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Panthers look to keep Moore around
By Darin Gantt · The Herald
Published 12/30/07 - 12:00 AM | Comment on this story
CHARLOTTE -- The Panthers liked quarterback Matt Moore enough they hesitated to play him until they had no choice.
Now, they might like him enough to bring him back as next year's backup, rather than continuing his internship as the third quarterback in 2008.
No one's going to make any strong declarations now, but there are growing indications the team might go into next year with just Jake Delhomme, Moore and Brett Basanez, rather than signing a veteran to go between them.
"Obviously, Matt's done very well in the two starts he's had, for his first two starts in the league," general manager Marty Hurney said. "As far as how it impacts the depth chart for next year and all that, that's an evaluation we'll go through at the end of the year."
There will be some guys available who have more experience, but the free agent quarterback class isn't very good, and the Panthers have never been a team interested in spending high draft picks on passers, since they believe it takes several years to develop a good one. Besides, they could probably always call Vinny Testaverde in (but only for a week at a time, this time) if need be.
But Moore might have shown enough the last two weeks to have earned the job behind Delhomme.
In his six relief appearances, he had a passer rating of 21.1. But in two starts, it was 81.6. He's also got a much higher completion percentage (61.8 percent to 43.8 percent) in his starts, as well as showing a knack for moving the ball downfield, with 7.09 yards per pass attempt in his starts compared to 5.19 when he was mopping up.
"Coming in when you're down, and throwing all the time, that's a different set of circumstances," Hurney said. "The games he got into late, that helps, too, as far as learning the speed of the game, but he handled that well, too.
"But Matt knows it's a long road."
Moore's unfazed by it all, as he has been since the Panthers claimed him off waivers from Dallas.
"Still on the roller coaster ride, you know?" he said last week. "It's definitely been crazy and fast-paced. Whatever they're throwing at me, I'm kind of just going with it and saying, 'OK, this is the new challenge for today.' After Sunday I'll take that deep breath and kind of analyze what's gone on."
Dallas coach Wade Phillips said last week the Cowboys "may have made a mistake there" about letting him go to keep just two quarterbacks, and Moore has at least one other admirer outside the organization.
"He reminds me a little bit of a young Jeff Garcia," Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said. "He can hurt you with the scramble and is a guy, I think, that the team has confidence in. I can just see that the level of play looks to be pretty good around him when he is in the football game.
"Good things seem to happen when he is around."
By Darin Gantt · The Herald
Published 12/30/07 - 12:00 AM | Comment on this story
CHARLOTTE -- The Panthers liked quarterback Matt Moore enough they hesitated to play him until they had no choice.
Now, they might like him enough to bring him back as next year's backup, rather than continuing his internship as the third quarterback in 2008.
No one's going to make any strong declarations now, but there are growing indications the team might go into next year with just Jake Delhomme, Moore and Brett Basanez, rather than signing a veteran to go between them.
"Obviously, Matt's done very well in the two starts he's had, for his first two starts in the league," general manager Marty Hurney said. "As far as how it impacts the depth chart for next year and all that, that's an evaluation we'll go through at the end of the year."
There will be some guys available who have more experience, but the free agent quarterback class isn't very good, and the Panthers have never been a team interested in spending high draft picks on passers, since they believe it takes several years to develop a good one. Besides, they could probably always call Vinny Testaverde in (but only for a week at a time, this time) if need be.
But Moore might have shown enough the last two weeks to have earned the job behind Delhomme.
In his six relief appearances, he had a passer rating of 21.1. But in two starts, it was 81.6. He's also got a much higher completion percentage (61.8 percent to 43.8 percent) in his starts, as well as showing a knack for moving the ball downfield, with 7.09 yards per pass attempt in his starts compared to 5.19 when he was mopping up.
"Coming in when you're down, and throwing all the time, that's a different set of circumstances," Hurney said. "The games he got into late, that helps, too, as far as learning the speed of the game, but he handled that well, too.
"But Matt knows it's a long road."
Moore's unfazed by it all, as he has been since the Panthers claimed him off waivers from Dallas.
"Still on the roller coaster ride, you know?" he said last week. "It's definitely been crazy and fast-paced. Whatever they're throwing at me, I'm kind of just going with it and saying, 'OK, this is the new challenge for today.' After Sunday I'll take that deep breath and kind of analyze what's gone on."
Dallas coach Wade Phillips said last week the Cowboys "may have made a mistake there" about letting him go to keep just two quarterbacks, and Moore has at least one other admirer outside the organization.
"He reminds me a little bit of a young Jeff Garcia," Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said. "He can hurt you with the scramble and is a guy, I think, that the team has confidence in. I can just see that the level of play looks to be pretty good around him when he is in the football game.
"Good things seem to happen when he is around."