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By BRIAN BIGGANE
August 17, 2009
MIAMI GARDENS — The speculation during the early weeks of Dolphins training camp that Ted Ginn Jr. may be ready for a breakout year should only intensify after Monday night's exhibition opener at Land Shark Stadium.
Ginn caught two Chad Pennington passes for 26 yards, ran a reverse for another 14 and drew a 34-yard pass interference penalty in one quarter of work as the Dolphins pulled out a 12-9 decision over Jacksonville.
Ginn also had a 15-yard completion wiped out by a holding penalty, meaning the Dolphins looked to him five times in the first quarter. He combined for only 61 touches last season, less than four per game.
"He did some nice things, made a couple of nice plays," coach Tony Sparano said. "That's a good sign for me. I talk all the time about seeing guys do it in practice and being able to bring it to the game, and Teddy was able to do that today."
"I'm learning the game more and more," said Ginn, who caught 34 passes as a rookie and 56 last season. "They took some chances and threw some balls at me, and I tried to come down with every ball they threw my way."
Ginn's performance was one of the few bright spots for the Dolphins' first-team offense, which mostly struggled, totaling 65 yards on its 16 plays in its one quarter of work and mustering only a 48-yard field goal by Dan Carpenter.
