Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator

Q: When you look back at the tape, what impressed you about (quarterback) Jaxson's (Dart) first start?

KAFKA: I thought Jaxson did a nice job. He was really confident, he was poised. I thought he controlled the line of scrimmage. I thought he handled the tempo really well. Then just kind of getting through the ebbs and flows of the game. If something happened, adjusting on the sideline, the communication with the players. It was back and forth. It was really good to see the o-line come up to him, the receivers, the running backs, tight ends, and that dialogue be really good on the sidelines. So that was a really cool thing to see.

Q: You alluded to it last week, when you guys are going up tempo like that and he's at the line before the 15 seconds, when you're on the play call, are you giving him, like, hey, watch this, watch that? KAFKA: Yeah, you're able to talk to him as much as you can, so I try to give him as much information. If I see any keys or something to alert him to, I try to keep my eyes downfield on that and help him out as best I can.

Q: From a play calling standpoint, you have, I don't know, 10-13 plays a game where (wide receiver) Malik Nabers gets targeted. What happens now without Nabers? Do you spread those around? Do you become less pass-oriented? What happens without Nabers?

KAFKA: (Wide receivers coach) Coach Groh does an awesome job of getting the guys prepared. It's really just a next-man-up mentality, whether it's (wide receiver) Beaux (Collins), (wide receiver) Jalin (Hyatt). Again, the roster moves as we get moving, if there's a guy coming up or not. But I think those guys just step up into their roles, (wide receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson), (wide receiver Darius Slayton) Slay, the leaders that they are, and continue to kind of carry the torch. Because I think we have some explosive guys in that room and the more the ball can get spread out to those guys, the better.

Q: One of those guys you just mentioned, Jalin, his rookie year, the last time you were calling plays, he was a factory at 23 catches, 372, and he hasn't really done much since then. How do you get him more involved? Do you think he can get back to that level and beyond that he was at then because you haven't seen it in a long time?

KAFKA: Yeah, I think very highly of Jalin. He's doing a great job in practice. Whether or not the game, how the game kind of declares itself, I think we'll see how that goes.

Q: Just moving forward…

KAFKA: Yeah, moving forward. I mean, Jalin's doing everything we're asking him to do. He's having a great week of practice so far, getting himself involved in the game plan and understanding what his role is going to be, and that role will change every week. So, if he has an opportunity, though, downfield to make a play or make a play in space, I expect he'll do that, and I know he will because he's prepping his butt off.

Q: What are the challenges for Jaxson now, and maybe for you as the play forward, too, that you've put out a game's worth of film for defenses to bite into?

KAFKA: The thing that I think we want to talk about, just in the quarterback room, especially with Jaxson, is that was a good learning experience. You can always kind of build on that. The good, the not so good, you know, you can learn from those situations. As we're going through the week and learning from, this is what happened during the game, this is what happened during the practice of last week, now we can start pulling from those experiences a little bit, and that's just going to help really any player, but especially a young player like Jaxson where, now he's starting to bank game rep. He's starting to bank different looks from defenses. He's starting to see the stuff on tape carry over onto the field, and so I think it's just he's kind of creating this bigger picture for himself in terms of, oh yeah, I've seen that before. I've seen that body language. So, now he's banking those experiences, and now it's one thing to describe it as a coach, but once you actually are in there and you feel it and you see it, like it triggers just a different type of response. It's been cool to watch him kind of go through that series of events.

Q: Where do you stand on just his running and his scrambling ability? Obviously, he's got powerful legs, but in terms of being maybe too reckless at times or just decision making?

