How much of a drop off is Ken Dorsey from Brian Daboll (if any)?

[JohnNord]

Easily the biggest variable from last year to this season is the Bills offensive coordinator.  However, in discussing Ken Dorsey it seems like the consensus is that he will be somewhat of a downgrade from Brian Daboll and there’s an assumption that he’s going to struggle at times as a first time OC.  

 

I’m not saying both scenarios won’t happen - they very well could.  But I also think there’s a better chance that Dorsey could have closer to the same or even more success on offense than Daboll.  Not necessarily because of his playing ability but because of Josh Allen the evolution of the skill players.  
 

Dorsey is going to be handed a Top 5 QB and WR duo, along with players like Davis, McKenzie, and Knox who are experienced and seem to be ready to step-up and contribute.  Plus what should be a slightly better OL and running game along with a player like James Cook who offers a skill set that was missing last season.  

And while Dorsey has never called plays as OC before before he has the pedigree, experience, and at one time was considered a “hot” OC candidate with Carolina before Cam broke down.  
 

Also, regarding Daboll IIRC the fanbase was split for the majority of Daboll’s tenure with the Bills.  Many fans, some of the media, and even McDermott himself were critical of some games Daboll called.   Others disputed how much credit he should get for calling plays with a breakout superstar like Josh.  
 

Even during the successful seasons in 2020 and 2021, at mid-season many were calling for his job.  It wasn’t until strong performances late in the year that fans came around.   Perhaps that resiliency was a testament to his experience and ability as OC?  

 

Personally I think Daboll did a great job in Buffalo - specially with developing the identity of Josh as a passer.  Because of Josh and because of the talent on offense around him, I’m not sure it will be that much of a step back - if at all, but we’ll see 

 

 

[dorquemada]

hot take inbound:

 

Daboll was a good to very good OC who occasionally had lapses in judgement where he got either too cute or too predictable with playcalling.  Dorsey, if he can avoid that, will be as good if not better

[Nextmanup]

Who knows!?  I guess we'll sort of find out in the weeks ahead, though I think it is hard to infer coordinator performance based on player performance on the field.

 

Fans tend to react to bad plays and blame it on the OC, when in fact, the players may have run the wrong route (that the OC didn't call) or tons of other things contributing to the failure, all of which has NOTHING to do with the coordinator...

 

That doesn't mean you can't evaluate the coordinator in some ways, though.

 

 

[Process]

Literally no one knows lol. 

 

Daboll's play calling sucked. I am hoping there is no where to go but up. 

[PrimeTime101]

Dorsey has yet to coach a single NFL regular season game as a Bills OC. So, to measure them up at this point, more feels like pregame nerves to me. Ken brings in a different dynamic then Brian. I feel Ken will Be better in some places like the run game and worse areas in the passing game. I do think Ken is going to bring us more balance to this offense... They would not have gotten an RB early in the draft if the team felt otherwise. 

 

To early bro but well written. This is pregame jitters

[longtimebillsfan]

Ken is a former qb and the Bills have given him support with Shula on the staff. 

 

I am confident Dorsey will keep the wheels on the track.

Edited September 7, 2022 by longtimebillsfan

[DJB]

Won't we be finding out relatively soon?!??! lol

[Dablitzkrieg]

0

[Jauronimo]

I'll let you know in 18 weeks.

[JESSEFEFFER]

1 minute ago, dorquemada said:

hot take inbound:

 

Daboll was a good to very good OC who occasionally had lapses in judgement where he got either too cute or too predictable with playcalling.  Dorsey, if he can avoid that, will be as good if not better

 

It's normal for an offense to go through a period of lackluster play during the course of a season.  The OC needs to know the right buttons to push to get the O back on track.  The Bills had such periods during every season Daboll was in charge of it here.  Dorsey may be better at it as you posted.  I agree.  He may have better concepts of how to distribute the ball to players in space.  He may unlock the YAC.

[K D]

Dorsey has Shula, Boras, Brady, and Kromer - all former OC's. This is also the Josh Allen show in year 5 and he will be letting Dorsey know which play he wants to run or audibling to the play he wants. I don't think it's just Dorsey up in the booth calling whatever play that pops into his head, it's more involved than that and he has a lot of support 

[Shaw66]

I fully expect Dorsey to be better than Daboll.  I always thought Daboll was limited, and I actually was hoping someone would offer him a head coaching gig, so he'd leave.    

 

I started with some doubts about Dorsey, but I'm fully on board now.  I think he's smarter than Daboll, and I think he's more willing to take risks than Daboll.   I think he will be a hot head coaching prospect in three years, max.   The Bills will need to write him a big check to keep in Buffalo as OC, just like the Pats were willing to do with McDaniels.  

 

Am I sure?  Of course not.   He could fail miserably.    I just don't think the Daboll set some kind of really high bar.   I think Dorsey's been waiting a few years for the opportunity to run an offense, studying, working at it.   I think he probably had opportunities to leave Buffalo, but he chose to stay for three years.  Why?   Because he see where this was going, and it meant that his OC opportunity was coming in Buffalo, so he waited for it. 

[Logic]

My favorite quote so far is that Dorsey's playbook is like "A Beautiful Mind".

I also enjoyed reading that during his time with the Panthers, he had all these crazy plays dreamed up, but one of his players told him "Dorse, we can't call that. We don't have the talent here to execute it". But now he DOES have the talent on board to execute those plays, and I'm excited to see what they look like.

Could Dorsey be a dropoff from Daboll? Sure. He could also be an improvement, and that possibility isn't discussed enough.

[BIGFOOTspaceman]

I personally hated Dabolls play calling.  When it worked, it was great.  He was just so slow in adjusting play calling.  Tampa Bay game last year is a perfect example.  Changes should have been made in the first half of that game yet, waited until the second half.  I thought he was stubborn and tried to force things at times.  The Jet sweep all but disappeared last year.  Why?

 

Anyway, I suspect Dorsey will be better.

[Augie]

32 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

hot take inbound:

 

Daboll was a good to very good OC who occasionally had lapses in judgement where he got either too cute or too predictable with playcalling.  Dorsey, if he can avoid that, will be as good if not better

 

It is my hope that Kromer can make Dorsey look better by coaching up the OL so we can have a respectable running game. Everything gets easier when all the options are on the table and the defense has to account for all of them. 

[julian]

Dorsey will be a hot head coaching candidate following the 2023 season, this is what Josh Allen is… he’s a head coach maker.

 

 Seriously though this is Josh Allen’s offence and it’s awesome.

[Rubes]

I thought Daboll was a very good OC with some great game plans and stretches of really excellent playcalling. Also, periods of time when the planning and playcalling were real head scratchers.

 

I'm hoping Dorsey will improve on that. He's got the creativity and all the tools, we'll just have to see.

 

[GunnerBill]

Daboll was better than most fans want to think he was. Did a great job with this offense and developing Josh Allen. 

 

But at this stage Josh Allen is completely coordinator proof. I don't expect any drop off as long as Dorsey doesn't suddenly decide we need to run the ball a ton more.

[K-9]

Zero drop off. This offense is tailored to Josh Allen, regardless of whom the OC is.  Dorsey has been in the room for several seasons now and he knows exactly what Josh likes and doesn’t like for every situation. And I’m pretty sure he has a firm command of situational football. 

[Don Otreply]

Dorsey will likely become a step up,  in which Dabol ignored the run game for the most part, until McDermott insisted he and his offensive coaches make it happen, Dorsey on the other hand, is good with a contributing backfield, and sees it as another tool to keep opposing defenses on their heals. At the end of the day this makes for a more dynamic offense.