Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR 550) – As the Buffalo Bills prepare for Thursday’s season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, Ken Dorsey said the offense is to a point where other teams know what they’re doing on the field, because they’ve been running their plays for a while.
This will be Dorsey's first season as offensive coordinator in Buffalo, and the Rams are the defending Super Bowl champions. He says there aren’t too many secrets on that side of the ball either.
“They’re incredibly talented all over the board, and [Aaron Donald's] one of the best players in football," said Dorsey ahead of Monday's practice. "They pose a lot of different problems, not only personnel wise, but scheme. So it's not only trying to slow him down, but that front is a very talented group.”
The Bills have some good wide receivers, but in the past, they haven’t been great at yards after the catch. It’s definitely a focus for the Bills, and Dorsey feels there are ways to get it done.
“It’s something that coaches kind of say, 'Well, how do you do that?' Well as a coach, when you focus on something and you harp on it and bring it up on a daily basis, then it becomes something that the players are thinking about and they feel like this means something to us,” Dorsey said.
The one thing the Bills have added to the offense is running back James Cook. He brings speed and elusiveness to both the running and the passing game, but Dorsey isn’t sure how his role will be defined.
“That’s going to be something that just unfolds naturally throughout the course of a game, and what opportunities unfold with what they’re doing and what we’re doing,” he said.
With Tre White still rehabbing his knee, the Bills' No. 1 pick this season, Kaiir Elam, is listed as the starting cornerback opposite third-year corner Dane Jackson. Elam will get plenty of time, as will another rookie, Christian Bedford. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier thinks both can handle the job.
“They both had good training camps, and we’ll mix it up in the ballgame and see how things are going as the game goes on,” said Frazier ahead of Monday's practice.
Elam and Bedford won't be alone out there on the field, as Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde bring plenty of experience to the game.
“It’s a positive to have two All-Pro safeties on the back end when you’re going to be playing a rookie corner," Frazier said. "It kind of calms the waters a little bit, and in some ways, they can give that young corner protection to where they feel like they’re not out there alone.”
One of the reasons the Rams were champions last season is they had probably the best receiver in the NFL in Cooper Kupp. Matthew Stafford has a knack for making plays down the field, and Frazier recognizes that his defense has to limit that.
“They’ve had a lot of success with the pass and getting those explosive plays," Frazier said.
“Stafford can make those deep ball, accurate throws, and we’ve seen that on tape time-and-time again. That’s one of our goals is to try to minimize their chances of making big plays down the field.”
Frazier says Poyer is doing well from his elbow injury and looked good in Sunday's practice.
Of course, there’s a lot of excitement at One Bills Drive with the season about to start. Dorsey put it in perspective.
“In training camp, it feels like, ‘Is the season ever going to get here?’ It’s just so far away, and it takes so long for a season to get here. Then all of a sudden, you’re in game week and it goes by pretty fast,” Dorsey said.
At least for the Bills, that first game is coming quicker since it opens the NFL season on Thursday night.