KAFKA: It's the age-old question of the running quarterbacks, and we've had it when I was with (Chiefs quarterback) Patrick (Mahomes), with (Colts quarterback) Daniel (Jones), with his ability to run and just protecting yourself. I think, even myself when I've played, like you don't really know until you get hit. Once you get hit, you kind of learn a little bit from that, but Jaxson is a tough player, and he's competitive, and you don't want to take that away from him. I think you see it across the league with the guys, and I think you've just got to be smart. There's a time when you want to slide and get down. There's a time when you've got to go get that yard. We put him in a couple of situations on short yardage where it's you one-on-one. Like, this is where the numbers end up. Make a play for us, and he did, and, you know, I think there's a time and a place for that. Is it every play? I don't know, but, you know, I think you've got to be smart in certain situations. If you're in the open field, you've got the easy yard, take one hit off of yourself. But, again, I don't want to put the players in a box at all. So, it's just a smart balance that we've got to work through, and that will only come with time and experience.

Q: Do you have to dig a little bit deeper into the playbook just in terms of trying to scheme guys open without Malik trying to find opportunities for guys to get plays?

KAFKA: I think I have a lot of trust in our skill group all across the board. To do our due diligence as a coaching staff and scheme guys open, yeah, that's what you want to try and do is make it easy for the quarterback and have a guy wide open. But, our guys, I trust our guys to go and win versus aggressive man coverage. We practice against it, we work against it. So, yeah, I trust those guys to go work.

Q: Did you have to pay (Chiefs head coach) Andy Reid, Mahomes, and (Chiefs tight end Travis) Kelce a fee for stealing that shovel pass to (tight end) Theo Johnson?

KAFKA: (Laughter) No, that was a good design, man. (Offensive line coach) Carm (Bricillo), (tight ends coach Tim Kelly) TK, our run game division, (running backs coach) Ladell (Betts), those guys put together a good play. That was a nice play.

Q: This was the second time Jaxson had to be taken out of a game for a concussion test that he passed but didn't have a concussion. Is there anything you can do as a coach to kind of coach him around, like how his body language is after he gets up?

KAFKA: You know, we talked about it, but I don't know how much I can do about it. I mean, they've got the professionals up there that are looking for it. I know it's a point of emphasis. It's probably the right thing to do just for the player, just to make sure he's healthy and make sure he's right. Obviously, you never want to lose a quarterback for however many plays. But I think it's the right thing to do. It's kind of out of our hands, just the nature of how it is right now. But I think it's smart for the league to do that and protect the quarterbacks. But, yeah, like don't walk up, shaking your head and all that stuff. Like that's, you're probably going to get taken out.

Q: Sunday was (tackle) Andrew's (Thomas) first full game in a long time. Does he look like the player that you remember from 2022, the last time he was still, you know, he was fully healthy? Does he look like that guy?

KAFKA: I'm really proud of AT. The first game, only had a limited snap count, 20-something plays. Then he comes out the very next week and plays, however many, 70-something plays. It was just a gritty effort by one of our captains, one of our leaders in the room. I was really proud of him for doing that for us. But, yeah, he looked like his normal self. I'm sure as he's getting into the groove of it, I'm sure he'll start to feel better about it. But to me, I love having him out there. He was certainly a calming presence on the sideline, his demeanor. Then the way he played, I thought, was at the level that we expect him to play, a high level.

Q: What challenges do the Saints present on defense? It seemed like they gave (Bills quarterback) Josh Allen and the Bills a hard time last week.

KAFKA: Yeah, really all of their games, it's come down to the two-minute drill minus Seattle where a couple things kind of got out of hand. But I think this is a veteran defense. They've played together for a long time. The defensive coordinator, Coach (Brandon) Staley, is a hell of a coach. They've got these guys prepared. They're aggressive. They're at home, too, so they'll have the crowd noise working for them. But, I mean, these guys fly around. They're savvy. Some guys on the defensive end that are really, really good. The back end, physical, tall, long, guy with length. They present a mix of coverages and fronts that you've got to be prepared for. We've got a big-time challenge ahead of us, but I'm excited to get to work on it today.

Q: Does it look like a Staley defense already? Because he hasn't been there a whole lot, since February...

