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Green sharp in Dolphins' loss to Buccaneers

Aug 26, 2007 - 3:07 AM By Michael Snyder PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MIAMI (Ticker) -- Trent Green had his best outing of the preseason, outplaying counterpart Jeff Garcia, but the Miami Dolphins fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-28, in a preseason contest Saturday night.

Green led the Dolphins' first-unit offense to a pair of touchdowns and a 14-7 lead after one quarter.

Named the starter by first-year coach Cam Cameron earlier in the week, Green finished 7-of-11 for 42 yards with one touchdown and an interception that led to the Bucs' first touchdown.

Garcia, meanwhile, was not sharp, completing just 4-of-10 passes for 54 yards. He also had one touchdown and one interception.

Miami's first drive ended badly when Cato June stepped in front of Ronnie Brown for an interception of Green and an easy 2-yard touchdown return.

But Green came back and resembled the field general the Dolphins hoped they were getting when they traded for him in June. He drove Miami 73 yards on 18 plays to tie the game at 7-7 on a 1-yard scoring pass to David Martin.

On the drive, Green converted key third- and fourth-down completions to rookie Ted Ginn Jr. and also ran a quarterback sneak for another.

Following an interception by Matt Roth, that gave Miami a first down at Tampa Bay's 12-yard line, the Dolphins used some trickery to score again.

Green went back to pass and faked like he was throwing, but instead used his left hand to give the ball to Jesse Chatman, who ran in from 11 yards out. It was the same play Boise State used to beat Oklahoma in last year's wild Fiesta Bowl.

Garcia led the Bucs right back, knotting things again on a 26-yard pass to Joey Galloway, who just came down with the ball in the back of the end zone.

Matt Bryant's 26-yard field goal gave Tampa Bay a 17-14 lead at the half.

The second half was an aerial show between Miami rookie John Beck and Bucs second-year quarterback Bruce Gradkowski.

Beck threw second-half touchdowns of 51 yards to P.K. Sam and 31 yards to Derek Hagan. He finished 11-of-22 for 162 yards and two TDs.

Gradkowski also had two second-half scoring passes - of 6 yards to Earnest Graham and 1 to Paris Warren - en route to completing 10-of-14 for 104 yards.

Bucs receiver David Boston, who was charged with driving under the influence early Thursday night, saw some action. The former Dolphin is trying to make a comeback after not playing last year.

Miami's defense had All-Pros Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas in the lineup for the first time this preseason as Cameron opted to sit them out the team's first two contests. Linebacker Joey Porter remains sidelined after arthroscopic knee surgery.