DAVIE, Fla. (AP) -Even while on vacation this summer, Joey Harrington heard jeers.

For a change, they weren't directed at him. The castoff quarterback, booed regularly during his four years in Detroit, attended soccer's World Cup final in Germany, where fans booed the ejection of French midfielder Zinedine Zidane after he head-butted an Italian defender.

``Nobody in the stadium saw the head-butt,'' Harrington said. ``That's why any time an Italian player touched the ball after that, everybody in the stadium booed, because nobody knew what Zidane had done.''

Harrington declined to join.

``I'm not a big booer,'' he said with a grin. ``You know what, you just keep your mouth shut, because there are a lot of things going on that you don't know about.''

Was that zinger directed at Lions fans? The Miami Dolphins can only hope Harrington throws with the same accuracy.

His passes were a problem in Detroit.

``This is a chance for me to get back on track and kind of exorcise some of the demons that may still be lingering from the last four years,'' Harrington said Tuesday.

The No. 3 pick in the 2002 draft, Harrington was expected to bring stability to a position that has long contributed to the Lions' woes. Instead, he went 18-37 as a starter under three coaches, and by the end of his stay every incomplete pass drew jeers, with fans booing him even at a practice.

He may not play enough to get booed this season.

Coach Nick Saban acquired Harrington in May to back up another newcomer, Daunte Culpepper, touted as the Dolphins' first franchise quarterback since Dan Marino.

``I'm ready to compete,'' Harrington said. ``I'm ready to play if they need me. I'm also ready to be there and support the team and be the backup if need be.

``It's a position that nobody likes to be in. You want to be the guy taking snaps under center. But it's a position I feel very comfortable in, and I hope that people would feel comfortable in me, knowing that if I got in a game, we're going to do just fine.''

Harrington is off to a solid start in Miami. His first pass with the Dolphins went for an 18-yard touchdown to Randy McMichael in last week's exhibition opener against Jacksonville, and he finished 10-for-19 for 99 yards playing mostly with fellow second-teamers.

``Joey looks like a No. 3 pick to me, the way he throws the ball, the way he commands the huddle,'' McMichael said. ``Joey got a bad rap in Detroit. He is working his way out of whatever they called him in Detroit. Now he has an opportunity to play with players who are going to work just as hard as he does.''

Harrington resisted any temptation to rip his Lions teammates, even when the franchise's fifth consecutive losing season in 2005 inspired locker-room finger-pointing. Instead, Harrington earned the nickname ``Joey Blueskies'' on talk shows because he remained upbeat when he and the team played poorly.

For the former Oregon star, it was rough going from the outset. He made his NFL debut in a 49-21 loss - to Miami.

``I came into a situation where everybody said, 'You may have the toughest job in all of pro sports, being the quarterback in Detroit,''' Harrington said.

``There are some good things that did come from Detroit. I did learn things about perseverance. I did learn things about how I want to handle adverse situations. So I don't think I need to be completely reprogrammed or forget everything that happened there. But I do think I need to continue to adjust my thinking back to how it used to be.''

Harrington, obtained for a conditional 2007 draft pick, might be better than anyone to start at the position for Miami since Marino retired following the 1999 season.

``We were impressed with his leadership, his arm talent,'' Saban said. ``I'm pleased with the progress that he's made, the confidence that he's starting to develop in this system.''

Harrington said he likes Saban's playbook better than the West Coast offense the Lions used.

``My comfort level with this offense is already greater than it was with the West Coast,'' he said. ``In Detroit, with the offense we ran there, the (attitude) was, just make a play.

``'Well, what happens when they bring the blitz and we can't protect it?'

``'Well, just make a play.'

``That wasn't something I was always comfortable with. Here they give you answers.''

And since the World Cup, Harrington has yet to hear a boo.

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