October 6, 2025 • 9 mins
Assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Kafka speaks to the media Monday from the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm curious at receiver, how stretched do you feel?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Obviously Hyatt and Collins made their mistakes yesterday, how stretched
do you feel? You know, that was the first game
without neighbors, and it looked like you guys had to
pretty much revamp the offense to go with tight ends.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Yeah. I got a lot of I got a lot
of confidence in our receiving group and coach grow and
putting those guys out there and getting them prepared for
the game. And I think based on how the game
kind of declared itself, those guys were in the mix
and you know, we had some opportunities, just didn't capitalize
on them. Mike, how hard is.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
It to get guys up to speed like guys who
maybe I think about your first year here when you
guys were able to just bring guys in, Uh, you know,
Odgens comes to mind, guys who just came in and
got up the speed and made an impact really quickly.
Is that feasible or is that a one off that
like you're just better off going with the guys in house.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
No, I think I think that's one of the one
of our one of the things are our coaching staff does.
It's strength of ours is getting guys prepared and getting
guys ready to go for the game. Whether you're on
the roster or whether you're in the practice squad. You know,
those guys are dialed into it. They're in the installations
or in the meetings and the walkthroughs and just trying
to stay ahead of schedule.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
And then from a running back standpoint, Mike, what have
you seen from Scataboo these last couple of days and
how much would get in Tracy back.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Kind of you know, maybe maybe go back.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
To the way it was supposed to be with a
backfield by committee.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Yeah, I'm really I've been really impressed over those last
few weeks of where Scatt has done and how he's played.
You know, the energy, the toughness that he's brought. I
really liked that. Obviously, he'd love to have that fumble
back yesterday, which which I know is killing him, but
I was very pleased with how he's been playing. You know,
he's been out there, he's been playing tough with this
(02:00):
protector responsibilities blocking then obviously as a runner, you know,
finishing runs downhill, the aggressive that he that he brings,
I think that's been a great asset for our for
our offense. Last one for me, Mike, the flea flick er.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
What'd you see?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Yeah, I thing it was he had, he had an opportunity,
He had an opportunity there. We just didn't make it.
You know, I think those are the ones that you
wish you had back. And I certainly know Slayton wants
that one back and Jackson wants that one back as well.
But we were being aggressive at that point in the field,
at that point in the game, and we just we
just didn't get it done. And you know, I think
(02:35):
those guys are going to be they're you know, they're
kicking themselves on the airplane and you know though, they'll
come back stronger because of it.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Thanks.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Thanks Evan Barnes.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
Hey, Mike, uh, just going with the two tight ends
sat last game, just kind of what did you see
from that? Obviously worked pretty well, but just going forward,
how competent are you Belly and THEO just being able
to continue to executing that role.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
I have a lot I have a lot of confidence
in those guys. They're they're veteran guys that have uh,
you know, done a really good job in in really
the wrong game. The pass game, quarterbacks have a lot
of confidence in them to do the right thing and
you know, kind of be where they're supposed to be,
whether it's man or zone. So I have a lot
I have a lot of confidence in those two guys,
and even you know, getting man hurts in the mix
or for Downy, like the whole room is built really
(03:25):
is built, really cool, and it's you know, they all
compliment each other a little bit. So I have a
lot of confidence in those guys.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
I know it's often said, you know, tight end is
a young quarterback's best friend, and you probably can relate
to that. Just how much do you see that dark
THEO connection these last three games working really well. Obviously
Dart has all three tds to.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
To the O. Yeah, Jackson's Jack Jack Jackson had some
opportunities for THEO, and Theo's capitalize on them. I think
that's been the biggest part, is when the balls come
his way, Theo's made those contested catches, made those catches
for us. He made a he made a hell of
a catch last week, you know in the in the
in the in the red zone on a third down.
You know, the ball was a little bit behind him,
but he made a nice strong catch. So I think
(04:03):
as you just build more confidence to guys, the more
reps you get, whether it's the tight ends or any
of the really position groups. But the more reps you
get and more time on task with these guys, the
more comfortable you'll have. Thanks.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Thanks Mark Cannazero.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Hey, Mike, I appreciate you doing this with regard to Jackson.
