The Miami Dolphins lead the Carolina Panthers 20-3 in the fourth quarter at Sun Life Stadium.

Dan Carpenter kicked a 44-yard field goal to give the Miami Dolphins a 20-lead in the third quarter.

Dan Thomas scored on a four-yard run to give the Miami Dolphins a 17-0 halftime lead over the Carolina Panthers at Sun Life Stadium.

Thomas has 12 carries for 52 yards so far against Carolina.

Thomas scored after Chad Henne scrambled for 17 yards. Henne opened the drive with a 38-yard connection to tight end Anthony Fasano.

Henne has looked sharp in the first half, completing 15 of 24 passes for 194 yards and no interceptions. Reggie Bush also has looked strong with eight carries for 53 yards. Davone Bess and Brandon Marshall have five receptions each in the first half.

Carpenter hit a 39-yard field goal with 3:02 left in the second quarter to give the Miami Dolphins a 10-0 lead over the Carolina Panthers on Friday night at Sun Life Stadium.

The kick capped a 14-play, 51-yard drive that lasted nearly five minutes.

Earlier, Lex Hilliard went up and over on a fouth-and-goal to give the Dolphins a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Hilliard’s touchdown capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive over 6:41.

Cam Newton started the game for Carolina and connected on seven passes in 14 attempts for 66 yards in the first half.

Adi Kunalic kicked a 38-yard field goal for the Panthers only points.

Allen sitting out; Odrick starts

Veteran cornerback Will Allen is sitting out his second-straight exhibition game, which could possibly impact his chances of making it to the Miami Dolphins’ 53-man roster.

Allen, an 11 year veteran who has started all but one game he’s every played, has missed all but six games the past two seasons because of a lingering left knee injury. He practiced most of last week and expected to play, but was amongst the seven players scratched for Friday night’s game against the Carolina Panthers.

Allen was expected to compete with Benny Sapp for the role as the Dolphins nickel cornerback, but at this point he’s fighting to remain one of the five or six cornerbacks who make it out of training camp.

The Dolphins also announced that Jared Odrick, the team’s 2010 first-round pick, will start at right end instead of Randy Starks. Odrick impressed the coaches in last Friday’s 28-23 win over Atlanta and the coaches wanted to increase his workload.

Odrick is expected to be one of four defensive ends the Dolphins rotate into games to keep the unit fresh.

Also not participating in Friday night’s game against the Panthers was starting left tackle Jake Long, who hasn’t participated in a single practice because of a left knee injury. Linebacker Austin Spitler (ankle), tight end Mickey Shuler (ankle), and offensive linemen Joe Berger (unknown), Garrett Chisolm (knee) and Ray Willis (personal) were all sidelined.

DAVIE (CBS4) — Despite a rough start in the first preseason game, Chad Henne is still the Miami Dolphins’ quarterback.

Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said Saturday there is no quarterback competition currently going on with his team.

Henne, the NFL’s 26th-rated passer last season, remains in charge of the Miami offense despite going 4 for 8 for 78 yards, with two interceptions and one touchdown in the Dolphins’ 28-23 loss at Atlanta on Friday.

Henne’s backup, Matt Moore, was 11 for 18 for 123 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Moore, signed away from the Carolina Panthers, rallied the Dolphins from a 17-0, first-quarter deficit to a 21-20 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Henne, who took 14 snaps on Friday has gotten the majority of work with the first team in practice and the preseason opener.

“I wouldn’t say there’s a battle right at this second,” Sparano said. “To me it takes more than a few outings, a couple of practices, any of those things. I thought Matt did some good things. On the surface it’s going to look like Matt did way more good things than Chad, maybe to your eye, but there was enough things in there in Matt’s 36 plays that needed to be corrected, as well.”

Miami’s offense, which ranked 30th in scoring among 32 teams last season, showed well Friday under former Cleveland offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. It made big plays in the passing game (the Dolphins had five completions of at least 17 yards), something that didn’t happen last year.

Miami’s first-team defense, which ranked sixth last season, struggled, however. It was generally pushed around in the first quarter and allowed a touchdown. But it only played 10 plays, according to Sparano, and he doesn’t seem worried.

