Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka
Q: (Head Coach) Dabs (Brian Daboll) has talked about wanting to get (quarterback) Daniel (Jones) into this week's preseason game. What are you looking for from him? Obviously he's coming off a big injury, but is it more just getting him experience back in games or is it looking for a specific thing in regards to performance?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, that's the plan. I think just getting Daniel (Jones) in the mix with all 11 guys and the groupings and kind of that first group in there just to get a feel for everybody, whether it's the offensive line, the receivers, and just continue to work together. We have worked well all camp, and so this is just another opportunity in the preseason to get it with live bullets.
Q: As a former quarterback, what are the challenges to a guy getting back in there in a real game for the first time in a while? Is it just speed, is it intensity, is it the first hit, the vision, what is it?
MIKE KAFKA: Well, DJ (Daniel Jones) specifically, he's played a lot of football. He's a veteran guy, so it's nothing about that part of it. It's more just the group, our offense kind of getting together and working together, communicating all the things that we've been stressing all offseason.
Q: What have you seen from him out here? To us, he looks good, you know more about it. What is your impression of what you've seen?
MIKE KAFKA: He's doing a great job. He's doing a great job. Each day he's just getting a little bit better. I think those are things that we've talked about, whether it's his footwork, whether it's his progression, whether it's just communicating with the offensive line and kind of getting that feedback as well. He's part of it. He's one-eleventh of that group, but he's a big part of that, and I think he's doing a really nice job.
Q: The accuracy is something, my impression, early in camp maybe you see more inaccurate throws than usual. Is that something maybe you have to get confidence in your leg or you're working on things there, or is that just early in camp that that kind of happens?
MIKE KAFKA: I don't have the exact numbers of what the beginning of camp was versus the end of camp, but I think it's just a lot of getting used to the timing of the guys that are on the field, tying in your feet and tying in the protection. There's a lot of things that kind of go into it, and from a fundamental standpoint, whether it's receiver route depth, the area or space in the field where they've got to attack, whether it's the offensive line, whether there's push or there's not push, it's the footwork of the quarterback, what type of drop are you taking, three-step drop, a quick three, a big three. All those things have to tie in and match up for a pass to be effective. So, we stress it. We look at it. We evaluate it. We talk about those things in depth. And whenever we can improve on those things, we try to enact on it, and then we work on it in individual, in a group setting and then in a team setting. It's a nonstop process to get those type of plays off, and those are things that we talk about on every single play, whether it's a run, pass, play action, screen, all those details are just super important.
Q: You seem to be working with (tight end) Theo Johnson getting involved more. Talk about his progress and how he's starting to grasp what you're looking to do…
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, Theo (Johnson) is a rookie, and he's right on schedule with where he's at in his development. He was one of those guys that kind of started a little bit later in training camp, just getting back from the injury. But he's doing a really nice job. I'm happy. I'm excited about him. Going to keep inserting him into the offense and continue to find ways to get him involved.
Q: Along those lines, (tight end Darren) Waller obviously isn't here anymore. What strides would you like (tight end Daniel) Bellinger to make in year three?
MIKE KAFKA: So, Belly (Daniel Bellinger) is one of those kind of guys that kind of does it all in the pass game, in the run game. He's continuing to develop and grow. He's getting stronger. You saw that leap from year one to year two, and you can see his confidence in year three of just being in the same system for three years. That's going to pay dividends for him. I'm excited about him because he's one of those guys that I see and I visualize as a leader of that group. So, whether he's on the field or he's off the field, he's one of those great teammates that you can rely on.
Q: Does (running back) Eric Gray look like he's a different football player than a year ago?
MIKE KAFKA: He does. He does. As a young player, as a rookie, you're trying to find your way. This is kind of the process that a lot of young players go through, and some are faster than others. But Eric (Gray) is having a good camp. He's certainly really confident right now in his running, his pass-pro(taction), his routes, and that was an aspect of his game that we saw at Oklahoma when we drafted him. So he's going to continue to grow and continue to develop, and he's a bright young player that we're excited about.
