ATLANTA -- Jake Long was flattened into a 317-pound pancake by defensive end and human spatula John Abraham.

It was a rare moment of vulnerability for the Dolphins' star left tackle, already one of the NFL's premier bodyguards at age 24.

But Long's utter helplessness on the play typified that of his team in a 19-7 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Sunday's season opener. It was a debut that induced cringes instead of confidence.

The Dolphins were picked to lose inside the echo chamber known as the Georgia Dome, but not in such an incompetent way, not after the heartening turnaround of last season, not with the reliable Chad Pennington at quarterback.

The problem was, Pennington got harassed all afternoon. He was sacked four times. He fumbled the ball and threw an interception to account for half the Dolphins' turnovers (Anthony Fasano had the other two).

Pennington is like a calculator. He doesn't make mistakes unless someone stomps on his buttons. In this case it was Falcon defenders, twisting, slaloming and bulldozing through Long's offensive line.

Long's problems were at the root of the Dolphins' failure. Dealing with the fleet Abraham, he looked like a guy chasing Usain Bolt. He didn't react fast enough or adjust cleverly enough. Neither he, his teammates nor his coaches were proactive once it was clear the Falcons were in a rhythm and the Dolphins weren't.

The loss should prove to be only a mild regression for last season's comeback story of the year, the transformation from 1-15 laughingstock to 11-5 AFC East champion. There's no reason to get cynical about the Dolphins after one game. They've got the toughest schedule in the NFL looming, but those 11 victories were not an illusion.

The defense, stoked by the return of Jason Taylor, played with efficient vigor, holding the league's No. 2 rushing attack to 68 yards and Michael Turner to zero touchdowns. Tony Gonzalez looked as good as ever, especially when he left Yeremiah Bell grasping his shadow, but he and his fellow receivers and Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan faced tightening pressure as the game went on. Nine of the 19 points scored by the Falcons were byproducts of Dolphin turnovers.

`STAY COMMITTED'

``Stay committed,'' coach Tony Sparano said when asked about his postgame message to the team. ``Our mettle was tested. I thought we fought real hard but we didn't do smart things. That's one of the things this football team prides itself on, and I don't think a person in that locker room right now would tell you anything different.''

Intelligence is a key to Long's game or he wouldn't have made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. So let's hope Sunday's performance was an aberration and not a trend, considering that his preseason play was not up to his usual standard either. He gave up two sacks, which is about as many as he gave up all last season. He looked hesitant and off balance, which he acknowledged.

``Two sacks -- that's unacceptable,'' Long said. ``We had some screwups. We can't let Chad get hit like that. Their defensive ends got good jumps, and I was late off the ball. I panicked a little, gave them my chest and they bulled me. Abraham is herky-jerky. He can take your inside, your outside.

``But we're right there. We can be a dominant line. We will learn.''

The Dolphins' trademark is fastidiousness. They can compensate for talent gaps by avoiding careless errors. Last year they led the NFL in turnover margin. Amid the lingering personnel question marks Long is a rare exclamation mark. He's supposed to be the Dolphins' 10-year answer at left tackle -- a position they don't have to worry about.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Why did he look out of character in the opener? One reason is that he's working with two new linemates, center Jake Grove and right guard Donald Thomas. Another was the challenge presented by Atlanta.

``They have a very active front,'' left guard Justin Smiley said. ``We were also using the silent count a lot because of the noise in the Dome. That puts the left tackle at a disadvantage. He's looking at the [quarterback's] head and back at his guy. It's tough, but everyone has to do it.

``We're not going to overlook this one but we're not going to have a complete meltdown.''

When the Dolphins finally scored, on a 9-yard pass to Ricky Williams with 3:21 left, there was no celebration, only resignation. The touchdown was just a rose in front of a shack.

But with 15 games to go, Long sees a team of promise -- not pretenders. The nice thing about mistakes is that he can correct them.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@