Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator
Q: I guess talk about some of the challenges going against this defense Sunday.
KAFKA: Yeah, so this is a great group, starting with their (Denver Broncos) defensive coordinator, Vance Joseph, who I have a lot of respect for. He does a really good job, very well coached, schematically to throw a lot at you, but zone coverages, man coverages, different variation of fronts, so there's a lot of things really at all three levels that you've got to worry about. Then you tack that on with the players they have and the production they're having, not only rushing the passer, but in third down, in the red zone, a lot of key factors. So, we've really got to be dialed into the program this week, understanding who we're playing, the guys that are there, how they play, their certain techniques, we have to be fundamentally sound, but it's going to be a great challenge.
Q: (Quarterback) Jaxson's (Dart) pretty confident and calm based on what we get to see. How does a prime time win, I guess, help a rookie quarterback or have you seen it affect him?
KAFKA: Yeah, I thought it was a good, I mean, did a nice job last week, that's one thing we got to be able to learn from is the things that don't go as well, quite as well, the things that do, that go well, and take those, bank that as an experience, no different than when we were talking a couple weeks back in New Orleans when that wasn't as great. So, I think it's an experience, it was a good experience, we won the game, we did some nice things offensively, you got to bank it, and then you got to get right back to work. The season just moves so fast that you got to take the good things, keep on stacking and build off of them, and then the things that we need to improve on, we got to apply that and focus in on it and really dial into how do we improve on those aspects.
Q: How much different does Jaxson and (running back) Cam's (Skattebo) personality and the way, their physicality really, the way they play, how much different feel does it give the offense for a different look, in your mind?
KAFKA: Yeah, they're football players. I think we have a bunch of those guys on offense, I know you singled out two of them, but I think we have all 11, the guys that we put out there, they're football players, they're tough. I think that's tip of the cap to (senior vice president, general manager) Joe (Schoen) and (head coach Brian) Dabs for getting the right guys in here that play the game that way, and they're certainly expressing themselves that way on the football field and that's great, that's what we want. We want our guys playing tough, playing smart, we don't want the penalties and the pre-snap stuff and even the post-snap stuff, we can't have that. But the certain mentality that you want to play with, the aggressiveness that you want to play and coach with is there and those guys are doing a great job of it.
Q: Obviously, the quarterback, though, is different, right? He's the natural leader, just by position alone and all that. Does that then send a, I don't know, a vibrant feeling to everyone else around him, do you believe?
KAFKA: Yeah, whenever your leadership and the quarterback, particularly, because he's touching the ball every play, when you have that kind of spark, you have that kind of energy that you bring not only just to the huddle, to the field, but when you're like that way in your meetings and you're like that way in the hallway, in the locker room, and talking with the coaches and talking with the staff and talking with the people around the building, absolutely, that brings, it raises everyone's level.
Q: Speaking of toughness, obviously, how much is (tackle) Andrew Thomas being healthy impact being more physical in the run game? Also, Jaxson's confidence in the pocket, knowing he had a left tackle that does not really allow him much pressure on him?
KAFKA: Yeah, A.T., it's been great to have him back and get him in the mix. We kind of ramped him up early, but he's done a great job and it's no surprise to any of us. He goes in there, he goes to work, puts in the work and as far as his details, watching the tape, understanding what we have to do schematically, what we have to do for our plan, but then also who the opponent he's going against. (Broncos outside linebacker Nik) Bonitto, those guys are, he's a phenomenal pass rusher, leading the league in sacks, so we'll have a great test out there and we'll continue to work on that today.
Q: How much do you think he's helped these last three weeks with Jaxson as far as just his impact, just him playing every snap, how much does he help his offense elevate more?
KAFKA: Yeah, it's a hard one to answer because I just really believe that, I mean, offense is an 11-man operation. It's not just one guy. I mean, everyone's got to work together on it. If you have 10 guys doing their job but then one guy doesn't, it's probably going to be a bad play. So, we need to make sure that all 11 guys are doing their job, we're all in sync. It's not about one guy. It's about the whole core group.
