Two key cogs in the Dolphins defense, middle linebacker Channing Crowder and nose guard Jason Ferguson, are listed on the final injury report as ``doubtful'' for Sunday's game against New England, which has the AFC's No. 1 offense.

Crowder, whom Sparano calls the unquestioned quarterback of the defense and one of its surest tacklers, missed last week's game against the Jets with a shoulder injury. The Jets rolled up 127 yards rushing against the Dolphins' then-No. 4-ranked run defense, which is actually less than the average rush yards allowed in the games Crowder has missed over the past three seasons.

Though Crowder practiced this week, he was limited each day. Charlie Anderson, an outside linebacker who backs up Joey Porter on the weak side, worked with the inside linebackers Thursday and Friday in practice.

On Friday, the 35-year-old Ferguson, who was on last week's injury report with a foot injury, made light of this week's elbow injury with, ``Who, me banged up? I'm old. It's easy for me to get banged up. It is what it is. It's part of the game.''

Backup nose guard Paul Soliai played a career-high in plays against the Jets and had the best game of his career.

The Dolphins would like to use Soliai to keep Ferguson fresh for late season games, but aren't ready for a passing of the torch just yet. In a 3-4 defense, the run defense effectiveness starts with the nose guard and Ferguson has had a strong season.

Also, he's provided the bonus of a strong middle push on the pass rush, which will be important Sunday against the No. 2 pass offense in the league.

Out for the Patriots will be offensive tackle Matt Light, running backs Sammy Morris and Fred Taylor, defnesive end Jarvis Green and wide receiver Julian Edelman. Tight end Ben Watson, defensive end Ty Warren and cornerback Jonathan Wilhite are all listed as ``questionable.''

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@