Tag: mike kafka

Parris Campbell on vanishing New York Giants role: ‘It’s not easy’

The New York Giants signed wide receiver Parris Campbell to a one-year, $4.7 million this offseason with hopes that he’d help stabilize the position.

Over the first four games of the season, Campbell was targeted 24 times before seeing a sudden reduction in snaps. The team moved him to kick returner and then, suddenly and without warning, the veteran had his role eliminated entirely.

Campbell has been a healthy scratch over the past two weeks, something that has left him perplexed.

“It’s not easy, but it’s the nature of the business,” Campbell told the New York Post. “The cliché thing to say is, ‘You know what you’re getting when you sign up,’ which is true. But there’s always things you never thought you’d be doing — and being inactive and not playing is definitely something I never thought would be happening.”

After battling injuries over the early part of his career, Campbell strung together a healthy campaign in 2022. That helped get him signed as a free agent and he assumed that health in 2023 would mean a notable offensive role but it hasn’t.

“I know I have a lot of football ahead of me,” he said. “This is basically two healthy years back-to-back underneath my belt.”

The Giants have gone with the youth movement at wide receiver, leaving behind guys like Campbell and Sterling Shepard, who could be headed toward retirement.

Despite that, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka continues to insist that Campbell is a viable weapon — just one that the team, which struggles mightily on offenses, chooses to leave docked at the marina.

“Parris is a pro,” Kafka told reporters this week. “He works his butt off, he studies, he preps, he is great for the room. It was just other guys are playing right now. I think when his time is called, he’ll step up.”

Campbell remains optimistic because he recognizes that many athletes dream of being in his position. Still, he has more to offer and that’s the frustrating part for him.

“When I came here, did I think things would be different? Of course,” he said, acknowledging that he will be a free agent again in a few months. “But this is a team sport. I would love to be the one getting the ball — I’m a competitor — but that’s not the situation that I’m in right now. Who would I be not to help these young guys out? I’m still having fun with the guys and then when we hit the field, if I see something they can do differently, I’m going to say it. That’s the role I’ve had to take on.

“Everything happens for a reason. I’m big on that. That’s always going to be the answer for me, whether things are going good or going bad.”

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New York Giants preparing for new-look Philadelphia Eagles defense

The New York Giants will be the first team to test out the new-look Philadelphia Eagles defense when the two teams meet on Christmas Day down in the City of Brotherly Love.

The Eagles made a change in leadership on the defensive side of the ball by demoting coordinator Sean Desai and placing him with Matt Patricia as the defensive playcaller.

Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka — whose unit has averaged a paltry 15 points per game in their three meetings with Philly — draws the short straw in Week 16.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll knows Patricia well from their time in New England and Kafka spoke about the internal conversations regarding the Eagles’ switch in defensive play calling.

“I think Dabs touched on it a little bit yesterday but with Patricia now calling it and Sean (Desai) over the first half of the season, there’s some similarities, a lot of similarities,” Kafka said.

“Obviously, the personnel there, it stays consistent. Coach Patricia — I think there was a couple things that might have felt a little bit different, now into the second week, probably could anticipate a little bit more of things kind of being changed up. We’ve got to be ready for everything. Going to prep through — go through our schemes, go through our personnel groupings, and make sure we’re tied up there.”

The Giants are approaching it like they would any other situation they would encounter with any other opponent.

“You try to gather as much data as you can from this last week and see if there’s any tendencies there and then look at kind of the scope of the season and see where things have kind of been played through as well,” Kafka said,

“Again, when you have a new play caller, there’s a little bit of unknown and that’s okay, but we prepare our guys the best we can and get them ready for Monday.”

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How we graded Big Blue in Week 15 loss

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Outside of the opening drive, the Giants offense looked abysmal on Sunday.

After a couple of games of solid offensive play, the Giants came back down to earth and had their fifth game of the season without an offensive touchdown. The same issues that have plagued the team all season reared its ugly head again.

It all starts with the offensive, line which allowed seven sacks, and Saquon Barkley to average only 1.4 yards per carry. This has been a problem all season and the Giants were able to temporarily plug the hole last week (zero sacks) but the water broke loose yet again in Week 15.

The rest of the team did not play well as Tommy DeVito was the leading rusher with only 36 yards. Removing the rushing game from the offense left DeVito to have to sling the ball, and the combination of poor offensive line play, lack of receiver separation, and a string of drops did him in.

It’s clear the last few weeks were a fluke and this offense does not have what it takes. The only positive was that the offense did not turn over the ball.

