Dolphin QBs Moore, Garrard get even share of snaps

BY SEAN DONOVAN

As well as quarterback Matt Moore played down the stretch last season, he will still have to earn his stripes with the new Dolphins coaching staff.

In the Dolphins' first practice of this month's voluntary minicamp on Tuesday, Moore split first team snaps with newly-signed veteran David Garrard, according to the Miami Herald. The two are in a battle that will likely determine who goes into training camp as the starting quarterback.

Luckily for Miami, both players are ready to learn Joe Philbin's west coast offense and are excited for the opportunity to compete.

"We're learning the basics. We're crawling before we walk," Moore told reporters. "By the definition of the offense it really spreads the ball around a lot. There are a lot of quick throws."

"I'm trying to get the playbook down. Whenever you are a half second off it makes the pass look bad," added Garrard of the west coast system, which he experienced briefly when he backed up Byron Leftwich on the Jaguars early in his career.

It's obviously very early, but Moore is reportedly a notoriously poor practice player who has a good chance of losing out to the more seasoned and accomplished Garrard. Garrard has the added advantage of fitting very well in Philbin's system.

Regardless of whether the Dolphins select a quarterback in Thursday's draft, Philbin has always planned on having the players earn their spots on the depth chart.

"It's going to be an open competition," Philbin said in a March interview with the media. "I've told both guys that. We're very clear about that. I told David, my only obligation to Matt Moore is that he's a member of the 2012 Dolphins, he's under contract, he played well last year and he deserves an opportunity to compete for a starting position just like David does, because David's now a member as well."

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