BY DAN BEGNOCHE
When Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne went down in Week 4 against the Chargers, most Miami fans threw up their hands and called it a season. And though the team did finish 6-10, the problem wasn't at quarterback.
Stepping in for the injured Henne, who has since undergone shoulder surgery, Matt Moore proved to be a more-than-capable fill-in to lead the Dolphins' offense. After losing his first three starts, Moore went on to win six of nine, three of those being division games. He threw three picks combined his first two games but let only six get away from him in his final 11 games, finishing with 16-to-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
He carried the offense when Miami's rushing attack fell stagnant for some time midway through the season, forming a strong relationship with wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who went for more than 1,200 yards this season. His quarterback rating (87.1) was good enough for 12th in the league, higher than playoff quarterbacks Joe Flacco, Tim Tebow and Andy Dalton.
Moore's performance this season was a surprise to many, and it might just be enough to buy him a starting role next year. Henne is a free agent going into next season, with Moore still under contract. That, coupled with Henne's injuries and inconsistencies as a starter may put Moore at the top of the depth chart next year.
It would be a tough sell to re-sign Henne, especially with Tony Sparano gone and a new coach to likely want to start from scratch. With a strong quarterback class coming out in the 2012 draft, the possibility of a first-round QB pick is also there.
Miami currently has the eighth pick in the draft, and Stanford's Andrew Luck is looking like a no-brainer pick for the Colts at No. 1. Some early mock drafts have Baylor's Robert Griffin III falling to the Dolphins, though others have predicted that Miami will try to fortify their offensive line if RG3 goes earlier, which may be the case as Griffin's stock continues to rise.
Either way, Miami will need another reliable quarterback in the mix, and Moore will have to fight once again to prove he deserves to be the guy behind center come opening day, a statement he surely made this year.
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