Moore steps in as new starter
MIAMI GARDENS — Matt Moore’s got the ideal demeanor for a man being thrust into this role.
With Sunday’s game against Arizona going down to the final minutes, there was a moment on the sideline when Dolphins receiver Jarvis Landry got on him about something that hadn’t gone right, and Moore smirked as he replied, “Bro, I haven’t played in five years.” That got a laugh.
Defusing the anxiety is a big part of the job as Moore steps in for Ryan Tannehill, who left the 26-23 win over the Cardinals with what the team fears is a torn ACL in his left knee. An injury of that severity would rule him out for the rest of the season, leaving Moore to lead Miami’s push for a playoff spot over the final three games.
The victory against Arizona tied the Dolphins with Denver for the final spot in the AFC, and they’ll have to navigate frigid road games against the Jets and Bills, followed by a season finale at home versus the Patriots. That pressure hits Moore as lightly as a breeze.
“I’ve been here a while, and these guys know my position on this team and my role, and I don’t think there was any doubt or hesitation,” he said of his teammates’ faith in him. “I believe that. I’m comfortable in there, and I think those guys are comfortable with me in there.”
While it’s not quite accurate that Moore has gone five years without playing, he hasn’t started a game since the finale of the 2011 season. He got cleanup work here and there, but Saturday’s game at the Jets likely will be his first start since the team drafted Tannehill.
Regardless, Miami’s locker room is comfortable with him in charge. Only two players have been with the team longer than Moore, who arrived in 2011 and withstood two coaching changes. Something about this guy made Tony Sparano, Joe Philbin and Adam Gase mark him as a keeper.
“He’s a gunslinger,” Landry said. “He’s a savvy vet. For a quarterback, he does some unconventional things, but it always seems to go the right way.”
Moore, 32 and in his 10th year, came aboard as a backup to Chad Henne and took over when Henne dislocated his shoulder in the fourth game of the 2011 season. The Dolphins were 0-4, but Moore completed 60.1 percent of his passes and threw for 16 touchdowns against eight interceptions while going 6-6 as the starter. For his career, which began as an undrafted free agent with the Cowboys, he is 13-12 as a starter.
Special teams excel: Despite a few blips, the Dolphins have been strong on special teams this season. The Arizona Cardinals have not and it proved to be a huge factor Sunday.
While Arizona kicker Chandler Catanzaro missed a field goal and an extra-point and had another extra point blocked for a 2-point Dolphins score, Miami kicker Andrew Franks kicked a 21-yard game-winner as time expired.
“No matter what length the field goal is, you really want to make it,” Franks said. “The kind of field conditions we had — and the crappy weather — it was sort of a hit or miss all day, I think, with the field goals and PATs. But getting that one in the books I think was huge for us.”
It was the first game-winner of Franks’ NFL career.
Because of driving rain for long stretches, Franks was constantly checking fields conditions.
“We’ve got our one little patch where our kicking net is, (we are) using that basically as the field,” Franks said. “If that has been pretty beat up — pretty soggy — then I know the field is going to be like that, too. It’s really something that we’ve dealt with before, during practice and during other games, so for me, it’s just something you’ve just got to deal with.”
Despite some concerns that have crept up this season, Franks’ overall statistics are solid. He is 14 for 18 on field goals (13 for 15 under 50 yards) and 31 for 31 on extra points.