Offensive Coordinator Ken Dorsey (11.29.24)

How was your Thanksgiving?

“It was good, thank you. Yeah, I appreciate it. How about you?”

 

Great. Family, food, football. 

“Not a bad ordering of agenda right there, that’s for sure.”

 

How have you seen Jameis Winston evolve during his four starts here?

“I think the big thing is he’s getting more and more comfortable just operating the offense, more and more comfortable with the guys around him, his receivers, his tight ends, backs, body language, how they’re running routes against the different looks and those types of things. So, I think all those things kind of help as a quarterback because reps, especially game reps, really add up. And I think obviously, with his experience in this league, that has helped him to be able to just step in and be efficient, be a guy who could come in and operate our offense and do good things for us. Just being able to rely on that experience that he’s had.”

 

Can you talk about the challenge it will be to go against the number one sacking team in the NFL and just how good they are on the back end as well?

“Yeah, I mean, it’s obviously a really good defense. Vance (Joseph) does a great job with those guys. They’re aggressive, not only in style of play, but also individuals on their team. They’ve got a lot of guys who can rush the passer. When you look at it, it’s not just one guy, it’s multiple guys, both on the outside and inside. And then Vance does a great job getting him in position to do that and creating matchups, creating opportunities for those guys. Whether it’s the front variations, whether it’s the different pressure variations and things like that. And then obviously, I think that pass rush allows those outside guys to be extremely effective as well. And obviously they got one of the best corners in the league out there. They’re talented around him as well in the secondary. So, it’s a great challenge. It’s a very good challenge for us. And you’ve got to be on your point. You got to be on top of your stuff. You got to be able to get in and out of the huddle quickly to give yourself time at the line of scrimmage and do those types of things to make sure that you’re maximizing your opportunities.”

 

Going back to Jameis a little bit and that comfortability is that showcasing in the way he’s been able to spread the ball around to a lot of different guys because he feels more confident that when I throw the ball to this guy or that guy that they’re going to catch it?

“Yeah, and I think that’s part of that. It’s just he’s got confidence in those guys too. I think that’s a big part of it is he’s got a lot of faith in the guys that are out there playing for him and working with them. But I do think those reps, and obviously he was able to get some of those in OTAs and things like that, stacking some of those reps with those guys early on. But I do think the more reps you get with guys, the better that experience that he has being able to come in and whether it’s what defenses are trying to do and the adjustments that he could kind of make in game really helps spread that ball around as well. And I think that’s important, you want to be able to spread the ball around, you want to be able to attack with different guys in different ways so that they can’t just focus on one guy.”

 

What about seeing Nick (Chubb) get those couple of touchdowns and the way he was able to hold up out there when the weather got nasty and guys were slipping and sliding and everything?

“No, it was a lot of fun to see. I mean, I love the fact that he’s really been able to come on and keep getting better and better and I think more and more confident – I hope – out there in terms of himself and the scheme and what we’re doing. It was a lot of fun to see him out there and not only scoring the first touchdown, just kind of just old school smash mouth football, but also the second in the conditions and the run before that was just as impressive. The push, the pile, the effort by him and the rest of the group. It was a lot of fun to watch, especially in that type of game.”

 

What have you seen from… Jerry Jeudy is on pace to have a career year here. What have you seen from him as far as his growth this season and why he’s kind of been able to come along so well with Jameis at quarterback?

“I think one thing is he’s very smart. He does a great job, just feel of the game, understanding of coverages, but then also being able to move him around into different places. We could play him inside, we could play him outside, X, Z slot, whatever it is. So having that flexibility is huge to be able to move a guy of his caliber around to do different things with him. So that’s one thing that’s big. Obviously just the physical skill set that he has. I mean, he’s got the ability to run with speed, get in and out of cuts, great body control and wiggle in his routes to where he could kind of give the DB a little bit of something and then still be able to get in and out of cut. So, I do think that he’s really grown as the year has gone on, not only in just number of catches, but confidence and I think that’s confidence for him, but also the quarterbacks, I think have a ton of confidence in him as well to give him those opportunities.”

 

Kevin (Stefanski) mentioned how important his versatility has been, the fact he can take a short pass and go or catch a deep one. Did you know that about him before you were around him? And I guess what makes him able to do everything you need him to do?

