Giants’ Mike Kafka taking ‘next man up’ mentality as injuries mount

The New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka has gone from potential NFL head coaching candidate this offseason to one that has to be looking over his shoulder.

Not that Kafka’s job is in jeopardy, but his offense has been the worst-performing in the league over the first four weeks of this young NFL season.

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One of the reasons Kakfa is on the hot seat has been the performance of the offensive line, which allowed 11 total sacks on Monday night and has caused him to scale down any type of aggressive game plan.

This week, his starting center (John Michael Schmitz), left tackle (Andrew Thomas) and backup guard Shane Lemieux have not practiced due to injuries.

The spate of injuries has left the Giants no alternative but to shuffle up the line — again — and have added former first-round pick Justin Pugh to their practice squad as a depth move. They are also holding open tryouts of free agents to see if they can catch some lightning in a bottle.

“I think right now it’s just part of being in the National Football League,” Kafka told reporters on Thursday. “There’s injuries everywhere, we have to be able to adjust and have the next man up mentality and our guys have been great. That’s why we’ve kept them all through offseason, OTA’s, training camp and building that foundation with the guys so the next guy who’s up, he’s ready to rock and roll and that’s who we give our trust into.”

Smart move, but quantity does not always ensure quality. The line is perhaps the worst-performing one in recent years, and that is saying something considering the poor play we’ve seen around here.

With another week of scrambling ahead and the powerful Miami Dolphins awaiting him in South Florida this Sunday, Kafka is resigned to making lemonade out of the lemons he’ll be left with.

“I think as a competitor you’re always looking within. I know for me, personally, I’m always looking from within. How can I do a better job? How can I do a better job when I was a player? How can I do a better job as a coach? And always be hypocritical on all those little things I can improve on,” he said.

The spirit may be willing but the flesh may not. This might get worse before it gets better. There won’t be any boos this week as they are on the road, but we likely haven’t heard the last of them.

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