Week 1 loss casts ugly shadow on Dolphins’ marquee names

By Hugo Guzman  |   Tuesday, September 09, 2008  |  Comments( 3 )

Miami Dolphins
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As if a Week 1 loss to the archrival New York Jets wasn’t enough, the Miami Dolphins also learned that promising rookie right guard Donald Thomas is out for the year with a foot injury that is clearly more serious than initially suspected. Moreover, Miami cut starting fullback Boomer Grigsby just weeks after awarding him the job over incumbent Reagan Mauia.

But that’s not what the South Florida faithful are talking about these days. Their attention seems squarely focused on high-profile Dolphins who are not living up to the lofty expectation placed on them (in the fans' opinion, at least).

One of the primary targets is wideout Ted Ginn Jr., and with good reason. After all, his Week 1 performance in a 20-14 loss -- two catches, 17 yards -- wasn't exactly No. 1 receiver-caliber. That said, it’s a bit of a stretch to blame the second-year pro for Chad Pennington's game-ending interception, especially when you consider the ridiculous nature of Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis’ one-handed grab. The bottom line, however, is that Ginn will need to quickly ramp up his production and reestablish the comfort level that he found with Pennington in the preseason.

And speaking of Pennington, the former Jet is undoubtedly replaying that final series in his head over and over again, wondering what would have been had he connected for the score instead of floating a wounded duck into the back corner of the end zone. Pennington actually had an admirable outing against his former team, throwing for over 250 yards and two touchdowns despite a lackluster ground attack and a do-nothing receiving corps; nevertheless, you wouldn’t know that by reading various Dolphins fan forums. Most folks have decided to blame the loss, and Miami’s future struggles, on Pennington’s pedestrian arm strength. The truth is that Pennington’s production is one of the few reasons Miami was even in position to win late in Sunday’s contest.

Defensively, most of the fans’ attention was focused on the play of linebackers Matt Roth and Joey Porter. Though both recorded sacks – Roth’s resulting a fumble -- and were generally disruptive throughout the game, neither was immune from blame.

Even fan favorite and reclamation project Ricky Williams wasn't spared from Miami loyalists' anger. Though not widespread, the notion that the 31-year-old Williams is washed up is floating around Web sites like finheaven.com and thephins.com.

Clearly, there’s only one solution for a franchise whose fan base is gunning for virtually every big name on the roster: a Week 2 road win against the 1-0 Arizona Cardinals. Pulling off the victory while playing the underdog role would go a long way toward silencing the many voices of criticism and outright negativity, though it's fair to suspect that won't be enough.
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About Hugo Guzman

Co-founder of RealFootball365.com. Born in Argentina, of Dominican descent, living in Hoboken, but from Miami through and ...
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CommentsComments: 3  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
jacotaco3		10:42 AM
09/10/2008
Even they lost the dolphins still looked decent they could have easily won that game so I wouldn't be too worried after just one ...
No.2
Joe		05:15 PM
09/10/2008
Agreed but the o line did not get it done in this game. The line did not look as good as the line of last year but hopefully it ...
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No.3
Lou DiPietro		04:02 PM
09/12/2008
The problem isn't Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, it's the rest of the offense. As serviceable (and as accurate) of a QB as ...
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