Miami’s second and third-team was able to salvage the night, going on a 28-6 run in the game’s final three quarters. But unfortunately for the Dolphins, the starters had an embarrassing showing in the first quarter, falling behind 17-0 early on.

In the Dolphins’ defense, though, the Falcons’ second scoring drive took place after Sparano had already pulled the first-team D. But that doesn’t ease the fact that Atlanta marched right down the field on what is supposed to be a top five defense. Doing so mostly on the ground against what we thought was one of the most dominant defensive lines in football.

Add that to Chad Henne still staring down receivers and the running game getting no push from the interior offensive line, and the Dolphins left the Georgia Dome with more questions than when they entered. Having said that, I decided to go back and look at the film this morning.

I have no way of posting the video, but here is my analysis of what went wrong on Henne’s two interceptions, the first-team defense’s second series, and Daniel Thomas’ four carries.

Chad Henne’s two picks

-First interception: Henne’s first pick, on his very first pass of the preseason, was more Fasano’s fault than his. Fasano should have made the catch. But if I’m Brian Daboll watching the film with Henne, I’m pointing out a few things to my starting quarterback.

First off, he had a wide open Charles Clay in the flat, but it appeared Henne was fixated on Fasano from the snap. Henne also probably put a little too much zip on the pass considering it only traveled about five yards past the line of scrimmage and if the ball wasn’t slightly behind Fasano, maybe he would have been able to reel it in.

-Second interception: Bess is open initially when the corner bites on the play-action. For whatever reason, Henne hesitates. Could of been as a result of Bess running the wrong route, as Sparano indicated last night. But if that was the case, Henne needs to look elsewhere, or at least tuck it away, take a sack, and live to see the next down.

Instead, Bess puts his hands up signaling for the ball, prompting Henne to try and force the pass in between the corner, who had dropped back into the throwing lane, and the safety over the top. Just a terrible read and decision by Henne.

My co-blogger Cody posted a blog giving a general recap of last night’s Dolphins vs. Falcons game. I would like to do a take-two and write another one on all the positives of last night. While the night started off rough and had it's fair share of extremely frustrating moments, there were a bunch of positives to take out of this game.

Here is a list of all the good that came out of Miami’s preseason opener:

1) We came, we played and we left healthy

I am a believer that the single most important thing in the preseason is that you finish it with all your players healthy. Miami did exactly that Friday night.

2) Jimmy Wilson

This kid is a baller! I’m not talking the idiotic 50 cent type baller; I’m talking about a true hard hitting football player.  After leaving an impression all training camp, Wilson came out in his first game in the NFL and laid the smack down Rock style! The rookie came up with 5 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.

When drafted, Wilson was a question mark to make the 53-man roster, but I think he has clearly proven he can play with the big boys and will be a draft day steal.

3) Phillip Livas

Here is a link of Livas TD run : http://t.co/N4qMdsL

Everyone came into the preseason opener excited about Clyde Gate’s explosive speed and returning potential, but it was Livas who stole the show with a 75-yard punt return touchdown. This kid has jets. It’s still going to be a challenge for him to make this team because it would mean likely keeping 6 receivers on the roster, but he has certainly made a name for himself.

You know how the saying goes, “it’s not how you start, its how you finish.” Well, the opposite is true in the preseason. Tonight may have been a success for many of the Dolphins’ roster fringe players, but how the starting offense and defense plays is always the measuring stick in these exhibitions.

And the play of the Dolphins’ first-team offense and defense was nothing short of embarrassing in the first quarter. What is essentially Chad Henne’s final stand got off to a nightmare start. The worst-case scenario played itself out as Henne was intercepted on his very first pass.

Now, Henne probably should have taken a bit of velocity off of it, but the ball hit Anthony Fasano square in the hands. Fasano failed to make the grab, instead popping it up for an easy interception.

Henne’s second interception, however, was as ugly as it gets. Sparano hinted after the game that Davone Bess ran the wrong route, but that doesn’t change the fact that Henne stared him down the whole way and tried to force the ball into double coverage.

Kudos to the coaching staff for sticking with Henne, though. His confidence was obviously shaken. He needed to go out on a positive note. He did just that, hooking up with Daniel Thomas for a 25-yard checkdown and hitting Brian Hartline with a 44-yard touchdown strike with his final two passes.

Was it against a second-team defense? Yes, but it was about as important of a drive as you can have in the preseason. It could have prevented Henne’s confidence from falling out and the backlash would have been much, much worse if he didn’t end things properly.