Obviously you you knew of this quality of him, you know,
prior to yesterday, but yesterday was his first, you know,
real bit of adversity as you will, and he was
highly accountable in the locker room and in front of us.
I'm curious as to what's your reaction when you see
such a young guy kind of getting it that quickly,
(04:39):
and and what are the what's the importance to that
to the rest.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Of the room. I think it's it's important when when
the quarterback, you know, the leader of the room is
is taking accountability and ownership. At the end of the day,
It's like I always say this, it's an eleven man
operation on offense. It's never just one person. Certainly the
quarterback they're going to get, you know, the raised when
everything's going well. They're also going to get kind of
the blunt of it when when it's not going so well.
(05:05):
And I appreciate that from our quarterback ground. I appreciate
that from Jackson taking accountability. But you know, us as
coaches were arm in arm with these guys, right we're
arm in arm with them whether we win, whether we lose.
And I think we're all in this thing together. And
then when we're on the field, it's an eleven man operation.
Everyone's accountable to one another and their assignments and their execution.
And when you go and you do, you you execute
(05:25):
at a high level. Then you you get the results
you want and when you don't, then you you typically
don't get the results that you're looking to get. So
I think as a group we are we're working through it.
You know, obviously it's a tough game, but it's a
short it's a short turnarout now. So we got a
division a division rival coming up. We got a game
in a couple of days.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Here.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
We got to hit the reset button, get back refocused,
and get our bodies back and healthy and refocused in
on the task at hand.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
There's there's obviously there'll be a lot of eyes on
him to see how he bounces back, even though obviously
it was hardly hardly.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Only him yesterday, But.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
How do you how do you see him reacting to
give them what you know about his makeup, particularly as
you mentioned, such a short week.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yeah, I'm excited for the response, not from just Jackson,
but from the entire offense. And I think that's going
to be the exciting part again on a short week.
So I'm I'm looking forward to seeing how these guys respond.
They coming tomorrow with the right firm mind. I know
they will. We get the right guys in there, and
I'm excited to see them respond. Thanks Mike. Thanks Jordan
ran On, Hey Michael, come on, hey Jordan.
Speaker 6 (06:27):
How much different list things for you in the offense
without elite right to have that sort of guy that
you know you can go to at all times, And
how much is it didn't change stuff for you process
wise and even play calling?
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Yeah, I mean, you know, we talked about this a
little bit last week with Malik, and you know, we're
we're hoping wishing for him a speedy recovery. But the
guys that we have we have a lot of confidence in,
and whether it's Sleigh Jalen Wandell Bow. I mean, you
can just go down, up and down the list of
the guys that are out there, like they have opportunities.
We've got to capitalize on him. And you know, I
(07:03):
know we've had those two ones with Slay. I know
he's beating himself up about it, and that's the kind
of competitor he is, and he holds himself to a
high center, just like we do here. And so I
don't want to single just Slay out. Everyone had a
piece of it, and every single group had to have
their one or two plays that we could have done better.
And same for me as a play caller, I could
have done better as well. So it's full accountability. We're
(07:25):
arm in arm. We'll get it cleaned up, we'll get
it fixed, and then we'll get back on track and
put together a good game plan, a good week of
work today, today and tomorrow.
Speaker 6 (07:34):
We went for Jackson for a quarterback that you don't
have that guy. You know, Malik is a very very
high player.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
That you don't have that guy.
Speaker 6 (07:42):
You can said, you know what we need to play here,
I'm going to go to this guy.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
I'd say Jackson. I want to speak for Jackson, but
I have a lot of confidence in our skill group.
I have a lot of confidence in our tight end room,
in our running back room, and our olo line room.
So everyone's just got to step up regardless of what happens,
whether it's an injury or whether it's just the game
and the part of the season. Everyone needs to continue
to step up and make their plays and go out
and execute. We talk about it in the offense all time.
