For now the Dolphins are done with the pre-season, and they did not look impressive in a 24-17 loss to Tampa Bay in Orlando Friday night. It was pretty much the same old story for the defense as it has been throughout the pre-season; the offense looking lackluster.

In fact, the running game which had been so impressive through good portions of the pre-season did not have a good night. The passing game wasn't as stellar as the Dolphins would like it to be and the run defense, again, has its major problems.

The one good news about this game is that no one was seriously injured.

Keith Byars made his first appearance starting at fullback. He carried the ball twice for 9 yards. He was not on the receiving end of any passes, but at least he was back in action, and he reported after the game that he felt no ill effects on his knee.

Byars is expected to be ready at the start of the regular season against the New York Jets, but just because of his status, there had been rumors of acquiring fullback Roosevelt Cox.

Dan Marino had a decent night, but made a couple of big mistakes that wound up costing the Dolphins. He was 11 of 22 for 174 yards. Two big interceptions, one of which was returned 41 yards for a TD by Martin Mayhew (spelling?) when Marino tried to throw an out pattern and Mayhew stepped in front of the pass, which was a little bit inside. That gave the Bucs a 10-7 lead. Marino also threw an interception deep in Tampa Bay territory late in the first half as the Dolphins were threatening to score.

Bernie Kosar came into the game the rest of the way. He was 10 of 20 for 104 yards, but failed to get the Dolphins into the end zone late in the game after they had gotten the ball back with just over two minutes left. He drove them to a little bit inside Tampa Bay terrritory, to about the 42 yard line.

Kosar had three straight incompletions, including a drop by Demeris Johnson, which doesn't help his attempts to make the team. In a fourth down, Kosar was chased down by a Tampa Bay defensive lineman and put down for the play that basically sealed the game.

Bernie Parmalee had a very impressive run on his 4 yard TD to open the scoring of the Dolphins opening possession. The drive took 6 minutes, 8 plays and covered 80 yards.

Eric Green had his biggest game by far. The first two passes that Marino completed were to Green, who wound up leading the team with 7 catches for 78 yards.

Back to the running game:

Spikes had decent numbers, 10 carries, 48 yards.

Parmalee finished with 8 carries, 21 yards. And don't be suprised if Parmalee is your opening day starter at the halfback position. It appears as if he has earned the spot.

Kirby carried the ball 1 time, gaining 8 yards.

ON OFFENSE:

Billy Milner came into the game in the second series, because the coaches wanted to give some work to the first units. But there was a play where Milner was beaten for a sack, which doesn't help his position. Milner was also called for an offside penalty on the second half.

RECEIVING GAME:

Clark made a catch on a 27 yard reception.

Ricky Sanders, 3 for 34.

Randall Hill, 2 for 20.

Irving Fryar caught only two seasons the entire pre-season, and there have been suggestions that he has been having problems getting open. When he was asked about it, he said, "That's a stupid question. When I start having problems getting open, that's when I'll quit."

DEFENSE:

Dolphins have had major problems throughout the pre-season. In this case, they were missing Tim Bowens and Bryan Cox. Tampa Bay wound up rushing for 160 yards, and a 4.7 average, which is much too high if the Dolphins are to entertain any thoughts of the Super Bowl.

For bright spots, Trace Armstrong had a sack, and also wound up with an interception on a pass that was first tipped by Safety Michael Stewart. Troy Vincent also had an interception.

Outside of that, your leading tacklers were Frankie Smith and Dwight Hollier, who started inside and had four tackles. Chris Singleton started the game at the other outside linebacker spot opposite Aubrey Beavers with Hollier moving to the middle. Singleton looked pretty sharp. He had four tackles, three of which were unassisted.

The big problem is the run defense. There were also problems on coverages on the kick. Look back to last year, and just hope that this was some sort of quirky thing that doesn't last through the season. Because if it does, you can figure teams will be running the ball to control the clock and keep Marino off the field.

Outside of that, it has been hard to find too many encouraging things. Then again, it's pre-season, and to be quite blunt about it, a lot of these players are looking to get this over with. The real Miami Dolphins will show up on the field next Sunday.

*** END OF DIGEST REPORT ***

MY ANALYSIS:

I don't share Alain's dismal outlook on the Dolphins' last pre-season game. Marino and the offense took the first possession and drove the ball right down the field for a touchdown. That is a good indication of what the offense is capable of when it wants to be serious.

Also, even though the running game only produced 86 yards, the average was 4.1 yards/carry. This indicates that the Dolphins could run the ball when they wanted to - they just didn't want to very often.

And Eric Green and Keith Byars showed that they are both ready to play in the regular season. In fact, when I saw that Green lead the team in receptions, I was very happy. And Byars, although he carried the ball only twice and didn't catch any passes, is back and healthy enough to play. That is very good news, also.

And if that wasn't enough, Chris Singleton is back. That shores up the outside linebacking spot and gives the Dolphins their best players at all three linebacking positions.

All of these factors were enough for me. I was a little disappointed in the game until I saw the details and then I was very happy, indeed.

The Dolphins, I believe, are ready for the regular season.