Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka
Q: We saw (quarterback Tommy) DeVito throw more passes in the preseason games. How come you guys limited him so much in the Jets game?
A: I'd say the way the game kind of declared itself. You know, it's kind of the way it went with the run game focus. I think that was a big part of our gameplan.
Q: So, if it was a different score or a different opponent, he might have been trusted to do a little bit more?
A: I think every game is different and that game specifically, I think that's just the way it kind of declared so we went that route.
Q: Do you look at him as the number two quarterback this week or could (quarterback Matt) Barkley actually catch him?
A: Right now, yes, he's the number two.
Q: What gives you confidence in him as your backup quarterback at this point?
A: I think he's had a great spring, great camp, has had a great start to the season right now working on the scout team. He does everything in the meeting rooms, he's a great dude, great teammate, so yeah, ton of confidence in Tommy.
Q: What have you seen since (quarterback) Daniel (Jones) returning?
A: Daniel put in a nice day of work yesterday and looking to build on that. Daniel's right back in the mix of it and leading and doing all the things that he needs to do.
Q: How's (quarterback) Tyrod (Taylor)?
A: You'd have to ask Tyrod how he's feeling but he looks great. He's in around the guys, just like he always is, upbeat and energetic but as to exactly, you'd have to ask him.
Q: With Daniel off a neck injury, do you have to handle that little differently or are you willing to use designed runs or do you have to be a little bit more careful of going back to that?
A: You're certainly aware of it. You're certainly aware of the previous injury, but you've got to make sure we talk about that as a staff and in the gameplan and see how we want to handle that.
Q: The last time you had Daniel and (running back) Saquon (Barkley) healthy together on the field was the end of the Arizona game, right? So that worked out pretty well. Do you think they can recapture that right away?
A: That's, I think, part of the process this week is getting everyone in the mix, getting everyone working on the same page and putting together a good week of practice.
Q: Can you open up the playbook more with Daniel back?
A: I think just for the gameplan, we want to make sure that we're putting our guys in the best spots to be successful for what we have personnel grouping wise and then what the defense is presenting themself with. Every week we're going through that process to make sure we put the best guys in the best situations and going through each of the schemes, short game, drop back game, the deep game, the run game, all those things we kind of account for.
Q: You were a backup quarterback, so you didn't play regularly all the time, right? Daniel's been on the sideline for about a month, do you expect a little bit of an adjustment period there in the first part of the game?
A: I don't think so. I think Daniel's jumped right in and, as I said, he put together a really good day yesterday and so he's just looking to build on that and just take it each day as today is the most important day for him, so if we have that mindset, I think that'll work out for us in the end.
Q: Do you think it's natural to have a little of that rust –
A: I think he's excited. I think he's excited to be out there; I think he's excited to get back to work with the players and put together a good day today.
Q: People remember (Raiders Interim Head Coach) Antonio Pierce from here, obviously. What do you expect going out there with him running the show now?
A: We're prepping like we would any week, so we're watching the tape and trying to put together the best plan that we can. Obviously, things like that happen that you want to try and maybe look back and see if there's some things that you can lean on but for the most part we're going through our process and trying to put together the best plan we can.
Q: How much does it hurt if (tight end Darren) Waller's out?
A: Well, it's part of the game. We went through it with a couple different position groups and so next man up, next guy has got to come up and as a coaching staff, put together the best plan to put our players in the best position to be successful.
Q: What can (tight end Lawrence) Cager give you? How do you view the contributions that he can give you? We've seen him kind of bounce back and forth this season.
A: Cager's done a great job. He's a really athletic kid, he can stretch the field, he can run after the catch, you've seen him do that all camp and all preseason. I think he does a great job in the room there and (Tight Ends) Coach (Andy) Bischoff does a great job of getting him tuned into the run game. Him and (tight end Daniel Bellinger) Belly being out there at the same time and whether he's out there solo or together, I think he does a great job of just understanding where he fits in in the plan.
Q: Does Waller's injury affect Bellinger? Because they play different roles in the offense.
A: Sorry, say that again.
Q: Since Waller's not there, does that affect Bellinger? Or does Bellinger keep doing Bellinger things?
A: Bellinger has a role and again, each role kind of depends on the week or what we're going to see defensively. So, Bellinger's role may be bigger or less depending on what we think we're going to see.