Q: It's no secret, I guess, with a quarterback, you want to run the ball, you know, your team's built to run the ball. Do you kind of do like a worst-case scenario and like, let's say they come out and take the run (game) away from us and are determined to do that. If you do that, do you think Jaxson in this passing game can survive and win a game if they can't rely on the run? It's like, okay, the rookie's got to now throw us into a victory.
KAFKA: Yeah, that's part of our job as a coaching staff is to have enough complementary stuff, not only just in the run game and the pass game but then myself as a play caller really studying and trying to understand what the defensive coordinator's trying to do and then have a plan in place that we can get to. Whether it's plays, whether it's a package of plays, it could be a variety of things. But yeah, we certainly have to have contingency plans on if they do this, what do we do? What's our answer? And that's what we do all week is we talk about it and talk through, all right, what happens if this person does this or this person goes down even. We're talking about our substitutions, all those things kind of, you know, play into it.
Q: What went into the decision to go with (wide receiver Lil' Jordan Humphrey) LJ in such a big role and what did you see?
KAFKA: Yeah, LJ did a nice job throughout the preseason, and he was on the practice squad and him having an opportunity with some veteran presence there. He's a really smart player, he's big, he's got the ability to go get the ball, you saw a couple examples of that in Philly. Yeah, we're really excited about LJ and I think he's got a lot of trust, he's had a lot of time on task with Jaxson throughout the course of training camp and the spring and stuff, even in the preseason, so there was some comfortability there.
Q: I'm curious, have you changed a lot in the route concepts since Jaxson has taken over compared to what you had when (quarterback) Russell (Wilson) was playing?
KAFKA: I wouldn't say necessarily, like, the route concepts. The offense that we put in is our core offense. There are certain things that you want to do to accentuate certain players from the skill position group, from the O-line group. Then some things that you want to carry over that the quarterback has really good comfort in. So, every quarterback is going to be a little bit different. You look at it across the league. Certain guys, the offense looks one way with a certain quarterback, then all of a sudden, that guy gets hurt or not, another guy comes in, you got to be able to mesh to it. So, we've had some experience around here doing that with a few quarterbacks, so I'm glad that we got to put together a good plan for Jaxson. But that's part of it, that's part of the deal on offense and that's the fun part, honestly, when you can get different players in different spots and really try to make them the best they can be.
Q: What have you seen from Russ in that backup role?
KAFKA: Russ has done a great job. I mean, he's dialed in, he's prepared, not only just for his own job, but then also helping Jaxson, being in the room and expressing his experiences, which he has a lot of great ones to lean on. He's been a great resource for me. He's been a great resource for the quarterback room and Jaxson. I mean, he does a great job. He's a captain of the team as well, so all that carries. Russ has been phenomenal.
Q: Does a rookie quarterback, season first, first win on the road, is that something that a rookie quarterback has to put a notch on his belt?
KAFKA: I certainly don't view it that way, I just think of it this week, really just focusing on today is getting our third down plan. Talking through our short yardage stuff, really just dialing into today. All that other stuff, I think we'll have to worry about that on Sunday, but right now we're just focused on, you know, what's most important and that's our third down in practice today.
Q: What have you learned from Russ? You said he's a great resource, what has he had to learn?
