Chad Pennington took a pounding Sunday in his first regular-season start as the Dolphins' new quarterback. One of the four sacks he endured had the effect of a punch in the mouth. It was unmistakable in the huddle as he directed that late drive that fell short.

''His mouth was all bloody. His eyes were really big,'' said guard Justin Smiley in the losing locker room. ``Man, he's tough. That's a leader. You want to block extra hard for a guy like that.''

The bloodied mouth that stained Pennington's jersey and required postgame treatment was a badge of effort, indicative of a player who fought and worked and bears little blame for this 20-14 loss to the New York Jets -- even though his end-zone interception in the final seconds sealed the defeat.

Blame might be better directed at three players who are supposed to make Pennington look good.

Those would be the quarterback's three primary wide receivers: Ted Ginn Jr., Derek Hagan and Ernest Wilford.

Ginn, the ninth overall selection in last year's draft, had a quiet two catches for 17 yards Sunday -- none until very late. Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis was on Ginn like sunblock all day, dominating him right down to that last play, the interception Revis won because he had inside position, ''almost like a boxout in basketball,'' Pennington said.

Hagan? He had the same number of catches as Millard Fillmore or your neighbor's dog. Zero. A shutout.

Wilford? He was a healthy scratch Sunday, meaning his only contribution was filling out the inactive list. Wilford was supposed to be a major free agent signing this offseason -- or so the $6 million they gave him suggested. Comes to mind the phrase, ``wasted millions.''

LOCKED UP

What was evident in the opener is that -- by design or lack of wideout talent -- Miami is saddled with an offense lacking a deep threat. It was why 20 of Pennington's 26 completions went to tight ends or running backs.

Somewhere, Mark Clayton and Mark Duper are shaking their heads.

The Dolphins surrendered to the Jets' defensive strategy of a ''Cover 2'' alignment that featured both safeties in deep coverage.

''We really thought we could throw it downfield because we were expecting a lot of man-to-man coverage,'' Hagan said. ``They mixed it up on us pretty good.''

The thing is, both safeties deep is supposed to open up the running game. Yet Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown together would manage only 16 carries for 47 yards.

Miami surrendered to the Jets' coverage by not even attempting to throw deep with any commitment, partly because receivers were not getting separation from their coverage.

So it was on the late interception.

Pennington saw as the ball spiraled toward the corner of the end zone that Revis had won advantageous position.

''Knock it down,'' he thought to himself. ``It's like it was in slow motion, like in a movie.''

Ginn can't be faulted on that particular play, but, Miami still needs him to perform as a wide receiver like a top-10 draft pick -- more so now that his return role on special teams has been reduced. That means getting open and being an impact, game-changing player no matter the defense.

That means dictating your individual talent on defenses, not vice versa.

The Dolphins want to be run-oriented. Which is fine. And new coach Tony Sparano emphasizes efficiency more than daring from Pennington. That's OK, too. But the wideouts have to be integral to make it all mesh.

SPREADING OUT

''We started spreading things out and getting the ball around a lot more late,'' said Greg Camarillo, who caught three passes. ``We got the [wide] receivers a little more involved. We got into a rhythm with the quarterback.''

CBS made the Dolphins' opener its featured game, thanks to Favre in his Jets debut and Pennington vs. his former team, broadcasting it to the majority of the country. It turned out to be reality TV -- a dose of reality for Miami and anyone who thought that ''New Beginning'' marketing theme meant the turnaround would be easy, or instant.

It has just begun. A team that sank to 1-15 last season and was torn down and built back up must suffer its growing pain, and Sunday was that. It was a winnable game. Just like the five games last season that were lost by three points, but lost nonetheless.

Pennington's bloodied mouth showed no signs of the mayhem after the game. He was asked where he hurt.

''Right here,'' he said, tapping his chest over his heart.

Better days are coming for a proud franchise refashioning itself, but Sunday reminded us this much about ``A New Beginning'':

It's a process, not a panacea.

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