"Trying to shed some positive light on a day seemingly plagued by negatives, Dolphins coach Tony Sparano started to vent Monday. He couldn't understand why cornerback Jason Allen's recent promotion to a starting job was being viewed as an issue.

``From my time here, all I've heard about it is, `When is Jason Allen going to turn the corner?' '' Sparano said. ``Maybe the guy has turned the corner. I mean, we should be happy about this!

``To me, some of these things are really good problems.''

It was a solid point, really. If Allen's promotion was the result of his solid play rather than the result of poor play by Sean Smith, then Sparano would be right. But it was just one of several situations Monday that required similar refutations.

The Dolphins are preparing to open their season Sunday against the Bills under a cloud of uncertainty. Questions have built over the last few days, leading to a few unsettling (team decision makers might call them ``uneducated'') inferences.

Consider a few of them:

Side by side on a pair of stationary bicycles reserved for injured players, Dolphins left tackle Jake Long (knee) and linebacker Channing Crowder (lower abdomen) spent the first true day of the regular season peddling rather than practicing.

After the workout, cornerback Vontae Davis walked through the locker room with a pronounced limp because of a hurt ankle, while Will Allen, another cornerback, wasn't around at all, a separate controversy in its own right."