Green draws boos in Dolphins debut as Miami beats Jacksonville

The Associated Press




Dolphins quarterback Trent Green (left) fumbled Saturday night as he was sacked by Jaguars defensive end James Wyche.
MIAMI | About the only thing new quarterback Trent Green led the Miami Dolphins’ offense to Saturday night was a smattering of boos.
Green struggled in his Dolphins debut, underthrowing receivers and managing just 60 yards on six-for-15 passing with one interception in Miami’s 18-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the exhibition opener for both teams.
Green, the Dolphins’ biggest offseason acquisition, took every snap in the first half and led the Dolphins to just four first downs in six possessions. He exited amid boos from the crowd at Dolphin Stadium in four of his last five drives and led Miami to only one scoring drive — a 26-yard field goal by Jay Feely.
“He is still clever in the pocket,” Miami coach Cam Cameron said. “We’ll get our protection units squared away.”
Patrick Cobbs’ 3-yard touchdown run, followed by his two-point conversion run, provided the winning score for the Dolphins with 3:46 left — on a drive led by rookie quarterback John Beck, who was three for five for 23 yards in the series.
Josh Scobee missed a 43-yard field goal from the dirt with 42 seconds left to seal Miami’s victory. Scobee made an NFL-best 14 field goals last season between 40 and 49 yards.
Earlier this week, Cameron seemed to stir up a quarterback controversy or maybe just some competition. Green and backup Cleo Lemon were listed in the first-team column as co-starters on Cameron’s depth chart before the game.
The only thing separating them was a slash between their names, and the team’s exhibition opener didn’t seem to spell any separation. The loudest ovation of the night went to Beck when he entered early in the fourth quarter.
The Jaguars, who ranked second in the NFL in rushing last season with Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, have said that this training camp was all about fine-tuning the passing game. They didn’t shy away from throwing in their first of four exhibition games.
Byron Leftwich was seven-for-11 passing for 78 yards and a touchdown in his first game for Jacksonville since a loss against the Houston Texans on Oct. 22, when he suffered a sprained left ankle and later had season-ending surgery.
Leftwich dazzled Miami when he managed to stay off the ground. He was pressured constantly by the Dolphins defense, which played without reigning defensive player of the year Jason Taylor and stars Zach Thomas and Keith Traylor. All three were not in uniform, but Miami managed to sack Leftwich and hurry him several other times.