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Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

I'm loath to place blame when it comes to sacks because unless you've designed the play, were involved in the play or studied the playbook, you don't really know whose fault it was.

You can't be sure whose responsibility it was to block that guy or whether there was a breakdown elsewhere on the play. Maybe the quarterback made himself vulnerable by holding onto the ball too long or misreading the defense.

So I'm not going to say Miami Dolphins left tackle Jake Long definitely gave up two sacks in Sunday's 19-7 defeat to the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome.

But I can say with a high degree of certainty that last year's No. 1 overall draft pick had a bad opening day.

Miami Herald columnist Armando Salguero and Palm Beach Post reporter Edgar Thompson both said Long was at fault on two sacks. Stat companies that track such things estimate Long gave up 2.5 sacks during his Pro Bowl rookie season.

One of the sacks was particularly conspicuous. All-Pro defensive end John Abraham practically ran right through Long late in the first quarter to sack Chad Pennington. Long even got called for holding on the play.

"It's going to be a bull rush and inside move," Abraham told South Florida Sun-Sentinel columnist Ethan J. Skolnick of how to beat Long. "It seemed to work today."

Wrote South Florida Sun-Sentinel columnist Dave Hyde:

On both [sacks] he was out-muscled and then lost his balance. The first by John Abraham, he simple got steamrolled. In the second, Kroy Biermann knocked Long back and off-balance, then ran around him. Another play, Abraham beat Long, then flushed [Pennington] out of the pocket for an incompletion.

Not a good game from Long. Nor for the big investment in the offensive line. The running game didn’t just do little outside of Ricky Williams’ shows of life.

Dolphins right tackle Vernon Carey also had a rough go. Observers found him guilty of yielding two sacks. Carey was called for holding in the fourth quarter to wipe out a 21-yard Anthony Fasano touchdown reception. The Dolphins still scored on the drive, but nearly two minutes later, when time was precious.