Dolphins coach Tony Sparano sounded skeptical about an increased use of starters on special teams and even defended that phase of the game as being better overall despite high-profile failures, most recently Oakland's 93-yard punt return touchdown Sunday that almost cost Miami the game.

''They have three other punt returns during the course of the game,'' Sparano said Monday. ``What did they average on those three? 6.6 yards. The first kickoff of the game, what did that get them? It got them 40 yards. Four-zero yards on the first kickoff. The next three kickoffs, what did they get? They got 44 on the next three. In the game, they averaged 21 yards on kickoff returns [actually 21.8 yards]. Was it all bad? Does it all stink? No, it doesn't.''

Though true, Sparano's logic could be applied to many special-teams units, not just the Dolphins' No. 31-ranked punt-coverage unit and No. 32-ranked kickoff-coverage unit.

The only team statistically worse than the Dolphins at punt coverage, Minnesota, has given up four punt-return touchdowns, two to New Orleans' Reggie Bush in one game and one to Green Bay's Will Blackmon in each of their games with the Packers. Subtract those touchdowns, which account for 56.4 percent of the punt-return yardage against the Vikings, and Minnesota gives up a respectable 9.2 yards per return over 23 returns. Alas, neither the scoreboard nor the stat sheet allows for mulligans.

''A big part of special teams are your field-goal and protection units, too,'' Sparano testified. ``That's part of special teams. This guy [kicker Dan Carpenter] has been pretty good. He kicked a bunch of field goals not too long ago, he kicked the winner [Sunday]. That was something we did pretty good. Our field goal block unit has been putting pressure all year long on opposing teams. Well, that had a little something to do with the ball [Sunday] dinking off of the upright, too. You can believe that it didn't, but it did. And when you watch the film, you can see that. Our kickoff return has been getting better.''

Patrick Cobbs, one of the few Dolphins special-teamers receiving plaudits, doesn't believe the problem is one of effort: ``It's more technical. More breaking down [in a tackling stance], making tackles, things like that.''

Starters theoretically would be better at the basics of blocking and tackling. In past years, linebacker Channing Crowder did special teams. Sunday, starting free safety Renaldo Hill worked on coverage units.

''I just have too many people playing too many plays right now,'' Sparano said. ``Renaldo had to go out there yesterday, but we weren't counting on Renaldo having to make the first two tackles and thank God he did. We'll see. If we need to do it, we'll do it. But, you've got to be careful with what you're doing there. When I come back into this [media] meeting after I put Channing Crowder on the kickoff team and he gets hurt, you guys will be asking me why I let Channing Crowder on the kickoff team, so I wasn't born yesterday.''

`HUNGRY TEAMS'

The way the Dolphins spanked New England and solidly beat AFC West leader Denver on the road, but lost to 3-7 Houston and barely nipped 2-8 Seattle and Oakland at home beg the question of whether the team plays to its competitors' level.

''I don't know if they play to the level of their competition,'' Sparano said. ``I guess I just give the competition an awful lot more credit. I think that the teams that we've played, without a doubt, have in some situations, have very good personnel that way and they're physical teams, all of those things come into effect. You know it's not going to be an easy game. They're hungry teams coming into your place to play. I give them a lot of credit. Three, four weeks ago, nobody cared about what the Miami Dolphins were doing, so I find it hard to believe that my guys, right now, are playing down to any level. I think these guys go out and they sell out and they play pretty hard when they're out there. I'm the worst out of them, I don't give them any pats on the back, but they play hard.''

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