Buffalo at Miami


No. 13 ready to change his luck


Breaking down the Bills and Dolphins


Focal Point: Flutie vs. Miami corners


AFC: Four on the floor


Inside the Dolphins playbook


Scouting report

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills linebacker Sam Cowart grew up in Florida watching Dan Marino on television.

	Rookie Sam Cowart prompted the Bills to change their defense to get him in the starting lineup.

"We had Tampa Bay and the Dolphins," said Cowart, who grew up in Jacksonville before there were Jaguars there . "You had to be a Dolphins fan."

And a Marino fan.

"He was the man," Cowart said. "And he still is the man."

Make that a marked man.

When the Dolphins and Marino take to the air against the Bills as they doubtless will in their AFC wild-card game in Miami on Saturday, Cowart will be chasing the man. But he won't be looking for an autograph.

"It does make a difference going back home to play the Dolphins," said Cowart, the Bills' second-leading tackler as a rookie. "But this would be a big game for me whether we played it there or in Denver or New York."

But Cowart knows there will be a lot of people cheering for him, not only in Florida but also in western New York.

He was the Bills' top pick in the 1998 draft, taken in the second round with the 39th selection, Cowart's job was to fill the void created by the departure of Chris Spielman and Bryce Paup.

"He's had a great year for a rookie," Bills defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell said. "We're very pleased with his play."

The ultimate accolade came when the Bills built their defense around Cowart, opting to go with the 3-4 alignment to accommodate their quick-thinking and fleet-footed rookie.

Cowart played in all 16 regular-season games for Buffalo and broke into the lineup after coming off the bench to record four tackles in a loss to St. Louis.

The Bills were 0-3 then and mixing the 3-4 and 4-3 defenses. With Cowart as a starter, they're 10-3. Not that Cowart has done it himself, of course. But he has 119 tackles, including 72 solo stops, and pick off two passes.

"For a rookie to come in and learn two defenses and get over 100 tackles, that's impressive," said linebacker John Holecek, who led the team in tackles this season despite missing three games. "I know I couldn't have done that my rookie year."

Cowart got his first start -- at right inside linebacker -- in the team's first win, a 26-21 victory over San Francisco. The 3-4 defense and Cowart worked so well, the team put both to work full time.

"Sam played so well, we didn't have any choice but to stick with the 3-4," cornerback Ken Irvin said. "With a player like Sam, you want a guy like that on the field."

Cowart has made 11 starts including the final eight games of the regular season. He played one of his best games in a losing cause, making 14 tackles and intercepting a Vinny Testaverde pass in a 34-12 loss to the New York Jets at the Meadowlands on Nov. 8.

"He always believes we can win the game," Irvin said. "He's a feisty guy, and he never quits."

Not all of Cowart's contributions show up on the stat sheet. "He makes a lot of tackles for losses," Bills coach Wade Phillips said. "He just has a knack for finding the football."

Cowart came up with eight tackles in a 30-24 victory over Miami the second time the teams played this season, in Buffalo.

Marino aside, one thing won't bother Cowart in south Florida -- the heat.

"Up here, where it's cold, there's really nothing to do but stay in the house," said Cowart, bundling up to face the latest winter storm.

"I gotta get going," said Cowart, who hopes to be all over Marino. "My truck's covered up out there, man. Glad I got a garage."