As Miami prepares to start its third-string quarterback and backup center Thursday night against the Chicago Bears in Sun Life Stadium, Sparano noted that quarterback Tyler Thigpen and center Cory Procter are at least familiar with one another at this point in the season.
``The butt that the hands have been under is the same,'' Sparano said. ``How's that? Familiar butt.''
In other words, Thigpen and Procter have been practicing with each other all season because of their roles with the scout-team offense. That's the good news. The bad news? Those repetitions haven't included the rest of the first-team offense at all.
Bears' first trip to face Dolphins here since 2002 is one of five Week 11 games between teams with winning records and presents a tough task as the locals try to inch up the playoff-contention ladder. Might Miami even fall to 0-3 this season in prime-time home games? Alas, yes. Chicago always is dicey to predict because erratic Jay Cutler can run the gamut from mistake-addled to brilliant -- and the Dolphins have a chance against a shaky Bears OL to bring out the Bad Jay. The thing is, there is nothing erratic about Chicago's defense. It is steadily very good, giving up the league's second-fewest points, in fact, and fourth-fewest yards. And Miami (you might have heard) is not only on a short week but also dealing with serious injury challenges. Tyler Thigpen's mobility could bring a jolt of needed spark and variety to Miami's offense, but let's also acknowledge Thigpen is an undersized third-string quarterback with a 1-10 career record as an NFL starter. Oh, almost forgot: Devin Hester vs. Dolphins' special teams
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