(08:05):
It's eleven man operation. So if there's one if there's
one piece that's off, then typically the play is not
going to go really the way you want it. So
we got to do a better job just get on
the same page going out there and executing. And I
think we will because we've got a lot of good
players and a lot of good coaches on this on
this group.
Speaker 6 (08:21):
I think we asked you, like, what did you make
of the five street turnovers? Like when you went back
and looked at it, Like, how do you make sense
to that?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Yeah, it's just it's it's certainly an unfortunate series of events.
I don't think I've ever been around that that it's happened,
but it did. We got to get it cleaned up,
you know, we got to be really good and discipline
with our ball security. We've got to be really good
and disciplined with the decision making part part of it.
And you know, as a coach that that you know,
that's that's something I take great pride and being able
(08:50):
to detail that stuff out. So, whether it's the drills,
whether it's the film work, we've got to continue to
ramp that up and put our guys in those positions
that we can.
Speaker 6 (08:57):
See it one more year. You have a guy like Jackson,
you know sort of the teams now have a chance
to see him. How much did you expect them to
try to take away his legs and his ability to
you know, sort of improvides.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
On the fly. Yeah, I'm certain there'll be some sort
of element as he gets more time on task and
more and more games under his belt, they'll be there'll
be some kind of adjustments, you know, things that they
could possibly do, whether it's certain fronts or certain coverages.
You know, I've seen in my past, we've seen our
past week. I have to have those adjustments ready to
go if they do jump into it. And that's kind
(09:31):
of where we're at right now. You know, it's a
short week with with the Eagles and you know, under
first off, getting together with their scheme and what they're
doing with their personnel and how how they're kind of
setting things up over these last few weeks. Now putting
our stuff together with you know, how we made it
out of last week with with our players and our
coaches and just get everyone on the same page. So
we got a long way to go. You know, we
(09:52):
got still got a couple of days here to get
to get ready and prepped. But you know, I'm confident,
I'm ready to go, and you know, get our guys
back in the building.
I'm curious at receiver, how stretched do you feel?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Obviously Hyatt and Collins made their mistakes yesterday, how stretched
do you feel? You know, that was the first game
without neighbors, and it looked like you guys had to
pretty much revamp the offense to go with tight ends.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Yeah. I got a lot of I got a lot
of confidence in our receiving group and coach grow and
putting those guys out there and getting them prepared for
the game. And I think based on how the game
kind of declared itself, those guys were in the mix
and you know, we had some opportunities, just didn't capitalize
on them. Mike, how hard is.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
It to get guys up to speed like guys who
maybe I think about your first year here when you
guys were able to just bring guys in, Uh, you know,
Odgens comes to mind, guys who just came in and
got up the speed and made an impact really quickly.
Is that feasible or is that a one off that
like you're just better off going with the guys in house.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
No, I think I think that's one of the one
of our one of the things are our coaching staff does.
It's strength of ours is getting guys prepared and getting
guys ready to go for the game. Whether you're on
the roster or whether you're in the practice squad. You know,
those guys are dialed into it. They're in the installations
or in the meetings and the walkthroughs and just trying
to stay ahead of schedule.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
And then from a running back standpoint, Mike, what have
you seen from Scataboo these last couple of days and
how much would get in Tracy back.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Kind of you know, maybe maybe go back.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
To the way it was supposed to be with a
backfield by committee.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Yeah, I'm really I've been really impressed over those last
few weeks of where Scatt has done and how he's played.
You know, the energy, the toughness that he's brought. I
really liked that. Obviously, he'd love to have that fumble
back yesterday, which which I know is killing him, but
I was very pleased with how he's been playing. You know,
he's been out there, he's been playing tough with this
(02:00):
protector responsibilities blocking then obviously as a runner, you know,
finishing runs downhill, the aggressive that he that he brings,
I think that's been a great asset for our for
our offense. Last one for me, Mike, the flea flick er.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
What'd you see?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Yeah, I thing it was he had, he had an opportunity,
He had an opportunity there. We just didn't make it.
