Tag: mike kafka

How we graded Big Blue in Week 3 loss

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The offense was slightly underwhelming on Thursday night but expectations were low from the start.

There is not really too much to hope for when you are out two starting offensive linemen and a Pro Bowl running back facing one of the league’s most ferocious front sevens. While you hoped New York could score more than 12 points, San Francisco does have one of the best defenses in football.

However, that is not to say the offense is without blame. For starters, going 3-of-12 on third downs is almost never going to be conducive to playing winning football. Also, 150 total yards and 3.3 yards per play are just very bad numbers.

From a player standpoint, the loss of Saquon Barkley hurt a lot as Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell can not make up for Barkley’s high-end production. This forced the Giants to abandon the run, leaving Daniel Jones to have to make quick passes.

Jones was pretty decent passing on the day as he completed about 69 percent of his passes but only had 4.3 yards per attempt. You would have loved to see him push it down the field more but San Francisco’s pass rush is too strong for this offensive line to handle.

Jones also did not get much help from his receivers as Darren Waller underperformed, even dropping a pass that caused a nail-in-the-coffin interception.

Outside of Waller, no receiver really got too much separation and this is why Brightwell of all people was leading the team in receiving yards until late in the fourth quarter. Shoring up the offensive line needs to be a priority as the Giants can not run a creative offense without it.

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Saquon Barkley ready to carry the load after sitting out preseason

The New York Giants will open their 2023 regular season schedule on Sunday night at MetLife Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys, a team they’ve beaten just once in the past six years.

Pro Bowl Running back Saquon Barkley has been around for much of that futility and is aiming for the tide to turn back in the Giants’ direction.

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“I understand that we weren’t able to beat Dallas and Philly last year, but that was last year. It’s a whole new year,” Barkley told reporters on Wednesday. “We’ve got a great opportunity in front of us, and we’ve got to take advantage of it.

“We know how good the NFC East is and it’s important to get (off to) a fast start. That’s just how the season goes. You see how helpful it was to us last year. But it’s going to be a tough game, like I said, and I feel like we’ve got a great game plan. At the end of the day, we’ve got to go out there and execute.”

Executing could be a little tough early on for Barkley as he did not take a single snap in any of the Giants’ preseason games this summer.

“It didn’t bother me,” Barkley said of being idle this summer. “I go against Dexter (Lawrence) and Leo(nard Williams) every week in camp. They’re some of my best friends and extremely talented, but they don’t take it easy on me. So, I get a lot of contact as you guys probably saw throughout the camp.”

Mike Kafka, the Giants’ offensive coordinator, also doesn’t see rust being an issue for Barkley.

“I think Saquon’s got a good amount of work this training camp, especially being in pads as much as we were, and those guys did a tremendous job of I think getting into the flow of the game. Barkley’s a veteran guy so I don’t think it’ll take him too long to get adjusted to that,” Kafka said.

“He came in in great shape, jumped right into the mix and got caught up to all the stuff we were doing on offense, and he’s done a great job. First and foremost, he’s a captain so he’s one of those guys you look for from a leadership standpoint. He’s working, he’s setting a standard for the offense and he’s part of that group that’s doing that.”

Barkley also said that his contract issues are behind him for the moment and is still talking about being a Giant ‘for life’ — or not.

Whether or not Barkley remains a Giant beyond this year is a story for another time. Right now, he’s focused on kicking off the regular season with a win and taking one more step toward becoming an all-time franchise great.



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Mike Kafka talks Northwestern, Daniel Jones, rookies

New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was a hot name on the NFL head-coaching carousel this past winter, as he was interviewed — and seriously considered — by as many as five teams.

Kafka did not land any of the open jobs and returned to the Giants with a little more juice as he heads into his second season running the offense for head coach Brian Daboll.

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One job opening that could intrigue Kafka going forward is the one at his college alma mater, Northwestern, where head coach Pat Fitzgerald was recently fired after 17 seasons following a hazing scandal.

Kafka, a quarterback, both played and coached under Fitzgerald at Northwestern.

He opened his presser at Giants’ training camp on Thursday morning with some remarks about NU and Fitzgerald, while noting he’s “just focused on today” when asked about the head-coach vacancy there.

Of course, Kafka had to field questions regarding the development of quarterback Daniel Jones, who is entering Year 2 in the offense. He said Jones is now able to “problem-solve faster.”

Kafka also said he and Giants defensive coordinator, Wink Martindale, work together to try to make each unit better during drills.

In addition, Kakfa had positive things to say about several young players, including wide receivers Isaiah Hodgins and rookie Jalin Hyatt, and his rookie center, John Michael Schmitz, who Martindale is sending the kitchen sink at in practices.



