Pennington knocked out in loss

We are about to find out very soon whether Chad Henne is ready to take over the reigns from Chad Pennington. In a 23-13 loss to the San Diego Chargers, LB Kevin Burnett knocked Pennington out of the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury. The extent of the injury is still unknown, but Pennington is expected to be out for at least three weeks and possibly for the rest of the season.

Henne did not get off to a fast start, throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown. He finished the game with 10 completions in 19 attempts for 92 yards. The offense also didn't capitalize on the chances it had. On their opening drive, the offense gained 94 yards before Ronnie Brown fumbled the ball out of the end zone for a touchback.

The defense continued its disturbing trend of allowing opponents to advance in the air. Philip Rivers threw for over 300 yards against the Dolphins, with Vincent Jackson catching 120 yards worth.

Only three teams in NFL history have made the playoffs after an 0-3 start. Unless the Miami Dolphins improve their play, they won't be the fourth.

Dolphins hold onto ball for 45 minutes... but lose

This one was tough to swallow. This one was the opposite of what happened all last season, when Miami got all the bounces and won the close games. Despite possessing the ball for 45 minutes, the Dolphins lost to the Colts, 27-23, on Peyton Manning's TD pass with 3 minutes left in the game.

Unveiling the Wildcat for the first time in the regular season, Miami pounded out 239 yards on the ground and converted 15 of 21 third downs. Ronnie Brown gained 136 of those yards on his own, scoring 2 touchdowns in the process. Chad Pennington's stats weren't impressive (22 of 33 for 183 yards), but he did enough to help win the game.

In the end, it was the pass defense, a weakness present since training camp, that proved to be the team's downfall. In addition to the game-winning TD, the secondary also gave up an 80-yard touchdown on the Colts' first play from scrimmage.

Turnovers doom Dolphins in season opener

Last season and during the preseason, Chad Pennington displayed his hallmark mistake-free play. That turned around in a hurry on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. The score, 19-7, wasn't indicative of how much Atlanta dominated Miami. Pennington got sacked four times, threw an interception, and coughed up a fumble. Add two Anthony Fasano fumbles, and there was no way the Dolphins could have won this game.

Statistically, the offense didn't look as bad (except for the FOUR turnovers, of course). Pennington completed 21 of 29 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined for 17 carries and 82 yards. However, the offensive line was manhandled most of the game, and the offense was never able to build any consistency.

Defensively, the front seven did a good job stopping the Atlanta running game. The defense also held QB Matt Ryan in check initially, but they were ultimately unable to contain him once he started hooking up with TE Tony Gonzalez.

The oddsmakers predicted that the Falcons would win Sunday, but I don't think they imagined how poorly the Dolphins would play. Miami needs to regroup and play more like they did last year if they want any hope of defending their division championship.

Miami goes through preseason undefeated

Too bad these games don't count. After a 10-7 win over the Saints, the Miami Dolphins finished the preseason a perfect 4-0. Chad Henne and the offense bounced back from a poor performance the previous week, although they only put 10 points on the board. This game reiterated the team's strengths and weaknesses this season. Chad Pennington is clearly the starting quarterback, and he has a trio of solid running backs to support him. No single wide receiver stepped up in the preseason, including the man supposedly at the top of the depth chart, Ted Ginn Jr. The defensive front seven should be good, but the secondary is a weakness, as is special teams.