Offensive Coordinator Ken Dorsey (12.26.24)
How would you sum up Dorian’s (Thompson-Robinson) game?
“I think Dorian made a lot of good plays and there was a lot of — you see some of the physical traits. But I think there’s definitely some things we can improve on. We missed a couple things just from a ball placement standpoint that I think we could get better at. And then obviously, some of the turnovers we have to get corrected. And that’s something that we’re going to continue to harp on and emphasize just to make sure we continually focus to get those things corrected.”
Do you think you could call a game where the pass-run ratio isn’t so lopsided?
“We’re always looking to keep a defense off balance, whether it’s running the ball, throwing the ball. The more you don’t get into having to be in a two-minute mode at the end of the game, that’s going to help that. And we’re going to continue to work for that.”
Are you prepping for Dorian to be the quarterback Sunday?
“Yeah, as of right now. I would say Dorian’s healthy he’s going to be our starter for this week, and we’ll move forward with that mindset.”
With him, how can you help the protection? It felt like, obviously he had five sacks, but he’s running around a lot back there. Do you think he could have done some stuff to help the protection better?
“Well, I think when you talk protection it takes everybody. I think definitely the quarterback is a part of that. So, there’s plays where a guy like him extended some plays and made some big plays with his feet and got out of the pocket and did some good things. So, there’s definitely a balancing act you have to have when you have the physical abilities that Dorian has. So, we want to make sure that we’re doing our best to not put ourselves in situations where we’re behind the chains by taking sacks and things like that. So, the biggest thing for us is to continually focus on, there’s a time and a place to try to extend plays. And worst-case scenario, if we got to throw the ball away, let’s do it and live to fight the next down and not put us behind the chains.”
What’s the challenge of trying to develop a young quarterback in live games?
“When you look at Dorian, this is his second year, but still not a ton of starts under his belt, to your point. So, I think there’s definitely a learning curve and we’ll continue to develop that. You want to give him opportunities to be successful in the pass game, so he feels confident. So, I think that’s where a balance of what you’re doing to make sure you’re giving him some premier looks to throw the ball on first and second down while at the same time being able to run the ball in those situations, too. So, I think that balance of being able to do both, so it’s not run, run, and then throw it on the hardest down to throw it on. We got to continually work for that balance so that he can see good looks and we can skip some third downs on offense and move the ball.”
Do you see enough of those physical traits that lead you to believe that if you guys keep honing it and coaching it up and all of that, that he has a good future as a starter in the NFL?
“I think right now I’d love to be able to answer the question. I’m just so focused on what we’re trying to accomplish right now. I think that all quarterbacks improve as they get into the league, and they get reps and they get game reps. And I think Dorian’s going to continue to grow as a player with every single rep he gets. And where that leads in the future is to be determined. But hopefully right now his focus and all of our focus is really on winning this game.”
How has he been working with Jameis (Winston) and what’s the exchange been like between those two?
“Yeah, they’ve been great. I mean, that room is a very good room from a working together standpoint and talking through what each other sees, and Jameis has been great with that with him. Jameis is a true pro, and I really appreciate him being in the room from day one, when Deshaun (Watson) was starting, to when he took over until now. I mean, he’s been a pro throughout everything, and I got a ton of respect for the way he handles himself, and I think that room in general has been really good in terms of that communication and trying to help each other be successful.”
Does it look like Jameis will still be the three in this game?
“We’re still kind of evaluating that as the week goes from a health standpoint and see where he’s at as the week goes on here.”
If Bailey (Zappe) has to get in the game, what leads you to believe that Bailey can function well in that position?
“Yeah, I mean, he’s been here for a little while now, so I think he’s got a grasp of the offense. Obviously, there’s going to be things that we do with him that we wouldn’t [do with Dorian] or we do with Dorian that we wouldn’t do with him and whatnot if he did have to get in there. But you talk to him and see, ‘Okay, what do you feel most comfortable with?’ and things like that. But I think he’s been here long enough to where you don’t have to minimize the game plan too much. And he’s got some really good experience as a starter in this league as well. So, he’s seen football and feel confident that if he had to step in to execute, he can do that.”
