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Improving Dolphins look to bounce back against Cardinals

Sep 9, 2008 - 6:34 PM Miami (0-1) at Arizona (1-0), 4:15 pm EDT

GLENDALE, Arizona (Ticker) -- Tony Sparano calls it a process. And though the Miami Dolphins lost for the 19th time in 20 games last week against the resurgent New York Jets, their late rally suggests the franchise is heading in the right direction.

Quarterback Chad Pennington and the Dolphins face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday with hopes of easing the pain of a deflating loss in their season opener.

For the Dolphins, the 20-14 shortcoming marked a sour start to the Bill Parcells era, and it was reminiscent of last year's 1-15 finish.

Parcells took over as the team's executive vice president of football operations last December, but despite turning over more than half the roster and hiring Sparano as coach, Miami struggled on offense until its late rally.

"I think for two or three days prior to, the whole week was about talking to the team one way or the other," Sparano said. "Honestly, by the time you get to the end of the week they're a little bit talked out and it's time to play.

"You kind of try to leave them alone a little bit. We did talk to them; we spent a lot of time talking about different parts of this process with them. That's what we keep calling it; it's a process."

Pennington had 251 yards passing and two touchdowns against his former team, but he came up just short, throwing an interception in the end zone with five seconds left to seal the Jets' win.

Acquired from the Jets upon Brett Favre's arrival, Pennington automatically gave the Dolphins a legitimate leader under center after they suffered through the growing pains of John Beck and the ineffectiveness of Cleo Lemon and Trent Green in 2007.

Running back Ronnie Brown, who was limited to seven games before going down with a devastating knee injury, carried the ball six times for 23 yards while Ricky Williams was held to 24 yards on 10 carries.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are coming off a 23-13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers - the first time they opened with a road victory since defeating the Eagles in Philadelphia in 1999.

Arizona, tabbed by many as a team on the rise, hasn't been able to capitalize with its explosive offensive weapons in recent years. Despite possessing one of the most feared passing games in the league, the Cardinals were 8-8 last season and 5-11 in each of the previous two.

Edgerrin James rushed for 100 yards on 26 carries and was supported by wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who caught eight passes for 82 yards - all in the second half. Fellow receiver Larry Fitzgerald had three catches for 31 yards and one touchdown.

Kurt Warner, who beat out Matt Leinart for the starting quarterback job, completed 19-of-30 attempts for 197 yards and one score.