Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 5:12 a.m. Friday, Oct. 7, 2011

Posted: 7:49 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011

DAVIE — Matt Moore is a Miami Dolphin because Kyle Orton isn’t.

It’s that simple.

Moore arrived as a summertime free agent and Carolina castoff to back up Chad Henne at quarterback when the Dolphins couldn’t swing a trade with Denver to get Orton to replace Henne.

Now, however, with the news Thursday that Henne will have season-ending surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder, the Dolphins will ask Moore to be what they wanted Orton to be – their starter.

It’s the smart move.

Miami was right to resist the temptation to sign a Jake Delhomme or a David Garrard or a Trent Edwards or a Scrapheap X and give him Henne’s keys.

It was right to resist any temptation to revisit talks on the Orton front – let’s not even entertain Tim Tebow as a consideration – and just give the football to Moore for the remainder of this already-lost season. The signing of a retread quarterback (see: Sage Rosenfels) to play behind Moore was the way to go.

Dolphins coach Tony Sparano provided a bit of comic relief Wednesday when asked who would have played quarterback had Moore been injured at San Diego after Henne went down.

“I’m not telling you that,” Sparano said.

Pause for effect.

“Me,” he added.

It’s good that Sparano has managed to maintain a sense of humor as the wreckage around him mounts and speculation swirls regarding his job security. It might be a matter of having to laugh to keep from crying with the Dolphins 0-4 and almost certainly headed for a hellish ending, so what do they have to lose by going with Moore?

Nothing, that’s what.

Can’t blame Sparano for wanting someone familiar to take over in the midst of the storm engulfing the Dolphins, and Moore also long ago had been in Dallas’ camp as a rookie when Sparano was on the Cowboys’ staff.

“Matt was a guy who had a tremendous (2007) training camp for us … really a surprise,” Sparano said when Miami signed Moore. “We tried to get him onto the practice squad. We really wanted him to stay around. We had high hopes for him.”

Instead, Carolina grabbed him.

There are no such things as high hopes for the Dolphins these days. But perhaps that will lessen the pressure on Moore, who completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,376 yards with 16 touchdowns against 17 interceptions when he was a sometimes-starter with Carolina. And he was serviceable Sunday in relief of Henne.

“I kind of knew how it was going to be … from the scout team to (taking) live bullets,” Moore said Wednesday. “It’s a little quicker than you anticipate on the sideline. But once I got in there and got into a little rhythm, it was kind of (like being) back on the horse again.”

Moore completed a 31-yard pass to Charles Clay on his first play after coming in for Henne to highlight what turned out to be Miami’s only touchdown drive against San Diego.

“When the light goes on and you put Matt in the game, he tends to move your team pretty good,” Sparano said. “He can get himself going off a bad play. He’s got a short memory. I thought he always threw the ball pretty well on the move.”

The Dolphins are in their bye week, which means Moore will have extended prep time before a Monday night road assignment Oct. 17 against the New York Jets. Not the easiest of places for Moore to show up for his first Miami start, but, hey, it’s not as though the Dolphins have set the bar high.

“It’s been rough, but you don’t have time to think about the past. That’s my mindset,” Moore said.

And the future?

A cottage industry has popped up. It should be too early to start handicapping the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes, but Miami is well-positioned early in the race to grab the Stanford quarterback in next spring’s NFL Draft.

The Dolphins, after all, probably have seen the last of Henne, who is in the final year of his contract.

By giving Moore the remainder of this so-far ugly season to demonstrate his worth, Miami did the sensible thing regardless of how many losses it accumulates.

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

DAVIE — The Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne watched practice from the sideline Tuesday, his left arm limp at his side and his status for the rest of this season in question.

Henne, who separated his non-throwing shoulder in Sunday’s loss to San Diego, will see a specialist this week to determine the severity of his injury.

If the specialist recommends surgery, Henne could be out for an extended period.

Henne was not available for comment, and coach Tony Sparano declined to give any details about Henne’s condition.

Sparano and the Dolphins prepared to move forward with backup Matt Moore, who practiced with the starting offense for the first time this season.

Because Henne’s status is uncertain, the Dolphins – on a bye this week – don’t know yet if they will need to sign a quarterback before their next game, Monday, Oct. 17 at the New York Jets.

The Dolphins reached out to free-agent veterans Jake Delhomme and David Garrard on Tuesday, according to NFL Network, but the talks didn’t get far. The Dolphins also have tried out former Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle this season, and have kept him on their short list.

Currently, the Dolphins’ only healthy quarterback after Moore is undrafted rookie Pat Devlin, who is on the practice squad.

“We have to look at contingencies, obviously, at this point in time, but that’s all we’re doing,” Sparano said.

Henne, who is in his fourth NFL season, has missed only one game because of injury. A knee bruise kept him out of the Chicago game Nov. 18.

“Chad’s very tough,” said left tackle Jake Long, who played with Henne at Michigan. “All the way through college and now, he’s one of those guys that will do anything he can to get on the field.”

Meanwhile, the Dolphins are preparing as though Moore will start against the Jets.

“Certainly the most reps he’s taken in a while,” Sparano said of Tuesday’s practice.

Moore started 13 games for Carolina over his first four seasons.

Sunday, he completed 17-of-26 passes for 167 yards and a late interception. His performance impressed teammates.

“It’s a really tough position to come off the sideline and step in there,” tight end Anthony Fasano said. “He’s played in this league, he’s won some games. He’s just kind of a baller and he slings it around.”

Moore said Tuesday’s practice was the first time he took snaps with the starting offense since last October with the Panthers.

Receiver Davone Bess said he didn’t notice much of a difference with Moore in practice instead of Henne.

“Obviously they’re two different players, but at the same time the scheme and the concepts are the same,” Bess said. “It’s not a big, big drop off.”

Noteworthy: San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium has been a tough venue for Dolphins quarterbacks. In their most recent trip there before Sunday, in September 2009, Chad Pennington suffered the third shoulder separation of his career. The injury knocked him out for the final 13 games of the season and might ultimately have ended his career. He made a comeback for a few plays in 2010 but has not played since. Pennington, 35, currently is a TV analyst for Fox and has not ruled out another comeback.