The Harrington Family Foundation

Stay with Joey Harrington. Give him a real shot, not just an instant in-and-out based on how Dolphins brass feels about Daunte Culpepper's surgical knee.

If Culpepper still is rehabbing, Harrington will be in there anyway. Looking at another dire trip, this one to New Jersey Jetsville, Nick Saban officially named Harrington his starter Monday. But even if Culpepper is seen as fully ready physically in a couple of weeks, and the whole roof hasn't fallen in on Harrington, Joey should get a reasonable chance.

He brought more energy to the Dolphins in one game than Culpepper had in four.

Joe Montana might not be able to win with all the emergencies on this offense. Right now, though, Harrington looks like a better bet than even a 100 percent Culpepper.

QUICK DECISIONS

With Harrington, it's about energy. It's about getting rid of the ball. It's about feet-don't-fail-me-now.

With some of these Dolphins blockers, the QB had better be able to escape. The flee factor is huge.

Winning 20-10, New England sacked Harrington once. As nearly every South Floridian with a pulse knows by now, Culpepper had been pillaged 21 times in four games.

''By design, it was helpful that if the ball's coming out faster, you don't have to block them as long,'' Saban said. That's his headmasterish way of endorsing the quick release. This involves more than throwing with just the arm. It's pushing off the right leg, too, and has to do with quick decisions as well.

Harrington committed two interceptions against the Patriots. That was his undoing in Detroit, 62 interceptions against 60 touchdowns in four seasons. But one of those steals Sunday in New England was only partly Harrington's fault.

Again, picks or no picks, Harrington's zeal seemed infectious. More pep in the step. As little as a 10-point total says for enthusiasm, it did show.

On physical ability alone, maybe Culpepper should be the long-term man. But either his injury or his seeming lack of passion, or both, work against him now.

And who says Harrington wouldn't thrive in a vastly more positive atmosphere than he ever found with a misbegotten Lions franchise?

That tempest about words on the practice field takes something from a bigger truth. Whatever Culpepper and Saban did or did not say in practice last week might be beside the point.

(The actual version is hard to come by, because Culpepper wasn't speaking to anybody in the locker room Sunday, the head coach is so loath to reveal anything, and none of his 23 assistant coaches is allowed to converse with the lowly, poisonous people called media.)

The Dolphins butchered their chances in Foxborough, Mass., with ineptitude. Interceptions. Dropped balls. Penalties. Only so much of that was on Harrington.

My in-box got crammed with e-mails demanding to know why Harrington wasn't playing while Saban's folks were lurching to 1-3 with a 12.7-points-per-game average.

Well, I rationalized, Harrington wasn't brought in to split time with Culpepper. Saban hired him to go in only when Culpepper couldn't make it.

Harrington has gone in now, and the Dolphins looked markedly better for it.

Yes, they just fell to 1-4, which looks way too much like last year's 3-7 start. Obviously, those who spoke of a Super Bowl for these Dolphins were fools, and look who's talking.

LIMITED OPPORTUNIES

Defense keeps hanging in there. But whoever plays QB is looking at a precious few receivers, with Marty Booker hurt and Randy McMichael, Wes Welker and Chris Chambers as the only experienced catchers. So we're not doing any QB a great favor by nominating him as savior. It's just that Harrington looks like so much more of a leader. So give him a real try and see if he can make this wreck of a season a little less of one.