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Could New York Giants part with all three coordinators this offseason?

The New York Giants are almost certain to undergo some changes after their 4-8 start to this season which is surely leading to the Giants drafting in the top-10 at the NFL draft next April.

Head coach Brian Daboll seems secure (for now) but his coordinators may be in trouble. The rift in the relationship between Daboll and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is well-documented and surely headed for a parting of ways.

However, Dan Duggan of The Athletic believes that isn’t as obvious as it may appear.

Daboll would definitely chip away at his public support if he cut ties with the popular Martindale. And it would be a tough look for Daboll’s leadership ability if he has to replace all three coordinators, especially if the departures of Martindale (and others) are personality-related. That’s why I think ownership will try to mediate the relationship with Martindale, unless it’s past the point of no return, which is what Jay Glazer’s report indicated.

The Giants’ offense has been putrid this season and ranks among the worst in the franchise’s 99-year history. Coordinator Mike Kafka, who was a hot commodity after last season on the NFL head coaching carousel,  could be out fielding job offers once again come this January.

Duggan believes the Giants could replace Kakfa with quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney, a close Daboll ally.

It would be scapegoating offensive coordinator Mike Kafka to fire him since head coach Brian Daboll is so heavily involved in the offense. But it wasn’t a good sign for Kafka that Daboll took a more hands-on role with the offense midway through the season, which came after speculation about the head coach taking over play-calling in the second half of the Week 2 comeback win over the Cardinals. It’s not hard to imagine Daboll taking the reins of the offense as he enters a pivotal third season.

Finally, this could be the final season for special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey as the Giants’ quality of play on specials has dropped dramatically this season.

Special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey’s days are numbered. He has spent 10 years with the Giants over two stints, with his current run beginning in 2018. Surviving two coaching changes is an impressive feat, and it speaks to the regard top brass has for him…But the writing has been on the wall for McGaughey, as his units have been involved in too many disastrous plays this season.

The Giants will likely make changes to at least two of the three units as they continue to search for the right combination for success.

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Giants vs. Patriots: 5 things to know about Week 12

The New York Giants (3-8) play host to the New England Patriots (2-8) this Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium in a Week 12 matchup between two of the league’s most storied franchises.

Here are five things to know before kickoff on Sunday.

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New York Giants’ Mike Kafka praises Tommy DeVito’s weekly improvements

The New York Giants will start undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito at quarterback when they hit the field at AT&T Stadium this Sunday in Dallas versus the heavily favored Cowboys.

DeVito has taken the majority of the snaps at quarterback over the last two games after Tyrod Taylor and Daniel Jones went down to injury but has yet to start an NFL game. Sunday will be his first.

On Thursday, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka appeared to be content with handing the reins over to DeVito, who has been with the team since May.

“Tommy’s continued to grow every single day that he’s been here from rookie camp. Just learning the offense and understanding how to be a pro and doing all the little things, all the things that work into that,” he said. “Whether it’s studying, preparation, being in the huddle with the guys, being a leader and a teammate and then understanding what the NFL game is about and how much detail that goes into that

“I think he’s really honed in on that. Each week, you look his notes and it’s just like getting better and better every single day, so that’s probably the biggest thing.”

The Giants have been reluctant to allow DeVito to throw the football downfield. After all, he only began to take first-team reps this week. We’ll see on Sunday how much Kafka trusts DeVito, but by the way he spoke, he could be there already.

“He approaches the position with confidence, and obviously when you’re playing quarterback, you want to have that confidence, you want to have that demeanor when you walk into the huddle,” Kafka said. “I think he has that. It’s something that looks like he’s had his whole life. He’s a confident kid, not just on the field but also off the field, too. He brings an energy with him that kind of permeates throughout the room.”

DeVito isn’t going to change the course of history here — if the Giants end up at the top of the NFL draft order, they will likely draft a quarterback — but if he can play well, at least the Giants know they have another NFL-level quarterback in the building.

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Mike Kafka feels Giants offense has taken ‘step in the right direction’

The New York Giants’ offense has only scored 33 points over their past four games and haven’t scored a touchdown since their 30-12 loss against the 49ers in Santa Clara in Week 3.

The offensive line jockeying due to multiple injuries has had a lot to do with the team’s poor performance, as well as the injuries to star running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones.

Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, speaking to the media gaggle on Thursday, was asked what he thought the reason was why the Giants haven’t scored an offensive touchdown in 205 minutes.

