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Miami makeover New look Dolphins debut in Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Miami Dolphins begin their preseason Saturday night in Pittsburgh, which raises this question: So where are the Miami Dolphins? Don Shula quit years ago and, now, so has his successor, Jimmy Johnson, who is fishing in the Florida Keys rather than fighting the heat at training camp. He told a friend he recently spent a month without once putting on a pair of shoes. The way he figures it, it beats trying to fill Dan Marino's shoes. The Dolphins' thick-as-a-brick media guide still contains page after page after page detailing Marino's 17-season trek through the NFL record books. Only Marino won't be on the sidelines in Pittsburgh, his hometown; the media guide tribute is there as a readily accessible record of Marino's unparalleled career. Marino retired this past spring as the most prolific passer to wear an NFL uniform -- a uniform the Dolphins will never fill again by number (13) and, certainly, may never fill again by performance. Not that Damon Huard, a virtual no-name in a league where Marino was the biggest name of all at his position, isn't trying. Even if he seems to be trying the Dolphins' new coach, Dave Wannstedt, as much as anyone. Wannstedt, formerly Johnson's top aide and the other finalist for the Steelers' job when Bill Cowher was hired in 1992, wasn't very happy with Huard and Jay Fiedler, his two auditioning quarterbacks, during a scrimmage against Tampa Bay a week ago. Wannstedt was visibly unhappy with their lack of execution in the two-minute offense, a drill Marino perfected. At one point, Wannstedt snapped at his players to move faster out of the huddle, something Marino no doubt would have done if were playing. Of course, he isn't, even if the Dolphins fans may not fully realize it until Huard, not Marino, leads the Dolphins out of the huddle Saturday night in Three Rivers Stadium. Huard, 4-1 as a starter this past season when Marino was hurt, will get the start, now that Fiedler is out for 3-4 weeks for hip surgery. Jim Druckenmiller, formerly of the 49ers, and Mike Quinn, a Steelers backup in 1997, will follow Huard in the first of the Dolphins' four preseason games. Huard will play about a half. "We'll go from here," Wannstedt said of a quarterback derby that ended unexpectedly early, now that Fiedler won't be back until the final week of the preseason. "This is not a panic situation. It's just a curve in the road." Kordell Stewart will start again at quarterback for the Steelers, just as he did in playing slightly more than the first quarter of Sunday's 38-10 exhibition victory in Dallas. Stewart and the other starters will play about 1 1/2 quarters, with Kent Graham and rookie Tee Martin following Stewart. Stewart shook off a five-game benching at the end of this past season to go 5-for-9 for 101 yards, a performance greatly enhanced by several excellent catches by first-round draft pick Plaxico Burress. Burress, who at 6-foot-5 gives Stewart the easy-to-find target he has lacked since Yancey Thigpen left after the 1997 season, had a highlight-reel 29-yard catch among his four receptions for 60 yards. "He's a big target, and quarterbacks love big targets," linebacker Levon Kirkland said. Still, the Steelers' enthusiasm for the 28-point victory was tempered by the realization they played the Cowboys in name only. Emmitt Smith and Larry Allen didn't play, and Troy Aikman and Joey Galloway were gone by the third series. "It looked good but it's a long season," Kirkland said. "You can't say, hey, we're there. I think you have to wait until the end of the season to see how good we can be." The Dolphins probably won't have to wait that long to see how good they will be without Marino. At least, for the new quarterback's sake, receivers Tony Martin, Lamar Thomas and Oronde Gadsden are still around. "Some areas, we're as strong and, I feel, as comfortable as any team in the league," Wannstedt said. "But there other positions that are as unsettled as any other team in the league." Until Fiedler went down, quarterback was one of them. "Our goal hasn't changed from a year ago," Wannstedt said. "Our goal is to win the division. We want to win the division. In my mind, it all starts there." And it all starts in Pittsburgh, where Marino's career started and, now, the Dolphins' post-Marino era begins.
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