Offensive Coordinator Ken Dorsey (10.17.24)
So, what’s your message to guys like Elijah (Moore) and Jerry (Jeudy) and Cedric (Tillman) now that you don’t have Amari (Cooper)?
“Yeah, I think the biggest thing for us is just like any season, whether it’s losing guys to trade, injuries, anything like that, guys step up. Guys got to be ready for their opportunity and I think this situation is no different than that. This league is about the next man up mentality, and we got to be ready to step in and make plays. So guys might be in different spots, guys might be doing some different things, guys might be doing the same things. We just got to make sure we’re doing those things, and we’re focused on our jobs and doing them better to go out and get a win this week.”
What about Nick (Chubb) coming back? Just what kind of a lift do you think that’ll provide?
“I mean, it’s exciting seeing him out there and it’s been fun watching him. Obviously, I’ve been around Nick, but this is the first time seeing him practice, seeing him run around. His work ethic and his whole demeanor, the way he approaches the game and the way he approaches the week, it’s just infectious. And it’s really exciting for me as a coach to just be around him and be around, watch him practice, watch him prepare, and I’m excited to see him out there.”
What’s a realistic expectation?
“That’s a great question, it really is. I think as we go through the week, we’re still early in terms of that evaluation of where he’s at, in terms of workload and those types of things. So, I think that’s still a work in progress. We want to make sure that we’re doing the right thing for us and for Nick to make sure that he’s available for the long term. So, we’re going to constantly evaluate that throughout the week, and we’re not going to rush any decisions on how much, what plays, what anything in terms of Nick. We’re not going to rush any decisions on that.”
Looking at some of the numbers right now, you guys are running the ball fairly well in comparison to the passing game when you get the opportunity. I know this offseason there was a lot of emphasis on the pass game. With Nick coming back, with Nyheim (Hines) being available, is there a potential for a little bit of a shift to the run game just to get this offense jump started a little bit?
“I think that’s something — you always look for that balance. And I think that when you look at our offense, whether it’s now, this week, next week, past weeks, you always want to hunt up that ability to run the football and hunt up that ability to attack a defense in multiple ways so they can’t tee off on you. So, I think that’s something that we always are striving for. Unfortunately, in some games, we haven’t been able to do that for one reason or another. But as a coach and as a coordinator/play caller, I know Kevin (Stefanski) I’m sure feels the same way, you always want to be able to attack a defense with that balance and maintain that. Now, there’s going to be some games where they take that away and you got to be able to utilize other things. There’s going to be some games where you lean on that more. So, we always want to be able to be physical. We always want to be able to attack a defense with the run game as well. So, striking that balance is very important for us.”
How difficult has this been? The offensive line it seems like it’s one step forward, two steps back. You get Jack (Conklin) back on Sunday and three plays in you lose Nick (Harris). Just developing that continuity up there and then the kind of ripple effect that it has had on the offense in general.
“Yeah, obviously, you hate to see those things, but there’s no excuses. It’s like you got to go out and play. Guys got to be ready to play and step up, and that’s the NFL. And I think that’s something we’ve pride ourselves on here. And when you look at past years and this year’s got to be no different. Guys just got to be ready to step up and execute and form that cohesiveness as quickly as possible through the week. And you try to do that during the week by mixing guys in and incorporating some different combinations as well. Obviously, while letting your starters get the bulk of the work, but at the same time it’s just like we’re talking about with the receiver room, and that situation, guys got to be ready to step up when their number is called and that’s just the nature of the league.”
I know you guys are obviously focused on fixing your mistakes, but when you look at the (Cincinnati) Bengals defensively, what kind of stands out as areas of emphasis for you guys?
