Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
X’S AND OMAR: Omar Kelly examines the key plays of the game.
Veteran quarterback carried Miami’s offense in 2011 and Dolphins appear to believe he can do it again
Been there, done that should be the mindset of a nine-year veteran who has finished games, and seasons, for NFL teams before.
But Jarvis Landry, the Miami Dolphins’ charismatic receiver, noticed something was off with Matt Moore, and felt like he needed to give Ryan Tannehill’s replacement an inspirational speech on Sunday.
Landry gave Moore a similar speech to the one he’s delivered to countless Dolphins players serving as an injury replacement, but Moore’s response was different and warranted a chuckle.
“‘Boy, I haven’t played in five years,’ ” Landry recalled Moore saying to him on the bench the drive after he replaced Tannehill, who likely suffered a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury in his left knee against the Arizona Cardinals.
That means there was plenty of rust to be worked off, and Moore did just that while leading the Dolphins to a 26-23, last-second victory over the Cardinals. Moore, 32, led the Dolphins 44 yards downfield in the game’s final 1:29 to set up the game-winning 21-yard field goal.
Moore has been in this situation before with the Dolphins. In 2011, he became Miami’s starting quarterback after Chad Henne dislocated his left shoulder in Week 4.
Moore led the Dolphins to a 6-6 record as a starter that season, was named the team MVP, and the next summer Miami drafted Tannehill in the first round of the NFL draft. As a byproduct of Tannehill’s toughness the past five seasons, Moore had thrown just 16 passes in the six regular-season games he’d played in over that span.
Moore finished Sunday haveing completed 3 of 5 passes for 47 yards, and the 29-yarder he threw to Kenny Stills on first-and-10 from Arizona’s 30-yard line perfectly illustrates his mentality. Instead of easing his way down the field, putting the team in position to kick a field goal in the game’s final seconds, Moore was going for the touchdown.
And he made the throw despite being laid out by a Cardinals defender.
Moore only knows how to play one way, and that’s aggressively.
“He’s a gunslinger. He’s a gunslinger,” Landry said, repeating himself for emphasis. “He’s a savvy vet. For a quarterback, he does some unconventional things, but it always seems to go the right way.”
It took Miami a couple games for the offense to get into a groove with Moore as its starter back in 2011. Like Moore, Brian Daboll, who was the offensive coordinator that season, was new to the team, and they were fairly unfamiliar with one another.
Moore lost his first three starts of that season, extending the team’s losing streak to seven consecutive games to begin that year, then Miami blew out the Kansas City Chiefs 31-3 on the road in a game in which Moore threw three touchdown passes. The Dolphins went 6-3 from that point and Moore finished the season with an 87.1 passer rating, throwing for 2,497 yards with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
“Great football player,” said pass rusher Cameron Wake, who along with long snapper John Denney and center Mike Pouncey are the only current players who were on the team with Moore in 2011. “I’ve had the opportunity to chase him around ... even last week in practice reps. I know he’s a great leader.”
Moore’s style was feast or famine then, and all but two of his losses that season were close games.
“I’m obviously not shy,” Moore said, alluding to his reputation for pulling the trigger on deep passes. “My style, I’m a pocket passer who likes to throw it downfield . ... But that doesn’t matter. If you’re in there you have to execute the plays called.”
Head coach Adam Gase will need some time to get comfortable with Moore, and vice versa, but there isn’t much with three games left in the regular season.
Miami’s play-action passing game might have to be reeled in a bit because Moore is not the type of athlete Tannehill is, but expect the Dolphins to continue producing big plays.
“Matt is going to always know what to do. He’s not going to go out there and make mistakes. He’ll take a chance every now and then and a lot of people [on the team appreciate] that,” safety Michael Thomas said. “We’re just going to rally behind him.”