For one OBR Webdork, it was a great day as the Baltimore Ratbirds faced defeat on the grand stage, and he quickly warmed up to the idea of Ken Dorsey leading the offence.
Cleveland was ecstatic, experiencing a level of celebration unseen since the Browns’ surprise run of victories a few months prior, when they started their fourth starting quarterback of the year.
No, not the Cleveland Browns’ selection of Ken Dorsey as their offensive coordinator—though I will address that in a moment.
Of course, I’m talking about the Baltimore Ratbirds’ 17-10 home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Conference Championship. People, I was ecstatic. I revelled with much merriment and celebratory booze!
Granted, I should be above such things nearly thirty years after their city collectively stuck a knife in the back of Browns fans, so maybe it shows some weakness of character on my part to enjoy the schadenfreude of watching the late-hitting, constantly-whining Rats go down to defeat. But I just can’t stop because they’re so incredibly hateful. A franchise whose emblem is Ray Lewis is just not likeable.
Even though I would usually stop and stare for a while at the lifeless body of a dead Ratbird crushed on the road during the 2023–2024 NFL season, there is more significant news to report. Specifically, the Browns have shortened what appeared to be an extensive recruiting process for an offensive coordinator.
Ken Dorsey is the man the Browns have been waiting for; this will be a difficult acquisition to make. It will be difficult because of how the Buffalo Bills recovered from his mid-season firing there, which will make everyone believe that Dorsey was the reason for the offensive woes for the Bills. When I heard the news yesterday, I did, in fact, automatically come to this conclusion.
To be honest, I found Dorsey to be the least interesting offensive coordinator prospect, but I’m trying to be flexible. When I saw this tweet, Mina Kimes was somewhat helpful:
I understand. I once left a position where I was held back by a lack of support, and my replacement essentially walked into a situation where things that he didn’t create led to a sharp improvement in outcomes. It’s extremely annoying, and all you want to do is establish your worth once more. Dorsey will get his chance, unlike me. Now that I know more, I can really relate to Dorsey and can’t wait for him to get his chance.
Not because of his success in Buffalo, but rather because of his success in Carolina, where he guided Cam Newton all the way to the Super Bowl, I’m excited to see what more he can accomplish. Dorsey (along with Mike Shula) designed an offence that capitalised on Newton’s strengths while working with an athletic quarterback who was akin to Deshaun Watson. We saw a staff last year that understood how to capitalise on the advantages of a 6’6″ pocket passer. Maybe this year we’ll have a staff that knows how to make the most out of DTR and Watson.
