Tag: matt moore

Latest news on the Dolphins, as Free Agency begins (sort of)

Mar. 09 News and Notes 7 comments

The Miami Dolphins have been saving their pennies for this offseason and the time for talk is over.  At midnight last night, the 3 day window that allows the Dolphins and other NFL teams to speak with players’ representatives, finally got under way.  The Dolphins can speak only with the players’ representatives and not the players themselves.  The NFL issued a memo yesterday, explaining the rules of this window that ends on Tuesday at 4pm.  Teams can speak with players’ agents about the framework of a deal, but no deal can be committed to, otherwise, it is considered tampering.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Try to understand the logic in that.  An agent can speak with multiple teams, create a bidding war that essentially goes on until Tuesday (at least).  AND, if an agent gets the deal he/she wants for their player, they are not allowed to agree to it with the team.  RIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!  This is the reason we won’t hear much about who the Dolphins are talking to.  Everything is being kept as quiet as possible for fear of tampering.  The NFL may keep trying to limit tampering, but everyone knows that tampering takes place quite a bit at the NFL Combine.

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Thoughts on Hartline and Moore resigning with Dolphins

Mar. 08 News and Notes 2 comments

The Miami Dolphins are starting to make some moves this offseason, only they’re  at the point where they can resign their own players.  This morning we learned that the Dolphins resigned both Brian Hartline and Matt Moore to new contracts.  Hartline’s deal is for 5 years and worth just under $31 million with $12.5 million guaranteed.  Moore’s deal is said to be for 2 years and worth about $8 million.  Bringing both players back helps to limit the number of holes that will need to be filled this offseason.

Photos courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photos courtesy of Dolphins.com

So where does this leave the Dolphins, who were once loaded with plenty of cap space?  We don’t know.  And honestly, no one really knows except the Dolphins because we have not seen the financial terms of both deals.   At face value, Hartline’s deal looks like it’s worth $6 million per season.  Moore’s deal looks like he’ll be paid $4 million per season.  If that is in fact the cap numbers for each, the Dolphins would be left with about $28.6 million in cap room.  We arrived at that number by taking the $47 mil the Dolphins had at the beginning of free agency and subtracted $8.4 mil for Randy Starks, $6 mil for Hartline and $4 mil for Moore.  If we had to guess, the Dolphins will actually have more cap room than that.

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If I were Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland…..Part 1 (Who to resign)

Jan. 22 Opinion 6 comments

I know Dolphins fans, you want me to end the title with something funny.  I’ll leave that up to you in the comments section of this post!  This post will walk you through what my plan would be, if I were the Miami Dolphins General Manager, Jeff Ireland.   We will walk you through the beginning of the offseason, all the way through the draft, detailing what WE think the Dolphins should do….not necessarily what we think the TEAM will do.  This will be like playing Madden in Franchise mode, taking into account the salary cap, needs, and wants of the team.

This series will be broken up into 3 parts (Who to resign, What new players to sign, and Who to draft).  We’ll keep track of the salary cap figure with each move, however we’re simplifying it a bit because incentives and signing bonuses will effect the overall cap number.  We will keep it as simple as possible, knowing that what we are proposing could be done, from a cap perspective.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Part 1 – Re-signing Free Agents

The Super Bowl is set and the Dolphins are about as far from the Super Bowl as Miami is from the moon.  However, by making some solid decisions this offseason, there is no reason that the Dolphins can’t be a contender for the playoffs in 2013.   First up, we must decide which players we want to resign as part of our master plan.  The key free agents for the Dolphins this offseason are Jake Long, Anthony Fasano, Randy Starks, Matt Moore, Brian Hartline, Sean Smith, and Reggie Bush.  From what we hear, the Dolphins have reached out to all of their free agents, but none are close to resigning at this time.  In fact, we hear that there is some disagreement within the organization on just who should be resigned.  Great!!

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Dolphins sprinkler already in Buffalo Wild Wings commercial

Nov. 25 News and Notes no comments

You never know what you’re going to see when you watch an NFL game, right?  On Sunday, through 3 quarters, the Dolphins offense seemed like it was sleepwalking and needed to be woken up….badly.  Well, the grounds crew decided to throw some cold water on the Dolphins to help wake them up.   With the Miami Dolphins trailing the Seahawks 14-7 in the 3rd quarter, the sprinkler system on the field decided it would be a good time to water down the field!