You know, I think those are the ones that you
wish you had back. And I certainly know Slayton wants
that one back and Jackson wants that one back as well.
But we were being aggressive at that point in the field,
at that point in the game, and we just we
just didn't get it done. And you know, I think
(02:35):
those guys are going to be they're you know, they're
kicking themselves on the airplane and you know though, they'll
come back stronger because of it.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Thanks.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Thanks Evan Barnes.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
Hey, Mike, uh, just going with the two tight ends
sat last game, just kind of what did you see
from that? Obviously worked pretty well, but just going forward,
how competent are you Belly and THEO just being able
to continue to executing that role.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
I have a lot I have a lot of confidence
in those guys. They're they're veteran guys that have uh,
you know, done a really good job in in really
the wrong game. The pass game, quarterbacks have a lot
of confidence in them to do the right thing and
you know, kind of be where they're supposed to be,
whether it's man or zone. So I have a lot
I have a lot of confidence in those two guys,
and even you know, getting man hurts in the mix
or for Downy, like the whole room is built really
(03:25):
is built, really cool, and it's you know, they all
compliment each other a little bit. So I have a
lot of confidence in those guys.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
I know it's often said, you know, tight end is
a young quarterback's best friend, and you probably can relate
to that. Just how much do you see that dark
THEO connection these last three games working really well. Obviously
Dart has all three tds to.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
To the O. Yeah, Jackson's Jack Jack Jackson had some
opportunities for THEO, and Theo's capitalize on them. I think
that's been the biggest part, is when the balls come
his way, Theo's made those contested catches, made those catches
for us. He made a he made a hell of
a catch last week, you know in the in the
in the in the red zone on a third down.
You know, the ball was a little bit behind him,
but he made a nice strong catch. So I think
(04:03):
as you just build more confidence to guys, the more
reps you get, whether it's the tight ends or any
of the really position groups. But the more reps you
get and more time on task with these guys, the
more comfortable you'll have. Thanks.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Thanks Mark Cannazero.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Hey, Mike, I appreciate you doing this with regard to Jackson.
Obviously you you knew of this quality of him, you know,
prior to yesterday, but yesterday was his first, you know,
real bit of adversity as you will, and he was
highly accountable in the locker room and in front of us.
I'm curious as to what's your reaction when you see
such a young guy kind of getting it that quickly,
(04:39):
and and what are the what's the importance to that
to the rest.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Of the room. I think it's it's important when when
the quarterback, you know, the leader of the room is
is taking accountability and ownership. At the end of the day,
It's like I always say this, it's an eleven man
operation on offense. It's never just one person. Certainly the
quarterback they're going to get, you know, the raised when
everything's going well. They're also going to get kind of
the blunt of it when when it's not going so well.
(05:05):
And I appreciate that from our quarterback ground. I appreciate
that from Jackson taking accountability. But you know, us as
coaches were arm in arm with these guys, right we're
arm in arm with them whether we win, whether we lose.
And I think we're all in this thing together. And
then when we're on the field, it's an eleven man operation.
Everyone's accountable to one another and their assignments and their execution.
And when you go and you do, you you execute
(05:25):
at a high level. Then you you get the results
you want and when you don't, then you you typically
don't get the results that you're looking to get. So
I think as a group we are we're working through it.
You know, obviously it's a tough game, but it's a
short it's a short turnarout now. So we got a
division a division rival coming up. We got a game
in a couple of days.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Here.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
We got to hit the reset button, get back refocused,
and get our bodies back and healthy and refocused in
on the task at hand.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
There's there's obviously there'll be a lot of eyes on
him to see how he bounces back, even though obviously
it was hardly hardly.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Only him yesterday, But.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
How do you how do you see him reacting to
give them what you know about his makeup, particularly as
you mentioned, such a short week.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yeah, I'm excited for the response, not from just Jackson,
but from the entire offense. And I think that's going
to be the exciting part again on a short week.
