Biete - Kristall » five-game road trip and then dropped

DAVIE, Fla. -- Being an aggressive cornerback, Xavien Howard interrupted an inquisitors question Tuesday, and it went incomplete.The subject was Howards most eye-catching attribute, and the Miami Dolphins rookie eagerly jumped in midway through the query.Ball skill, Howard answered. Ive been a playmaker. They got me here for a reason. Ive just got to do what I did in college, and do more. Yes sir. Takeaways. Yes sir.Now that hes back at practice, the Dolphins second-round draft pick is showing some swagger. Howard missed the first three weeks of camp recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, which may have spoiled his chances of starting at cornerback in the season opener.He was activated last week from the physically unable to perform list, practiced for the third day in a row Tuesday, and could provide a significant upgrade in a shaky secondary.It feels good to be back out there competing again with my guys, Howard said.The former Baylor star required right knee surgery after hurting his knee on the final day of minicamp in June. That temporarily took him out of the competition for the job opposite veteran newcomer Byron Maxwell.Howard said his goal remains to win a starting job this year, and hes not fretting about the practice time missed.I wouldnt call it a setback, he said. Id just say its a learning process that I went through, and Im just learning from it -- a lot of mental reps, just seeing what the older guys were doing and learning from them.Before the injury, Howard received favorable reviews in offseason drills. New coach Adam Gase especially liked the knack Howard showed for deflections and interceptions.He gets his hands on a lot of balls, Gase said. When he does get both hands up to make a play on the ball, he usually catches it.Howard made nine interceptions in his final two years at Baylor, and now the Dolphins are eager to see him in an NFL game. Hell sit out Thursday against Atlanta, but expects to play in next weeks preseason finale, and has no doubt hell play in the season opener Sept. 11 at Seattle.In Howards absence, converted receiver Tony Lippett has been working with the first team at cornerback. Expected to join the mix eventually is veteran newcomer Chris Culliver, who has yet to practice while he recovers from a serious knee injury last Thanksgiving.This week the Dolphins have slowly been working Howard into one-on-one and team drills.I wouldnt say hes far behind mentally, Gase said. Hes dialed in to what were doing. Hes playing one-on-one coverage a lot of the time. Thats his strength. Were going to try to lean on his strength of matching him up with somebody and letting him go.That sounds good to Howard. He wore an NFL uniform for the first time Friday, watching from the sideline when the Dolphins played at Dallas.I just couldnt explain the feeling, he said. It was my first NFL game and I was excited, cheering guys on.Soon he expects to have teammates cheering for him.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve-Wine. 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The Phoenix Mercury wouldnt mind playing Washington Mystics more frequently.The Mercury are 9-2 in the last 11 meetings with the Mystics heading into Wednesdays game at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix.Phoenix is also 7-4 so far this season against all East teams -- compared to 1-9 against their home West -- and own a 2-0 mark against Washington.But the Mercury (8-13) have hit a rough patch with three straight losses, the most since opening the season with a four-game losing streak and six losses in their first eight.The Mystics (9-10) had won five of six heading into their current five-game road trip and then dropped three straight away from home.Guard Tayler Hill leads Washington with a 15.3-point average while center Emma Meesseman is right behind at 15.1 and a teeam-best 5.dddddddddddd7 rebounds. Meesseman had a career-high-tying 24 points in last Sundays 93-82 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.Mercury veteran Diana Taurasi is sixth in league scoring with a 19.2-point average and eighth in assists (4.1). Teammate Brittney Griner tops the team with a 6.2 rebound per game average.Taurasi seeks her fourth gold medal as she joins Team USA next month for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Griner is also on the team, making her first Olympics appearance.Washington wraps up the road trip on Friday at Seattle before heading home for a July 20 game against New York. Phoenix is at San Antonio on Saturday. ' ' '