FOXBORO, Mass. -- The Dolphins believe Matt Moore is a starting-caliber NFL quarterback.

That’s not my opinion. That’s how the Dolphins view the man who came to the team with little fanfare, was given no chance to beat out Chad Henne in the preseason, but has been one of Miami’s most pleasant surprises and a definite keeper for next year no matter who is hired as the next coach.

Matt Moore has grown in 2011 even as the Dolphins have taken a step back from twin 7-9 records the past two seasons to 5-10 with one game to play this season.

And there’s nothing that says Moore’s growth must stop here. He’s got a lot of room for improvement and I, for one, don’t want to bet against him based on how far and how fast he’s come.

But …

That doesn’t really mean anything.

Moore, solid and workmanlike and better than most everyone expected, is today still not elite. And anything short of that when this season ends in one week will still force general manager Jeff Ireland to go into the offseason searching every corner of the country and every football outpost – both college and pro --- for someone who is elite or can potentially be elite.

That’s just the way it has to be for the Dolphins if they want to be the best team in their own division, never mind the best team in the entire league.

Moore is fine if the goal for next year and years to come is to sweep Buffalo or slam Kansas City and the Raiders. But the Dolphins and their fans want victories over the Patriots and New Orleans and, who knows, maybe one day over Green Bay.

And the only way to do that is to have a quarterback that is generally on the same level as those teams have. And the Dolphins do not today have a quarterback on or near the level of Tom Brady, Drew Brees, or Aaron Rodgers.

The truth is the Dolphins don’t yet have a quarterback on the level of the seven or eight other quarterback I could recall but don’t have the space to name.

They have a good quarterback in Moore.

They need elite.

If you doubt that, you must have missed Saturday’s 27-24 loss to New England. It offered an example of how an elite quarterback reacts when his offensive line seems overmatched, his wide receivers aren’t getting open, and he’s got no running game of any note to rely on.

Brady looked terrible in the first half. He had no time to throw because the Dolphins were in his face and his line was leaking with starting tackles Matt Light and Sebastian Vollmer out and guard Logan Mankins (who had been moved to guard) also out after injuring his knee.

The Dolphins dumped Brady three times in the first half and he and his receivers seemed frustrated if not a bit rattled. Brady completed only seven of 19 passes for 87 yards in the first half while the Dolphins built a 17-0 lead.

But truly great quarterbacks can sometimes overcome such terrible conditions and Brady did just that.

Brady completed 12 of 16 passes for 97 yards in the third quarter with one touchdown pass and one rushing touchdown to tie the game in that 15-minute span. The onslaught continued in the fourth quarter and by the time it was over, Brady had his tenth 300-yard day of the season and the Patriots had their victory.

“Tom started clicking,” tight end Aaron Hernandez said, “and when he’s clicking everyone starts clicking.”