Davie, Fla. ? Aside from breakdowns in run defense, sloppiness on offense and poor play on special teams, the Miami Dolphins appear ready for the regular season.

“We have a lot of work to do,” coach Dave Wannstedt said Tuesday, hours after the Dolphins defused some of their preseason optimism with a ragged 14-10 loss in their exhibition opener at Tampa Bay.

Miami running back Ricky Williams (34) is swamped by the Tampa Bay defense, including Anthony McFarland (93) and Shelton Quarles (53) during Monday night's game in Tampa, Fla.

Miami’s many mistakes can be corrected, Wannstedt said, though perhaps not before the next game. The Dolphins play at home Thursday against New Orleans, with just one brief practice between the two games.

Wannstedt will be looking for improvement in many areas. The Dolphins gave up 180 yards rushing, committed five first-half penalties, missed two field goals and gave up a touchdown on the opening kickoff return.

Miami fell behind 14-0 after barely a quarter, and the poor start had Wannstedt angrily pacing the sidelines. Reviewing the game film reinforced his frustration.

“We were not as sharp as we needed to be early on,” he said.

At least no one was seriously hurt. The lone significant injury was a broken thumb suffered by backup linebacker Scott Galyon, who’ll likely require surgery that could sideline him for about a month.

Wannstedt praised backup quarterback Ray Lucas, rookie tight end Randy McMichael and defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, who had four of Miami’s seven sacks. Wannstedt was happy with the pass rush and coverage, as well as the protection by the offensive line, which didn’t give up a sack.

Still, a Dolphins team touted as a Super Bowl contender hardly looked the part.

Most alarming was the showing by Miami’s run defense, which collapsed at the end of last season and is perhaps the biggest question mark following the departure of run-stopping anchor Daryl Gardener. The Dolphins allowed 6.1 yards per running play, including 103 yards in 11 carries in the first half.

Defensive coordinator Jim Bates and middle linebacker Zach Thomas noted that Miami played a basic defensive front and used no game plan. Still, the Bucs’ runs of 38, 24 and 16 yards were cause for concern.

“They hit us with three perimeter runs,” Wannstedt said. “We just did not execute like we needed to. We were in bad position and missed a couple of tackles. That’s an area we obviously need to spend more time on.”