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Mike Kafka a candidate to replace Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern?

New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was a hot name on the NFL head coaching carousel this past winter, drawing interest from the Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, and Carolina Panthers.

Kafka didn’t get any of those jobs but his time is coming and the Giants know it. After all, he is the man who contributed greatly to the success that is Patrick Mahomes and could be on the verge of making Daniel Jones a star as well.

Now Kafka could have another coaching prospect in his sights: head coach at his college alma mater, Northwestern University.

According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, Kafka is a potential candidate to replace Pat Fitzgerald, who was fired after 30 years on Monday after news of a hazing scandal broke.

The dream candidate for the school probably would be Kafka, a 35-year-old former Wildcat QB who grew up in Chicago and has risen fast up the NFL ranks. Northwestern has been terrible on offense for awhile; Kafka seems like he could fix that pretty quickly, but he’s not far from becoming an NFL head coach at this point. He interviewed for a bunch of jobs last winter, so why jump into the craziness of the college game at a place that just canned someone he learned under?

Kafka was a quarterback at Northwestern from 2005-09 and ended his career there eighth all-time in passing yards and third all-time in rushing yards for a quarterback.

In 2016, Kafka got his coaching start as a graduate assistant at Northwestern under Fitzgerald. The next year, he was hired by Andy Reid to be the Kansas City Chiefs offensive quality control coach.

From there he quickly worked his way up the ranks. After four seasons as the Chiefs’ quarterbacks coach (and eventually the passing game coordinator) counseling Mahomes, Kafka was hired by Brian Daboll to be the Giants’ offensive coordinator.

The question is, does Kakfa want the college job when there is undoubtedly an NFL opportunity on the horizon?

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Giants prepared if Mike Kafka, Wink Martindale leave

Brian Daboll did such a good job hiring Giants coordinators last offseason that he might have to do it again sooner than later. 

Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka interviewed Sunday to be the head coach of the Colts, Texans or Panthers, while defensive coordinator Wink Martindale interviewed with the Colts. Because the Giants are out of the playoffs, the stocks of Kafka and Martindale could heat up as searches become more urgent and openings get filled. Teams cannot interview coaches of the four remaining playoff teams until Jan. 30 at the earliest. 

If Martindale was to be hired, the Giants could turn to an in-house candidate in hopes of running the same blitz-heavy scheme. Outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins would be a top candidate to coordinate for his mentor Martindale unless he wants to create his own identity, and defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson is overdue an opportunity after 16 years as an assistant. 

“Being around Wink, if a player shows up, he’s going to feel like an All-Pro. Well, as a coach, if you are around Wink long enough, you feel like Bill Parcells,” Wilkins told The Post. “He inspires that confidence in everybody. So, I do feel like I’d be ready for an opportunity. But I absolutely love the Giants, and the way the Mara and Tisch families take care of your family and make this place feel like home.” 


Mike Kafka has interviewed with other teams about their head-coaching opportunities.
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The Giants are less likely to turn in-house if Kafka is hired, though Daboll’s other two finalists in last year’s search could be available: Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton could be replaced by a new head coach, and Browns wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea just interviewed for the Jets coordinator vacancy. Daboll’s influence on the playbook and game plans also helps on that side of the ball. 

“You always have to have a plan because you never know what’s going to happen if Wink gets a job, if Kafka gets a job,” Daboll said. “So, you have to go through the whole process.” 

Martindale told Daboll about Wilkins last offseason that “if it doesn’t work out with me, you need to hire this guy. He is a special talent in this league.” They spent nine seasons together on the Ravens’ staff and outside linebacker Jihad Ward, who played under Wilkins in both places, refers to Wilkins as “Wink Jr. — a good teacher who wants to see everyone win and get better.” 

“This is New York — this is where you want to be,” Wilkins said. “This is a spot I always wanted to live, and coaching at the Giants is prestigious. I probably wasn’t going to make it on Broadway, so this is my best opportunity. From a fantasy football perspective, you look at it like, ‘This guy goes there and this guy goes there,’ but there’s a very real-life element to it, all of my family truly loving it here.” 

Martindale repeatedly called Henderson “the best secondary coach in the league.” Henderson, who was retained from Joe Judge’s 2021 staff, worked with Daboll at other stops. 

“What a difference a year makes in that last year all of us in the building were wondering what was going to happen,” he said. “To be in the playoffs a year later is phenomenal.” 

What would he take from Martindale if he gets a shot to call plays? 

“Everything, hopefully,” Henderson said. “A lot of people are playing checkers and he’s playing chess.”

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