|
Title: Dolphins' regulars get a workout, beat Saints in exhibition finale Post by: DolFan619 on August 29, 2008, 12:55:56 am http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphins/content/sports/epaper/2008/08/28/a1c_dolphins_0829.html
Dolphins' regulars get a workout, beat Saints in exhibition finale By EDGAR THOMPSON Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Thursday, August 28, 2008 NEW ORLEANS — A year ago at this time, Cam Cameron had people wondering who was even coaching the Dolphins. New coach Tony Sparano continued to leave no question about who's in charge this year as the Dolphins concluded the exhibition season Thursday night by defeating New Orleans 14-10 - Miami's third win in a row. In a game in which starters traditionally don't even play, Sparano kept in many of his first-stringers until halftime. They played against Saints backups while the big names - Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and Jeremy Shockey - watched from the sideline. Sparano, with the opener against the New York Jets nine days away, knows he doesn't have time to waste with a young team coming off a 1-15 season. Cameron, on the other hand, treated last year's final exhibition game like a day off. He handed the head-coaching and play-calling duties to his assistants, and then denied he'd done so after a 7-0 loss to the Saints. Cameron's decision-making never really improved. Back in the Louisiana Superdome on Thursday night, the Dolphins looked a little lost for a while, falling behind 10-0. But they bounced back behind rookie quarterback Chad Henne, running back Ronnie Brown and solid defense. "We didn't come out sharp," Sparano said. "I think we finally woke up." Henne replaced starter Chad Pennington after two series and provided the spark. It took the rookie a little while to get going, largely because of poor play by the first-team offensive line. But after a couple of sacks and a fumble on his first two series, Henne led the Dolphins to back-to-back touchdowns in the second quarter. He missed his first pass attempt before hitting 11 of his next 12 throws - the only incompletion a dropped pass by fullback Reagan Mauia. Consecutive completions of 20 yards to Davone Bess and 24 yards to Ernest Wilford highlighted the first touchdown drive. Brown, who sat out last week with a sprained right thumb, scored the Dolphins' first touchdown on a 1-yard run. On the next drive, he had four straight touches for 29 yards to move the Dolphins to the Saints' 23-yard line. Henne took over from there. He completed three straight passes, using a play-action fake to Brown on the final one - an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Sean Ryan - to put the Dolphins ahead 14-10. Henne did throw a pass that was intercepted by cornerback Jason David, but finished 16-of-20 for 137 yards before Sparano replaced him with John Beck. The Dolphins' defense, coming off a 24-0 victory over Kansas City - Miami's first exhibition shutout since 1980 - maintained the 14-10 lead, although it was against several players who could be looking for jobs when final roster cuts are made Saturday. Led by inside linebacker Akin Ayodele, who finished with seven tackles in a half of work, the Dolphins held the Saints to 99 total yards, including only 25 passing yards. A week after preserving the shutout with a goal-line stand against the Chiefs, the Dolphins nearly did it again against the Saints. Following Henne's fumble on the Dolphins' 19 early in the second quarter, the Saints moved to the Dolphin' 2 in four plays. But Miami stuffed running back Deuce McAllister twice, forcing quarterback Mark Brunell to complete a fourth-down pass to Lance Moore for the touchdown. |