KAFKA: Yeah, certainly familiar from my time in Kansas City with him and when he was in L.A. for those years. There is definitely some carryover that you see. Different personnel, which what a good coach does is he molds it to the personnel that he has. So a little bit different than what he had with the Chargers that he has now, but I still see a lot of the same points of reference from that scheme and showing up, but he's just putting different guys in different spots.

Defensive Coordinator Shane Bowen

Q: Is that pretty much how you drew it up in the off-season? To have those four guys get that amount of pressure?

BOWEN: Yeah, it was good to see. Again, credit to them. I think they were executing at a high level. They were coordinating what they were doing. We found some passing situations where we could have had the lead as well. I think most of that helped. I think the turnovers were a huge part of that game. (Defensive lineman) Dex's (Lawrence) play, obviously. Then (outside linebacker Brian) Burns' pressure, and then (cornerback) Dru (Phillips) being able to come up with that one. So, proud of the guys and how they played and how they executed. I'm glad we were able to get a win.

Q: (Outside linebacker) Kayvon (Thibodeaux) seems to be playing at maybe a career-best level. I mean, obviously, he's been here two years. What is he doing that's taking it to the next game? Is it just a matter of whether he has maybe fewer snaps?

BOWEN: I mean, you see it out here every day at practice, the way he goes about his business, the way he works. He's intentional about what he does, studying tape, asking questions on guys, and taking advantage of opportunities. I think with all these guys, they're taking advantage of opportunities when they get those one-on-ones and find ways. The physicality is showing up with them as well. So, I'm pleased with what he's done. He's impacted the game for us. I even felt like that last year, early on, before he got hurt. He was doing a lot of good things for us, and then he got banged up. So, I'm pleased with where he's at, and hopefully that continues.

Q: You had a lot of success with stunts on Sunday. You hadn't used them a bunch before. Just what determines how much you can?

BOWEN: Yeah, I think studying the opponent, obviously, how they kind of handle some of that stuff. I think a little bit with us, our personnel, and just how we're placing guys in different spots and what they can handle, and their skill sets to be able to execute some of those comes into play. Obviously, just as they're going, the success we're having with them and the compliments from them, they kind of build off each other. You can adjust some things, and they're sitting on something, and then all of a sudden, it's the counterpoint. So, I think as you get into the flow of the game and you get a feel for it, that's part of it. But our guys executed, and they did a good job. There's so much detail that goes into running those games. It's not just a line here, a line there. It's trying to grab eyes, trying to get penetration where you get two on the guy that you're trying to get two-on-one on. So, there's a lot of nuances that go into those things other than really just running a line. So, proud of those guys and how they executed.

Q: With Dex, I mean, we talked about how he's rounding his shape a little more. Was this the best you've seen as far as getting closer to that point?

BOWEN: Yeah, he's been good. Again, he's demanding four hands, and he's getting a lot of four hands. And when he's able to get the one-on-ones, you feel him get pushed in the pocket and finding quick wins, or the ball gets out, or whatever that might be. So, an unselfish player. I mean, it's always been that way with him. People are going to demand attention to him just because of what he's done in this league. Hopefully, we can continue to evolve and keep winning some of these one-on-ones and executing games when we get them called. And we can try to alleviate some of that for him as well.

Q: You talked a lot last year about the run defense and about how there was a lot of good, but there were a few plays here and there. And it seems to be the same a lot this year. Is it one thing? Is it one guy?

BOWEN: I think a lot of the ones when they hit big, it's more than just one guy, obviously. Like, you want to be able to get them down when they do break for not 54 or whatever it was, right? You want to be able to find ways to get them down. But, I mean, hopefully, we can do a good job being able to get off blocks, changing the math a little bit more up front, where it's not one for one. And these teams mix it up. They run some of these gap schemes, and they pin and pull, and you see a little bit of that. But changing the math on these pullers, changing the math in some of the zone schemes, and then ultimately, like with these big ones, it's usually more than one culprit, right? So just making sure we're there where we're supposed to be, ready to make it. And then if it does hit, that we can find a way to get them on the ground where, again, we can manage the 10-yarders, 12-yarders. But when you give up the big ones, man, those are tough to come back from. So it's going to be a big challenge this week. Like, really, really, two really good backs. And we're going to have to be locked and loaded. It's going to take all 11. We're going to have to be able to get off blocks and swarm and get these guys on the ground.

