Scouting Matt Moore

[Mr. Scot]

Have to admit, it's tough to justify calling it "scouting" when it's mostly from memory. Moore hasn't seen real game action in a long time, and his action during the week one disaster wasn't, for the most part, against the Eagles starters. Thus, this thread will be written with what I can remember from the times we've seen him in action in the past, both regular and preseason, as its basis.

The salient points...

Delhomme II: Playing alongside Delhomme would definitely seem to have had an impact on Moore. Delhomme is more than willing to gamble on a risky throw when the target is a receiver he trusts (Smith, Muhammad, previously Proehl). Moore has that same willingness. And yes, it can be a double-edged sword.

Wobbly Flight Paths: Weebles, it was said many years back, "wobble but they don't fall down." Well, the weebles had nothing on Matt Moore's early passes. They did both. It was inevitable that they fall (gravity and all) but the wobbling wasn't required. Moore is certainly no Favre, nor is he even Delhomme, when it comes to zip on the pass. Still, a pass doesn't have to look pretty getting to its target. It just has to get there. Chris Weinke certainly threw some really nice looking passes. They just didn't always land where they were supposed to go. With that said, it's valid that a wobbly pass is tougher to catch. Here's hoping Scherer has helped with that.

Socialist Passing: If Delhomme is a capitalist passer (throw it primarily to the more successful catchers) then Moore is by comparison a socialist, willing to spread the ball around more so than Delhomme. In and of itself, that's not really a "better or worse" thing. It's most important that the ball goes where it's most effective. Still, one comment that always stuck in my mind after Matt Moore's first NFL pass - a 43 yard completion downfield to Keary Colbert - came from Delhomme. He said (paraphrasing) "I've run that play before, but I never made that particular throw."

Quick Draw Artist: One thing I noticed from both Moore and Josh McCown this past season, quicker release than I was used to seeing. Logic would attribute that to new QB coach Rip Scherer. It seemed Scherer had made a concerted effort to teach the younger guys to get the football out of their hands quickly. Again, it's a double edged sword. Yes, you take fewer sacks that way, but sometimes big plays develop because the QB has enough patience to let the play develop. What you hope for, of course, is a happy medium.

Rip Tide: Speaking of Coach Scherer, you have to wonder what effect he's had on Moore. Attempting to remake Delhomme largely failed, and Scherer was forced to back down and let Delhomme be himself. For a time, it worked, but eventually Dr Jekyll gave way to Mr Hyde. Moore, on the other hand, is not a long time veteran who's set in his ways. As such, at least theoretically, he may have gained more benefit from Scherer's coaching. This Sunday may well tell that tale.

Talking About Practice: Word is that Moore will indeed get the lions share of reps this week, but that hasn't been the case for the last few. It's valid that Moore will need to gel quickly with the starters. The positive? He's done that once before, so we know it's possible. The question? Will teammates show him the same loyalty and trust they've shown Delhomme? I'd respond to that by quoting the oracle known as the Magic 8 Ball, which once said to me "Answer Unclear, Try Again Later".

The Playbook Question: So just how well does Moore know the playbook? It's been heavily speculated, but never credibly reported, that Moore didn't know the offense. Sources who have actually worked with Moore - namely Jordan Gross and Brad Hoover - have stated that he does know the system. Granted, knowing the offense and running the offense are two different things, but I still have to say this doesn't worry me.

Reading is Fundamental: So how well does Moore do at reading defenses and making decisions? The evidence from back in 2007 - when Moore was named Offensive Rookie of the Month by the NFL - says pretty good. Evidence from preseason games played since would make you wonder. What's the verdict? Ask me again Sunday around 4:30pm.

Who Do You Trust: Perhaps as key to anything else we could see this weekend, there is the question of just how much John Fox trusts Matt Moore. Lately, Fox has been restricting Delhomme on his plays as well, so it'd be no shock to see him do the same thing to Moore. I honestly hope he doesn't though. You can't win consistently playing that way, and we really do need to see whether this baby bird can actually fly...or not. From what I've seen of Fox, it's my belief that he'd have pulled Jake sooner had McCown not been injured. Was he justified in holding on? Tune in next week, same bad football time, same bad football station.

The Bottom Line: No matter how you slice it, this weekend's QB performance is a huge unknown. If he wants to have any kind of future with this team, or another, Moore has to take this opportunity to show the world he can play. If he doesn't, he'll return to the same anonymity he now has and be remembered more like Randy Fasani than Tom Brady.

Whatever else happens, at least in the next few weeks we'll likely have a winner to the "How good is Moore really? debate topic.

(that, or maybe just more "Fire Fox" posts)

[Wither]

Well thought out post; enjoyed it.

As for my opinion? He's not going to do any better, but I doubt he's going to do any worse. And yes, it's particularly likely there will be a lot of running (which is what the team is supposed to do anyway, right?) versus passing.

[pantherfan49]

Looking at Moore's stat line in the last three games of 2007, a few things jump out at me:

Yes, he does spread the ball around to other receivers, but the majority of passes still go Smitty's way. In his 3 games as a starter, Moore connected with Smitty 22 times. That is over 7 per game.