“Yeah, I mean, you see some of those things on tape. But I definitely think he’s surprised us in a lot of good ways in terms of what he could handle mentally, the run after catch stuff has been really good for us. And that’s a huge part of this league is you’ve got to be able to turn some of those short passes into longer gains and skip some third downs with rack opportunities and things like that. So that’s been really a great thing for us just with his ability to do that, to go out and win one-on-one matchups. And I do think that’s a litmus test for receivers, can you go out and win press man coverage against good DBs in this league? And hopefully, he could continue to do that.”

 

The offense had highs and lows this season, in the past couple weeks, how have you seen them kind of fare as you guys have been piecing things together and dealing with some injuries as well?

“Just talking overall offense? Yeah, I mean, I think that’s just the way the NFL is sometimes. Obviously, we’re not in the position we wanted to be in early in the year, but we’ve got a group that has a lot of pride, a group that’s continued to work and work incredibly hard. I think they look to the leaders for a lot of that and we have got good leadership in the locker room. And I think Jameis has done a nice job at the quarterback position, bringing some energy, bringing those types of things. So, I do think, yeah, that when you’re in a tough position, that’s… It’s like life, it really is. You get knocked down in life, you get punched in the gut sometimes, but it’s how you respond to it. Can you come back? You got kids to feed at home, you can’t just lay there. It’s the same thing for us in this locker room, in this building. We got to keep fighting no matter what situation we’re in. And that’s us as an offense. Yeah, it hasn’t always been perfect, and it hasn’t been exactly the way we want, but we’re going to keep working and keep fighting to make sure that we get it to where it needs to be as the year goes on, no matter what situation we’re in, no matter what our record is. And that’s what we’re going to pride ourselves on and that’s what we’re going to do.”

 

When you guys have to do things like turn a backup linebacker into a fullback or move a guard out to tackle or tight end, what’s the process? Do you ask for volunteers? Does somebody bring it up in a meeting? What’s the process of getting that stuff going? 

“Yeah, we put names in a hat and then…. [laughter]. No, honestly, a lot of that is just kind of who’s been around the roster. Obviously, being new this year, I think Kevin’s got a great feel for the roster and who can do some of those things. So, you’re always looking for those guys and fortunately, we’ve got a couple of guys that can kind of fill in and down the goal line go like a bat out of hell and try to clean up a hole and open something up. So, it’s good, its good versatility, and it’s also good for us when you get some jumbo tight ends in there as linemen to get them in there, because it gets them reps, it gets them opportunities to execute against opposing defenses, for younger guys to build their game as well and develop themselves. So, I think it provides a lot of different advantages — to a defense, what are they going to do? Can they run it? Can they throw it? What are they going to do in these looks? But then also, it helps develop those guys as well and that flexibility is really big for us.”

 

Jameis Winston said he wants to be back here next year, so how can he develop more in the offense a second year into it and maybe come in as a starter?

“Yeah, and I really appreciate the question. We’re just so focused on this week. I think that stuff is just going to take care of itself in the off season and everything. I think the more reps you get as you go, the better off you’re going to be and you’ll continue to grow as a player. So, I think no matter what the situation is, we’re just going to continue to focus on our jobs this week and Jameis will continue to grow as a player, whether it’s this week, next week or in the offseason, whatever that situation is.”

 

To go back to the defense for a second, when you know they are such a sack-heavy defense, do you have to, from a protection standpoint, is that an added emphasis or do you just kind of continue to build on what you have been doing and make sure all the other elements are working together or do you kind of really hone in on that aspect of it?

“Good question. I mean every week is so different because they pose different challenges. Especially when you’re playing teams that they can rush the passer, are those pass rushers interior guys? Are they exterior guys? Are the pressures through blitz packages and whatnot? So those are all things that you got to evaluate and then develop your game plan around those different things. So yeah, it definitely could change week-to-week based off of what you’re seeing and then there’s some core principles that are always within your offense that you have probably in each and every week to help with that as well.”

 

Do you know if Ced (Cedric Tillman) is going to practice today, but if he can’t, if he’s still in the protocol and can’t play, who would you look for to step up and how comfortable would you feel with those guys that if it’s Jamari (Thrash) or Kadarius (Toney), whoever it is, haven’t played a bunch for you offensively?

“Yeah, I mean we’ll take that day-by-day and see where we’re at. But it’s the same mentality you got to have each and every week. If somebody can’t go, then the next guy has to step up. And I’m sure… Ced does so much for us and if we do have to have other guys fill in, then it’ll be a rotation of guys doing some different things not just a one man show. And I think that’s what we really try to focus on, no matter who’s available to us, is a little variety, mixing things up so that one guy isn’t locked into doing one specific thing.”