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TAMPA -- Using all of his powers, Dolphins czar Bill Parcells must have ordered a bout of lightning Thursday night to put a temporary end to the mess that occurred during the first 1 ½ quarters of Miami's third preseason game.

Aside from a blocked punt by running back Patrick Cobbs on the game's opening series, the suspension of the game because of lightning near Raymond James Stadium in Tampa might have been the only positive development during the first half of a game the Dolphins won 10-6.

Nobody looked happy about this one, especially Dolphins coach Tony Sparano.

``One of the things is, we're trying to play error-free in this ballgame, and I thought we made some errors earlier that cost us some big plays,'' Sparano told Fox TV during the weather delay, which lasted 45 minutes.

Yes, it's only preseason. And yes, the team has played three preseason games in 10 days as part of an unfriendly schedule. But during a game that typically serves as the dress rehearsal for the regular season, this couldn't have been what Sparano wanted to see after declaring all week that ``time isn't on our side.''

Some good news began to unfold for the Dolphins later in the game, notably the connection that seems to be brewing between quarterback Chad Pennington and rookie wide receiver Brian Hartline.

Hartline, who started his second consecutive exhibition game, emerged as a potential playmaker when he caught a pass that was good for a 54-yard completion and led to a 2-yard touchdown catch by tight end Anthony Fasano.

The long catch was Hartline's third reception of the game -- which didn't even count a 35-yard completion that was negated by offensive pass interference as a result of the rookie pushing off his defender.

A SOUR START

Although the Dolphins did bounce back to a better performance later in the game, the sour start (specifically on special teams) was obvious.

Specifically, Sparano said he wasn't happy with two negative plays. On the punt that Cobbs blocked, linebacker Charlie Anderson touched the ball, causing it to become a live fumble that was recovered by the Bucs. With a new set of downs, Tampa Bay moved the ball 32 yards and scored with a 29-yard field goal.

``We had the punt situation out there that hurt us, gave them points,'' Sparano said. ``That's what happens in this league with turnovers.''

On the solid play gone wrong, Pennington threw under pressure to Hartline on a sideline route. It would have been a 35-yard completion -- had Hartline not pushed off his defender for offensive pass interference.

``We had a pass interference on offense after a big play,'' Sparano said. ``When you see those things, that's something you want to try to eliminate.''

Had those two negative plays been isolated errors, it probably wouldn't have been too much cause for concern. Instead, the compilation of the two quarters was the bigger issue.

The Dolphins struggled for most of the first half against a quarterback (Byron Leftwich) who has yet to win the starting job and a running back (Cadillac Williams) who started his first game since his second major knee surgery in a year.

Leftwich completed 9 of 17 passes for 100 yards in the first half, and Williams carried five times for 33 yards. More worrisome, the Bucs managed to keep drives alive by converting six first downs in the first quarter, maintaining possession for 12:12 of the 15-minute period.

There were two good signs during that span: The Dolphins' red-zone defense limited Tampa Bay to two field goals rather than touchdowns, even after the Bucs had picked away at Miami with one drive that lasted eight plays and another that lasted 10 plays.

DEFENSE STEPS UP

After the lightning delay, as the offense continued to stall, the defense began to apply some pressure in the passing game. After giving up a 27-yard run by Bucs running back Earnest Graham, Miami had back-to-back sacks on Bucs quarterback Luke McCown -- one by nose tackle Paul Soliai and the other by cornerback Nate Jones.

McCown, who looked uncomfortable under pressure in a game that likely caused him to lose the starting gig to Leftwich, also was pressured into an intentional-grounding penalty on the Bucs' next possession, thanks to Channing Crowder's pressure.

From an offensive standpoint, the Dolphins' inability to get the Bucs off the field limited any kind of progress. Then again, during that first half, the offense might have been just as much to blame, considering it did little to allow the defense time to rest.

BY JEFF DARLINGTON
Miami Dolphins dogged by errors in exhibition against Buccaneers - Miami Dolphins - MiamiHerald.com

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