Offensive Coordinator Ken Dorsey (12.19.24)
How has DTR (Dorian Thompson-Robinson) looked?
“Yeah, I mean, had a good day yesterday. It was good to kind of come out and compete and do some things. Just going to be able to get a full week under his belt, operate the offense so guys get a feel for him, his nuances out there and then him getting a feel for those guys and the receivers and how they’re running routes and doing things. So, it was a good first day, good first step and hopefully we could keep stacking those days and have another good one today, tomorrow and be ready to go on Sunday.”
You have traditionally called plays for a dual-threat quarterback, and you’ve called for Jameis (Winston), so how does this kind of allow you to use a lot of other things in your tool bag?
“Yeah, I mean, obviously Dorian’s a different player. He has a skill set different than Jameis. And guys see the game differently and you could talk about the same play and one guy sees it one way and another guy sees it another way. So, there’s that portion of it where there’s always a different element of how the offense evolves with each guy and that’s quarterback, receivers, that’s everybody, but especially the quarterback position. So, there’s obviously things that you constantly try to evaluate to make sure you’re giving yourself the best opportunity and taking advantage of a guy’s traits as well, and at the same time letting us play fast on offense and execute at a high level.”
How would you say DTR’s skillset differs from Winston?
“I mean, obviously Jameis has got a lot of experience in this league and he’s a veteran guy. Dorian’s a little bit younger, he’s got good experience from starting games and that type of thing. But I think with every rep, Dorian continues to learn and continues to improve and get better. So that’s a good thing for him and I think that’s something that will continue to grow as an offense with him because he’ll continue to learn and improve. Obviously, Dorian has some mobility traits to him with some speed and that type of thing to adjust and get out of things and make plays with his feet. But we’ve seen that from Jameis obviously a good amount, too. Jameis was exceptional getting out of the pocket and making some off-schedule plays. I think there’s a balance there. We ran some things with Jameis that we would run with Dorian and obviously we’ll run some things with Dorian that we didn’t run with Jameis.”
With Dorian, he hasn’t played a ton, I know that’s emphasized, and you talked about what a good runner he is. But in his limited time, it feels a little frenetic sometimes with him back there, whether he’s running and trying to hurdle guys. Do you try to take that out a little bit and maybe calm him down?
“I think that for quarterbacks, there’s a time and a place for those types of plays where you’re going for it. You’re trying to make somebody miss, or you got to lower your shoulder for a first down or whatever it is. There’s always a time and a place for that. At the same time, there’s that balance of making sure that we’re not taking extra hits, we’re getting down, being smart with ourselves to move on to the next play. So, as a young player, a lot of times, you feel like, ‘I can make a play and the play’s never dead.’ But at times, sometimes the best decision is an incompletion and move on to the next play. So that’s obviously something that you continue to preach just from a learning aspect of it. But I do think he’s got a skillset that teams have to account for, and I think that as he grows and as he gets a feel for when to use those things and when to stay in the pocket, I think that that’ll make him more and more dangerous.”
I know you weren’t here with him last year. His teammates really have complimented his understanding of the offense, his command and things like that. But just from your perspective, what have you observed in that regard and seen as far as his confidence with the offense?
“Yeah, I think you go back to the preseason, and I thought he had a great preseason. He did a lot of really good things. Some of those preseason games he was very effective for us and was able to move us and create some opportunities for guys. So, I do think you see that. I think you see the knowledge of the offense and a lot of that’s because how hard he works. He’s out there early going through plays even when he was the third guy. He’s out there doing the same thing as he was when he was the second guy and he’ll probably be out there doing the same thing today like he was yesterday. So, that consistency and approach, I think, pays off for him. And every rep matters for a quarterback, and that includes the mental reps that he takes day in and day out.”
To Scott’s (Petrak) point, I mean, not only was DTR frenetic in running, but he kind of threw the ball too hard sometimes. How do you keep him from getting overly hyped?
“Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, there’s those guys who have the strong arms and things like that. It’s just being able to layer throws and being able to make the throws you need to over the top of coverage and whatnot. So, I think they’re guys who go out and at the end of the day when it’s time to compete, they’re going to compete at a high level. And a lot of times those juices get flowing for a guy like him, and you see that come out. But it’s a, ‘Let’s play within the system, let’s trust our progressions, trust our reads, trust yourself, trust your guys around you, and good things will happen.’ I think that’s something — it’s going to be obviously new for me, calling it with Dorian. I haven’t called it with him except in the preseason and just getting that feel of getting him into a rhythm as quickly as possible.”
Ced (Cedric Tillman) is still working his way back, but if you guys are able to get him back this week, how much will it help Dorian, help you calling it, knowing those two guys have so much history and chemistry together?
“Yeah, I mean, not only that, but just the amount that Ced’s versatility brings to the offense and into the system. So, I think that that comfort level helps. I think the guys he’s got some experience with; he’s got experience with Elijah (Moore), he’s got experience with Dave (David Njoku), he’s got experience with these guys, Jordan (Akins) and all these guys, Mike (Woods II) as well. So, I mean, he’s got good experience and good reps with a lot of these guys and then he’s built that, I think, with Jerry (Jeudy) because he’s gotten reps with him throughout the offseason and stuff. So, yeah, I think obviously Ced working his way back when we could get him back, great, but I think guys are doing a good job stepping up in his stead while he’s out.”
