Plenty of issues for Dolphins to address in wake of season's 1st loss

DAVIE, Fla. – The Miami Dolphins' first loss of the season makes their deficiencies look a lot more glaring.

Pass protection is poor. Turnovers are a problem for Ryan Tannehill. He's struggling to mesh with $60 million receiver Mike Wallace. The ground game tends to disappear. The defense turns soft on third down. And the secondary is shaky, especially when it comes to covering tight ends.

Those issues were evident in earlier games, and they became insurmountable Monday night, when the Dolphins lost at New Orleans, 38-17. The defeat dropped them one game behind unbeaten New England in the AFC East standings, and Miami (3-1) must regroup quickly to play Baltimore (2-2) on Sunday.

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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

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