Dorsey blames 'execution' in struggles vs. Titans

NASHVILLE -- Browns quarterback Ken Dorsey received early Christmas presents from his defense with three takeaways in his first start in more than three years, but like his two predecessors this season, he wasn't able to make the most of them.

Dorsey and his struggling crew scored six points off those turnovers, on two field goals. They extended their streak to three games without a touchdown, the first time that's happened since October of 2000.

"It's definitely frustrating, because you want to go out and execute and make plays," said Dorsey, who fell to 2-9 in his career as a starter. "The defense is doing a great job of getting turnovers, and I think a lot of it was my execution."

Dorsey blamed himself for missed opportunities during Sunday's 28-9 loss to the Titans, especially after the defense gave him the ball three times inside Tennessee territory, including twice inside the 26. Specifically, he lamented not being able to get the ball to Braylon Edwards after those takeaways.

After the third one, D'Qwell Jackson's second pick of the day, Dorsey failed to connect with Edwards on four passes, including two deep balls. One was overthrown and one was caught out of bounds. The Browns settled for a field goal that made it 21-9 early in the fourth.

"When you have a guy like Braylon Edwards and the receivers we have, you just have to give them chances to make plays," said Dorsey. "That was a frustrating thing for me in the red zone. I had Braylon one-on-one a couple of times. You have to give him a chance. He's a special kind of player."

Edwards, asked about the missed chances, said "you can answer that for yourself."

Dorsey was handed the ball once at the Titans 25 in the first quarter after Jackson's first interception and moved it only two yards before Dawson kicked a 41-yard field goal. In the third quarter, trailing 21-6, he started at the Titans 26 after Eric Wright's fumble recovery, but couldn't budge the offense before Dawson missed from 44 yards.

"If I had an answer, it wouldn't happen anymore," said receiver Donte Stallworth. "It hurts, because it can really deflate the other team when you get a quick score off a takeaway."

The problem can't be blamed on Dorsey's rustiness. In the past four games, the defense has gotten 12 takeaways and watched them fizzle into 18 points on six field goals.

"It makes it seem like we're not doing our job and we take it to heart," said Josh Cribbs.

Dorsey, under heavy pressure from the Titans' formidable front, completed 22 of 43 attempts for 150 yards, with one interception. The pick, on a deep ball for Edwards in the third quarter, led to a Titans' TD two plays later.

"There were times I moved through reads efficiently and made the right choices," he said. "There were times I went through too quickly and missed some things. Naturally, the interception is one I'd like to have back. It was the right choice, but just the execution [was faulty]."

Dorsey, who got the ball only three times to Edwards and once to Stallworth, was hit hard after the throw 11 times, but sacked only once.

"Ken kept the fight up," said Cribbs. "He got back up after all those hard hits. But we're down to our third-string quarterback and we played a good football team. They got the best of us."

Dorsey complimented the line, which held off premier tackle Albert Haynesworth.

"I'm really proud of the guys up front," said Dorsey. "They were out there battling and doing everything they could to keep them off me."
Crennel said Dorsey "kept fighting but their rush was pretty effective. They had hands in his face. They were knocking balls down. He wasn't able to deliver the ball downfield consistently."

For an encore, Dorsey will play in Philadelphia on Monday Night Football next week.

"I expect to go out and learn from this week," he said. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to hold up my end of the bargain for this team."

(blog.cleveland.com)