Q: So it's more than just taking bad angles - It seems like the secondary has taken some bad angles. Yeah. I think of the one this week, I think it's (Dallas Cowboys running back) Javonte Williams against the Cowboys.

BOWEN: I wouldn't say it's just that. I mean, we've got to find ways to get them on the ground, we do when they do break. That's part of it. Like, they're the last line of defense. But, again, we've got to do a better job of not letting them run through the heart of our defense too. So, again, I think it's been a myriad of things that we've got to continue to stress and continue to work on and find ways to eliminate them.

Q: When (New Orleans Saints quarterback) Spencer Rattler was kind of giving an overview of your defense, he said you guys don't disguise as much as some teams they've faced. I know that was a lot of talk in the soft season to have interchangeable safeties. I mean, first of all, is that accurate? Do you not disguise as much? And how do you get to maybe the point you're at?

BOWEN: I think there are certain situations we probably do a little bit more than some others at times. That's something we kind of evaluate how we want to play certain things week to week. Some of the matchups come into play with that, right. The personnel and who we have available and what we're willing to ask them to do in certain situations. Again, I always want to try to change the picture as much as you can post-snap on these guys, so they've got to figure it out. It takes all 11 in the passing game, and that's a big part of being able to get home, right? Like, get the quarterback to hold the ball a split second where he's got to decipher what it is. So, something we always talk about, we always try to work at, and just especially in the situations that we're able to, we definitely want to be able to do that.

Q: Brian said on his sack there late in the game that you had called that blitz earlier and sort of got beat on it. How did he convince you to go back to it?

BOWEN: I don't think we executed it as well as we needed to when we got hit on it. I have confidence in these players. That's the one thing I think that showed up. There were a few different calls where it might not have been as detailed as we needed it to be early on, and then we went back to it. Prime example, we go back to it, Burns gets pressure, Dru picks it off, we go back to the other one. We execute it. Credit to the coaches, credit to the players for recognizing it and getting it fixed, and we hit it in the critical situations and come up. And my message to them, like, we've got to nail it the first time. We've got to be locked in the first time and make sure we're executing at the highest level the first time because these second chances don't come around too often in those situations like they did the other day.

Q: You have some challenges with injuries at safety this week, and how are you working around that?

BOWEN: Yeah, it's pretty fluid right now. Getting a lot of guys, reps out here, making sure they're all engaged. I mean, for us, it's a myriad of things, obviously, with (safety) Dane (Belton), with him being banged up and what that looks like, and (safety Tyler Nubin) Nu, I think it's going to be probably day by day for a lot of these guys. It might take until Sunday morning to figure out who's going to be up. So, getting these guys prepared, whether it's (safety Beau) Brade, whether it's (safety Raheen) Layne, if he comes into play. (Cornerback) Nic Jones has kind of been a little bit of that hybrid role for us, emergency for safety. So, spending time with those guys, making sure they know the game plan. Again, I think as a coaching staff, we've got to have contingency plans for all that stuff.

Q: What did you see from (outside linebacker) Abdul (Carter) on Sunday?

BOWEN: Yeah, disruptive, productive. I go back to that backed-up drive in the fourth quarter where he got pressure on three plays in a row, basically. That was a huge, huge stop for us to keep him backed up, to get the ball back early in the fourth. But the dude works hard. All three of those guys are unselfish. They're putting the team first. They're doing what's asked of them. They're not batting an eye. They're trying to do everything the right way. Again, I think having Burns and KT in that room is very valuable for him, too, just to see what it is and how those guys go about their business. But I've been pleased with him. The versatility of him and those other guys, they're all different. They all have a different skill set. The versatility you can use in that is a little bit different. But being able to maximize that has been good for us.

