Asked after Sunday's win if he had a sleepless night knowing he would start three rookies in the secondary against the Jets, Dolphins coach Tony Sparano made it clear how nerve-racking the situation became.

``It caused me a sleepless week,'' Sparano said.

During the same game when cornerback Vontae Davis would make his first start opposite Sean Smith in the wake of Will Allen's season-ending knee injury, Sparano made the bold move of also elevating rookie safety Chris Clemons.

It already would be the first time in team history that two rookie cornerbacks would start. Swapping Clemons for struggling safety Gibril Wilson would make the scenario that much more rare.

``I do have a lot of confidence in these players,'' Sparano said. ``[Jets wide receiver] Braylon Edwards gives this team a different dimension, and I thought those guys hung in there. They just kept fighting.''

Sparano said his reason for elevating Clemons was based on the rookie's special-teams play during his NFL debut against the Saints.

``I don't think it was too big for him,'' Sparano said. ``This kid has good skills, and he has good ball skills. On the first series of the game, he came up and made a nice tackle.

``I've got to look at the film and see how he played overall, but I didn't hear his name out there, so that's a good thing.''

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez finished 20 of 35 for 265 yards.

RUN DEFENSE LIMITS JETS

As the Dolphins prepared to face the Jets' league-leading rushing offense (a title New York stole from Miami last week), they would do so without one of the key components to their run-defense: injured linebacker Channing Crowder.

So it should not be taken lightly that Miami held the Jets to 127 yards rushing despite New York's commitment to the ground game with 40 carries.

While running back Thomas Jones gained 102 yards on 27 carries, the Jets averaged only 3.2 yards per carry -- a defensive accomplishment that's impressive considering New York's previous success on the ground.

``That's a good running football team,'' Sparano said. ``I thought our defense really rose up and played well.''

Linebacker Matt Roth's return was a welcomed addition to the run defense, especially in the wake of Crowder's injury. Inside linebackers Akin Ayodele and Reggie Torbor also played well in his absence.

PLAN COMES TOGETHER

Sparano and wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. both heaped praise on special teams coach John Bonamego when it came to giving credit for Ginn's two touchdowns Sunday.

While the second return might have had more to do with Ginn's elusiveness, the initial touchdown was the result of a thread Bonamego implemented into the special-teams game plan throughout the week.

``It was a heck of a call by Bono,'' Sparano said. ``We set something up to start from one side and break it back. We felt like there was a lot of pressure. It worked perfectly.''

All week on game tape, Ginn said the Dolphins saw the Jets overloading to one side on kickoffs.

``I knew if I got to the backside, big things could happen,'' Ginn said.

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