The focal point for the Dolphins was the play of the offense under new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, and after a slow start that resulted in two interceptions on the first three drives, there were some bright spots. Quarterbacks Chad Henne and Matt Moore each connected on long touchdown passes, Henne to Brian Hartline for 44 yards and Moore to Roberto Wallace for 28 yards. Wallace had a big first half, catching three passes for 60 yards.
“Yeah, Roberto’s done a nice job,” Sparano said. “I like the throw that Matt Moore just made, he hung in there and made a big throw for us, Chad made a good throw earlier on the deep ball.”
Miami recovered from those early miscues on offense and two productive scoring drives led by Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to turn the tables a bit, especially on defense. Cornerback Benny Sapp killed one Atlanta drive with a diving interception and rookie safety Jimmy Wilson set up Moore’s touchdown pass to Wallace with a sack and strip of John Parker Wilson. Linebacker Austin Spitler recovered the fumble.
Spitler and Wilson highlighted a second team defensive unit that really stepped it up with a slew of players out to prove something. Wilson was a seventh-round draft pick in April who missed three years of football due to a legal battle and he is intent on making an impact. Linebacker A.J. Edds and defensive end Jared Odrick are returning from season-ending injuries that cost them the bulk of their rookie campaigns.
“I thought those guys came into the game and did a pretty nice job,” Sparano said. “We had a stop down there in a sudden change situation off an interception, so the second team defense did a good job.”
Moore delivered again in the third quarter after Miami’s third team defense forced the Falcons to settle for yet another short Bryant field goal. He put together a 13-play, 65-yard scoring drive, converting a pivotal 4th-and-7 to keep the drive alive. Rookie Clyde Gates was on the receiving end of that 17-yard strike and then made it count a few plays later with a 6-yard touchdown reception in the back of the end zone, giving Miami a 21-20 lead headed into the fourth quarter. He was 11-of-18 for 123 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on the night.
Gates finished with two catches for 23 yards, returned two kickoffs for 38 yards and one punt for two yards and was used quite a bit in the first half in the absence of Brandon Marshall. He fed off of that amount of playing time and tried to seize the opportunity.
“It was fun and I was amped and hyped,” Gates said. “The adrenaline was rushing and I was just trying to make a play whenever my name was called. It was a blessing to actually come out here and compete and come out and play a game. Practice is hard and fun but when you come into a game it’s a lot different. It’s fun and you want to let it all out.”
Undrafted rookie quarterback Pat Devlin took over on the Dolphins’ first drive in the fourth quarter and tried to extend the lead. Unfortunately, he got a rude welcome to the NFL when Emmanuel Stephens sacked him on a third down and Miami had to punt.
But another undrafted rookie, Phillip Livas, brought a smile to the face of Sparano and special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi moments later. The speedy but diminutive Livas broke free on a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown, keeping his balance after Falcons punter Ken Parrish tried to trip him up after he got past midfield. The 5-foot-7, 179-pound Livas dove into the end zone for the score that put Miami ahead 28-20.
“I knew that was going to be the way I get on the team and the way I’d make my mark, by making plays in the return game,” Livas said. “I knew I had to make one person miss and I knew I couldn’t let the punter get me. I broke the tackle and ran into the end zone. I probably could have run in but I just wanted to dive to make it look good. I’m happy with the result.”
Miami’s defense stiffened one more time late in the fourth quarter with the Falcons driving for the tying touchdown and forced them to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Bryant. That stop secured the win as the Dolphins will host the Carolina Panthers at Sun Life Stadium next Friday.
HENNE WEATHERS EARLY BUMPS: It certainly was not the kind of start Henne or the first team offense wanted to get off to, but it comes with the territory of a condensed offseason and a new offense. Add in the fact that Henne was minus two of his biggest offensive weapons, Marshall and running back Reggie Bush, and things are expected to get better.
By the time he took his helmet off for good following that 44-yard touchdown strike to Hartline, Henne was 4-of-8 for 77 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. His final passer rating was 83.9, while Moore’s was 95.4.
“It was definitely fun to get back out there and see some new faces rather than our own defense out there,” Henne said. “Obviously, we didn’t start how we wanted to but we put a drive together in the third series and got what we wanted out of it.
“We were moving the ball. They were dropping some people into coverage and I had to make some runs out there and avoid some defenders. But we moved the ball down on that third series like we know how to, but you wish that was the first series. You can’t take anything back and you’ve just got to move on from here.”
Sparano pointed out after the game that both of Henne’s interceptions were not directly his fault. The first one on the opening series bounced off of tight end Anthony Fasano’s hands into the arms of Falcons linebacker John Abraham at his own 44. On the second one there was a miscommunication between Henne and Davone Bess that led to the ball being picked off, but Henne still shouldered the blame for making the decision to throw the ball.
EDDS AND ODRICK SATISFY THEIR HUNGER: Both Edds and Odrick couldn’t help but be a little extra pumped for their turn on the field being that it had been so long. Odrick’s last live action came in last year’s season opener at Buffalo, while Edds hadn’t played in a game in more than 18 months when he was at Iowa.
As it turned out, Edds led the Dolphins in tackles with seven (six solo) and added a sack and a tackle for loss. Odrick had one tackle for loss but disrupted the Atlanta backfield quite a bit.
“What’s funny and me and A.J. had a conversation right before we went out there,” Odrick said. “He was like, ‘Are you a little antsy?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’m excited to play but I’m not nearly as antsy as I was last year.’ He hadn’t played in more than a year so I was happy to see him get the sack and I got in the backfield a few times. It definitely felt good to get back into a rhythm and I felt like everything was flowing the right way and felt good about the way I was moving out there.”