I know he did some of it to begin the season, but how big is an adjustment for the run game when you have all of a sudden, the quarterback run option and some of those read option looks that we saw with Dorian?
“Obviously did a little bit of it with Jameis but not to the level that you can do with Dorian and his skill set. So, we want to do that, and we want to be able to mix that in. You don’t want that be the sole thing. You want to be able to take some things off his plate as well, to where he could have some breather plays in the run game and whatnot as well, and not put too many hits on him and things like that. But I think you could utilize his skill set in a way that a defense has to account for him, and hopefully they have to account for him whether you’re doing that stuff or you’re not doing that stuff. And you can make it look like you’re reading it and not reading it. So, I think that’s something that you could utilize with a guy like Dorian and his skill set because I think that a defense has to account for his playmaking ability with his feet.”
When you look at the (Miami) Dolphins’ defense, what stands out for you guys as you head into this game?
“I think one, obviously they’ve got an elite corner with (Jalen) Ramsey out there. He’s big, physical, move him around, does a lot of different things. And then they got a ton of just really good players out there that play hard, play at an extremely high level and play well together. They do a great job up front, creating pressure through different looks, whether it’s blitz packages, games up front, things like that. It’s just, they really change the picture on you a lot, and they’re not going to sit there in one or two coverages. They’re going to change the coverage picture, change the pressure look. So, they give you some variety, but there’s not a lot of busts. There’s not a lot of guys running free. So, they do it in a responsible way that they can handle, and they do it at a pretty high level.”
How about David (Njoku)? Do you expect that Dorian might have David available to him knowing that he suffered a knee injury in this last game?
“Yeah, I think that’s something we’re taking day-by-day, week-by-week, and kind of see how the week goes right here and everything. So, I think that’s something that’s just going to constantly be evaluated to see where David’s at as he’s going through that.”
How helpful was it to you guys that he got out there and was able to do what he could do when he probably could have used maybe another week off?
“Dave is an extremely tough human being and a great competitor. He wanted to be out there for his teammates and do what he can to help us in that game and clearly provided us a really good spark in that game. So, obviously, he’s a guy who’s going to battle through things and constantly push himself to help us in whatever way he can. And definitely, I know his teammates and us as coaches were appreciative for him to be out there and doing what he did.”
When you look back at the (Cincinnati) Bengals game, only three targets for (Jerry) Jeudy. When you look back at it, were you respecting the Cincinnati defense too much?
“I think every game is different. Every game plays out differently in terms of what a defense is doing and how it unfolds. So, I think that’s always the case. And JJ (Jerry Jeudy) is a big part of our offense, and we always want to try to incorporate him as much as we can, and we’ll continue to look to do that as weeks go on.”
We’ve seen the two really long runs from Jerome (Ford) the last couple of games. What do you see from him on a play-in-play-out basis, especially now as he moves into that number one role with Nick (Chubb) out?
“Yeah, obviously he’s an explosive player. He’s got a good ability to run explosive and run physically and get some tough yards as well. So, I do think that he provides some really good things for our offense. And he’s an experienced player who’s, obviously got a lot of snaps under his belt. So, he’s got some good feel for making those cuts, the burst through the hole and making guys miss with his quickness and his strength. So, we got to continue to utilize him and take advantage of him as much as possible because he’s a player that when you get the ball in his hands, he could do some great things for you from a big play standpoint.”
What does it say about him? I mean, he goes from kind of being the lead guy early, then takes a little bit of a back seat to Nick, now back as the lead guy, never flinched or anything like that. What does it say about kind of his approach?
“He’s a great teammate and he’s a professional. He’s always ready for whenever his number is called. He’s big for us in the protection game and the run game and the screen game and the pass game. So, he’s a pro and he just does a great job being ready whenever his opportunities arise. And I think you’ve seen that throughout the year.”
How is Ced (Cedric Tillman) coming along? It just seems like it’s been quite a while to come back from this concussion.
“Again, it’s a day-by-day thing that I know he’s doing everything he can to get back and all that, and obviously he’s working closely with the athletic [training] staff, but it’s a day-by-day thing that we’ll continue to kind of work through as hopefully time goes here.”