It likely won’t prevent many fans from calling for Matt Moore to take over starting duties, though. Moore was very solid tonight, completing 11 of 18 passes for 123 yards while connecting with Roberto Wallace and rookie Clyde Gates for scores. He did throw a pick by taking a shot downfield, but those are the types of turnovers, essentially punts, that you can live with.

I still think this is Chad Henne’s job to lose, but if tonight was a sign of things to come, Matt Moore will eventually get the opportunity to take over. It’s certainly not an excuse, but for now, let’s hold off on counting Henne out until we see him play with Brandon Marshall, Reggie Bush, and Jake Long, all of who were inactive tonight.

What: Dolphins’ preseason opener
When: Tonight at 7:30 p.m. EST
Where: The Georgia Dome/ Atlanta, Georgia
TV: WFOR Miami, CBS Atlanta, NFL.com Preseason Live, NFL Network replay at 1 p.m. Saturday
Radio: 560 WQAM Sports Radio (Miami), 790 The Zone and Star 94 FM (Atlanta)

Even if it’s essentially a practice game, a meaningless game scoreboard-wise, gameday is here. Dolphins’ football is back. The slate is clean. It’s a new year with fresh opportunities. It’s okay to be excited.

Having said that, taking everything that happens tonight with a grain of salt is in order. The preseason is rarely indicative of what’s to come in the regular season. How many teams have impressed, ran the table even in the exhibition season and wound up picking in the top ten in the draft?

On the contrary, teams like the Indianapolis Colts look dysfunctional at times in the preseason, but when things get real, they turn the switch on and instantly surface as one of the elite teams in football. So, while seeing good things from the Dolphins tonight would boost morale, it’s going to mean nothing when the Patriots come to town on September 12th.

The outcome of tonight’s game will be meaningless, but that’s hardly the case for many players, especially of the roster fringe variety. These four preseason games will help realize or crush NFL dreams.

Some players will earn their spot on the 53-man roster, while others will squander away the golden opportunity to play football for a living at the highest level. Competitions with starting implications could also be decided in these game settings.

So before you play the meaningless card in reference to these exhibitions, tell it to guys like Jimmy Wilson, who need solid performances to push for a roster spot and see an NFL dream come to fruition. Tell that to guys like Reshad Jones and Lydon Murtha, who must impress the coaches tonight if they want to earn the opportunity to be a starter in this league.

5 keys to success for Dolphins

1. Stay healthy: At the end of the day, regardless of what happens in the Georgia Dome tonight, priority number one is preventing any significant injuries. Chad Henne’s accuracy could be erratic, Daniel Thomas and Reggie Bush could produce negative yardage on the ground, and the first-team defense could surrender two touchdown drives, but if the Dolphins avoid any costly injuries, they can at least hang their heads on living to fight another day.

2. Chad Henne impress, maybe even lead a scoring drive: The preseason will carry a little more weight for Chad Henne than most starting quarterbacks. His confidence is fragile. That can easily be seen by his roller coaster first couple years at the helm. If he plays poorly in the preseason, I have my doubts he can put it behind him in time for New England.

Henne needs to get on a bit of a hot streak in these exhibition games in order to build some confidence and momentum for opening week. He’s fresh off of a great week of practice. Let’s see if it carries over to tonight’s game. Leading a scoring drive would do wonders for Henne’s confidence and the morale inside the locker room and with the fan base alike.

For the first time maybe EVER, it seems like EVERYONE is excited for some preseason football. With that in mind, here is a list of things to look out for this preseason.

1)  Chad Henne

Obviously, the Dolphins' bias comes in here, but for Dolfans Henne is the most important piece for this team if they want to succeed. Confidence can go along way for a quarterback and it wouldn’t hurt for Henne to get off to a strong start this preseason and build some confidence going into the year. It will be also interesting to monitor how he works with Reggie Bush.

2) Fantasy Football implications

For the fantasy football junkies out there like myself, the preseason is an important time to learn who will be taking goal-line carries, what depth charts will look like, and how new players are integrated into their new teams.

3) Injuries

Not yards, not touchdowns, not W’s but health is the most important thing when your talking about the preseason. Staying healthy is crucial, so look out for any big injuries this preseason.  

4) The “Dream Team”

Vince Young calls them the dream team, Jason Babin says they're the Miami Heat of football, but we shall see!

5 ) The New kickoff rule

The new kick-off rule doesn’t seem very fan friendly. It will be much more difficult to bring one back this year. 

So keep your eyes open, watch your favourite players, and get ready for some football!