Dolphins coach Tony Sparano was about to head upstairs to his office Wednesday shortly after he explained during his daily news conference how he knows the exact number of repetitions each of his players had taken four days into training camp.

But before he could disappear through the exit, it was time for a pop quiz: How many reps has linebacker Akin Ayodele taken so far, coach? Sparano took a few steps back outside the door and stood in thought for about 1 ½ seconds.

``Akin has 61 reps,'' Sparano said. ``No, I stand corrected. Akin Ayodele has 91 reps. Channing Crowder has 92 reps. Linebacker with the most reps? Reggie Torbor.''

Sparano then gave off a quick, playful chuckle -- as if to say, ``I showed you!'' -- before disappearing up the stairs.

Yet beyond just being a cool game Sparano could play at a party with Dolphins fans, his photographic recollection serves some real function, especially during a training camp when so many open competitions are taking place.

As Sparano explained Wednesday, when it comes to deciding the 53-man roster, the team wants to make sure it can evaluate players on the bubble while also making sure to allow for the actual training of other players.

``What I am able to do at that point is kind of say, `lets increase this guy's numbers, lets decrease this guy's numbers a little bit so that we can see a little bit more out here,' '' Sparano said. ``You want to make sure at the end of this that you have as much evidence as you possibly can in some of these situa-tions.''

SURPRISE LEADER

Tackle Andrew Gardner, for instance, has taken the most repetitions (103) of any player. That's because, in addition to his daily work with the third-string line, Sparano also wants to see how he plays with better talent on the second-string line.

Veteran nose tackle Jason Ferguson, on the other hand, has only taken 56 reps. And it's all by design.

Each night after practices have concluded, Sparano meets with his staff to tally the number of repetitions of all the players. He then stores that information in his head to allow him to manage whether he has seen enough from one player or too much from another.

``If a guy shows us that he is doing better, we're going to push him to the front a little bit and get him more reps,'' Sparano said. ``I think you're going to start, it gives us a chance to see them separate.''

It's not something to which players really pay attention. For example, Gardner said it was the first he learned that he was the team's repetition leader at this point in camp.

``I knew I was getting a lot, but I'm not out there counting reps,'' Gardner said. ``I'm just trying to do the best I can with the reps I get.''

It makes sense that players wouldn't be counting. It might even seem a bit neurotic that Sparano has memorized the precise number of reps each player has taken. But the reasons, when explained, make sense.

As camp continues, Sparano said the repetitions would fluctuate based on performance. And without knowing exactly how many reps a player took previously, the coach wouldn't know how to balance those numbers in other ways.

At this point in camp, Sparano would just as likely prefer the title of manager instead of coach. At this point, he has entrusted his staff to do the actual coaching while he monitors practice to make sure everything is working like a machine.

KEEPING TRACK

Sparano said his current job description requires him ``to watch, to manage, to make sure from a practice standpoint that we are getting all that we need to get ourselves prepared, and to more importantly, evaluate these players to make sure we have the right 53 players.''

So, as Sparano creeps from one area of the field to the next, he isn't simply running around barking orders. He isn't always even coaching at all. He will save those responsibilities for another time.

``When we get into the season, my job changes,'' Sparano said.

``But right now, in training camp, my job is to watch.''

And remember.