With Jameis (Winston), the interceptions, I know he’s thrown a lot in his career, but when you have a three-game stretch like he’s had, can it start to get into a quarterback’s head? Can he start almost, like Sam Darnold said, ‘seeing ghosts?’ Can they overthink trying too hard not to throw the pick that he throws the pick?
“I think every player is different and every player reacts differently to those situations. I think there’s definitely instances like that where that could happen. And I think there’s instances where guys have a good ability to turn the page and focus on the next play, and everybody is just so different. I don’t feel like there was any of that with Jameis. I feel like he was going out and just doing his best to execute at a high level but unfortunately, some of those things happen. And at times it’s the quarterback, at times there’s 11 guys out there, and it’s not always him. So, I think that’s one of those things where it’s paramount for the quarterback to protect the football. And Jameis knows that, Dorian knows that and we got to do a great job moving forward doing that to give us an opportunity to compete and win games.”
Obviously, I haven’t talked to you since Sunday. When you came to Cleveland, I’m sure you kind of understood the aura of Nick Chubb. But from your perspective, to actually work with him more on a regular basis and be in this building and see what he’s all about, what has that been like for you and how, obviously, frustrating was it to see him suffer that injury on Sunday?
“Yeah, I mean, Nick is a pro. Nick is as professional as they come, as hard working as they come. I mean to come back and put himself in position to play at a high level, it takes a lot of work ethic and a lot of determination. It definitely hurts losing a guy like that who means so much to the town, the city, the organization and obviously the locker room. But we got to have guys step up in his place and those are big shoes to fill. But it’s been great working with him and I’m looking forward to him bouncing back and coming back from this thing stronger and even more motivated.”
We obviously don’t know if David Njoku is going to be able to play this week. But whether he does or not, to what do you attribute — especially his per catch average being so low this year and maybe not having the kind of production that everybody expected?
“Yeah, I think that’s something that when you’re getting into the season and you’re game planning, you’re trying to work these targets out and things like that, that there’s different situations that pop up. And I think some games have been great and we’ve been really effective and then some games defenses do things to try to take him away and take what his strengths are away, and we got to do a good job reacting to that and adjusting and changing the picture for Dave (Njoku) and moving him around. So, we’re always going to try to make sure to do that with a player of his caliber and maximize the ability. Because when you get the ball in his hand, he’s special and he’s got game changing ability. So, we just got to make sure we’re figuring out ways to keep him involved and keep his touches at a high level.”
With that in mind, you got one of the hottest receivers in the league right now in (Jerry) Jeudy and DTR (Dorian Thompson-Robinson) hasn’t thrown to him in a game. So how much do have to keep that in his mind that we got a hot guy out there, feed him the ball?
“I think there’s a balance you have to strike. And I do think that obviously, Jerry is playing at an extremely high level right now and playing fast and doing a lot of good things. But at the same time, you’ve got to be able to stay dangerous with your other weapons as well. And we’ve got really good players in Elijah, and Dave, and Jordan and Mike and our backs. So, we’ve got a lot of weapons and you should make sure that you’re staying balanced in how you’re attacking a defense as well so that they can’t just focus and then all of a sudden you’re handicapped because they took your primary away. And so, I do think there’s a focus in terms of Dorian understanding that, ‘Hey, work your progression. If JJ (Jeudy) is open, throw the ball to JJ. If something happens and he’s not, work your progression and get to the open guy’. And I feel like that’s when you’re at your best. JJ’s big games have come, too, where he’s not always the primary receiver. It’s just trusting a progression where, ‘Hey, they jumped underneath cut and JJ is open on the vertical.’ So, I think that’s when guys have their most successful days. Not when you’re trying to force feed a guy, but when the ball is going to where the defense is allowing it to.”
Why so many interceptions on balls intended for Elijah Moore? Last time I checked, he leads the league with eight of those. To what do you attribute that?
“I don’t know if there’s any one reason to be honest with you. Just thinking back, it’s like one got tipped, one was on a scramble. So, to sit here and say, ‘Hey, there’s one specific reason,’ I’d probably be making it up at that point. I just think that’s unfortunately kind of sometimes how the ball bounces and I do think it’s nothing that is attributed to Elijah. I think there’s times where those things happen and unfortunately, it’s happened a couple times. And Elijah, the nature of his position, he’s working the middle a lot and he’s in the slot and working the middle, whether it’s crossers, in-cuts, option routes, things like that. So those are high-volume tip areas and high-volume population areas. So those have the tendency to happen at times in those areas.”
Kevin (Stefanski) yesterday didn’t really want to classify the quarterback change as an indictment on Jameis’ play. But I think from the outside looking in, there’s probably a perspective like he didn’t play well enough. So, I guess just how do you kind of describe or characterize why this change is being made?
“Well, I mean, Jameis came in and gave us a great spark and brought energy and brought great leadership to us and did a lot of great things for us. And at the end of the day, I think we made the decision based off of what we felt was best for this game at this time to give Dorian the opportunity. And we got put a premium on, obviously protecting the football and doing those things at a high level and I think Dorian knows that and Jameis knows that. So, it was one of those things where it felt like we needed to have that opportunity for Dorian to come in and use his traits to our advantage.”