Chad Henne said the Dolphins offense still has room to improve before their Week 1 meeting with the Bills on Sept. 12.
The Dolphins players believe they are moving in the right direction after their 27-25 loss vs. Dallas, but still have a lot of work to do before their opener vs. Buffalo on Sept. 12.
QB Chad Henne, who promised a stronger offense performance after the team only amassed 195 total yards in a dreadful 16-6 loss vs. Atlanta last week, led the team on an extended first drive all the way to the Dallas 7. But the offense faltered from there and the Dolphins had to settle with a 28-yard FG.
“We definitely wanted to improve on last week against the Falcons and I think in some areas we did,” Henne, who finished 6 of 11 for 53 yards, said to the Associated Press. “We scored points on the first drive there, but obviously we want touchdowns. We need to protect the ball and score more points.”
The biggest jump offensively from last week was in the rushing game. After posting a meager 46 rushing yards against the Falcons, the Dolphins came out running hard, spearheaded by RB Ricky Williams 43 yards on 2 carries. Starting RB Ronnie Brown struggled again, however, taking 4 carries for 10 yards. He finishes the preseason with 24 yards on 16 rushes.
“We know there are things we have to get better at,” coach Tony Sparano said. “I know that. I just can’t trust that we’re going to put these [questions] to be bed.”
The offense continued to battle back throughout the game, but the defense struggled to keep the Dallas backup offense at bay. QB Chad Pennington, 7-10 for 40 yards and a TD, put the Fins up 10-7 near the end of the 2nd quarter with a 2-yard pass to WR Brian Hartline, but the defense allowed a David Beuhler FG as time expired in the half.
Tyler Thigpen completed 10 of 18 passes for 160 yards, giving the Dolphins a 1-pt lead twice in the fourth quarter with a 3-yard pass to WR Marlon Moore and 6-yard strike to WR Roberto Wallace, but the cushion wasn’t enough for the defense to hold. Miami’s D, who surrendered 374 yards to the Cowboys, allowed Dallas to go on a long late drive, capped off by a 1-yard Herb Donaldson run, before Beuhler won the night for the home team with another FG as time expired.
Elsewhere, Dolphins GM met with Dallas WR Dez Bryant for about a minute before the game, shaking his hand and exchanging some pleasantries. Ireland said yesterday he planned to seek out the rookie WR to apologize in person for the pre-draft interview fiasco between him Bryant.