KAFKA: Yeah, I mean, he certainly has had a lot of different, I mean, we both played, which was cool, but I think his experiences playing in Super Bowls, playing in the playoff games… Like, down season, when things happened, it's been great to just hear certain stories on how they got back on track. Or things that you wish you would have done. So, it's just when you're talking about 13, 14-year vets, between him and (quarterback) Jameis (Winston), there's a lot of experience in that room, and they've all had a variety of experiences that we can all lean on. So, there are certain times where we get caught up just telling stories, and you just see the other guys, whether it's Jaxson, or young guys in the room, just kind of soaking it all in, listening. So, I mean he's been a great resource in terms of that, just being able to share experiences, because you don't really know as a player…It's hard to sometimes get all that as a young player, so when you hear it from other guys, you can bank that, maybe it might not happen for a couple years, but you remember that story. I know I certainly do, as a player, being in there with, you know, (former quarterback) Josh McCown, and (former quarterback) Mike Glennon, and even one of my time in Philadelphia with (former quarterback) Michael Vick, or with (former quarterback Tom) Brady when I was in New England, and (former quarterback) Vince Young, like, I can go down the list of just the stories that you talk through in the quarterback room, that you bank on like oh my gosh I remember that happened to so-and-so. So, maybe you're more prepared for another situation if it comes up.
Defensive Coordinator Shane Bowen
Q: The rush defense has done much better the last few weeks. What's the key to why that's improved so much?
BOWEN: Yeah, I think our guys are swarming to the football. We're getting guys to the football. I think the tackling has been improved. I mean, you even look at the ones earlier that (Philadelphia Eagles running back) Saquon (Barkley) had against us. They get them down for 13 and 18. It's a drastic difference than going for 40 plus, right? So, and I felt like our guys responded after those two. But continuing to just work our technique, work our fundamentals, the mentality that comes with that, and making sure we're able to get off blocks and swarm and don't leave it up to one-on-one tackles.
Q: You always talk about run fits. Run fits, is that something you see improving each week?
BOWEN: Yeah, I think that's something we have to work at always. I mean, these offensives, they get creative. They understand kind of how to attack certain schemes in the run game and just making sure our guys are there. And again, I think even more so than that, we got to be sound in our fits, but we got to be able to change the math and get guys off blocks and take two at times and find three players that way too where we can get to the ball and not just rely on one guy to make the play.
Q: As a coordinator, how do you balance, this is what I believe in, this is what our plan is, this is what we're going to do, versus the heat of the moment in games where players are, we want to do this, we want to do this, can we be more aggressive? How do you balance that and not have chaos?
BOWEN: Yeah, I think we have a game plan going in. It's a little bit of everything just in terms of how we want to play a certain offense. But at the same time, you try to go in with a good mix where you can be a little bit more, let's rush with four, play to coverage or let's try to bring some pressure. So, you have a lot of that stuff in your back pocket as you go throughout the game. I think just getting a feel for how teams are trying to attack you. Our studies throughout the week, situationally, how things are going, if that's changing throughout the game. But hopefully we have enough in our arsenal going into a game plan where we're able to make adjustments based on that as we go, whether it's our players, whether it's what we're seeing from the offense, we can do that.
Q: In your history, have players ever come to you passionately and said, Coach, we need to be less aggressive? Or is it always, let us go, let us go?
BOWEN: I mean, it's funny because you talk to different groups and you get different answers, you know what I'm saying? So, I mean, I'm open to those guys having their opinions and bringing suggestions and how we see things, how we want to play things and making sure we're all on the same page. That's the most important thing to me, making sure from the back end to the front that the coaching staff, everybody's on the same page with whatever we decide to do, whatever we think is best going into a game plan that we're able to go out there and execute and guys see it through the same set of eyes, so we're able to go execute it.
Q: Have they earned your trust more in the last couple of weeks?
BOWEN: Yeah, I think they're doing a good job. Again, we got some new pieces. I feel like we're trying to evolve as we go. There's a comfort level that's getting established, I think, among them out there as well. That always plays a part in it, especially when you add pieces to the back end. That's where a lot of the communication and some of that stuff comes into play a little bit more than up front. But I'm pleased with the group. I'm pleased with the progress we're making. Again, we've got to continue, teams that have success are usually the ones that continue to improve throughout the year. So just continue on that route and see where we go.
Q: (Head coach Brian) Daboll talked about how he wanted you to be aggressive. When I asked what happened on the interception you brought a lot of pressure on that play. How much is that a concerted effort? Is that just specifically for that game? Is that a concerted effort for the season? How do you look at that?
