Offensive Coordinator Ken Dorsey (9.12.24)
Ken, what was most surprising to you last week about what you guys did and didn’t do?
“Well, I think just overall, we didn’t perform the way we wanted to. And whether it’s surprising or just whatever that emotion is, obviously, we want to learn from that, correct it, and come back out ready to roll this week. And we’re full speed ahead onto another really good defense in Jacksonville that personnel-wise, presents a lot of challenges, and then, obviously, scheme-wise, a new scheme from what we saw last year, and so that’ll provide some challenges for us as well.”
Ken, when Deshaun’s (Watson) getting hit 17 times in a game, six of those are sacks, it’s easy to just blame the offensive line and the protection. When you went back and looked at it, how much of it was the quarterback not seeing things down the field? How much of it was plays taking too long to develop, and then obviously the protection aspect?
“I mean, at the end of the day, this is the ultimate team sport and I think to your point, there’s a lot that goes into that. So, to say when you have a situation like that, it’s all one thing or another thing – this is the ultimate team sport, and we got to look at it like that. Everybody’s got to do their part. Everybody’s got to be locked in, focused on what we’re doing, own the game plan and make sure that we’re doing the right things. Not only from a schematical standpoint, but a technique standpoint and from a top to bottom, O-line, quarterbacks, backs, receivers, tight ends, everybody’s involved in protection – all 11 guys out on the field. So, you know, I think that’s obviously the focus for us is, hey, let’s make sure, one, we’ll obviously know our opponent. Two, we got to make sure that we’re on top of our techniques, our assignments and all those things and that’ll help tie all that together, I think.”
Is there anything that gets you more frustrated than a pre-snap penalty?
“I mean, look, I think at the end of the day, any type of – as a coach, you’re hunting perfection, right? You’re hunting, you’re chasing that constantly and I think that’s something that we’re going to continue to focus on, to make sure we’re doing the things to put us in the best position to be successful. And obviously, when you have those things or any type of negative plays in this league, defenses are pretty good and putting yourself behind the eight ball is going to be something obviously we want to try to eliminate and try to make sure that we’re giving ourselves the best chance for success.”
What makes you think that Sunday will be a better effort from your offense?
“Well, I think, look, at the end of the day, we’re going to go out and we’re going to prepare our tails off this week. I think everybody’s focused on Jacksonville. Everybody’s focused on this next step to move forward. We still have 16 games to go left in the season and all we can do is control what we can control. We got to be able to focus on the things – we got to focus on our attitude, we got to focus on our effort, we got to focus on our preparation and control our controllable and make sure that we’re full bore ahead going into this week and I think that’s a big thing for us.”
Can you assess Deshaun Watson’s play? The narrative out there right now seems to be that he’s broken and lost and horrible and all those kinds of things. Can you just really break down what you saw in the game and the film?
“I think when you look at it, every week when you look at and evaluate, especially the quarterback position, you’re always going to say, ‘Okay, can we do…was this what we want? Was this something that…what did you see here? What were we thinking here?’ You know what I mean? So there’s a lot of things that go into it. I think just overall, looking at his performance this past week, there were a lot of good things and then there were obviously some things we can improve on and correct. So, is that something that is…we’re going to continue to grow. You know, and I think at the quarterback position and every position, you got to have a growth mindset in what you do and continue to grow because whether you’re year one or year 15 in the league, there are constantly things you can improve on, whether it’s mentally, physically, anything like that and I think Deshaun does a good job in taking that mindset and applying it. So, our goal is to focus on Jacksonville this week. Our goal is to come out, prepare and be ready to roll when we step out on the field.”
Ken, you obviously played quarterback. The pocket presence, the internal clock, Deshaun’s missed a lot of time. Is that something that can sort of regress with not a lot of game action over an extended period of time?
“I don’t know. I think when you’ve played as much football as he has, I think there’s an instinctual aspect to it that he definitely has. I mean, when you watch the game, there are some really good just examples of kind of stepping up and some subtle slides in the pocket and stuff like that. So, you see the things that you’re talking about. But I think the more he continues to play out there as the season goes on, I think the more comfortable we’ll all be, and he really showed that he can go out and play a full four-quarter physical football game and he’s built for that. And obviously, we want to continue to take the appropriate steps forward as an offense, whether it’s Deshaun or us as a whole unit.”
Considering the tight end situation now, I mean, you have four receivers available to you. Are you likely to spread it out a little bit more?
“I think anytime you go in, you look at your personnel and we’re going to evaluate what we got. We do have, you know, a room of guys with Jordan (Akins) and some of the other guys that we’ve added that have played in this league and have made some plays and we feel comfortable with. So, we feel good about that room moving forward and, I mean, we’ve seen it here in the past, right? I mean, when you deal with the injuries and things like that, it’s the next man up and we got to be ready to step up and fill our role, whatever that may be. And that goes for tight ends, it goes for tier point receivers, whatever those roles are that we implement on Sunday, right? We’ve got to be ready to step up, own those roles and maximize our opportunities on the field.”
Ken, when you assess the Jags’ defense, what stands out as kind of the things that you guys are highlighting most?
“Yeah, I think the big thing is obviously they do a great job of a combination of scheme and talent. I think they do a good job of knowing what they got and putting their guys in position to make plays. They’re physical both up front and in the secondary. They got speed over the field. They’ve got pass rushers and linebackers that could go sideline to sideline and then a physical group of corners with some very instinctual safeties that have range. So, they pose a lot of challenges and obviously, schematically, they do a lot of good things as well. So, it’s a great challenge for us and one that we want to make sure we’re going out, we’re locked in all week, we’re focused in and we’re doing the preparation things that we need to make sure we’re ready to go come game day on Sunday.”
