Dolphins coach Joe Philbin has been deliberate and coy about his quarterback decision this preseason. He doesn't give a lot of clues. And he has taken a systematic approach to getting the right player on the field with the first-team offense.
This week appears to be no different. Philbin wanted to name a starter for Friday's Atlanta game this week and that's very important because that player is probably going to be the starting QB in the regular-season opener against Houston.
But Philbin has tapped the brakes on the idea of making a final decision.
"We may have a decision soon, but we may not until, we may play it out another week," Philbin said. "That’s still up in the air. We certainly haven’t come to any decision on that."
Well, my question would be why not?
It is clear as day to anyone with eyes that Ryan Tannehill has so far gotten the better of Matt Moore in the quarterback competition.
Tannehill has looked better than Moore when you compare their starting assignments this preseason. Tannehill also looked better than Moore when each played with the backups this preseason.
The statistics show more definitively what we've seen on the field:
Tannehill is 25 of 44 (56.8 percent completion) for 267 yards with 1 TD and 0 INT. He has an 82.3 quarterback rating.
Moore is 12 of 27 (44.4 percent completion) for 136 yards with 0 TD and 1 INT. He has a 44.7 quarterback rating.
The competition has been closer in practice, but Tannehill has generally been as good if not better than Moore in that venue.
Beyond that, Moore has not led a TD drive yet this preseason. Tannehill has.
So what decision is there to make?
Ryan Tannehill should start against Atlanta Friday night. And he has done more to win the regular-season starting job than Moore.
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