Giants Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka Growing into Play-caller Role

First-time play-caller Mike Kafka continues to spread his wings in Giants' system.

New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka felt right at home up in the box during the Giants' first preseason game against the New England Patriots, a sharp difference from his days in Kansas City, where, as quarterbacks coach, he roamed the sidelines.

"I was on the sideline for a few years in Kansas City. I was up in the booth, though, for my first couple (of years). It was cool; it was good to be back up there. You get a wide view angle of the entire game. You can see the picture a little bit differently."

One of the most significant logistical issues when the offensive coordinator is upstairs in the press box is making sure the communication down to the field is handled well. In their first trial run, Kafka thought everything went as well as it could.

"I thought it went smoothly. I thought the staff and players did a great job communicating. They were concise in what they saw. I think we made good adjustments throughout the game and went with the game's flow. I thought our guys adjusted well."

Kafka's starting quarterback Daniel Jones also thought the communication was good between him and Kafka in the booth. It was the first time in his career that he did not have the play caller on the sidelines with him.

"I thought it was smooth. We communicated through the game, and obviously, he's communicating with the coaches on the sideline, and everyone's talking. So, I thought it went well, and operation I thought we were good in and out of the huddle and lining up running plays and executing, so I thought it went pretty well."

Both Jones and Tyrod Taylor looked comfortable during their time on the field in that first preseason game. It is something that Kafka, head coach Brian Daboll, and the entire offensive staff have made a priority since taking over, and you can see the results, so far, have been positive.

"When you evaluate our offense, we’re always trying to find out where the strengths of our players are and also evaluate what the weaknesses are of our players. You want to build on their strengths and limit as many times as they are in an unfavorable matchup or situation or play. 

"We try, and as a staff, we do a good job of working a lot of – how can we put this person in the best possible spot to be successful, whether it’s adding a motion, adding a shift, or putting them in a different alignment. We stress that a lot with the offense."

Practice for those quarterbacks has been structured to mimic game situations, undoubtedly to increase their comfort level within this new offense faster. Kafka talked about the importance of performing at game speed.

"When we’re practicing, from a mentality standpoint from the quarterback position, you’re playing to practice like it’s a game. You’re trying to play it full speed. If a play breaks down, we’re practicing and preaching, ‘Hey, get in scramble mode.’ Those are all the fundamental things we preach so absolutely," he said.

"We want the quarterback playing it like a game. We want the receivers, running backs, and o-line doing their jobs like a game so that the speed is consistent for the queue and that the speed is consistent for what we expect for that play."

One of the big topics during training camp has been what this offense would look like with two coaches coming from two of the most effective offenses in the NFL. Kafka discussed blending the offense that Daboll brought with him from Buffalo with elements of the offense he was a part of in Kansas City and catering to the Giants' strengths.

"I think that’s what we’re working on right now. I think we’re taking every day, one day at a time. Working on what we are going to do with our players. Put them in the best spot," Kafka said.

"Again, continue to evaluate how these guys fit within that offense, and then we got to be flexible as a staff to understand – alright, this might not be the best look or the best spot for this player, who is the best person for that spot? Who is the best person to put on this route or this concept or this run scheme? It’s spread out throughout the entire offense."

And while Kafka acknowledges that it is still a work in progress to build an identity as a Giants offense instead of being recognized as a bastardized version of what they did in Kansas City and Buffalo, he knows that it takes time and patience to create an identity.

"I don’t think there’s a timetable on that. I think we have to work through that. Every day, we are working on it. I think when we get to Week 1 down the road, that’s when I think you want to be peaking as an offense, peaking as a team, and all that. We are taking it a day at a time," Kafka said.

"We’re still working through with our players, being patient with them. Understand that we still have a lot of work to do. We did some good things in the preseason, but that’s in the past. We have to learn from all that. We have to build on top of that as an offense. We’re continuing to work every single day."

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