David Garrard Favorite To Start in Miami?
Of the four quarterbacks drafted in the first round of this year’s draft, three of them–Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Brandon Weeden–are on pace to start Week One for their respective teams.
The odd man out? Ryan Tannehill of the Miami Dolphins.
Brian Biggane of The Palm Beach Post reports that David Garrard appears to be the favorite to start at quarterback for the Dolphins, stating that, “it seemed every time the media was allowed at a session, Garrard was working with the first unit. The only time we saw Matt Moore or Ryan Tannehill working with the ‘ones’ was during the mid-June minicamp.” Biggane writes that he has attended all but one of the team workouts open to members of the media.
It is not too surprising that Garrard–who was acquired by the Dolphins this offseason–is the frontrunner at this point, given the fact he played nine seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars before they surprisingly cut him one week before opening day last year. However, Biggane says it would be “hard to imagine Moore not getting a long look” since he was the team’s starter for the majority of last season.
As for Tannehill, “[he] will continue his apprenticeship as the No. 3 guy.” According to Biggane, Tannehill is not being looked at as the starter “due to his untimely mistakes, particularly when throwing in traffic.” But sitting out for a season or two studying a veteran starter could in fact prove to be better in the long run for Tannehill.
Fantasy Analysis
Since the Dolphins starting quarterback job is basically down to Garrard and Moore–with Garrard appearing to be the favorite–it’s time to give a quick fantasy football analysis on these two players for the 2012 season.
At age 34 and running a west coast offense for the first time in his career, Garrard is reportedly doing better than one would think. After being named the Jaguars starter in 2007, Garrard averaged 3,115 yards, 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions per season over a four-season span from 2007-2010. He also averaged 277 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns per season over that same span.
After four seasons as a backup with the Carolina Panthers (one of which he was on injured reserve the whole year for), Moore stepped in as the Dolphins starter in 2011 after an injury to Chad Henne. In 13 games last season, Moore completed 60.5% of his passes and threw for 2,497 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions, while adding two rushing scores as well.
If/when Garrard is named the Dolphins starter, he may be someone to look out for in later rounds of fantasy drafts, as well as a sleeper in free agency. While he won’t be your team’s starter, he could be a solid fill-in during bye weeks. Moore, on the other hand, hasn’t shown us enough yet to earn a spot on fantasy rosters if he is named the starter.
* photo credit – dolphinstalk.com
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