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While most of the world is caught up in the (not inconsequential) questions raised by the return of Ricky Williams and the contract status of Ronnie Brown, there are other questions in Miami -- some of which might actually be of greater overall importance to Fantasy owners than those involving Brown and Williams.

After all, the Dolphins didn't draft Brown with the second pick in April's NFL draft to watch from the sidelines. Contract issues and Williams' presence notwithstanding, Brown was chosen as the team's feature back of the future.

As for Williams, the four-game suspension he'll open the season with has to at least temper the enthusiasm surrounding his return.

In fact, my opinion of this situation hasn't changed greatly since April, when I wrote: "Brown is the right guy, in the right place at the right time." New head coach Nick Saban is determined not to run him into the ground, but Brown will be the primary offensive weapon and he'll have every opportunity to finish 2005 as the league's top rookie halfback.

But we can debate this one more fully once Brown's agent and team officials hammer out a deal and the former Auburn standout joins his new teammates on the field of play.

In the meantime, there are bigger "Fish" to fry. ... As in figuring out who the Dolphins' starting quarterback will be.

As Palm Beach Post staffer Greg A. Bedard noted Wednesday, Gus Frerotte said he is "ready to take control" and would be "very disappointed" if he isn't named the starter.

A.J. Feeley "expects" to start and said that's his goal.

But Saban continues to go out of his way to diminish the team's open competition at quarterback. "No one here is trying to make a quarterback controversy," Saban said Tuesday.

For now, let's substitute the phrase "intense competition" for word "controversy." That seems to be something upon which all involved can agree.

"There's always competition. ... Every guy's tying to do their own job," Feeley told Associated Press sports writer Tim Reynolds on Tuesday. "And you can't worry about what he's doing, if he's making a play or he's making a completion. You can't really worry about that. You have to worry about yourself."

So far, Feeley and Frerotte appear to be splitting time equally making it difficult to discern whether Saban favors one over the other. In fact, the players themselves claim not to know which rung on the depth chart they occupy.

"Every coach is different," Frerotte said. "It's up to him and his opinion, when he thinks he needs to make that choice."

"Everybody wants to start and that's my plan," said Feeley, who started eight games last year, one where he split time with Jay Fiedler, during a dismal 4-12 season. "I don't think you come into the season expecting not to start. Then you're fighting an uphill battle to begin with."

At a glance, one could easily come to the conclusion this competition is too close to call. But here at Diehards world-wide headquarters, "too close to call" simply means a more thorough, in-depth examination is in order.

Feeley is 28, already acquainted with the Dolphins' receiving corps and has earned the respect of some teammates for the way he played through injury and pain in 2004. Frerotte turns 34 on Sunday, has started six games since the start of the 2001 season and hasn't been a full-time starter since 1997.

Frerotte, though, is entering his third year in the system that new offensive coordinator Scott Linehan used successfully in Minnesota, where the two worked together in 2003 and 2004. It's probably worth noting that he was a Pro Bowl player in his lone season as a 16-game starter, albeit in 1996 with Washington.

Frerotte has played in 111 games and started 64. He has also appeared in two playoff games.

"I have seen a lot of things happen in games," Frerotte said. "I have had a lot of adversity that I have had in my career, and I know that we are going to go through that this year. We are going to need a leader that's going to have to pull these guys up when times aren't good. I have been through a lot and I am ready to take control."

I agree; the edge in experience goes to Frerotte.

As for recent history. ...

Feeley's initiation to starting in the NFL was hardly a smooth one in 2004, a year when he threw more interceptions than touchdowns and had the worst passer rating -- 61.7 -- among first-stringers in the league.

As Miami Herald beat man Armando Salguero put it: "Last season, Feeley sometimes executed nothing but his own chances to earn the organization's confidence as he threw 15 interceptions versus 11 touchdown passes."

But he was never content in that offense and was so beat up behind an ineffective offensive line he dropped to 206 pounds at one point.

Frerotte, meanwhile, was Daunte Culpepper's reserve in Minnesota, throwing exactly two passes in the Vikings' 18 regular- and postseason games. Since the second week of October 2003, Frerotte has dressed for 29 NFL games; he's started none and gone 0-for-3 throwing the ball.

Let's give recent history to Feeley. ...

Now how about their understanding of the offense?

According to Salguero, Feeley, who is back up to 226-227 pounds, is more confident about what the new offensive system can allow him to do. "I think we're going to put ourselves in better situations where we probably won't be as predictable as we were last year," he said. "We have a [few] more options this year."

Feeley admits he is still learning the offense but he is also trying to understand Linehan, who will call Miami's plays.

"Different coaches have different philosophies, different ways they want you to approach the game and where they want you to go with the ball," Feeley said. "I guess [my assignment] would be to find the comfort level with coach Linehan as to where he wants the ball on certain plays."

Frerotte, on the other hand, already knows exactly where Linehan wants the passes to go and hopes that will be sufficient to keep him ahead of Feeley.

"Hopefully, you make better decisions when you do have the familiarity," Frerotte said. "You know where to go against certain defenses and what the coaches are thinking. Every play is not perfect. You just have to make good decisions so that things don't go the wrong way.

"Hopefully with my knowledge of the offense, it could push me in the right direction."

No push here; the edge again goes to Frerotte. ...

Next question: Which of the two is more capable of throwing the ball and leading a team?

"A.J. looks like a quarterback and plays like a quarterback at times," an unnamed AFC scout told Bedard. "But when a play breaks down, he has shown the propensity to make big mistakes.