“Yeah, I think the big thing is they do a great job in giving you different looks. It’s a unit that’s been together for a long time. Obviously, they’ve been there as a staff for a long time. They’ve got a lot of players with a lot of experience within that system, so they could do some different things that they feel very comfortable with that changes the picture a lot for the offense. Obviously, they’ve got guys who can rush the passer, they’ve got some big physical players, they’ve got linebackers who’ve been in that system for a long time. Athletic coverage, guys who can play in coverage. But I do think that the big thing for them is like, you get a lot of different looks and there’s not a lot of busts. There’s a lot of guys who are in the right spots and doing these different things effectively, which is not always easy when you have the volume that they have. So, I think that veteran experience, that group being together for a long time with a lot of reps in that system makes it tough on offenses.”
When it comes to the run game, last week Joel (Bitonio) mentioned, I think in the second half of the Washington game, maybe doing a couple different things schematically. How much have you guys tweaked that maybe in the last week and a half?
“I think it’s a constant evaluation of where you’re at as the season goes. And I think when we go back and we were looking at the run game, you want to make sure we’re doing the stuff that our guys are comfortable with, and our guys do well and they’re effective at. So, when you sit down, you look at, ‘We’re good at this, we’re not good at this’. And obviously you’ve got to have things to balance it. You can’t live in one sole world, so you’re going to have some change up things. But obviously, I think you want to make sure that you’re balancing how you attack a defense in the run game as well. But at the same time making sure that your guys feel comfortable and can come off the ball and do what they do best.”
Why has Deshaun (Watson) warranted a longer look from you guys? What are some things that make you believe that he can get the job done?
“I think when you’re evaluating that position, yes we want to play well and we want to be high completion percentage for yards and all those different things, but it’s truly a team game. I think we’ve talked about it before and just all eleven guys doing their job. And yes, there’s times where a play doesn’t work and we could be better at the quarterback position, but there’s times where a play doesn’t work and there’s a breakdown somewhere else. I think right now Deshaun’s given us our best opportunity to win football games. He’s playing tough, he’s making plays with his feet, he’s made some really good throws from the pocket. We just got to make sure we’re keeping him as comfortable as possible throughout games because when he’s comfortable out there we’re doing some really good things, we just got to do it consistently. And that’s from top to bottom, from coaches being better to each eleven players out on the field doing their job and just focusing on their job every single play.”
I guess it’s possible this could be Michael Dunn’s first start at center in his career. How comfortable are you guys with that?
“I mean, minus three plays, he played the full game last week, so he came in and did a good job. He’s a veteran guy, obviously he’s different than some of those other guys you have in there. So, you’re always evaluating personnel wise what you can and can’t do. But I did feel like he came in — The thing I was really impressed with was the communication aspect of it to make sure everybody was on the same page. And obviously, the center drives that train a lot, so I felt like he had guys in the right spots with his communication, whether it was the backs, the rest of the line, the tight ends with our IDs and those different things. And I thought he did a great job with that and it’s going to be a great challenge this week, whoever’s in there, because they do a great job changing the picture and doing different things and giving you different looks and being multiple. So that communication for us will be critical. But I was really impressed with the way Dunny stepped in for us and we felt really comfortable within him in there.
How did Jack do in his first game back after so long?
“Yeah, I think Jack’s… he’s got a lot of experience, so you lean on that. He’s experienced and athletic and has some good size and strength to him. So, I think he did a nice job and you feel him out there when he’s out there, you feel that level of play from him. So excited where he’s at and just got to keep that thing rolling and best we can try to keep that mesh with the line as much as possible.”
How do you feel like Deshaun is just seeing the field, finding the open man and reading things?
“Yeah, I think he’s really kind of going through and he’s got really good experience, and I think a lot of times when defenses change the picture, you rely on that because a lot of times you’ve seen it before as a quarterback. So, I do think he’s doing a good job in a lot of different areas. I think that he’s continuing to grow as a player in those areas. And I think that’s the mentality you always want to have as a quarterback, whether you’re a first year or 10th year, you want to continue to grow. So obviously, there’s always an evaluation of things we can do better, but from a seeing it aspect and things like that, I think there’s a lot of strides to him becoming more and more comfortable kind of as you see the season go on. And there’s flashes of us doing really good things, we just as a whole need to be more consistent with it.”