DAVIE, Fla. -- Miami Dolphins coach Cam Cameron decided against switching this week to a quarterback who has yet to take an NFL snap.
Instead, Cameron will stay with a quarterback who is 0-4 as a starter.
Cleo Lemon got the nod over rookie John Beck for Sunday's game against Buffalo.
"You go into every game (asking), who gives us at this point in time the best opportunity to win?" Cameron said Monday. "And if you make a change, has the person you put in earned that right?"
At 0-8, the Dolphins are desperate for a victory to end talk they might become the first team to finish 0-16.
Beck was drafted in the second round and has been widely considered the Dolphins' quarterback of the future. Giving him a tryout would help the Dolphins decide whether they need to acquire a quarterback in 2008.
"To do it for that reason ... it's way too soon," Cameron said. "This is our ninth game. We have half a season to go."
With Miami off last week, there was plenty of local lobbying in print and on talk shows for the promotion of Beck. Cameron refused to let public opinion sway his decision, and declined to say whether Beck will play at all this season.
"John is coming along," Cameron said. "It's just a matter of when we think the opportunity is right - if in fact that opportunity comes."
Cameron is mindful of his experience as quarterbacks coach for the Washington Redskins. First-round pick Heath Shuler struggled when he started eight games as a rookie quarterback in 1994, and four years later he was out of the NFL.
The 26-year-old Beck hasn't lobbied for playing time and said he doesn't even know whether he's ready to start.
"I put my trust in the guys who have been doing this a lot longer than me," Beck said. "That's the coaching staff."
Lemon's hold on the job is tenuous because he has three fumbles and four interceptions in his three starts this season. He took over when Trent Green was sidelined by a season-ending concussion.
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