Potential Jets: Matt Moore

Even though the Jets just fired an offensive coordinator who was previously his head coach, Matt Moore is a name you frequently hear come up as a potential target for the Jets. Even though both Moore and David Lee were part of Tony Sparano's run with the Dolphins, their time did not overlap. Lee became offensive coordinator of the University of Mississippi right before Moore signed with the Dolphins.

Matt Moore has six years of NFL experience. He spent his first four years with Carolina. Getting five starts at the end of the 2009 season, Moore played very effective football. The Panthers went 4-1 as Moore completed over 61% of his passes with an 8-2 TD-INT ratio. It was good enough for Moore to be named the starter in 2010 for the Panthers, a disastrous year where he greatly regressed and was eventually benched on the worst team in the league. He moved on to the Dolphins in 2011 to be Chad Henne's backup. An early season injury to Henne made him the starter for much of the year. Moore responded putting together a decent season with a 16-9 TD-INT ratio, a 60.5% completion percentage, and an 87.5 rating. These solid numbers did not prevent the Dolphins from going out and taking Ryan Tannehill in the first round of the Draft. His only extended action in 2012 came in an October game in the Meadowlands where the Jets knocked Tannehill out early, and Moore came in to play well in a blowout Miami win.

Moore's production has been slightly below league average almost across the board. Next to what the Jets have had at quarterback lately, that makes Moore look like Joe Montana. Moore has a fairly strong arm and a good deep ball. In 2011 he was one of the most efficient deep throwers in the game. The big issue with him seems to be the pass rush. He takes too many sacks. Moore seems to freeze in the face of the pass rush. To compound the issue, his career interception rate is 3.4%. For reference, Mark Sanchez is 3.6%.

Moore might be the best option on the table for the Jets given their budget and what is available. He tends to be more of a high risk, high reward player than a lot of the other options who protect the ball but provide little in the way of big plays. The fact he has played at a competent level in the NFL for an extended stretch makes him a good option. It is likely he would be affordable and receptive to the Jets since he would get a chance to start.

Moore is one of those guys who is good enough to always get a job but never good enough to keep it. Again, next to what the Jets have, it represents a big upgrade. The Jets need to surround him with something, though. He is not good enough to carry a team on his own. If Moore comes to town with no playmakers and Vladimir Ducasse with Austin Howard comprising the right side of his pass protection, he probably would melt down the way he did in 2010 on a bad Panthers team or the way Sanchez did last year.

In a quarterback market without any great options, Moore at least is not a terrible one. I think the Jets should be involved in trying to bring him in.