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Miami Dolphins place DT Jason Ferguson on injured reserve

On Monday, the Dolphins made the anticipated decision to place nose tackle Jason Ferguson on the injured reserve list, causing a premature conclusion to the season for another team captain and key contributor.

Although it's tough to argue one injury as more significant than another -- especially when other players have included quarterback Chad Pennington and running back Ronnie Brown -- the task of replacing Ferguson is surely among Miami's biggest challenges yet.

``It's tough,'' defensive end Randy Starks said. ``Without your nose [tackle], you don't have a defense. He pretty much kept the defense together.''

Understudies take the stage for Miami Dolphins

T he hobbling Miami Dolphins looked like a troupe of unusually muscular improv artists on Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers.

As injuries mounted, reinforcements shuttled in and out. Understudies took over for stars. Others filled in at unfamiliar spots. Nate Garner gave the most creative role-playing performance. Trained as a tackle, he started at left guard, shifted to right tackle, then switched to center, a position he had never played before.

It was kind of like asking a pianist to play the organ -- in the middle of a concert.

Miami Dolphins' linebacker Matt Roth to miss first six weeks of regular season

The Dolphins worked through the preseason without Matt Roth, last year's starting strong-side linebacker. Now they will work at least the first five games -- and possibly more -- of the regular season without him.

Saturday's roster moves, to get down to the NFL's 53-man limit, included moving Roth, who started 14 regular-season games and the playoff loss to Baltimore, to the reserve/non-football injury list. Roth is unavailable through the first six weeks of the NFL schedule -- the Dolphins' first five games and their bye week.

Beginning with the week of their sixth game, against New Orleans, the Dolphins will have 21 days to begin including Roth in practice. Once Roth returns to practice, they would have 21 days during which he can practice. After the 21-day practice period, the Dolphins have to decide whether to activate him or keep him on the reserve/nonfootball injury list for the season.

Injuries piling up for Miami Dolphins

Outlined against a gray, rainy November sky, The Four Bikemen of the Dolphins rode for the first time.

The foursome pedaling away on exercise bikes -- linebacker Joey Porter, left guard Justin Smiley, backup nose guard Paul Soliai and linebacker Erik Walden -- during Wednesday's drizzle drenched practice highlighted the way injuries have cut away at the Dolphins in a manner they didn't in 2008. Dolphins coach Tony Sparano couldn't recall a time last season when he had four roster players missing practice.

``But I wouldn't expect that that's going to stay that way,'' Sparano said. ``Well, we'll see.''

Miami Dolphins' Tony Sparano asked about injuries: 'I wouldn't know where to begin'

Two wins in five days saved the next few Dolphins games from irrelevance. How much strength up the middle, at nose guard and center, they'll have for those games remains to be seen.

They don't know when (or if) nose guard Jason Ferguson will be back after being helped off the field with a knee injury at the end of the third quarter. Three centers snapped the ball to quarterback Chad Henne on Thursday night, starting with Jake Grove, who limped out of Bank of America Stadium with a bad ankle.

At least Dolphins coach Tony Sparano thinks running back Ricky Williams can handle the kind of 25-to-30-touches game such as he had Thursday against Carolina -- despite Williams getting ``dinged up'' enough that Sparano sat him for the Dolphins' final possession.