Well that was certainly fun, wasn't it? If nothing else, this team is certainly giving fans reasons to be excited following a 1-15 season. I just wanted to quickly touch on some things from the game, with a longer post to come on Sunday night:
- Chad Pennington isn't flashy or anything, but he gets the job done. He, again, moved the team down the field and produced points, including a nice TD pass to Anthony Fasano despite being under some pressure. To my count now, Pennington has picked up points in 4 of his 8 drives since becoming a Dolphin. Nice. And he continues to show the ability to move around the pocket to keep plays alive, which is really impressive. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: for the first time in a long time, this offense is not over-matched anymore with Pennington at the helm.
- Ricky Williams is ready for a big season. Until Ronnie Brown is fully healthy, Ricky's going to get tons of opportunities to make plays and he's showing that he's as close to his old form as he'll ever be.
- Ted Ginn. What else can I say? He only had 3 catches, but he showed he can change the game in other ways. If there was ever any question as to who Miami's return man would be, there's certainly no question about it anymore.
- Chad Henne is a rookie afterall. He missed on a couple of throws, though I won't put all the blame for the interception on him. I think all tonight proved was that Pennington, by far, gives this team the best chance to win. QB competition over.
- The defense continues to make plays. Sure, KC's offense isn't anything special. But Miami was able to get to the QB much more often, and even held Larry Johnson in check. And the play of the day by the defense, in my view, was that 4th and goal play from the one where Phillip Merling (with some help from Reggie Torbor) stuffed Johnson short of the goalline.
That's all for now. Look for a longer post Sunday night. Be sure to tell us your thoughts on the game below...