The sprinkler ‘malfunction’ caused a short delay in the game, after which the Dolphins offense went on to outscore the Seahawks 17 to 7…..conspiracy theory anyone?  Of course not, but the water did wake up the Dolphins offense.  Ryan Tannehill had a nearly perfect 4th quarter, leading the Dolphins to his first 4th quarter comeback victory.  Apparently the sprinklers were on a timer, but no one realized that the timer was set to go off in the middle of the football game!  Maybe the ‘malfunction’ can happen next week when Tom Brady drops back to pass?

By now, we’ve all seen the Buffalo Wild Wings commercial, where the bartender flips a switch and causes something to happen in the football game everyone is watching, which forces overtime.  This allows all of the patrons to stay at Buffalo Wild Wings longer.  Well, the internet being what it is, the Dolphins sprinkler malfunction has already be edited into a Buffalo Wild Wings commercial.  Check it out:

Did you notice that the ‘irrigation’ department guy looks a lot like Pete Carroll?  Coincidence?  Good job of editing, the video is pretty funny.  Buffalo Wild Wings is getting some free publicity from the sprinklers going off at Sun Life Stadium.  I will say that I like their wings and they might be my favorite chain restaurant.  Keep those spicy garlic wings coming boys!

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Dolphins expect Ryan Tannehill to play, but he’ll be a game time decision

Nov. 02 News and Notes 1 comment

The Miami Dolphins are very secretive about the health of their players.  Ryan Tannehill has practiced on a limited basis all week for the Dolphins, but Joe Philbin will not say for sure if Tannehill will play on Sunday.  The Dolphins officially listed Tannehill as questionable for the Dolphins big matchup with the Colts.  However, according to Armando Salguero, the Dolphins are cautiously optimistic and expect Tannehill to play.

Tannehill has been receiving treatments from the Dolphins training staff all week.  Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports reported that Tannehill had his knee drained before and after practice on Wednesday to reduce the swelling.  As we’ve said all week, the Dolphins coaches are the only people that know if Tannehill will be healthy enough to play against the Colts on Sunday….only, they aren’t telling anyone anything because they don’t want the Colts to know which QB will line up under center on Sunday.  As Armando says, Tannehill will be a game time decision because the Dolphins must see how his knee responds to the plane ride to Indy.

As we told you in our Dolphins Gameplan post earlier today, one of the keys to the game will be how efficiently the Dolphins are with the football, no matter who the quarterback is.  Whether it’s Ryan Tannehill or Matt Moore, the Dolphins quarterback must make smart, quick decisions with the football and avoid turnovers at all costs.  With Dwight Freeney and Richard Mathis rushing around the corners, that’s easier said than done.

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Latest news on Tannehill’s injury & status for Dolphins game on Sunday

Nov. 01 News and Notes no comments

Yesterday, the Miami Dolphins welcomed Ryan Tannehill back to the practice field.  Tannehill is still recovering from a hyperextended knee and deep thigh bruise that he suffered in the Dolphins win on Sunday.  Tannehill was limited in Wednesday’s practice, only taking part in individual drills.  Matt Moore took the majority of the actual practice snaps with the entire first team offense.  Again, this is what is being reported by the media that only gets to see a portion of the Dolphins practice.

Photo by June Rivera

On Thursday, Ryan Tannehill took all of the first team snaps with the Dolphins offense.  The Dolphins rookie has been wearing a brace and compression sleeve on his left knee during practice, which have helped.  However, Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post said today that he is still favoring the knee.  Omar Kelly had an encouraging observation, saying that Tannehill was ‘moving around better’ today.

It should be noted that Tannehill took all of the offensive snaps in the portion of practice that was open to the media. After that time, the Dolphins close out the media, but continue practicing.  It’s possible that Matt Moore took snaps with the first team during the closed portion of practice.  The Dolphins are being coy about who will be their starter on Sunday, trying to make the Colts prepare for the different styles of Matt Moore and Ryan Tannehill.  (cont’d on page 2, click below)

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Ryan Tannehill returns to Dolphins practice

Oct. 31 News and Notes no comments

The Miami Dolphins have not said much since Ryan Tannehill hyper-extended his knee and bruised his quad against the Jets on Sunday. The Dolphins sent Tannehill for an MRI on Monday, but didn’t release the results. Well, actions speak louder than words would have, as Ryan Tannehill returned to the Dolphins practice field today.  According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, Tannehill took snaps with the first team players during individual drills.  Matt Moore then stepped in with the Dolphins starting offense.  Pat Devlin took the second team snaps.

