By 
The Dolphins got off to an 0-7 start this season. The ‘Fins even found a way to lose to the Cleveland Browns and also lost a heartbreaker of a game against the Denver Broncos in which Tim Tebow rallied Denver from a 15 point deficit in the final four minutes of the game. Miami was left for dead, their coach was on the hot seat, and their fans were chanting for a quarterback who is still in college. They had every reason to throw in the towel but despite the terrible start, the ‘Fins have been able to overcome. Whether it was the loss of their starting quarterback, the rumors about their head coach being fired, or the chants from the fans wanting to “Suck For Luck,” the Miami Dolphins continued to fight and now they have won four of their last five games and have done it in impressive fashion. One of the biggest reasons for the Dolphins turnaround is the play of quarterback Matt Moore.
Much like the Dolphins, Moore was left for dead this offseason. Carolina decided to move on from him and it wasn’t until after Miami explored a bunch of other QB options, including trading for Kyle Orton prior to the season that the Dolphins decided to give Moore a shot to be the backup to Chad Henne. That was the plan coming into the season. However, an injury to Chad Henne has opened up the door for the former Carolina Panther and he is taking advantage of it. Moore hasn’t been great and there are a number of other reasons for Miami’s success as well, but he is completing 62 percent of his passes, has nearly thrown for 2,000 yards already, he has 11 total touchdowns, and has done his part to momentarily stop the chants for Andrew Luck in South Beach. Matt Moore joined WQAM in Miami with Joe Rose to talk about whether or not he is playing the best football of his career, how important it is to get so many different players involved in the offense, how nice it is to have the running game Miami has had recently, what changed after the 0-7 start to the season, and what he would say to the Miami fans that still want the Dolphins to draft a quarterback.
Whether or not he is playing the best football of his career:
“I guess you could say that. It’s been a good couple of weeks here. You just gotta credit the guys around me and the coaches for putting together a pretty good plan. When guys are out there making plays they make it really easy and it’s not to be a part of.”
How important it has been for Miami to get so many different players involved in the offense:
“Well there’s no doubt. That’s only going to create more problems for a defense when there are six guys or however many guys that can get the ball. They have to keep their eye on everybody. Yeah I think that’s a goal of Coach Daboll’s to get everybody involved, but at the same time I think I’m extremely comfortable with everybody running any type of route. He’s not afraid to do anything with anybody and has a lot of faith in his players.”
Whether or not the running game has allowed for better success in the passing game:
“There’s no doubt. I think the offensive line was fired up, they had a task at hand, and they attacked. When Reggie (Bush) is running great, he’s seeing the holes and I told him on the sidelines ‘well you have a little more shake to you today.’ He kinda took offense and I was like ‘well you always have shake but a little more today.’ And he did. It’s just fun to see him running the ball like that and when he does it makes the throwing game, it’s still impactful but I guess we don’t have to be as powerful in that area.”
What changed for the team after the 0-7 start:
“I don’t know. I think guys have just taken it on themselves. I said this yesterday in the postgame that each guy is inspiration for the next guy. (Kevin) Burnett making plays like the interception and Davone (Bess) making plays on offense, other guys are seeing it and it’s firing everybody up. There was never a disbelief in the locker room being at 0-7, we constantly say this but our attitudes were so good and it was pretty impressive actually because it would’ve been easy to just go in the tank but I didn’t think that was going to happen for a second. Guys just kept working, are continuing to work, and it’s a long season, a lot can happen, and I think that’s the attitude guys have had. They’ve gone out and played good ball.”
What he wouldsay to the fans that still want Miami to draft a QB:
“Well I’d like to think that I know my role on this team and my role on this team now is the starting quarterback because it’s the truth,. That’s just the way it is now. People can say what they want to say it doesn’t matter who is out there playing, that guy has to play well. As far as drafting a guy that’s kinda out of my control. All I can do is play well on the field and put W’s on the board and people that have to make those decisions will make those decisions when the time comes but I’m just trying to play good football now, get some wins, and move forward.”
Comments