BOWEN: Yeah, again, it kind of a little bit goes back to his question earlier. I think by game plan we have our kind of plan going in of how we feel like we can attack and dictate. You want to be able to dictate on defense because the offense has so much at their arsenal where they can motion and move and different groups and everything else. You want to be able to find ways to dictate defensively, obviously. I think that's something moving forward as we go, just finding ways to do that and being timely with it when we do and being able to go forward that way.
Q: When you look at the stunts up front and just the idea of – it's one thing to say, okay, we want to do this up front. How much falls on the individual players and the guys getting together and kind of learning each other and the feel for it? How does that make them successful?
BOWEN: Yeah, a lot. I feel like that's one area you've kind of seen us progress as the season has kind of went on, just the comfort level. A little bit of that you move pieces around and one guy does it one way and then another guy, different body type, different skill set, does it a little bit different. So just continuing to build that feel with each other in terms of how those games are executed. I think the understanding of the details of those games is important and that correlates, too, to who's running it with you. But the coordination among those guys has improved. I think they've got a good understanding of it. I think they're seeing success from it. The thing we always tell them, it's not always the guy that's getting picked for that gets it, right? A lot of times it's the guy that's doing the picking that's the penetrator. But they're unselfish. All those guys are unselfish. They're doing a lot of good things for us right now. Hopefully we can keep building.
Q: Obviously you're not in a players-only meeting, but I guess what does it say about (outside linebacker Brian) Burns that he's calling that and wants to…?
BOWEN: Yeah, he's established himself as a leader for us. He's done a really good job. He's showing up on game day. He comes out here and works every day. He spends time in the building studying the opponent, talking to the other guys. I think that's a big part of it, just getting those guys all on the same page, making sure they're accountable to each other, continuing to work to evolve and come together as a defense.
Q: According to the official game book, (outside linebacker) Abdul (Carter) did not register a stat in the game. You're smiling. I assume you think that he actually played in the game and did some things?
BOWEN: Yeah, I mean, I get it. The sack numbers are not what probably he wants them to be right now, but he's been extremely productive for us. He really has. Just continue to push forward. Those are going to come, and hopefully they come in bunches when they do start coming. But, again, he's been a very productive player for us. Just whatever we've asked him to do, he's been able to do. Go back to the KC game, playing off the ball the entire game for us, because of where we were at. So, we'll continue to find ways with him and all these other guys to see if we can create some opportunities for him.
Q: But it wasn't just sacks. There were no tackles, no assists, no hits. Zeros across the board. I guess you have a different grading system, and there were some things in there.
BOWEN: Yeah, I think there'll be more opportunities week to week. I mean, I think it varies just based on where they're running the ball, how they're doing things. I mean, I think that kind of a little bit depends on how we're being attacked and where he's aligned, and some of that stuff comes into play.
Q: You obviously went with (cornerback) Cor'Dale (Flott) as the primary outside cornerback, didn't really do the rotation with (cornerback) Deonte (Banks). What went into that decision?
BOWEN: Yeah, I think like we've told you all here, every week it's going to be a week-to-week evaluation. We're going to need both those guys. We are. We're going to need them both. Again, I think they've both shown some good things throughout. There's been some plays all of us would probably like to have back. But just encouraged with where he was going in the week. That's what we decided to do, and he showed up and played well for us.
Q: Do you plan on sticking with Flott this week?
BOWEN: Yeah, I think we'll see. We're working through it, talking through all that as we go. Obviously, Tae had, I won't even get into that. But, yeah, like week-to-week.
Special Teams Coordinator Michael Ghobrial
Q: (Kicker) Jude (McAtamney) hasn't had a bunch of attempts, but just what have you seen from him in these three games?