Q: What's the coaching point on the (Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver) Quinton Johnson touchdown? It looked like Deonte may have bit up a little bit. I was wondering, my first reaction was like, Deonte had a pick right before that, and it got negated. I was wondering if maybe he was eager to get it back.

BOWEN: We've got to make sure we take their go-to guy away, knowing what it is, and making sure we're on our landmarks where we need to be, and knowing the ability when you do have a guy over the top, how can you play it a little bit differently? You do it so many snaps in two two-minute, and you're in the right spots, and everything's right, and then all of a sudden, they jump offsides on a critical fourth and two. They come back to it and just don't execute it at a high level, as high as we'd like.

Special Teams Coordinator Michael Ghobrial

Q: What went into the decision to go with (kicker) Jude (McAtamney) last week?

GHOBRIAL: A couple things. (kicker Younghoe) Koo obviously is a very accomplished kicker and there's still an acclimation period where that guy has to get used to the operation of snap and hold, obviously. The more time on task, I think that transition could happen for him. I think Jude just obviously having been here, understood the operation time a little bit more and we just felt like he gave us the best chance to win that week.

Q: Is that still a week-to-week thing for you at this point?

GHOBRIAL: Yeah, absolutely. Although Jude did a really nice job for us and excelled with everything we were asking him to do, I think ultimately, you still treat that like a competition and every week is a new week. We'll take a common-sense approach as we have more discussions as a coaching staff later in the week.

Q: With (cornerback) Deonte (Banks), what did you see from him as a returner?

GHOBRIAL: Tae is obviously a gifted athlete. He has the elite top-end speed. He has the frame that you'd want in a returner and he showed us that he has good ball skills. The ability to have good catch mechanics is always number one priority for me as a returner. The second thing, when the run skill shows up and the frame shows up and the speed shows up, you're like, okay, this guy has a chance to do it. He's done it before in his career of just playing football. He showed us a lot of promise throughout training camp, through these past few weeks, and it was cool to see him get a couple explosives last week. He was fired up to do it and there's also something to be said about a player that genuinely wants to be back there and do it. He's well-liked by his teammates so there's something to be said about the guys wanting to block for him as well. So, it was cool to give that guy an opportunity and cool to see him have success.

Q: Did he approach you guys about that or is that something that you guys went to him about?

GHOBRIAL: A combination of both. It was probably a few months ago, our returners were catching off the JUGS machine and he kind of came up to me. He's like, 'You know I can do that.' I said, 'Don't tempt me right there.' Because obviously he has the skill set to do it and then he was back there just catching it very free and easy. I was like, okay, let's start working with him a little bit more and that's something obviously he had a lot of success with on Sunday.

Q: You've had a different guy back there next to (wide receiver) Gunner (Olszewski) each week. What has it been like rotating that and do you think he could be the answer there?

GHOBRIAL: Potentially. I mean, every week is a new week in terms of what players we're able to use in that phase just because it deals with what we're doing offensively and defensively as well. It's a credit to the team, number one. Those guys have understood conceptually what we're asking that specific position to do. So, whenever you see a returner by committee and each of those guys show the ability to do it, you're like, okay, these guys are starting to understand the scheme, they're starting to understand how blocks develop, and it was really cool to see in that frame. So, we'll have more conversations at the end of the week, but Tae is definitely a guy that could do it at a high level for a long time.

Q: I don't know if we'll get a chance to talk to you next week because it's a short week, but have you been watching the Eagles' blocks? Is that on your mind? In the back of your mind at least?

