Miami Dolphins: 5 Things We Learned in Preseason Victory over Atlanta Falcons

In Miami's first preseason game of the 2011 season the Dolphins beat the Atlanta Falcons 28-23.

Miami's first four offensive drives featured quarterback Chad Henne throwing two interceptions and a 44-yard touchdown pass to Brian Hartline before he was removed from the game.

In what usually is a sloppy, penalty-filled first preseason game, the Dolphins and Falcons played a relatively clean game with big plays being made on both sides of the ball.

The lack of practice time was evident at times as both teams started slowly on offense until Atlanta was able to move the ball on the Dolphins' second-string defense, putting up the first 17 points.

Jake Long wasn't in uniform and Reggie Bush, Brandon Marshall and Jason Taylor dressed but never stepped on the field.

Here are five things we learned from the game.

There May Be More of a Quarterback Competition Than Originally Thought

It's all fine and dandy when Tony Sparano and GM Jeff Ireland say that Chad Henne is the starter come Week 1, but the fact of the matter is their jobs are on the line and they need to win now.

Chad Henne may not be the best option for that to happen.

Understandably, Tony Sparano has stated the Dolphins organization needs to see what they have in Henne, who is going into Year 4 as a Dolphin. But if the offseason was any indication, when owner Stephen Ross tried chasing down Jim Harbaugh like a greased pig, Sparano doesn't have much time left to start winning.

Friday night, Chad Henne did his damage against the Falcons reserves. In his first three series Henne completed only one of four passes for a measly five yards and two interceptions.

The first interception wasn't entirely Henne's fault as Anthony Fasano had both hands on the pass but practically handed it to Falcons defensive stud John Abraham.

The second interception was a poorly under-thrown pass to an open Davone Bess and set Atlanta up in good field position to go up 17-0.

In his last series, against Atlanta's second unit, Henne settled in and completed all three of his passes for 72 yards including a 44-yard touchdown to Brian Hartline.

Matt Moore played better than Chad Henne, but his snaps were taken against the second and third units of the Falcons defense.

Moore, who completed 11 of 18 passes for 123 yards for two touchdowns and an interception, seemed to make the smarter plays while under center.

Besides the one interception, Moore played well, making plays with his feet as well as with his arm.

Moore completed a 28-yard touchdown to Roberto Wallace with only eight seconds left in the first half and a six-yard pass to Edmond Gates to finish off the third quarter.

Pat Devlin didn't complete any of his two pass attempts and looked unsure in the pocket, as he was sacked twice.

Kevin O'Connell only dropped back once and ran for a 38-yard gain, but the play was called back due to a holding call on Matt Kopa.  

If Tony Sparano is serious about winning now, then simply letting Chad Henne play for the sole reason of "seeing what you have," would be a big mistake.

This doesn't mean that Matt Moore should be the starter, it means that both quarterbacks should be given a fair chance at winning the starting job.

The Offensive Line Is Still Unsettled

The Falcons featured various blitz packages Friday night, providing a challenge for a makeshift Miami Dolphins offensive line.

Miami quarterbacks were sacked twice, which isn't horrible, but the top three running backs, Daniel Thomas, Kory Sheets and Lex Hilliard ran for 26 yards on 15 carries for an average of 1.73 yards per carry.

Keep in mind though that Jake Long wasn't on the field.

On the first play of the second quarter, with no rush from the play clock, Lyndon Murtha jumped offsides to set up a 1st-and-15, and Chad Henne immediately snapped at Murtha, quickly letting him know that those kinds of mistakes are unacceptable.

Quarterbacks Matt Moore, Kevin O'Connell and Patt Devlin were often left trying to evade oncoming blitzers and trying to make plays with their feet

On a positive note, there were no mishandled snap exchanges between center Mike Pouncey and Henne.

Tony Sparano's tenure in Miami has been filled with dumping cash on offensive lineman who didn't pan out.

Jake Grove, who only started 10 games for Miami, was cut in the second year of his five-year, $29.5 million contract in which the Dolphins paid him $14 million guaranteed. Miami also signed guard Justin Smiley before the 2008 season as part of a five-year, $25 million contract with $9 million guaranteed and Smiley is now retired.

John Jerry, a third-round pick from 2010, is fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster, and Miami had to move right tackle Vernon Carey to guard, though GM Jeff Ireland stated at the NFL draft that would not happen.

If Miami intends to contend in the stacked AFC East, then its offensive line is where the success will need to begin. If this group can't get it together, then it will be another long year for the Phins faithful.

Will Allen Could Be on His Way out

With Sean Smith and Vontae Davis poised to be the starting cornerbacks for the Dolphins, that leaves Benny Sapp and WIll Allen fighting for the nickel cornerback job.

Sapp had successful back-to-back defensive plays, defending a pass intended for Eric Weems, then intercepting a John Parker Wilson pass and returning it 17 yards yards to Miami's 39-yard line.

Unless Tony Sparano intends to slip Allen to fourth on the depth chart, it seems more likely that Allen will be shown the door, especially if Sapp continues making plays.

Allen was set to make $5.5 million this season before the team restructured his contract in the offseason, but as of now it seems that Benny Sapp holds the job at nickel cornerback.

Anthony Fasano Isn't the Answer at Tight End

To put it nicely, Anthony Fasano looked bad Friday night.

On the first pass of the Dolphins preseason Fasano bobbled a pass slightly behind him and gave it right to Falcons defensive end John Abraham, adding more weight to Chad Henne's shoulders. And during Miami's next drive, Fasano was blown up on a pass rush.

In an offseason which saw Miami add weapons at each position, they seemed content to let Todd Heap and Zach Miller go elsewhere without even so much as a phone call.

Instead of inquiring about adding another weapon in the "year of the Henne," the Dolphins seem content on using Fasano and a plethora of backups to be the answer for new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

If Friday night was any sign, Fasano is a mediocre tight end with continued pass protection troubles.

Jimmy Wilson Could Be the Steal of the Draft

Obviously it is to early too predict this, but there wasn't a single flaw in rookie cornerback Jimmy Wilson's game Friday night.

Tony Sparano has praised Wilson several times for his play in practice, and it showed against the Falcons.

The seventh-round pick out of Montana was around the ball all night and blitzed several times for five tackles, a sack and a forced fumble to go with several passes defended.

Wilson is in a battle with last year's fifth-round pick Nolan Carroll for the one of the last cornerback spots on the roster.

Carroll meanwhile underperformed, getting beat several times and not performing particularly well in special teams, but it seems unlikely the team would pull the plug on him in only his second year.

If Jimmy Wilson can continue to perform in the remaining preseason, he could have an impact on-field come September 12th against the New England Patriots, when the games actually count.