Miami Dolphins fans had plenty to jeer in 2010, including erratic quarterback play, costly turnovers, and an over-reliance on field goals, but the spate of defensive backs dropping sure interceptions may have been the problem with the greatest effect on the Dolphins disappointing season.

"We felt like at the end of the year it was somewhere around 24, 25 balls that we thought we had our hand on you know that we could have made plays on," coach Tony Sparano explained Tuesday, "some harder than others, some routine."

Had a portion of those passes been converted into interceptions, Miami may well have turned a few losses into wins.

"When you look at it teams that are playing in somewhere deep into January there's teams whose turnover ratio is pretty good," Sparano said.

Miami's turnover margin per game was -0.8 in 2010, third worst in the NFL. The Dolphins hauled in 0.7 interceptions per game, fourth worst in the league.

But so far in training camp, Sparano likes what he sees.

"Right now they’re catching them out there [in practice] so we got to take it into the game and catch a few in the game," he said.

Sean Smith has been especially under the gun to improve his interception numbers.

"He's got to catch the ball," Sparano told the Miami Herald Monday. "He's got to finish those kinds of plays off."

Last month, Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland said of Smith's penchant for dropping interceptions, "Sean got his hands on a lot of balls. If he catches half of them, he probably leads the league in interceptions.

If the Dolphins want to make the playoffs in 2011, Smith, Vontae Davis, and the rest of the DBs will have to shake off the dropsies.