“That’s a part of emphasis for us, we need to work to improve that,” he said. “It’s really everything. You look at our fundamentals, our techniques, look at some of the drives that we’re running there. What’s stopping us from getting points? Is it penalties? Is it execution? Is it play calling? So, you evaluate that.

“I’m really critical of myself on all those things, too. We practice it, we talk about it, we had some opportunities. We had five opportunities down there; we weren’t able to get into the endzone, but I think it’s a step in the right direction. We got some opportunities, now we’ve got to capitalize on them. That’s what we’re doing today in practice.”

The Giants scored nine points in their loss to the Bills and went 0-5 in the red zone under the direction of backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who allowed the clock the run out without putting up any points deep in Buffalo territory at the end of the first half.

Apparently, Taylor called an audible for a running play with 13 seconds remaining. Barkley was stopped short of the goal line and the Giants couldn’t stop the clock as they watched time run out.

“I just think at the end of the day — there was communication at the end of the day. I’ve just got to do a better job of making sure that it’s crystal clear. We’ll go out there and execute it better the next time,” Kafka said. “It just kind of goes back to coach-to-quarterback communication. I’ve got to do a better job there.”

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New York Giants’ Mike Kafka preparing for dangerous Bills pass rush

The New York Giants will have their hands full this Sunday night when the latest makeshift version of their offensive line attempts to stop the fierce pass rush of the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills lead the NFL in sacks and are averaging 4.2 per game. The Giants have had major issues protecting the passer this season. They are allowing a league-high 6.0 sacks per game.

Left tackle Andrew Thomas (hamstring) and center John Michael Schmitz (shoulder) have not practiced again this week and are unlikely to play. Right tackle Evan Neal (ankle) and guards Marcus McKethan (knee) and Shane Lemieux (groin) were limited on Thursday.

Get ready for another game of backups and practice squad players filling in. Against this Bills pass rush, that is a scary thought.

Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka is left to make lemonade (a very weak one) out of the lemons he’s been left along the line. He’s basically out of ideas at this point.

“Our process hasn’t changed; we are looking to improve on those certain fundamentals and techniques and schemes, and I think that’s part of our process is continuing to improve on the things that we haven’t done as well and continuing to build on the things that we have done well,” Kafka told reporters on Thursday.

Uh, okay. Kafka did address the Bills’ defense without revealing who he might put out there Sunday night to block them.

“They are a talented defense, have some familiarity there playing them in the past,” he said. “They get after the football, they run, they tackle, they’ve had a lot of production in the pass game and the run game, so we are going to make sure we prep it and study and make sure that we are prepared to go.”

Kafka was asked what he thought the offense did well recently.

“I think one of the things that we improved on from last week was the turnovers,” he said. “That certainly showed up early in the season, so last week we were able to minimize that and improve and to me, that’s a step in the right direction and so we will continue to try and build on that this week.”

Fact check: the Giants had a minus -8 turnover ratio the first four games but were +3 last week in their game versus Miami.

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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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New York Giants’ Darius Slayton says Mike Kafka is still calling plays

Who is calling plays for the New York Giants? Is it head coach Brian Daboll or is it offensive coordinator Mike Kafka?

That question arose after the team’s comeback victory against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2 when their offense completely changed after halftime. Some argued that Daboll must have assumed the play-calling duties.

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Despite the theories, Daboll insists that nothing changed and that Kafka was still calling the plays.

“Nope,” Daboll said bluntly when asked if he called plays in Week 2. “We always communicate like that. I always have a sheet with me. But Mike (Kafka) did a fantastic job. I communicate with Mike, I communicate with (Thomas McGaughey), I communicate with Wink (Martindale). So the offensive staff did a great job. Moved the ball, scored points. Did their job.”

Quarterback Daniel Jones also confirmed the plays were still coming in from Kafka but that hasn’t slowed the debate. Even as the Giants fell to the San Francisco 49ers, 30-12, on Thursday night, the theories persisted.

On Friday, during an appearance on Up & Adams, wide receiver Darius Slayton was asked about the speculation and who is currently calling plays on offense.

“DJ’s got the mic in his helmet. I don’t know who’s talking to him but as far as I know, Kafka calls the plays and always has called the plays,” Slayton said. “To the extent of my knowledge, he’s still currently calling the plays.

“Obviously, you see the stuff people say and the rumors and all of that but, at the end of the day, to my knowledge, I know Kaf calls the plays.”

Daboll has said it, Jones has said and now Slayton is saying it, but people are still going to question who’s calling plays. Kafka will have the opportunity to address the rumors next week during his press conference.



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