Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore is the new Kyle Orton. I mean that as a compliment.
He’s the guy no franchise fully wants starting in Week One, but he’s proven that he belongs in the NFL. Moore probably has a higher ceiling than Orton, who has won 33 games as a starter and is earning $9 million this year.
Moore would be getting even more attention if he didn’t play for a 3-7 team. Consider Moore’s numbers the last three weeks:
He’s completed 51-of-73 passes (69.8%) for 613 yards (8.39 yards-per-attempt) with six touchdowns and one interception. The Dolphins have won three straight games by a combined score of 86-20.
To put the yards-per-attempt average in perspective, that number would rank in the top five among quarterbacks this season. Moore has completed a lot of nice touch passes into small windows.
“He is everything we need him to be. He is doing a great job. He’s a huge, huge, difference-maker,” running back Reggie Bush said via the Miami Herald.
Moore is already inspiring some talk in Miami about whether he should have a future with the team. At worst, he looks like a fine candidate to pair with a first round pick that is Miami’s true “quarterback of the future.”
The Dolphins signed Moore through 2012, so his play probably means the team won’t bother to re-sign Chad Henne. We’re not saying Moore is an elite player, but he’s made a name for himself the last month.
Moore can really get noticed on Thanksgiving if he beats Dallas, the team that first signed Moore as an undrafted free agent before cutting him in training camp.