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MIAMI GARDENS — Nate Ness knows all too well what life on the bubble feels like.
Ness, a University of Arizona alum, spent all of 2009 there bouncing around with four different teams. He wound up on the Dolphins' practice squad during the regular season.
He even switched positions from safety to cornerback this summer to improve his chances of making the Dolphins' 53-man roster.
Based on Saturday night's performance, where Ness sealed the 10-7 victory over Tampa Bay with a pass breakup in the end zone on fourth down, and forced a fumble in the red zone in the game's final three minutes, it appears Ness' position switch is paying off.
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"To be told by the team that I sealed the victory is a dream come true. But I can't dwell on it," said Ness, who contributed four tackles, broke up three passes and forced two fumbles. "I have to get better, and better as each day goes on to stick around."
Ness realizes one good game won't be enough to become the team's fifth cornerback. Especially considering the coaches want to get more consistency out of him.
"I was happy to see Nate bounce back a little bit. He had a couple plays earlier in the game that weren't exactly done the right way fundamentally," coach Tony Sparano said. "To see him get involved in a couple coverage things, and come up and make a tackle, that was good.
"Here's a young guy in situations where maybe the first time around, in his first series, it wasn't perfect. Then he bounced back and he shows you some of that."
Sparano said some of Ness' best work came on special teams where he excelled in his role as a gunner on punt coverage.
Ness said he realizes his best chance of staying in South Florida -- either on the 53-man roster or remaining on the practice squad -- is to be a dominant special teams player.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-dolphins-nate-ness-0814,0,7685147.story