Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka
October 25, 2024
Q: What do you attribute to the offensive struggles of the past few weeks?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I think it's a combination of fundamentals, techniques, losing some things at the point of attack, some one-on-one matchups and then we just got to keep on working all our guys. There's guys that are stepping into different roles and making sure they're in the right spots.
Q: Did you spend some of time with (Steelers quarterback) Russell Willson when he came through the building this offseason?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I did spend a little bit of time with him during that process.
Q: How was that?
MIKE KAFKA: I mean I've known him for a while now. A former Big Ten guy. And obviously following his career in Seattle, he was very productive and a Super Bowl winning quarterback. So again, I've known him for a while.
Q: How do you block (Steelers linebacker) T.J. Watt?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, that's a good question. I think that's a challenge that everyone's had. It's a challenge that we've certainly talked about as a staff and our guys are fully aware of where he's going to be on every play and you’ve just got to have a plan, build that into your plan, build that into the schemes that you want to present in both the run game and the pass game. T.J. is one, they got (Steelers defensive tackle Cameron) Heyward on the other side, (Steelers linebacker Alex) Highsmith, they got a bunch of guys on the front and really at every level they have a playmaker. So, we got to make sure we we're very convicted in what we want to do schematically and then go out there and execute.
Q: When you played quarterback and you get taken out of the game, when you go back in the next time, is that a challenge? Is there a different mental process you go through as a QB to prepare yourself after that disappointment?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I've certainly had that experience as a young quarterback in college. I think for me personally, it motivated me to be better. Motivated me to do whatever I can to help the team and whenever I got my chance back, to take advantage of those opportunities.
Q: How do you move forward without thinking in the back of your head, ‘hey, I'm on a short leash now, I have to make sure I don't make a mistake, otherwise I'll be on the bench again’?
MIKE KAFKA: I'd say that every person handles those things differently. I know when I was in that situation as a player, I just went right back to work. Went back to my principles and how I attack it, studying, prepping, trying to find things that I can improve on and then trying to find a way to help the team, whether it's as a starter or a backup. That's how I handle it.
Q: What did you say to (quarterback) Daniel (Jones)?
MIKE KAFKA: Well, we had talks obviously after the game. We talk about it with all our players and what we can do better and any of those meetings are just going to be private between us and how we handle it.
Q: I was just wondering did you give him similar advice to say, ‘'hey, this is how I handle it’?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I mean all those discussions on how we handle things are all kind of kept in house and like I said, everybody handles them differently and so however Daniel handled that, I'm sure he's going to handle it like a pro like he always does.
Q: What do you think makes (quarterback) Drew (Lock) a good backup?
MIKE KAFKA: Drew obviously, he's done it. He's played quarterback in this league. Drew's had a bunch of starts and he started as a young player, was able to come in and be productive. We see it on tape and then we see it in practice, how he performs in practice. So, he's done a nice job.
Q: From an outside perspective, it'd be hard for anybody to look at what you guys are doing and say that you have confidence in (tackle) Evan Neal because it seems like anything could not put Evan Neal on the field. So, you've seen him and (Offensive Line Coach Carmen) Bricillo, obviously he’s working with him, you've seen him in the past two years. Do you see a guy who's getting better?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, we do because we see it in practice, and he got back coming off the injury and all that and kind of get back into the flow of things. We see it in practice; we see it in individuals and we watch those things and try to detail up whatever we can to help him improve.
Q: How confident are you if he has to get on the field?
MIKE KAFKA: I'm confident. I'm confident in Evan. Yeah, absolutely.
Q: There is seemingly an opportunity here with the injuries that have happened. Is it one of those things where like you said, I guess you're confident in him, but how much has he kind of progressed since the injury, since he's been back in practice?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, each day he's continued to get a little bit better each day. I think that's what we're looking for, just consistent improvement, whether it's his feet, his set, staying square, the punch, the finish, downfield with the run block and stuff. All of it, just like core fundamentals that we talk about.
Q: (Wide receiver Malik) Nabers said after the game that he was open quite a bit during the game. I think Dabs even agreed with him that he was open quite a bit. When you're Daniel and you're feeling as much pressure as he was feeling in that game, how have you married those two things together? If he's open, can you just get in the ball real quick or because the pressure is coming, it's hard even if a guy is open?
MIKE KAFKA: I don't want to speak for Daniel on this, but I think…
Q: I'm just saying from your experience, quarterbacking and calling plays.
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah. I think everyone when you look at the offense, it's not just one person, it's an 11-man operation. I can't stress that enough. And so, everyone's got to be on the same page, downfield, each position group, the O-line, the protection, the routes, the depth of the routes, all those types of things. And so, it's got to be so precise for things to happen and work out. And so, we just got to continue to improve those things.
