Well, game 1 of the 2008 season is in the books, and for the Miami Dolphins it is clear that there is still a lot of work to be done. The Dolphins attempted a late comeback, but fell short losing to Brett Favre and the New York Jets 20-14 at Dolphin Stadium today.

It is hard to decide where to start in critiquing the effort of the Dolphins today. Lackluster and sputtering are probably the two best ways to describe the game from a Dolphins perspective. The offense sputtered horribly until late in the 4th quarter, the play of the WRs was downright awful, and the running game failed to deliver.

Even though the Dolphins lost, I would have to say the defense did its part in this game. Brett Favre came out firing on all cylinders, and has the targets to pick apart opposing defenses, but the Dolphins hung in there. One thing was clear throughout the game, the DBs for the Dolphins could be the strength of the defense as the season progresses. The DBs did a good job of sticking to their men and Will Allen in particular was right there every time the ball came toward his man. The run defense is of some concern as it was there at times and non existent at others.

Chad Pennington looked very shaky in his debut for the Dolphins. He will no doubt want to forget his 1st half in a Dolphins uniform as he went 7-14 for 63 yards. He had all kinds of trouble finding his WRs, only 1 of his 7 first half completions were to WRs. Tight Ends David Martin and Anthony Fasano caught passes, as did Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown out of the backfield.

Speaking of the running game, it was a tough day for Williams and Brown. The lack of an effective passing game allowed the Jets to stack 8 men in the box most of the afternoon and stifle Williams’ and Brown’s attempts to get going. Both backs were strong when they got the ball, but only managed 23 and 24 yards respectively on a combined 16 carries. The offense will need to develop at least some passing threat to give these guys a little daylight to exploit, they can still carry this team.

That leaves the WRs, their performance can best be summed up as ABSOLUTELY PATHETIC. Clearly the biggest question mark entering the season, head coach Tony Sparano and Bill Parcells continued to insist they were fine with the WRs they had and would only consider signing someone if injury or poor performance persisted. Ginn Jr, despite progress in route running during camp, was awful in his routes today often putting himself in the wrong position or allowing the DB to get between him and the ball. Hagan did not catch a single ball, and Camarillo had the “best” performance with 3 receptions for 37 yards.

My belief that the Dolphins were capable of going 8-8 this season may look bleak at this point, but if Parcells and Sparano can put their egos aside and go looking for a quality WR, the passing game can improve, opening the holes for Williams and Brown. The defense will hold its own and keep the team in games, but the offense needs to wake up soon, or the Dolphins will find themselves paying close attention the NCAA football again this year in preparation for the #1 pick in the draft next April.