Offensive Coordinator Ken Dorsey (1.1.25)
Kevin (Stefanski) said we might see some of Bailey (Zappe) on Saturday, we haven’t seen him in a game, what have you seen from him in practice that gives you the confidence that he can start?
“I think the whole thing with him is he’s prepared like he’s been a starter. So, he does a good job with his preparation. He’s played a good amount of ball, obviously, so he’s got good experience, strong arm, smart. So, I think he’s put himself in position for the potential of the opportunity right there. But we’ve got faith in that room that we just got to go out and play at a high level and protect the football and do the right things. And if he’s out there, we expect him to do that.”
How would you describe this experience in Cleveland this first year? Obviously, the on-field success, maybe not being what you wanted and envisioned. So how do you kind of parse the season and maybe what things didn’t really go your way in terms of the offense?
“Well, yeah, I mean, obviously, the biggest thing is just didn’t win enough games and at the end of the day, that comes down to scoring enough points to do it. You got to figure out a way to at least score one more and obviously we got to do that more and wasn’t something that we expected and anticipated, but you go through these times. It’s like life, you get punched in the gut sometimes in life and for us it’s going to be not about anything else than how you respond. You got to respond in life, you got to respond in ball and we’re going to have to do that this week and then moving forward in the future. So, it was kind of put in perspective for me a lot, went through watching somebody in my immediate family kind of go through some stuff this year and how she handled it through going through a situation, cancer diagnosis and everything like that. And just how she was able to handle that and really be strong through the pain she was having, through the treatments and things like that. It really gave me a perspective about what fighting is all about and how important that is. And it really gave me a perspective and not to get on a soapbox here but anybody who’s going through that, just keep fighting and fight and get through it. Because seeing it firsthand, that was a first for me. And it put a lot of things in perspective about one, how strong she is, but also how strong you’ve got to be in life and how strong we’ll have to be as a football team moving forward. And that’s going to be the expectation that I have for this unit moving forward, this week and into future years.”
Not that we’re writing about it, but how is she doing now?
“Good. Yeah, really good. Thank you. You guys know, those things are processes that you got to get through and so we’re early in the treatment, but getting through it.”
DTR (Dorian Thompson-Robinson) was pretty hard on himself after both games. He just looked really shaken. What can you do to salvage anything for him?
“No, look, I mean, he’s a young, young player, and these are early games that he’s starting. And with every single rep you take in this league, especially game action, you’re going to learn. And he’s going to learn and continue to grow, and I believe that with him. He’s got an incredible work ethic. He’s got an incredible drive and determination. Great skill set. He’s just got to keep working and get better every single day, every single rep he gets. So, I think we just got to continue to work at it, continue to grind, and he’s going to grow as a player with all these reps. And like any player, you’re going to be disappointed if you don’t perform up to the standard in which you set for yourself. And you want that from a player because you want that drive. You want him to feel like, ‘Okay, I can be better than this’, because he’s going to keep working to go get it. So, we’re going to keep working with him and making sure that we’re doing everything we can to put him in position, to make sure he’s growing as a player.”
Every week we’d ask you about various issues with the offense or whatever, but now that you’re in the final week, just why was this so tough to fix? And do you have a pretty good idea of what it’s going to take to fix it for next season?
“That’s a really good question. I think in terms of next season I think there’s going to be a great evaluation in the off season, of looking at, ‘Okay, here’s what we got to do better. Here’s the things we’ve got to fix moving forward.’ And a lot of it is just going to come down to just our consistency. You see flashes of it, and we’ve just got to make sure that we’re playing at a level we are capable of playing on a consistent basis no matter what. If that’s a new concept, an old concept, anything like that. So, at the end of the day, we’re going to go through those processes in the off season. We’re going to evaluate everything to make sure that we’re putting our guys in the right position to be successful. And I think that’s going to be an important part of the off season. And when these guys come in, they’re going to be ready to roll in terms of, ‘Hey, here’s what we’re going to do to fix this’, to make sure that we’re operating at a high level and one of the top offenses in the league.”
I know there’s some uncertainty about just how the franchise, the team is going to move forward in the off season, but have you spoken to Kevin about returning next year and would you like to return?
“I’m just focused on this week. Yeah. That’s my focus. We’ll cross those bridges next week.”
If you had to call upon Jameis Winston for this week, do you feel like his shoulder would be able to handle it?
“Yeah, I think it’s continuing to get better. And I think yesterday was a walk-through practice so we’ll evaluate that kind of today, tomorrow, to make sure, in these full speed practices, to make sure that he’s able to operate at a level that he can do it throwing the football. And I think he’s been close in the previous weeks. We’ll just continue to operate that as we go here.”
Joel (Bitonio) said he doesn’t know if he’s going to retire after this season or not. What’s it been like for you coaching him this year and just what kind of a level is he still playing at?
“Yeah, I mean he’s been an anchor for us and just in there all the time. I mean, shoot, the amount of snaps he has this season, and I think he’s leading the league in number of snaps in the season, I believe in the NFL. So, he’s still playing at a high level and he’s a smart, tough, dependable football player. And that’s what you look for in offenses. We want players who are smart, tough and dependable and that’s embodied in his DNA. So very fortunate to have him and obviously I think he was definitely playing at a high level this year.”
Ced (Cedric) Tillman, what do you feel like the outlook is like for Ced going forward?
“Yeah, I mean, obviously it’s unfortunate haven’t had him available the past few weeks, have been good opportunities for him to continue to grow as a football player. So, I think the big thing for him is going to be getting the work in, getting back once he’s healthy and picking up really where he left off because I thought he was ascending in a really positive direction. Unfortunately, he had the injury, the setback there. Guys have really kind of stepped up in his stead, but he did a lot for us from blocking, receiving, a lot of different things. Contact vertically, underneath, went on quick routes. So, I think the ceiling’s very high for him as he continues to grow as a football player.”
When we watch DTR on some of those like second level throws where you got to kind of lob over the guy, does he have to get better in that area? Sometimes it looks like everything comes out kind of in the same trajectory.
“I think obviously, guys with that type of arm talent, which I never really had to worry about too much, but guys like that I think that’s a growing curve because sometimes stronger arm guys want to see it open and then fire it in there. Now, I do think he has that ability to do that and it’s just a comfort level for him. And again, that’s a growth. When I was here with DA (Derek Anderson), he was a guy of strong arm, see it open, fit in tight windows and those types of things. When I played with him here, when I coached him in Carolina, his mentality completely changed to an anticipator and laying it in windows and throwing those in-cuts five yards before they even come out of breaks and those types of things. So that’s a growth that these guys will have, and I think Dorian’s growing in that regard, and I think you see flashes of it, and it’ll continue to grow for him like a lot of these guys who have the arm talent that he has.”