Miami Dolphins: Notes and Quotes from Dolphins vs. Panthers

After defeating the Carolina Panthers 20-10, the Dolphins sent their fans home with a good feeling—one that was more secure.

Reggie Bush and Brandon Marshall looked like they made a huge difference on offense. This showed with Henne's numbers: 15-of-25 and 194 yards.

But how do the players feel? Here's a run down of what Henne, Bush and Marshall had to say about the Dolphins' offensive performance on Friday night.

We'll start with Brandon Marshall, who had this to say about the success of the offense:

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You know what, it’s still early. What I did love about tonight? I love how Chad Henne took over the offense. He’s just done a tremendous job of taking over the huddle. You need that in a quarterback. The talent is there, but the leadership he’s shown from the offseason into this camp has been amazing, a huge difference. He’s helping us out a lot and getting guys in the right places.

"

Great job of Marshall giving props to Chad Henne for his leadership. About this he would add:

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Well, it’s not about change, he still throws the ball the same and he’s still the same guy. People forget that this is year four for him, and he’s young and a quarterback. I sat in a few meetings with him this camp, and the information they throw at him, that he needs to know…they need to know every position, it’s tough. Sometimes it takes a couple years at quarterback. I don’t remember the last guy that came in and took a team right to the Super Bowl. I think just his presence in the huddle and his leadership is going to help this team a lot this year.

"

This could only help Henne's confidence. Marshall then went on to say the following about taking the field with Reggie Bush for the first time:

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Amazing. You got Davone Bess, you got Reggie Bush, you got white-lightning Brian Hartline. Then you add 10, Clyde (Gates), the young guy and the sky’s the limit. We got to hit the books a little harder, cut out the mental errors, and just continue to practice hard.

"

Moving right along to Reggie, Bush had some glowing comments about Henne, stating:

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Chad [Henne] … he did a great job out there. Chad was a leader, he took control of the game, he took control of the huddle. He did everything that he should be doin’. I was really pleased at the way he handled himself today. Obviously he played a great game; he threw the ball well. But more so than that I was happy to see the way he handled the offense. Even if there was an incomplete or something like that he still stayed upbeat, because that’s what we need in a quarterback, and he looked like a really good quarterback in there tonight.

"

Bush was also asked about the best part about the game, saying: 

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I think the fact that we looked like a team out there. The fact that guys finished plays; we just looked liked a team. We looked like we improved from last week and I think that that’s what the preseason is about...is about improving as a team, getting better week in and week out and obviously it’s been a long offseason with no football, so I think that’s all you can ask for at this point is getting better every week. Learning from our mistakes, those things from last week, and I was pleased with the way we performed today.

"

Then finally we get to hear from Chad himself. When asked about his overall assessment, Henne stated:

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I mean, obviously, we moved the ball pretty well down there, got some big plays in certain situations. I have to watch the film, there’s some mistakes out there we’ll correction them. It’s good to get a win at home and start a run that way. And winning at home, that’s pretty important to us right now.

"

He's got a point. If the Dolphins went just 4-4 at home last season, they're a playoff team. Remember the question I asked in my preview about Henne's confidence? Well, take a look at what he has to say about the win over Carolina giving him confidence.

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Definitely gives you confidence, especially at home. Previous years we haven’t won a lot of games at home and get off to a start path, we’re trying to build a tradition here where this is our home field and we want to take advantage and play well here and it’s a good step for that.

"

Of course, let's just hope this doesn't mean the team will go 6-2 at home and 1-7 on the road. But maybe Reggie Bush should help make sure that doesn't happen. In fact, here's Henne on playing with Reggie for the first time:

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It’s great. Obviously, handing off the ball to him, he hit some holes that you see as a quarterback, but the running back can only make the run and makes guys miss. It’s exciting, definitely exciting, you know, I’m sure he has things to work on, but we’re excited about having him here and we’re excited to have him here and helping us out.

"

Finally, Henne had this to say about the performance of the offense and himself:

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Well, I mean, it’s only one game, it’s a preseason game, you know, it’s definitely great to win; that’s first of all. At the same time, I still need to improve, keep on improving in the offense, you know, hopefully I get to continue some of these performances later in the season.

"

By "later in the season" I'm sure Henne means November and December. 

Overall, this was a great win for the Dolphins, but as QB Chad Henne said, it's a preseason game. There are still a lot of kinks to work out (the penalties killed a couple of drives), but it's an improvement over last year.

However, next Saturday is a trip up to Tampa. How they do against a potential playoff team in the third preseason game (with the starters playing three quarters) will be a lot more telling.

Thomas Galicia is a Miami Dolphins Featured Columnist. All of the quotes contained in this article were obtained firsthand following the game and during the press conference. Follow Galicia on Twitter @thomasgalicia. For more of his opinions on other subjects, visit www.thomasgalicia.com.