To the coaches at least.
Matt Moore currently sits comfortably as the No. 2 quarterback on the Panthers depth chart after Carolina chose not to sign a veteran backup or draft another young arm to back up sure starter Jake Delhomme. It’s rather amazing that the undrafted signal-caller proved so much to the Panthers coaching staff in such little time last season. In only three starts and some garbage time at the end of games where I’m sure he was told to go in and just sling the ball around, Moore apparently showed them that he was capable of coming in and leading the team if Delhomme were to be injured or slowed by his reconstructed elbow.
It’s no secret that Moore is easily the biggest love/hate thing to go through the fanbase in a long, long time. Some point to his 85.6 passer rating in those three starts and the fact that he led the team to victories in two of those starts against three playoff-bound teams. Others point to Tampa Bay playing their backups and the defense stepping up for a change in those three games. The argument can go back and forth for as long as the two sides are willing to participate, but neither the love nor the hate sides determine the backup spot, or any other spot for that matter. Ultimately, Moore has shown what needs to be shown to the guys who actually make the decisions, and apparently his showing is good enough to get him a firm footing at his position on the depth chart.
