The New York Giants’ 2023 season has been disappointing, even with their series victory over the Washington Commanders.The New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard says that “there will be changes to this staff” because the team is struggling at 3-8. However, he also pointed out that offensive coordinator Mike Kafka “opened eyes Sunday with an impressive showing to begin what amounts to a seven-game audition for his next job.”
If Kafka is on borrowed time with the Giants, the victory in Week 11 did nothing to hurt his chances of landing a job elsewhere. At FedEx Field, the 36-year-old led an offense captained by undrafted free agent quarterback Tommy DeVito to 31 points.According to Leonard, Kafka “freed up wide-open receivers to spring several explosive plays,” more important than the final score. Though, as Leonard noted, “Kafka outshined fellow Andy Reid protege Eric Bieniemy, the Commanders’ OC, as well,” the Giants haven’t had many plays like that this season.
All of those things combined to make Kafka, who has faced many challenges this season, have a great day at work. notably, a revolving door along a dubious offensive line and multiple injuries at the most important position in football.The worst part was that there was strong word that Kafka had lost his play-calling duties earlier in the season due to head coach Brian Daboll. At least that story has shifted with the recognition the latter received in opposition to the Commanders.
Mike Kafka Gashed Commanders with Personnel and Pace
The most notable aspect of the Giants’ offense in Week 11 was Kafka’s audacious use of personnel and pace. The Giants “operated almost exclusively from 11 personnel,” as Dan Duggan of The Athletic explained. They frequently used hurry-up, which allowed the same three wide receivers to play extended periods of time.vIt was more than audacious of Kafka to have a rookie quarterback with just one start in the pros run a pass-first offense. It was truly audacious.
The efficacy of the expansive strategy was even more unexpected. According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, DeVito and the Giants managed “four pass plays of 20+ yards in the first half.”
Not just Darius Slayton, the wide receiver, joined in on the act of stretching the field. At least one catch of 20 yards or more was made by running back Saquon Barkley, tight end Daniel Bellinger, and fellow wideout Wan’Dale Robinson.
These plays were the outcome of Kafka’s use of strategy and quickness to take advantage of the Commanders’ weakness.
Isaiah Hodgins, a wide receiver, provided the following explanation of how DeVito’s quick throws harassed long-striding cornerbacks: “It’s helpful for everything, but I believe it really affects the longer guys. Such players are typically less irritable, so the suddenness is difficult for them.In addition, Hodgins explained how the Giants destroyed Washington’s man-coverage tactics, saying, “Yeah, they play a lot of man, so we do a lot of meshes.” attempting to obtain some picks and force their defenders to choose our receivers on their own. We noticed that they were having some difficulty with the meshes we had, so we called them even more.
Despite manpower shortages, Kafka called nearly a flawless game. The victory might not improve his previously stellar resume as a head coach, but it might pique the interest of other teams looking to add a new playmaker.
Daboll, Brian and Mike Kafka I’ve finally mastered balance.
Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals saw Daboll appear to take over play-calling duties, which left both Kafka and Daboll having to field awkward questions. Kafka put himself in the firing line for all the criticism when the Giants’ offense failed, insisting he still held the reins.
Considering the challenges Kafka has encountered, some of the criticism has been unjustified. Difficulties include starting quarterback Daniel Jones tearing his ACL against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 9 after missing three games due to a cervical neck injury.
The fact that veteran backup Tyrod Taylor had a rib issue and was placed on injured reserve added to Jones’ absence. Not only did Kafka lose two experienced signal-callers, but Darren Waller, his most dynamic pass-catcher, also went on injured reserve, joining Taylor.
According to Leonard, Daboll was still “running the offensive meetings” before the Giants defeated the Commanders 14-7 at MetLife Stadium in Week 7.
Barkley said, “Dab[oll] did a really good job in the offensive meetings, but at the end of the day, Kaf was the one making the calls,” indicating that Kafka was still the star of the game at MetLife Stadium.
Wins over Washington have been the exceptions rather than the rule in a dismal campaign characterized by a poor offensive performance. As a result, Kafka’s job security is still in doubt, which is very different from what happened when Charlotte Carroll of The Athletic reported that he was “called about three head coaching vacancies” during the offseason.
Kafka might perform well enough over the next six games to maintain his status as one of Daboll’s primary assistants if he is no longer in demand for a head coaching position.
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