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Chad Pennington struggled for most of the day against the Miami Dolphins, fumbling the opening snap, wobbling passes and missing receivers.

Then came up big -- right when the Jets needed him.

Pennington threw two touchdown passes, including a 1-yarder to Jerald Sowell in the fourth quarter to help seal a 17-7 victory Sunday. And for the most part, he held onto the ball.

Hoping to atone for six fumbles last week in an embarrassing loss to Kansas City, Pennington vowed not to drop another one against the Dolphins (1-1). It didn't take him long to break that promise: On the first play of the game, he bobbled the exchange from Kevin Mawae.

Ahh, but Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor was offside, so instead of a disastrous start, Pennington had gotten the one little gaffe out of his system.

He held on for the rest of the game, but his passes were another matter. Many wobbled in the air; some were too short, others too long. But he connected on just enough, and was at his best in the fourth quarter.

Gus Frerotte threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Randy McMichael at the start of the quarter, closing the Jets lead to 10-7.

On the ensuing drive, Pennington and the Jets (1-1) answered. Pennington went 7-of-7 for 74 yards, capping an 80-yard drive with the scoring pass to Sowell to make it 17-7. The series took 10 plays and ate up 5:54.

Pennington finished 19-of-30 for 190 yards, with no interceptions.

Curtis Martin, who won the NFL rushing title last season, failed to reach 100 yards for the second straight game. The Dolphins held Martin to 72 yards on 31 carries, and the defense kept them in the game.

But Frerotte, after a stellar game in a surprising 34-10 victory over Denver last week, was off, finishing 20-of-43 for 177 yards with a touchdown and an interception, which came late on a last attempt at a rally.

The Dolphins also failed to muster much of a running attack. Rookie Ronnie Brown, who came into the game with a slight shoulder injury, had 35 yards on 12 carries. By the end of the game, Frerotte was throwing on every down to try to get Miami back in it.

Things even went wrong with normally terrific Olindo Mare, who missed a 21-yard field goal in the first quarter wide left after a high snap caused him to stutter-step before planting to make his kick.

Pennington got the scoring going when he threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Laveranues Coles. The Jets led 10-0 at halftime but it could have been more following a bizarre sequence late in the second quarter.

On third-and-goal from the 8, Pennington threw complete down the middle to Wayne Chrebet, who appeared to stretch the ball over the plane of the goal line.

Officials ruled Chrebet down, but the Jets challenged the call. After the review, the call was upheld because the referee ruled Chrebet's knee was down, and he was touched down, before getting the ball into the end zone. Then on fourth down from the goal line, Martin tried to get himself in but fumbled and the Dolphins got the ball on downs.

It was over when ...Chad Pennington connected with Jerald Sowell on a 1-yard TD pass to cap an 80-yard drive on the Jets' first series after the Dolphins scored to open the fourth quarter.

Game ball goes to ...Chad Pennington. After coughing up six fumbles in last week's loss, the Jets' QB took care of the ball and performed at his best when it mattered most -- in the fourth quarter. He finished 19-of-30 for 190 yards with no interceptions and two TDS.

My Take: The Jets were coming off a terrible Week 1 performance where nothing looked good at all. This was a team that needed to come out and get a victory against the Dolphins and it was able to get it. The Jets looked much more stable, handled their business and seemed to look more ready this week than last. Chad Pennington did a fine job against a Dolphins team that would have loved to shock the world by starting the season 2-0.

Team Stat Comparison

1st Downs: 15-20

Total Yards: 235-271

Passing: 169-173

Rushing: 66-98

Penalties: 10-88, 5-40

3rd Down Conversions: 4-14, 6-15

4th Down Conversions: 1-1, 0-1

Turnovers: 1-0

Possession: 26:01-33:59

On September 7th, 2005, I stepped into Franklin Middle School excited and searching for a fresh start. I was looking forward to making a good first impression on all my teachers. Furthermore, I was extremely astonished at how my friends and pupils has altered physically over the summer. In homeroom, I recieved my schedule and locker combination.However, my locker was on the first floor when my homeroom was on the third floor! I soon learned that I would not be going to homeroom anymore because I had First Period Geometry, in which I would be heading over to the high school every morning at 8:05 A.M. along with Henry and Michael (A.K.A. Yakie), my locker was changed because of a jammed lock. In my new locker, my locker shelf didn't fit unless I slammed and kicked my locker shut. I firgured after my locker took 30 or so merciless beatings, a good part of my shelf would be chipped away and it would fit. Since it was the first day of school, my first period geometry class did not hear over to the high school, but stayed in the guidance office. They explained to us how the high school system worked. We stood and sat there for the rest of the period and socialized.