So I'm I'm looking forward to seeing how these guys respond.
They coming tomorrow with the right firm mind. I know
they will. We get the right guys in there, and
I'm excited to see them respond. Thanks Mike. Thanks Jordan
ran On, Hey Michael, come on, hey Jordan.
Speaker 6 (06:27):
How much different list things for you in the offense
without elite right to have that sort of guy that
you know you can go to at all times, And
how much is it didn't change stuff for you process
wise and even play calling?
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Yeah, I mean, you know, we talked about this a
little bit last week with Malik, and you know, we're
we're hoping wishing for him a speedy recovery. But the
guys that we have we have a lot of confidence in,
and whether it's Sleigh Jalen Wandell Bow. I mean, you
can just go down, up and down the list of
the guys that are out there, like they have opportunities.
We've got to capitalize on him. And you know, I
(07:03):
know we've had those two ones with Slay. I know
he's beating himself up about it, and that's the kind
of competitor he is, and he holds himself to a
high center, just like we do here. And so I
don't want to single just Slay out. Everyone had a
piece of it, and every single group had to have
their one or two plays that we could have done better.
And same for me as a play caller, I could
have done better as well. So it's full accountability. We're
(07:25):
arm in arm. We'll get it cleaned up, we'll get
it fixed, and then we'll get back on track and
put together a good game plan, a good week of
work today, today and tomorrow.
Speaker 6 (07:34):
We went for Jackson for a quarterback that you don't
have that guy. You know, Malik is a very very
high player.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
That you don't have that guy.
Speaker 6 (07:42):
You can said, you know what we need to play here,
I'm going to go to this guy.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
I'd say Jackson. I want to speak for Jackson, but
I have a lot of confidence in our skill group.
I have a lot of confidence in our tight end room,
in our running back room, and our olo line room.
So everyone's just got to step up regardless of what happens,
whether it's an injury or whether it's just the game
and the part of the season. Everyone needs to continue
to step up and make their plays and go out
and execute. We talk about it in the offense all time.
(08:05):
It's eleven man operation. So if there's one if there's
one piece that's off, then typically the play is not
going to go really the way you want it. So
we got to do a better job just get on
the same page going out there and executing. And I
think we will because we've got a lot of good
players and a lot of good coaches on this on
this group.
Speaker 6 (08:21):
I think we asked you, like, what did you make
of the five street turnovers? Like when you went back
and looked at it, Like, how do you make sense
to that?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Yeah, it's just it's it's certainly an unfortunate series of events.
I don't think I've ever been around that that it's happened,
but it did. We got to get it cleaned up,
you know, we got to be really good and discipline
with our ball security. We've got to be really good
and disciplined with the decision making part part of it.
And you know, as a coach that that you know,
that's that's something I take great pride and being able
(08:50):
to detail that stuff out. So, whether it's the drills,
whether it's the film work, we've got to continue to
ramp that up and put our guys in those positions
that we can.
Speaker 6 (08:57):
See it one more year. You have a guy like Jackson,
you know sort of the teams now have a chance
to see him. How much did you expect them to
try to take away his legs and his ability to
you know, sort of improvides.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
On the fly. Yeah, I'm certain there'll be some sort
of element as he gets more time on task and
more and more games under his belt, they'll be there'll
be some kind of adjustments, you know, things that they
could possibly do, whether it's certain fronts or certain coverages.
You know, I've seen in my past, we've seen our
past week. I have to have those adjustments ready to
go if they do jump into it. And that's kind
(09:31):
of where we're at right now. You know, it's a
short week with with the Eagles and you know, under
first off, getting together with their scheme and what they're
doing with their personnel and how how they're kind of
setting things up over these last few weeks. Now putting
our stuff together with you know, how we made it
out of last week with with our players and our
coaches and just get everyone on the same page. So
we got a long way to go. You know, we
(09:52):
got still got a couple of days here to get
to get ready and prepped. But you know, I'm confident,
I'm ready to go, and you know, get our guys
back in the building.
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