 6-2 in their remaining games to be confident in their postseason hopes and 5-3 at the very least. They'll need to get hot, and the key to that will be a clicking offense.

The Miami Dolphins have signed some veteran help to shore up a position of weakness, adding free-agent cornerback Al Harris on Wednesday.

The Green Bay Packers waived Harris on Monday. The 13-year veteran went unclaimed, allowing him to sign with any team. Harris was a Pro Bowler in 2007 and 2008, but he'll turn 36 in December and had a season-ending knee injury 12 months ago.

The Dolphins have been set at left cornerback with Vontae Davis, but they've been unsatisfied at right cornerback and nickelback -- not to mention with their ability to force turnovers.

Last year's right-side starter, Sean Smith, lost his job to Jason Allen just before the start of the regular season. Smith regained the job last week and dropped what would have been an interception for a touchdown in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

The Dolphins added cornerback Nate Ness off waivers last week.

Harris has started every one of the 102 games he played for Green Bay. He spent his first five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and has 21 career interceptions.

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FALLING

1. Brandon Meriweather, Patriots safety: The NFL fined him $50,000 (10 percent of his base salary) for his helmet-to-helmet launch into defenseless Ravens tight end Todd Heap in the second quarter. Patriots coach Bill Belichick pulled Meriweather from the game, and the Pro Bowler might have watched the rest of the game from the sideline had safety Jarrad Page not suffered a calf injury.

2. Mark Sanchez, Jets quarterback: This might be a stretch because Sanchez did recover for a fourth-quarter comeback on the road. But Sanchez did have his shakiest moments of the past five weeks. He threw his first two interceptions of the year.

3. Vontae Davis, Dolphins cornerback: He has been getting rightful attention as one of the NFL's top emerging cornerbacks, but he got charred by Packers receiver Greg Jennings on an 86-yard touchdown strike in the first quarter. The game-changing play came one snap after Chad Henne threw an interception to prevent the Dolphins from building on their 10-0 jump.

RISING

1. Cameron Wake, Dolphins outside linebacker: He erupted for his first three-sack NFL game, piling up losses of 24 yards. He hit Aaron Rodgers six times. Wake pulled down Rodgers to thwart a third-down play in overtime, forcing the Packers to punt. The Dolphins kicked a field goal on their next series.

2. Jermaine Cunningham, Patriots outside linebacker: The rookie recorded a strip sack -- his first sack and first forced fumble -- and another tackle for a loss in Sunday's victory over the Ravens.

3. Dwight Lowery, Jets cornerback: For the second straight week, the reserve defensive back iced the game by pouncing on the ball. Lowery returned a Brett Favre interception for a touchdown in Week 5 and jumped on a loose ball in the waning moments to end the Broncos' chances.