While a matchup of the revitalized Miami Dolphins offense and the vaunted Baltimore Ravens defense holds some interest, Sunday's game appeared to be just as intriguing because of Cam Cameron's presence.

Now John Harbaugh has made sure it will be.

A comment by the first-year Ravens coach in defending Cameron's stint as Dolphins coach last season has sparked outrage in the Miami locker room, bringing a bigger spotlight to a game between teams just trying to reach .500.

Cameron was fired after one season as Miami's coach as the team finished 1-15 and Bill Parcells was brought on as vice president of football operations. Cameron went on to join Harbaugh's new staff as offensive coordinator in Baltimore during the offseason.

Apparently, Harbaugh didn't think Cameron was to blame for the Dolphins' dismal 2007 season.

"He was an effective coach in Miami last year," he told South Florida reporters in a conference call Wednesday. "Even though the results weren't what people were hoping for, he did a great job there with what he had to work with."

Many Dolphins players didn't appreciate the last part of that comment.

"'With what he had to work with' -- I guess that's the key, huh?" defensive end Vonnie Holliday said. "What did we have to work with as players? ...

"I'm surprised he would say that -- a little bulletin-board material."

Holliday is part of a Dolphins defense looking to extend the Ravens' problems on offense under Cameron and rookie quarterback Joe Flacco. Baltimore ranks 28th in the league with 15.6 points per game and is 25th in total offense with 302.0 yards a contest.

Some offensive players for Miami (2-3) have also found extra motivation from Harbaugh's remarks. Ronnie Brown is leading the AFC with seven touchdowns after scoring four in seven games last season under Cameron.

"I was on the offensive side of the ball, so I kind of feel (he was) talking about that," Brown said. "I'm going to show them and to do what I do."

Baltimore (2-3) has boasted one of the league's best defensive units this decade, finishing among the top 10 in all but one season during that span. That trend has continued in 2008 as the team has held opponents to an NFL-low 235.2 yards a game and allowed the sixth-fewest points per contest (17.4).

While the Ravens have not allowed more than 13 points in any of their three home games, they have given up at least 23 in each of their two road losses. They allowed season highs in yards (334) and points in a 31-3 defeat at Indianapolis last Sunday, failing to force a turnover or intercept a pass for the first time in 2008.

"We got what we deserved," Harbaugh said after Baltimore's third straight loss. "That's what happens when we play the way we did."

The Ravens have allowed averages of 27.4 points and 304.6 total yards while forcing only five turnovers during a seven-game road skid, which dates to a 9-7 win at San Francisco on Oct. 7, 2007.

One of those losses came in Miami on Dec. 16, as Baltimore gave up 360 yards in a 22-16 defeat. It was the Dolphins' only win last year and the Ravens' fourth loss in as many regular-season games in Miami, though they did win there in 2002 in the only playoff meeting between the teams.

Baltimore now hopes to contain a Dolphins offense that has been one of the league's most productive this year with 357.4 yards per game.

The Miami offense had another strong game last week and Brown's touchdown run with 1:45 to play put the Dolphins ahead, but the Texans drove 76 yards on the ensuing series and won on Matt Schaub's three-yard TD run with 3 seconds left.

"We're losing the games in a fashion where sometimes fundamentals come back and get you," Miami coach Tony Sparano said.

The Dolphins' Chad Pennington, sixth in the NFL with a 98.8 passer rating, went 19-for-25 for a season-high 284 yards and two TDs -- both to third-string running back Patrick Cobbs, who had three receptions for a career-high 138 yards.

Miami was unable to put together its first three-game winning streak since a four-game run in 2006, but Sparano is confident his team will get back in the win column.

"The fact that we've won some ballgames and won some ballgames after we lost a few ballgames, I think gives us some confidence to understand that we can do this," he said. "We've already done it in the season."