“I think those guys are going to be fine on defense,” he said.

On special teams, undrafted rookie Phillip Livas showed some promise with a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Sparano said he liked what he saw from center Mike Pouncey, Miami’s first-round pick (15th overall) this year, and defensive end Jared Odrick, the first-round pick (28th overall) from last year who missed 15 games because of a foot injury.

The Dolphins’ only strong position battle on either side of the ball is at free safety where incumbent Chris Clemons played 34 plays, and upstart Reshad Jones played 22.

Overall, Sparano seemed pleased with the come-from-behind victory.

“You really have only had seven practices with this group of guys,” Sparano said. “At the end of the day it takes a lot longer than seven practices to build continuity within your line or communication among quarterbacks and receivers. A lot longer.”

Running back Reggie Bush and wide receiver Brandon Marshall both sat out on Friday, but Sparano said both would likely play next Friday when Miami hosts Carolina.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Chad Henne is still the Miami Dolphins’ quarterback, even after a rough start to the preseason.

Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said Saturday there is no quarterback competition currently going on with his team.

Henne, the NFL’s 26th-rated passer last season, remains in charge of the Miami offense despite going 4 for 8 for 78 yards, with two interceptions and one touchdown in the Dolphins’ 28-23 loss at Atlanta on Friday.

Henne’s backup, Matt Moore, was 11 for 18 for 123 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Moore, signed away from the Carolina Panthers, rallied the Dolphins from a 17-0, first-quarter deficit to a 21-20 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Henne, who took 14 snaps on Friday has gotten the majority of work with the first team in practice and the preseason opener.

“I wouldn’t say there’s a battle right at this second,” Sparano said. “To me it takes more than a few outings, a couple of practices, any of those things. I thought Matt did some good things. On the surface it’s going to look like Matt did way more good things than Chad, maybe to your eye, but there was enough things in there in Matt’s 36 plays that needed to be corrected, as well.”

Miami’s offense, which ranked 30th in scoring among 32 teams last season, showed well Friday under former Cleveland offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. It made big plays in the passing game (the Dolphins had five completions of at least 17 yards), something that didn’t happen last year.

Miami’s first-team defense, which ranked sixth last season, struggled, however. It was generally pushed around in the first quarter and allowed a touchdown. But it only played 10 plays, according to Sparano, and he doesn’t seem worried.

“I think those guys are going to be fine on defense,” he said.

On special teams, undrafted rookie Phillip Livas showed some promise with a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Sparano said he liked what he saw from center Mike Pouncey, Miami’s first-round pick (15th overall) this year, and defensive end Jared Odrick, the first-round pick (28th overall) from last year who missed 15 games because of a foot injury.

The Dolphins’ only strong position battle on either side of the ball is at free safety where incumbent Chris Clemons played 34 plays, and upstart Reshad Jones played 22.

Overall, Sparano seemed pleased with the come-from-behind victory.

“You really have only had seven practices with this group of guys,” Sparano said. “At the end of the day it takes a lot longer than seven practices to build continuity within your line or communication among quarterbacks and receivers. A lot longer.”

Running back Reggie Bush and wide receiver Brandon Marshall both sat out on Friday, but Sparano said both would likely play next Friday when Miami hosts Carolina.

The Miami Dolphins will begin their preseason schedule on Friday night in Atlanta, at the Georgia Dome, against the Falcons. It is a “game” by the definition of the word. The score will be kept. Statistics will be recorded.

But the Dolphins aren’t really treating this as a game.

Miami coach Tony Sparano has said on multiple occasions this week that the meeting against the Falcons will allow him and his staff another practice opportunity. That’d be the case for a preseason game in any year. It’s especially true now, though, given all that was lost – mini-camps, off-season team activities, meetings – that were lost to the NFL lockout.

Ordinarily, the Dolphins would be much farther along with their offensive installation. They would have been working with draftees for months, instead of weeks. They would have signed undrafted rookies after the draft in April, instead of signing them days before the start of training camp.

The lockout left all of the NFL’s 32 teams in scramble mode but the Dolphins, perhaps, were among those teams that have had to scramble the most. It’s one thing for, say, the Patriots to rush through a preseason. After all, New England has used the same system for a while now. The players know what to expect. They know how to make it work.