In Second Period English, Mrs. Reilly stated that her class was all about expressing your opinion, and not about verbalizing facts, which I despised without a doubt. I also had to study for my Summer Reading Quiz that would take place Friday. I learned that I would need a journal as well. The most frightening hing that happened was that the class found out that we would get two projects a month on outside reading. Furthermore, she uses a different method of grading papers. In the next period, Latin, our new teacher, Mr. Di Christo, filling in for Mrs. Gebbie after her retirement, presented himself. We spen most of the period asking about his technique of teaching was different than our previous teacher's. It seems as if our workload will be considerably lighter, but the class overall will be much harder. I believe that it might just pay off that I had studies the day before. Afterwards, I encountered Mrs. Crowe's Journalism slass. I am in a group with Yakie and Henry. I hope this class won't be as demanding as Mrs. Crowe's English class last year. I have Fifth Period Lunch, a period earlier than last year, so it sort of felt weird eating early. Additionally, it felt unorthodox having Study Hall first and Lunch second. My seat was assigned behind Henry Shaffer and ahead of Brendan Striano, wit Mrs. Schiavone supervising us, just as I expected. I had nothing to do in Study Hall since it was the first day of school, so I talked to Henry and Brendan. In Lunch, I was sure to grab my spot on the table and not be stuck on the loser side. A lot of strangers sat on our table, but they'll soon be kicked out, of course. The worst part of the day came when I walked in Mr. Bertuzzi's class for Science. the only good side was that we could sit anywhere we want, anytime we want, but there was no one good in my class. He told us that we would fill out 400 sheets of notes by the end of the year. He made us take notes on the first day. I wish I had Mr. Francia again. He didn't teach you anything, but he was still my favorite teacher. In Gym, we got into our squads (I sat ahead of Brendan Straina) and did nothing but talk since, yet again, it was only the first day of school. I had Ms. Citeralla, but she was pregnant so a nameless substitute was filling in for her. Finally, during the last period, Social Studies, Mr. Schwarz pronounced all of our names wrong. We filled out an index card with a bunch of information about such stuff as personal beliefs on Social Studes, book number, name, parent's names, and phone number. At last, I headed hme in my neighbor's car and strolled home. I plopped on my couch and flipped on Comedy Central.

The death penalty debate stirs up major controversy nationwide. Is it civilized to have an "eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" punishment? I say it is. We do not want a killer running around and striking fear in people's hearts just because he is not put to death. Do we really want to pay expenses for a killer put in jail?

Since society has the highest interest in preventing murder, it should use the strongest punishment available to deter murder. If murderers are executed, other killers will think twice before killing. For justice to prevail, killers just need to die. Hypothetical claims of innocence are usually just delaying tactics to put off execution. I very much doubt a criminal will be executed if the jury does not have thorough evidence. In conclusion, the existence of some systemic problems is no reason to abandon the whole death penalty.

For this new year, 2005, I have made three New Year's Resolutions. First, I want to make sure, that by the end of the year, I have at least $2,000 in my personal college savings account. Secondly, I resolve not to be such a picky eater. Lastly, I hope to keep up my good grades.

You may think saving up $2,000 in one year might be diffucult task for a child with no job or no allowance. On the other hand, I have already $1,700, and I have a master plan to obtain the other $300. First, I have a guaranteed $100 from birthday money and Christmas money combined. Next, all the competitions at my annual religious picnic should net me about a 100 bones. However, the next $100 needs luck. I have entered in four school competitions, one writing contest for Mrs. Crowe, two writing contests for Mr. Kocum, and a Geography Bee in which I passed round one. If I can get a medal in at least one, I have achieved my goal. My next resolution might just be the hardest of all. I hate eating half of the food my mom serves me so I doubt I can keep that one. Finally, unless something drastic happens, I should be able to keep my grades up.

My parents are acting unfairly to me ever since Christmas break ended. First, they took away my video games because they think I have to study harder. Secondly, they believe that I have been saving up my lunch money, which, by the way, is absolutely false. Third, they constantly are telling me that I'm becoming spoiled.

I have a countless number of reasons why my parents have acted on unfair judgement(s). I have been studying tremendously hard, so, therefore, I see no motive as to why they would do such a despicable thing as taking away my only joy in life. They say I haven't been using my lunch money. That is a false statement because they give me five dollars and I come home with three. Judging by my body weight, it is seasy to infer that I do not eat very much. As a result, I still have money when I come home. I am confused by the fact that they have any reason to believe I'm being spoiled. Then again, don't all parents behave like this?

Football is unquestionably, without-a-doubt the best way to spice up your life and make it more memorable. it provides great entertainment and makes for some unforgettable debates. I despise the human beings who feel football is foolish because all you do is hit people. Furthermore, I despise the people who say it's just a game. This is because they do not know how complicated this sport really is. There's play-calling, pre-snap adjustments, precision passing, pocket prescence, execution of the play, etc. It is not like soccer, in which all you do is run around for 90 minutes, and the score ends up to be 1-0. Additionally, this is not just a game because it is a lot more. It is a matter of dignity and pride. As you can see, football is the best sport ever and it always will be.

I had stepped into Franklin Middle School excited and searching for a frest start. I was looking forward to making a good impression on all my teachers. I also wanted to impress other pupils so I could make new friends. In first period, I was relieved to find out that my friend, Michael, was in all my classes.

I was making fairly good impressions on my teachers until fourth period arrived. As I was walking, into Latin, I muttered, "Since I am in all Vectors and Algebra, I should have taken an easier World Language course than Latin." Unfortunatley, my Latin teacher overheard me, and I was afraid that I had gotten off to a bad start with her. Luckily, I had redeemed myself at the end of the period by participating on every chance possible. Heading into the final bell, I felt I left a positive mark on the teachers and students.