Moore averages just a bit over 7 yards per attempt, which is historically right where Delhomme was and is a good number.

Moore threw 2 INTs in 79 pass attempts, giving him an interception per pass attempt percentage of 2.5%. Delhomme has a 3.4% career interception per pass attempt percentage and a 5.6% average this year.

Off of the tapes- Moore has fantastic pocket presence and can extend a play out.

[2jakefansinva]

Nice write up. I said in another post..........win or lose doesn't matter at this point. Although we all like to win but, this is an audition. I don't want to see a game manager for the rest of the season. I want to see what MM can do under all conditions and I want to see if he is the foundation we can build on. If not, then we know what we have to do. Good luck Matt, I'll be rooting for you.

[Raleighcat83]

I liked what I saw from Moore back in 07, though his preseason performances since have been less than stellar. I understand Fox doesn't trust him, then again, Fox started Peete over Delhomme at the beginning of 03, kept Wienke as the backup for years, stuck with David Carr through most of one season, and refused to make a change this year. He's a good defensive coach and I believe in his approach to the running game but he flat out sucks at evaluating quarterbacks. I think Moore will do enough to beat Tampa and keep us competitive in the rest of our games, maybe pulling out one or two. If I'm wrong and he flops, we'll have a new coach and GM along with a second round pick and lots of cap room to find a QB in the offseason.

[JungleCat]

Nicely done, Mr. Scot. I just hope with a banged up offensive line that Matt Moore doesn't get injured quickly like McCown.

[Ricky Spanish]

i'm actually looking forward to the game this sunday. that in itself is a HUGE difference.

[Mr. Scot]

He's a good defensive coach and I believe in his approach to the running game but he flat out sucks at evaluating quarterbacks.

Likely very true.

Fox's general approach at certain positions - QB included - seems to be that older and/or more experienced automatically equals better. This is sometimes the case, but not always.

[Mr. Scot]

Having now seen the game, most of it still holds. I'd say working on technique (and/or strength) has taken care of the wobbly passes. I didn't see any on Sunday.

The jury is still out, mind you, but positive initial results.

[pantherj]

I'm hoping Moore will tell our OC what pass plays he doesn't want to run. Some of our pass plays look like interceptions waiting to happen. We have more 'nobody is open' moments than any other team in the NFL. If Davidson called a play that takes forever and a day to develope, or has recievers bunched together with no picks set, I'd tell him to call something else or I'm throwing it out of bounds. And this plan of hitting Moose in single coverage is extremely dangerous. Moose is hardly ever open by more than a few inches.

I think Moore has plenty of arm strength, but I wonder if his hands are small. If he had bigger hands, like Farve size, I think he could grip it and rip it in there better.

[Mr. Scot]

Understand what you mean, but he's not really in a great position to do that.

[Gokz1000]

My Responses with what I saw, Post-Game

Delhomme II: I didn't really any of this. He spread the ball out and didn't really try and force it to anyone (granted most passes were short dump offs). On the one int, it was just a bad read nothing more. When I saw the replay for the first time, I thought Rosario was open too for a split second, once Moore had already made his read and threw, the defense converged.

Wobbly Flight Paths Didn't see any of these, but I do remember a few of these from Moore's days of a rookie. I think they may have come from Moore trying to put a little too much power on the ball. A lot of times when you try and huck the ball as hard as you can, it ends up coming off a little wobbly. Either way, Moore's mechanics have definitely improved.

Socialist Passing: I definitely saw this. Moose was actually thrown some Mid-Range routes, and other receivers were used. Moose actually looked like he was enjoying himself out there, especially when he caught that deep out for the first down.

Quick Draw Artist: Can't really comment on this one. Didn't see him release especially quickly, but I didn't see him hold onto the ball too long either. There was one play where his first and second option was gone, and instead of forcing it, he just dumped it to Rosario in the corner, that was a play Jake never used to make.

Rip Tide: No throws off his back foot. Good Mobility and Pocket Presence on one play, and then really bad mobility to take a sack on another. Jury is still out.

Talking About Practice: The only thing I can think of is the throw to the back of the end zone with Smith. More practice and more game experience will make those kinds of throws go away. At least he didn't under throw it.

The Playbook Question: Fox has said repeatedly that he isn't holding the play book back this time around. Moore has also said that he isn't a young guy this time. The fact that they let him go out there with a "check-with-me" play called seems to show that he does know the playbook and that they do trust him to make decisions. Still, I wouldn't ask him to go out and run No-Huddle on 3 or 4 drives like Jake can.

Reading is Fundamental: There was some good and bad. Most of the times the passes went to the open receiver, and he found the open receiver quickly. On the Deep Bomb, he made a great read and also moved the safety by not staring down the Receiver like Jake usually does. But on the interception he made a bad read and threw it into coverage. I also saw him move to his second and third reads a few times, which is a good sign.

Who Do You Trust: Looks like Fox trusts him as much as he trusts Jake. Except for giving him the starting job, which he doesn't want to Guarantee the guy. I can't figure out if thats to protect him, or because he just hates the guy.

In the end, your right Mr. Scot the jury is still out. NE will definitely decide it for me because like it or not, were gonna have to pass.