GHOBRIAL: Aside from the one mishit PAT that he had last game, I think he's done a nice job in the games. With the opportunities that he's had, he's been able to excel in them, and that's something obviously that is expected from whoever the kicker is out there. Whenever we send you out there, the expectation is we come out with points. So he's shown a level of consistency with that. And in practice, had a nice day yesterday and something that he'll obviously stay connected to, just being the best version of himself so we can continue to score points with him.
Q: You see around the league, there are just these monster legs. 60-yarders, they're taking them and hitting a lot of them. Is he a guy that you think is just a guy that's okay right now? Or do you think he's more than serviceable? Do you think he can be a weapon? Like Dan said, we really haven't seen it.
GHOBRIAL: Yeah, we have a lot of confidence in Jude. He does have the leg strength that you're seeing across the league and if you see his frame, he's not built like a small person. He has some power to him, he's strong in the weight room, he has good flexibility to him, and I think that equates to him having the ability to hit the big ball. Obviously, in the games, we'll take a common-sense approach of when we send him out there and we know that if we need a kick from far distance, he does have the ability to do so.
Q: Is it different when a guy's unproven like him when you're setting the line in the game? Maybe you're going to be a little bit more conservative, whereas someone like (kicker) Graham (Gano), you've seen him do it a million times?
GHOBRIAL: I think at this point, having him kick a game last year an in the preseason, and now obviously kicking on our active roster here these past couple of games, we have confidence in him just like we have confidence in Graham to be able to be sent out there whenever his opportunity arises.
Q: Have you guys continued the competition with (kicker Younghoe) Koo in practice the way you have the last couple of weeks?
GHOBRIAL: Yes, that's something that we'll always stay connected to. And again, that's, to me, just what the National Football League is about, is competition, and ultimately showing up every day and being the best version of yourself. I truly believe that equates to better production from all parties involved in that competition. So we'll continue to work with Koo and we'll continue to work with Jude.
Q: How is Graham doing? Is he able to kick at all again?
GHOBRIAL: You'll have to ask (head coach Brian Daboll) Dabs on that. Injury-wise, not sure about that.
Q: What has (punter) Jamie (Gillan) done well on the kickoffs that you've had? What have you seen from him in that regard?
GHOBRIAL: His placement has been elite. That also helps the coverage aspect on both kickoff and punt, his ability to directionally kick. That's something that whenever you have a punter that has the ability to kick off as well, I think it creates a lot of gameday value for him. Because, again, you don't know whether you're going to have more kickoffs than punts, more punts than kickoffs. So, the ability to keep him in the flow of game, the ability to be able to use him in both regards, I think is very valuable for us. I think he's done an excellent job in terms of the locations on both phases.
Q: You mentioned the gameday responsibilities. For Jamie right now, being the holder and also doing kickoffs and punts, the value that he's brought now as a player, I've got to imagine that you guys look at him and say, he's one of our most valuable guys to have in special teams.
GHOBRIAL: Yeah. I always think that if you want to have good special teams, it starts with your specialists. Your specialists have to be able to execute. The fact that Jamie does have the versatility to obviously hold like many punters do, but to be able to punt like he does at a high level in these conditions, and then also to be able to kick off, there is tremendous value in it. I've always thought of him as a great teammate. He's a guy that studies the game and he's a guy that ultimately wants to be the best for this football team. I said it, he's one of the best teammates that we have and he thrives with that type of responsibility and understands the importance of it.
Q: We always talk about that sort of backwards spin that left-footed punters have. Does the same thing go for kickoffs because it's coming off a tee?
GHOBRIAL: You have to hit the sweet spot more often than not. I know you're seeing more dirty kicks across the league, but whether you're a righty or a lefty, when you hit those dirty kicks, they're going to come out oddball regardless. When you're hitting a traditional kickoff, the rotation of it is still up and down. So, still the goal is always to hit the sweet spot and make sure that ball is in the landing zone.
Q: So there's no real difference between a lefty or a righty doing that?
