By BRIAN BIGGANE
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Dolphins fans had to be wondering what had happened to Miami's vaunted defense when Cincinnati took the opening kick Sunday and drove 86 yards in 15 plays for an easy touchdown.
Linebacker Channing Crowder wasn't worried.
"They had a great plan, but that was their best," he said. "After that they had to settle down and play football, and it all went downhill for them."
Quarterback Carson Palmer and his offense were remarkably efficient on the drive, picking up six first downs and converting four consecutive third-down opportunities. But other than a fluky Terrell Owens score in the second quarter, they accomplished next-to-nothing the rest of the way as Miami rolled 22-14.
"You have those first 12, 15 plays that you went over Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday," Crowder said of the Bengals' offense. "You've got those down pat. You don't even have to call a play. But after those were done, and they scored, they had to settle down and call against our defense. Coach Nolan was making great calls and we started shutting them down."
The Bengals' no-huddle was no surprise to head coach Tony Sparano or defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. Sparano said his team finished practice seven minutes early all week because it spent so much time working against it.
"But it's different in a game," defensive end Kendall Langford said. "You can work on it all week, but once you come to a game, it's different. Once we got settled down, got used to the pace, we just took it from there."
Nolan put together a visual aid of sorts for members of the secondary, handing out wristbands with numbers that corresponded to defensive calls.
Beyond the no-huddle, cornerback Vontae Davis, the Bengals were trying to get an edge by getting to the line of scrimmage quickly.
"They were trying to catch us off guard with the quick snaps, and we got caught looking at the bands a few times," he said. "But we did a better job getting the calls in as the game went along."
Palmer, who was 5-of-7 passing for 44 yards on the first drive, completed two of those passes to Chad Ochocinco against Davis. That, Davis decided, was enough, and he didn't get beaten again.
"My mind-set is totally different than last year," said Davis, who is in his second season. "Once he caught two balls on me I said, 'OK, two balls, you're done for the rest of the day. I'm sorry. You woke me up.'"
Ochocinco caught one more pass for 14 yards, but that came against safety Chris Clemons.
Bengals running back Cedric Benson also had early success, getting nice gains by cutting back against the flow of the play. But the Dolphins defense also took that away and he finished with just 69 yards on 20 carries.
"We made a sideline adjustment and decided to be firmer on the back side," Langford said.
The Bengals' offense had been slowed late in the second quarter when it got a huge break.
After Chad Henne threw his lone interception to give Cincinnati the ball at the Miami 37, Palmer looked for Owens down the left sideline.
Clemons had the ball momentarily, but it popped out and Owens grabbed it for the touchdown and a 14-6 lead.
"I heard somebody say 'Ball!' so I snapped my head around," Clemons said. "The ball hit me in the hands, and as I was following it, my knee hit it and knocked it out. Then I saw him pull it in.
"That hurt. But I had to put it behind me."
Cincinnati went three-and-out on its next five possessions, not making another first down until Miami had taken a 22-14 lead in the fourth quarter.
The Bengals were 3-of-13 on third down after their first series.
When they finally did move the ball, in what proved to be their final possession, they reached the Miami 22 before cornerback Sean Smith stepped in front of a pass intended for Owens. Miami ran out the clock to improve to 4-3 this season.
