In the world Joe Philbin has crafted through the media, Matt Moore could be the Miami Dolphins' starting quarterback in a few days.
Only he won't be. Ryan Tannehill threw up the house lights on his coach's mystery party Wednesday by declaring himself the Week 4 starter against the Oakland Raiders in London.
That didn't stop the media from surrounding Moore's locker. The backup said he hasn't taken any first-team reps and hasn't done anything out of the ordinary during the team's preparation process.
"Absolutely nothing has changed," Moore insisted, according to The Palm Beach Post.
Minutes before Moore met with reporters, Tannehill admitted that Philbin's unusual handling of his quarterback situation has created a distraction for the team. Moore took a more neutral approach.
"This is how he wants to handle it, and it's his choice, and his duty as a head coach," he said. "We're just moving forward like we do every week."
Moore said Philbin never spoke with his quarterbacks about a potential change.
"You hear things, but it really wasn't an issue," he said. "We showed up Tuesday and everything has been the same. I did get a couple of text messages from friends and everybody who reads things, and it kind of caught me off-guard. But nothing was said in (the locker room)."
Moore won't start this week, but don't rule out Philbin turning to his veteran backup at some point this season. The bloom is clearly off the Tannehill rose, opening the door for potential change in Miami.
On the latest Around The NFL Podcast, the heroes chat with two-time MVP Kurt Warner, debate the NFL's top throwing arms and preview Thursday night's game.