"Gus has a good arm, but I just don't think he can be counted on, physically. He certainly knows the system well having been with Linehan in Minnesota.

"It's two bad the Dolphins can't combine the two. They might have something there."

Another push (and less-than-ringing endorsements for both).

So who's it going to be, Feeley or Frerotte?

As Bedard put it: "Both players have talent. Both have experience. Both are ready."

But in the end, I still find myself giving the early overall edge to Frerotte -- based more on his understanding of -- and perhaps more importantly, familiarity with -- Linehan's offense than his experience.

That doesn't mean prepared to guarantee this prediction or ready to chisel Frerotte's name above Feeley's on my rankings. Of course, I'd have to be in a bind to draft either.

Nonetheless, the winner of this competition is still of great interest. He will have a major influence on the Fantasy value of Chris Chambers, Randy McMichael, David Boston and Marty Booker as well as Brown, Williams and the rushing attack. ...

For what it's worth, Saban made it clear he wants to settle on one quarterback and go from there. "I'm not interested in using a two-quarterback system," he said.

He tried that last season at LSU. Saban juggled Marcus Randall and JaMarcus Russell to the point that he wouldn't tell either who the starter was until the day before games.

And as Bedard reminded readers, the experiment failed with fans when Randall was pulled after throwing an opening-drive touchdown against Auburn. LSU didn't get into the end zone and lost 10-9. ...

In a few related notes. ...

Frerotte reportedly had a great practice so far Wednesday morning, particularly in the 9-on-7 drill when he split the defense and hit Chambers in stride for a 50-yard touchdown.

In Wednesday evening's session, Feeley connected down the far sideline on a long pass to Boston but struggled on short passes.

But Feeley missed Thursday's practice to see a doctor after picking up a stomach virus that may have originated with guard Jeno James.

Saban said a couple of other players were affected by the virus -- though no other player missed practice because of it. Saban was unsure if Feeley would be back at practice Friday.

"We've got a little virus going around on the team," Saban said. "A.J. went to the doctor today, Jeno was sick. That was part of the problem with him and we had three or four other guys have this kind of stomach virus kind of a thing that's going around. ..."

One last QB-related item. ...

Frerotte had laser eye surgery years ago and thought he would never have to fumble with contact lenses again, but now he's wearing lenses at practices and he loves them.

That's because Frerotte and some other Miami players have been fitted with nonprescription lenses that shield their eyes from the sun -- a sort of sunglasses worn on the cornea.

"They work great," Frerotte said. ...

Other items of interest out of Miami tonight. ...

Serious negotiations with Brown remain on hold and two sources within the NFL Players Association told the Herald on Tuesday that both the team and agent Todd France were waiting to see a final version of the contract that quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith signed with San Francisco on Tuesday.

Saban indicated he hoped the deal Smith signed would be the impetus to get negotiations rolling with Brown. "I really don't have any update on any status," Saban said regarding Brown. "Hopefully [Smith's] signing in San Francisco will give us a baseline for what we need to do to make a deal to get him here. I want you to know that everybody in this organization is working very hard to try and do that. ..."

If the reports of Smith getting $24 million in guaranteed money are accurate, the Dolphins will likely have to offer in the area of $22 million in guarantees for Brown. Smith's total guarantee was a 20 percent improvement on what Eli Manning, the No. 1 overall pick in 2004, received from the New York Giants.

If that percentage increase is to be used for Brown's deal and based on the $18.3 million that Oakland offensive lineman Robert Gallery received last season, the guarantees would be just less than $22 million for Brown.

The Dolphins had been hoping to guarantee Brown less than $20 million, but that seems unlikely at this point and could force an extended holdout. ...

According to Bedard, Williams has looked better than expected in early sessions. "I think it is easy to see why he has been as successful a player as he has been in the past," Saban said. "When he carries the ball there is a little something different about it."

Williams, who opened camp working with the fourth-team offense, often stood away from his teammates on his first day, but he has appeared to mix in better since. ...

And finally. ...

The district attorney in Georgia where McMichael was arrested earlier this month regarding a late-night incident with wife said his office plans to pursue charges quickly in the case.

However, Augusta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Danny Craig said he would entertain a continuance of the proceedings if McMichael's attorney requested one. Such a continuance might allow McMichael to avoid a possible fine and/or suspension from the NFL this season.

Saban has not discussed details of the case but said the team is committed to helping McMichael work through his issues.

"I have tried to focus on the personal aspects of what we can do technically and what can help him in the future," Saban said. "We have had several good discussions about it. We will continue to try to work with him to help him. Regardless of whatever the consequences of this circumstance, maybe we can help him from having significant problems in the future.

"Randy has been a good guy in a lot of ways on the field as a leader and a well-liked player with a lot of spirit as a competitor. He is a hard guy not to like, and it's unfortunate that a few things have occurred that doesn't enhance his legacy as a person that we both would like for it to be.

"Hopefully, we can do something to correct that in the future."

According to Salguero, McMichael talked to the media Thursday for the first time since the opening of camp and the first time since the incident in Georgia.

McMichael, who Salguero characterizes as an "ordinarily a likeable guy," refused to discuss anything but football-related matters so he didn't answer questions about his legal problems.

One reporter asked McMichael pointedly whether he has a drinking problem.

"Do you?" McMichael answered tersely.

Salguero noted that the interview ended soon after that.

Despite the legal woes, Pro Football Weekly advised readers on July 25 that with McMichael entering the final year of his rookie contract, the Dolphins will likely designate him with their franchise tag following the season.

A big reason why is that the franchise number for tight ends ($2.687 million in 2005) is so low.