What gives you confidence that Deshaun is going to better this week because it’s only one week later? Why do you think it’s going to look better?
“I mean, I think Deshaun, he’s played in this league for a while. He’s a pro when it comes down to being able to evaluate what happened the week before and then when game week rolls around and the next opponent’s up, not making one game into two games. And obviously, this defense poses a lot of challenges that we’re going to have to overcome and play better. But I think that he’s played in this league a long time and he’s had games like that and as a team and as a unit in the past. So, I think he’s had to deal with this in his past and we don’t have a crystal ball, but all we can control is today and all we can control is hey, our attitude, our preparation, our effort going in today, a Thursday, making sure we’re doing everything humanly possible to come in and be ready to go on Sunday.'”
Ken, how many, how much of the struggles offensively do you attribute to new scheme, right, new playbook, and is it fair to expect a big jump from that in week two?
“I mean, when you look at it, I think, we’re not going to sit here and make kind of excuses, you know? We’re going to own what happened on Sunday. We’re going to learn from what happened on Sunday and hopefully guys use it as a motivating factor to get ready to go this week. And look, I wish I could tell you, ‘Hey, here’s what we’re going to do this coming week.’ But our expectations as not only coaches, but players, I think this organization, this group has a lot of pride. We’re going to do what, in terms of the preparation for the week, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that we’re preparing ourselves, not only for Jacksonville and what they pose, but for ourselves and for what we do from a schematic and from a technique standpoint to make sure that we’re ready to attack on Sunday.”
All the new stuff and no plays at all together during the preseason. Don’t you think that had some kind of effect on the choppiness of that first game?
“I mean, look, I think this game, again, it’s one of those things where you just…there’s no excuses that you can make. You go out and you put a game plan together, you make sure your guys feel comfortable with it and you go ahead and attack the day. I think at the end of the day, when you perform like that, it’s easy to sit here and just say it’s this or that when you just have to sit here and collectively look at it and learn from it and be ready to move forward, you know? So, there are no excuses to be made at the end of the day. I think it’s stuff that we got to evaluate to make sure we’re putting our guys in the right position and then we got to evaluate to make sure our guys are using the techniques and doing those things as well. So, when you sit there and you evaluate the game and you watch the tape, there are definitely things we can improve on and take steps forward of as an offense.”
Ken, I know you mentioned effort earlier, and I know Bubba (Ventrone) mentioned that as kind of a theme of his press conference and he talked to him through all phases. So, I guess were you guys surprised that in week one that wasn’t what you thought you would see and what gives you confidence that effort element might be better in week two?
“I think from an offensive standpoint, I’m not going to speak to obviously special teams, but I didn’t feel like there was a lack of effort on offense. I think, obviously that’s what this game’s about. It’s about passion, it’s about physicality, it’s about going out and flying around and playing for each other. When you step out on the field, you got 11 guys out there and you got to depend on that guy next to you and we’re building that because every year is a new year, every season’s a new season. And then when you have injuries, you got to have guys ready to step up and fill those roles and making sure like, hey, those other 10 guys on the field can depend on them and they got to go out and earn that play after play, whether it’s practice or game. So, I got a lot of faith in our guys that they’re going to go out and fly around. I think there was a lot of great effort in this past game and from that aspect, we’re going to continue – that’s something we’re going to take a lot of pride in. Whether it’s this game moving forward or the entire year, we’re going to go out, we’re going to fly around and we’re going to have no regrets after we step off that field.”
Did penalties make it impossible to play a tempo offense?
“I mean, obviously I think penalties make it hard to play any type of offense at the end of the day. So, I think we want to make sure we are going out and doing all the things that we need to do from a technique standpoint to a just being locked in mental standpoint. Whether it’s we’re trying to use tempo or hustle, it’s third down, it’s red zone, it’s short yards, right? Whatever the situation is, all those things, we got to make sure we’re locked in because penalties can be mental, they could be physical, there’s a lot of different aspects into those things. So, we just got to make sure that we’re playing in the right frame of mind with the right techniques.”
David (Njoku) obviously does so much stuff. Do you feel like Jordan can just step in and do all those same things?
“Well, I think Dave’s obviously a special player who does a lot, but I do think that we got a room that Jordan can step in and do a lot of great things for us as well. No one player is built the same. But I think that we’ve got a group of guys in that room and collectively as an offense that are going to be able to step up and that’s what football is. And you look at it, I thought last year was a great example of it, organizationally, when things happen, guys have to be ready to step up and it’s the next guy up ready to roll and there are no excuses at the end of the day.”
Ken, what can you say just about Deshaun from like, a mental standpoint? Because, I mean, he, you know, just obviously he’s been through a lot the last couple years since he’s been here, but also just over the last week; the death of his father, friend, the game on Sunday, now there’s a new lawsuit. Just what have you kind of seen from him this week in terms of him just trying to focus on football even though that might not be — I can imagine that’d be hard with everything that’s kind of done against him this week?
“Yeah, obviously it’s hard for me to speak to his mental state. That would be something that would be tough for me to speak on. But just from a coaching standpoint and him in the meeting rooms, he’s been locked in in meetings, he’s been taking his notes and asking questions and doing everything he can to prepare to be ready to go on Sunday.”
Ken, Jacksonville, they held Miami’s (Dolphins) rushing offense to only around 80 yards last week. Just what stood out to you by the run defense?
“I mean, they’re a physical front. They’re fundamentally and schematically sound and they fly around and so there’s a lot of things that go into it. Like I said, kind of early on, this is the ultimate team game and when a defense is able to do something like that the past week, there are multiple factors that go into it. It’s all 11 guys on their side operating at a pretty high level against a team like that.”