Q: When you were in Kansas City, you obviously had a number one receiver, game-breaking type player. What does that do for an offense, and how does that challenge you when you have a guy like that?
MIKE KAFKA: Anytime you can get those matchups. That's what this league's about, is getting the right matchups: one of your better players on one of their lesser players. Wherever you can formulate that and really the position you're talking about receiver, it could be a tight end, it could be a running back, it could be a formation that creates those mismatches. That's what this game's about. That's what this league's about. It's a personnel league. And then, as coaches, you look at those players and you put them in the spots, and then you create the seams and you get creative with how you can get those guys the football.
Q: How intrigued are you to see (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) possibly get an opportunity to go up against a guy like (cornerback) Sauce Gardner next week and kind of give him that experience or see how he kind of stacks up in that regard?
MIKE KAFKA: I mean, that's kind of a little bit further in the future here, but we're excited about, you know, Houston. They've got a talented group. (Cornerback Derek) Stingley is one of those premier corners that we've got to look at, and I think it'll be a good matchup all around. They're a really good defense with a lot of production.
Q: There used to be a school of thought that it was hard for rookie wide receivers to come in and make a big impact, the change from college to NFL. Not necessarily about Malik (Nabers) now, but in general, do you think it is easier for these young guys to make the transition, and if so, why?
MIKE KAFKA: I don't know if I would say it's easier. I would just say each player has their own way of growing within that team, within that system, because there's a lot of factors that go into it. I really believe in our development plan with (Head Coach) Dabs (Brian Daboll), myself, and then the receiver group, (Wide Receivers) Coach (Mike) Groh and (Offensive Assistant/Game Manager) Cade (Knox). Those guys do a great job of really breaking it down for the young players to make sure they understand the rules, their assignments, and they can go and execute them. That's probably as important as anything when you look at each team and each young player. You've got to see how that development plan is built up.
Q: People attack the running back in the run game differently around the league now. You see different teams want to take different approaches. For you and what you guys have now, the advantages you look for at receiver, can you look for those advantages with different styles in a run game situation where you have these guys who seemingly all bring something different to the table?
MIKE KAFKA: As far as a scheme or for a player?
Q: Yeah, well, a scheme and player. Just the idea of how it matches up on a week-to-week basis. It's a lot different than maybe what you had last year in terms of having that one player who you knew was really going to be the bell cow…
MIKE KAFKA: I think, as we've grown as an offense from year one to year two, in year one we were kind of working through that with the people we had on offense. Year two, kind of similar, right? And then we had to deal with some injuries. So we've been able to kind of work through it as a staff, things that we really like and we can get to quickly. So going into year three, we feel confident enough to continue to add things to guys' plates as they're more familiar with the offense, find things in the defense that we can get to and understand a little bit more about our players and what their strengths are and get to those things faster.
Q: I don't know how good your crystal ball is, but how long will it take (center) JMS (John Michael Schmitz Jr.) and (tackle) Evan (Neal) to ramp up to getting into the game?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I'd probably lean on (Head Coach) Dabs (Brian Daboll) on the actual timeline of that, but I know they're working their tail off in the training room and they want to be out there.
Q: With (guard Jon) Runyan now being on that left side, next to (tackle) Andrew Thomas, from an offensive standpoint, does that change or maybe lean one way when you need to go get three yards? 'Those might be our two best offensive linemen, let's try to lean on them and run behind them? How do you view that?
MIKE KAFKA: That's a good question. Yeah, you definitely have to take that into account when you're building the plan. But if you want to be multiple, you can't just do that every snap. You think about it, you certainly talk about what schemes do our players handle the best, whether it's a double team on the left side, whether it's a gap scheme on the right side, for example. Those are things that we talk about a lot and if you need to get to that, in game, then we can. It's all about just understanding our players' strengths and weaknesses.
