TAMPA -- Go figure. In an otherwise ugly first half, one of the few players to produce some positive highlights during Thursday's first half happened to be the player who has received the most praise from Dolphins coach Tony Sparano recently.

Running back Patrick Cobbs -- who has impressed Sparano with his quiet, consistent work ethic -- produced a nice punt block on the Bucs opening series, laying out his body to make perfect contact with the ball.

Cobbs has made his impact on this team through special teams play, but it has typically not been a result of his punt-blocking skills. Unfortunately, the highlight quickly became a lowlight when linebacker Charlie Anderson's contact with the ball caused it to become a fumble that Tampa Bay recovered for a new set of downs.

Don't let it rain on Cobbs' success, though. After all, as running back Ricky Williams joked earlier this week, that wouldn't go over well at all.

``We joke that every time Pat makes a mistake, Tony [Sparano] is in tears,'' Williams said. ``That's his type of guy. A guy who works hard and consistently produces.''

Sparano has also backed up that comment about Cobbs -- at least the part about liking hard-working players.

``I kind of like these kinds of guys that are productive in games, and what you see is what you get,'' Sparano said about Cobbs.

``Same thing they give you at practice, they give you at the game.''

LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE

As Sparano waited for the lightning to pass during the delay that held up Thursday's preseason game against the Bucs for 45 minutes, he couldn't have been pleased with his team's performance during the first one and a half quarters.

Still, during a nationally televised interview with Fox, he seemed to maintain a long-term perspective when it came to his attitude toward the upcoming season, not overreacting to the negative plays that had just occurred.

When asked about Miami's ability to take teams by surprise last year, and how he would address that with his players, Sparano said the team has ``gotten better the first couple of weeks.''

``One of the things we talk long and hard about is you can't pick up where you left off last year, you've got to go back to the beginning and try to do it better,'' Sparano told Fox. ``I think we did that this offseason. Our guys went through a really challenging offseason and training camp right now.''

Sparano was also asked how it has gone as he attempts to emerge from vice president of football operations Bill Parcells' shadow.

``Coach Parcells obviously has been great to me,'' Sparano said. ``He's taught me an awful lot. I think he trusts me. When there's a chance for him to come down and give me advice, he does. But I think, for the most part, I think he trusts me around the football team.''

NO STRANGER TO DELAYS

When the Dolphins' preseason game stalled Thursday for 45 minutes because of lightning in the area, it was indeed a rare occurrence.

But Miami has still dealt with its share of delays before.

In 2007, the Dolphins had two delays: Sept. 30 at home and Nov. 26 on the road in Pittsburgh.

Both games, which were delayed before the game even began, resulted in losses for Miami.