Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore and No. 1 receiver Brandon Marshall played well together down the stretch last year, and Miami’s decision to trade Marshall to Chicago this offseason means that Moore could be concerned that he no longer has his go-to guy.
He could be concerned, but he isn’t. Moore said that in the offense last year there was a designated No. 1 receiver, but the new coaching staff doesn’t view the passing game that way, and he likes that.
“There’s always in the past been a go-to target on every play,” Moore told the Palm Beach Post. “But in this offense you can have Hartline lined up as the No. 3 receiver on one play and No. 1 on the next play. And it can be the same play. So you’re not pigeon-holed into anything on any certain play. You can go full-field progressions and there’s no pressure to get the ball to any one specific guy. So you can just go back there and wing it.”
Dolphins coach Joe Philbin liked to spread the ball around when he was the Packers’ offensive coordinator, and that worked out pretty well. The key to that, however, was having a quarterback in Aaron Rodgers who was good enough to make everyone in the offense look like a No. 1 receiver. Moore is going to have a tough time making the Dolphins forget about Marshall while he’s spreading the ball around to Davone Bess, Brian Hartline and Legedu Naanee.