GHOBRIAL: No. To be honest, my focus is always one day at a time, one week at a time. We have a great challenge ahead of us this week, playing in the Superdome. The Saints historically have played good special teams at a high level for a long time. We've got to make sure that we're locked into this week, this opponent and right now because they have a dangerous returner back there in (Saints wide receiver/return specialist) Rashid Shaheed. They have a lot of good core players that play their tails off and have production. They pressure kicks well, they've blocked a ton of kicks. So really our focus is on excelling versus the Saints and handling our business in that frame.

Q: What was the conversation like when you had the fourth down at I think at their 40? So it would have been a 58-yarder on Sunday. Obviously you punted, but was there any talk about trying a field goal there?

GHOBRIAL: Yeah, we always have discussions as coaches throughout the game just in terms of situation. And like I've said before, it kind of deals with how we're playing defensively, how we're playing offensively. Field position was a premium that game, so whether we punted on a short field or whether we wanted to attempt a field goal, that just dealt with the score differential and the flow of the game. It was cool to see our guys make a couple plays and obviously bounce back after they made a couple plays as well.

Q: How much more difficult is it when you have to punt from your heels on the end line like that. What does that change, obviously for (punter) Jamie (Gillan), but operationally?

GHOBRIAL: Number one, it's quicker because the spacing is a little bit tighter, so the snap gets to the punter quicker. Obviously, protection is a premium back there because you don't have as much space. So, the ability to speed up in those cases and then Jamie, I mean, I can't say enough good things about how he punted his tail off last Sunday. That specific punt will always stick out of my mind because he's able to flip the field. You talk about creating a game-changing play, I really feel that was one. Then to see our coverage unit cover with ultimate effort and technique and spreading the field, those guys put that whole play together, which was a long-lasting play. It was cool to see all those guys execute and a credit to Jamie of punting it well in that situation.

Q: (Tight end Chris) Manhertz, he's kind of a big guy. He got that last tackle on that last punt that pinned them back. How impressive is that?

GHOBRIAL: Very impressive. Everybody respects his physicality, the way he approaches the game. He's a super smart football player. The cool thing about him, because he's played so long in this league, I truly believe that he understands he doesn't have to go and reach for plays. He just has to be in position and when he's in position to make the plays that he's supposed to make, he shows up and he does it. He made a hell of a play tackling that returner in that regard.

Q: Why do you think your coverage unit has been playing well so far?

GHOBRIAL: A couple of reasons. I think it starts with the kickers placing the ball correctly. But also, there's a mentality that our guys have started to embody. Understanding that this is the first play of defense, whether it be on punt or kickoff. Every week is a new week. The success that we've had the past few weeks in terms of our coverage phases is not necessarily indicative of what we're going to do the next game. I think that the way that our guys have approached every week, how it's been a next-snap and clear mentality, they flourish for the opportunity to be out there again. It's really cool to be in the huddle right before they take the field because you see the level of concentration, you see the level of intensity those guys have, and a genuine appreciation for their teammates because they want to do their job so the other person next to them can do their job as well and if that returner goes to their spot, they're ready to do it. If the returner goes somewhere else, it's a byproduct of what that other teammate did. Like I said, we've got to continue to work. Yes, there's been some successful plays that we've had, but every week is a new week and we've got to show up today and have a great day of practice.

Q: Jude hit a couple of touchbacks last week. Was that part of the plan or is that a young kicker still working to develop his placement?

GHOBRIAL: The hard thing about that kickoff is you definitely don't want to kick it short, and when you error, sometimes you error with a little bit of adrenaline kicking it a little deep. That's just the nature of this rule is when you're trying to put it in play, sometimes they'll carry a little bit deeper and go into the end zone. It's a credit to their returners to making the smart decision and taking a knee. But there are times that we'll kick touchbacks as well. So, the biggest thing for him is just understanding how those two differentiate and when we kick a touchback, to be able to kick it out the back, and then when we put it in play, to be able to put it in play. But that's something that every kicker in this league is going to have to continue to work on.