Ryan Tannehill is taking first-team snaps during open portion of practice.
October 31, 2012 11:42 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite
@ArmandoSalguero
Armando Salguero

Tannehill’s leg injuries will be closely monitored this week.  If you want to monitor it yourself, check out the video clips the Dolphins released of Tannehill at practice today.  If he cannot show the coaches that he has the mobility necessary to move fluidly, the Dolphins will probably have Matt Moore start at quarterback.  Moore did a good job last week against the Jets, posting a 96.6 QB rating, while managing the offense effectively.

There is no doubt that Tannehill wants to play this weekend.  Tannehill is said to have spoken with Joe Philbin on the ride home from New Jersey, saying that he will be fine. Tannehill said after the Jets game that he could’ve gone back in if the score was closer. Tannehill must prove it and must be able to practice tomorrow and/or Friday with the first team offense.   Ultimately, Joe Philbin and the Dolphins coaching staff will make the final call after seeing how Tannehill moves in practice.  (cont’d on page 2, click below)

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Dolphins do their talking on the field and crush Jets 30-9

Oct. 29 Post Game no comments

The Miami Dolphins listened to all of the noise that came out of New York this week.  For the most part, the Dolphins did not retaliate with more trash talking, except for Mike Pouncey, who put Aaron Maybin in his place.  By the way, Maybin didn’t record a tackle in Sunday’s game against the Dolphins.  He still have only 1 more tackle than me on the season.  The Dolphins decided to let their play do the talking…..and boy did it ever.

The Dolphins took their opening possession down the field and jumped out to an early 3-0 lead.  The Dolphins then recovered a surprise onside kick.  Shortly after, Ryan Tannehill was sacked and hit on the quad/knee and forced to leave the game.  The Dolphins would punt and pin the Jets deep.  The defense then  forced a 3 and out from the Jets offense and forced them to punt from deep in their own territory.  Tim Tebow was in punt protection and when the Dolphins brought the house, forcing Tebow to block 2 men. he didn’t and Jimmy Wilson blocked the punt, allowing Olivier Vernon to pick it up in the endzone for a touchdown.

From there, the Dolphins stepped on the gas pedal and didn’t let up, cruising to a 30-9 victory over the trash talking, hated, stinking Jets.  MetLife Stadium started clearing out in the 3rd quarter.  There were even ‘Tebow’ chants at one point.  Overall, it was a glorious day to be a Dolphins fan!

What I liked

Matt Moore – Moore relieved Tannehill and did a great job leading the Dolphins to the victory.  Moore finished the day completing 11 of 19 passes for 131 yards and a TD for a 96.6 QB rating.  Moore might be the best backup QB in football, which is why I don’t think the Dolphins will trade him before the trade deadline on Tuesday.  Before the talk even begins, there should be NO quarterback controversy.  Ryan Tannehill is the Dolphins starter. Period.

Dolphins Defense - The Dolphins defense held the Jets to just 9 points, caused 2 turnovers, and sacked Mark Sanchez 4 times.  The statistics show that the Dolphins allowed 363 yards of total offense to the Jets and 5.0 yards per carry to the Jets running game.  However, this game was out of hand early and the Dolphins played ‘bend but don’t break’ defense for most of the second half.  Great job applying pressure to Mark Sanchez and stopping the running game early.  Sanchez attempted 54 passes, but completed just over 50% of them. (cont’d on page 2, click below)

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Miami Musings: Breaking down Tannehill & Dolphins fans are excited

Oct. 24 Miami Musings no comments

The Miami Dolphins were off on Tuesday, getting one final day of rest before their practice resumes in preparation for Sunday’s BIG divisional matchup with the Jets.  Since we already broke down the Dolphins Division this week, we thought we’d skip that feature on it’s usual Wednesday slot.  Instead, since the Dolphins were off on Tuesday, we did some reading of other Dolphins blogs and wanted to share some of our favorite stories with you.  Today’s Miami Musings will cover a great breakdown of Ryan Tannehill’s numbers so far this year, Dolphins fans excitement , and a look at some trade rumors that are floating around.

But before we get to the Miami Musings, if you have 90 seconds, please fill out our reader survey to let us know what you like (and what you don’t like) about PhinNation.com.  Our goal is to make this site as reader-friendly as possible and your feedback will directly help us make the changes you want!  If you let us know what you want to see, you might see your suggestion on PhinNation soon!

Ryan Tannehill Breakdown – DolphinShout.com

Patrick over at DolphinShout.com does a great job in this article, breaking down Ryan Tannehill’s statistics so far this season.  Yes, it’s only a very small sample, 6 games. But, the breakdown shows where Tannehill’s strengths are (1st and 4th quarters) and where his weaknesses are (2nd and 3rd quarters).  Very interesting numbers and a good job by the guys at DolphinShout.com

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