GHOBRIAL: Not entirely. But again, when you look across the league and you see those dirty kicks, that's when you're really like, okay, is that because he's a righty or is that because he's a lefty? Honestly, that rotation of the ball when people are trying to hit those dirty kicks, you don't know where it's going to go, whether you're a righty or a lefty.
Q: How big a factor has (safety) Dane (Belton) become? It seems like he's become a force for you guys in regards to coverage and coverage units.
GHOBRIAL: Yeah, Dane is playing at a Pro Bowl level. He is number one in the league in special teams tackles. You see all his study habits, all his hard work this offseason of improving the things that he needed to, show up on game day, and it's infectious. The guy has been playing really, really well for us. I want to make note of the fact that it is elite right now. Playing at that Pro Powl level and that consistency to do it from a game in, game out basis ultimately elevates everybody else. Really fired up for him the success that he's having.
Q: What are the pros and cons of the rugby kick for Jamie? He hit that one on Thursday night where he kind of rolled out to his left and kicked it. You don't do it every time. So why do it?
GHOBRIAL: That's something he grew up doing. He grew up playing rugby and that is ultimately how he learned to punt. So that was the first instance in which he started punting a football was like that. Then my job is always to try and design these things whether it's plays, whether it be certain techniques, to feature their biggest strengths. Since that is a big strength of his, that is something that we could obviously stay connected to. But he's been able to excel in traditional punting too. So again, the versatility with Jamie, that's been awesome to have.
Q: Talk about your gunners, specifically (cornerback) Art (Green). He seems like a unique character. He told me yesterday about how you fire him up during games and he loves to blow people up. He was even getting at it with (Eagles head coach Nick) Sirianni on the sidelines. How's it like coaching him and what are you seeing from him as a gunner?
GHOBRIAL: There's a lot of passion with Art Green and that passion obviously shows up on game day with the energy, the enthusiasm. The passion also shows up during the week. Art truly wants to be the best and when you have those aspirations of being the best, it takes uncommon work ethic. To me, what's uncommon is studying more than just the given material, asking questions more than just the simple questions. That's something that Art Green has been able to do. What's cool about having (cornerback) Nic Jones and Art Green is they kind of feed off each other and are very competitive with one another too. So when one person gets a tackle, it's, I got that one, and then the next guy is like, okay, I'm going to get the next one. It ultimately, again, competition to me elevates the level of both those guys.
Q: Is he always jacked up, Art, even in meetings? Because he seems like a guy that's always on a high level.
GHOBRIAL: There is energy with Art Green always, yeah. He doesn't pick and choose when he wants to be that person. That to me is the ultimate sign of respect is when you're the same guy every day. So tons of respect for Art.
Q: Are you surprised that teams have kicked to (wide receiver) Gunner Olszewski the last few weeks?
GHOBRIAL: Not necessarily surprised. I think when you have guys like (cornerback Deonte Banks) Tae, guys like (running back Devin Singletary) Motor, guys like Gunner, all those guys have had success returning the ball for us this year. So both those guys in that regard, are you like, okay, should we kick it to Gunner? Should we kick it to Tae? Should we kick it to Motor? Whoever it is, those guys have taken advantage of those opportunities. The production has been equivalent with both those guys. Gunner did have a few more opportunities last game and that was cool to see him have success again, because it kind of felt like teams were favoring away from him. Really excited when the ball is in his hands, because obviously you guys see the run skill and the production on kickoff return and on punt return. Whenever you can get the ball in his hands, it's awesome.
Q: How does the altitude affect the kicking game?
GHOBRIAL: The ball traditionally flies a little bit further with higher altitude. Depending on the wind factor on gameday, the wind could play into it as well, because when the ball is having a little bit more rise on it, sometimes the wind can play into whether the ball continues to carry a certain direction, versus whether it doesn't. When you're at sea level and you're hitting a traditional kick, it somewhat stays true to what you would think it is. Then obviously at altitude, there is a little bit more rise than sea level.