It’s another thing, though, for the Dolphins to rush through the preseason. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has had to condense his offensive installation process into a manageable package that can fit into the small space between the start of camp and the beginning of the regular season. The offensive playbook, thicker than a hardcover dictionary, has had to be cut.

The Dolphins won’t know all of it by the start of the season. Not even close.

So while you might be anxious to see what the Dolphins look like on Friday night, Sparano and his staff are even more anxious. They want to see how certain players – especially the younger, more inexperienced ones – react in certain situations. They want to see how the team to this point has grasped the parts of the playbook that have been installed (and while Miami won’t come close to going through the whole playbook before the start of the season, a lot has already been installed).

Sparano was asked after practice on Wednesday how many series the starters would play.

“Not many,” he said. “I mean, we’ll get them out there, they’ll play, there’s a few guys that may not play, but for the most part most guys will play but just not [much]. I can’t afford it. I have no gauge on how many plays we’re going to play.

“So in other words I don’t know that our offense isn’t going to be out there for 40 plays and our defense out there for 70 or vice versa. So with that in mind I can’t afford to keep a group out there too long without getting some of these young players evaluated.

“I need to make sure these players get evaluated because as we get going here into the next couple weeks I really can’t waste that kind of time.”

Sparano said he the Dolphins wouldn’t do any game-planning for Atlanta. And he didn’t dismiss the possibility of communicating with the Falcons staff and figuring out a way to make this game mutually beneficial for both teams by making it more of a practice opportunity.

“I have done it before in some situations. In fact going into the Dallas [preseason] game last year [Cowboys coach Jason Garrett] and I talked. There are sometimes where you communicate with the other coach and there’s so some things you really want to get work on, maybe things that you really need to see.

“Might be a special team thing where you want to see some rush. Might be a little bit more pressure, one way or the other. If you have a relationship with that coach, that other head coach, you might be able to do that. I think Jason [Garrett] and John [Fox] have that kind of relationship. So as we get on in this thing here and start with these preseason games that would be something I would strongly consider just because you’ve lost practices.

“You wouldn’t under normal circumstances do that but because you’ve lost practices there might be something that they need or you need and there is a little bit of a trade off there.”

So it’s possible that while Miami and Atlanta are competing against one another on Friday night, that they’ll actually be working together some, too. Just another twist in a strange, long lead-up to the 2011 NFL season.

By Jason Kirk

– Regional Editor

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Aug 8, 2011 – If it seems like the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins frequently appear on each other’s preseason schedules, there’s a pretty good reason for that. To minimize travel, the NFL likes to pair up teams that are close to each other as often as possible. Nobody’s really all that close to Miami, so voila!

The preseason opener is scheduled for Friday, August 12 at 7:30 pm ET at the Georgia Dome. CBS is handling TV duties.

Like the Falcons, the Dolphins aren’t really going to bother with constructing a game plan for the contest. It’s all about Jimmies and Joes, not X’s and O’s, as each team has to whittle itself down by darn-near half over the next month. That, coupled with an abbreviated onboarding period and minimal training camp means we can expect to see some amusing, slapped-together sports being played.

The Falcons have released a tentative depth chart in advance of Friday night’s game, casting all eyes on the position battles between Garrett Reynolds and Mike Johnson at guard, Chris Owens and Dominique Franks at nickel and Peria Jerry and Corey Peters at defensive tackle.

Expect punter Matt Bosher to be challenged b- you know what I always say? I always say, “Don’t expect anything when it comes to punters.”

The Dolphins have also revealed their lineups, with Reggie Bush (remember him!) getting the start at punt returner and former Georgia Bulldogs safety Reshad Jones among those wrangling for a first-string spot. 

For more on the Falcons, head to The Falcoholic. And more for Dolphins, visit The Phinsider.

Read More: Reggie Bush (RB – MIA), Peria Jerry (DT – ATL), Garrett Reynolds (OT – ATL), Reshad Jones (S – MIA), Corey Peters (DT – ATL), Mike Johnson (G – ATL), Dominique Franks (CB – ATL), Matt Bosher (K – ATL), Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons

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