Interim Head Coach Mike Kafka

KAFKA: Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas everybody. Just on the injury front, I'll just give it to you right now - So (defensive lineman) DJ (Davidson), (offensive lineman) Evan (Neal), (safety Tyler) Nubin, (center John Michael Schmitz Jr.) JMS, and (tackle Andrew Thomas) AT, we'll rest them today. They won't go today. Everyone else will get some work done.

Q: Do you have a feel at all for Andrew? Is that more rest or is that more – I mean, obviously with the hamstring.

KAFKA: Yeah, he's not going to go today. We'll just kind of see how it feels. He's got a couple days here to see how it looks.

Q: When does it become best just to shut guys down? There's two games left. If he's not going to be able to make it this week, is it worth rushing him back for the finale?

KAKFA: Yeah, I think we'll look at it and see where the extent of the injury is and then just give him a couple days here and then evaluate it and then make a decision.

Q: Same with JMS?

KAFKA: Same thing, yeah. I think we've got to see how he responds to the treatment. And then by Thursday, Friday, we'll have a feel.

Q: What do you want to see from (quarterback) Jaxson (Dart), kind of a bounce back game, I guess?

KAFKA: Yeah, really, Jaxson, the whole offensive unit, myself, we all are – obviously last week's performance wasn't to our standard. So, we came back to work today and yesterday dialed in on the game plan and emphasized the things that we need to get corrected. And then today's a great day because yesterday was kind of a walk-through tempo. So, today's a great day, a good work day in terms of getting out of the field, full speed, the timing, the rhythm, the communication, ramping that up as well. We're inside, we'll have the crowd noise. So, there will be a few different elements that we'll have to work through. So, I'm expecting and anticipating a good work day today.

Q: Were you curious to see how he came back from that game? I mean, you've been in the game long enough to have gotten ups and downs. This was sort of his first.

KAKFA: No, I wouldn't say I was curious. I knew exactly how he would respond, like he would respond to anything. The highs, the lows, he would respond the same way, with great attention to detail, urgency to get better. And so Jaxson's had that approach, our whole offense has had that approach, and he's the leader of the ship, and they're going to follow his direction and the leaders that we have on offense. So, again, one of those days today where it should be a lively practice.

Q: For you, how do you view like that coach-quarterback relationship? Obviously you've had it with (Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick) Mahomes and now Jaxson. How do you view how important that is to just kind of develop, guide, just kind of help the quarterback get through these highs and lows as a young quarterback?

KAKFA: It's extremely important. It's extremely important because I've been in those situations, seeing the game through the helmet that way and being able to give them my experiences, not only as a player but also as a coach and having to go through those ebbs and flows of a season or a game or a quarter or a series or a play. You can kind of dial it down to a couple different scenarios. And we have great resources in that room as well. Shea, Coach Tierney (offensive passing game coordinator, quarterbacks coach) does a great job. The veterans that we have in that room being able to give feedback as well. And for Jaxson and for any young player, they're absorbing that information, they're making it their own, they're making their corrections themselves, and then they're going out and applying it to the practice field.

Q: You're obviously communicating with Jaxson all the time, but when he has a game like he had, all you guys have, but obviously he talked after the game, he's never had an experience like that before. How do you handle that in terms of you're speaking to him all the time, but are there different pointed messages that you give him after a game like that than a game that he had more success in?

KAFKA: I think the messaging is consistent. The highs and the lows, they're all consistent. Where are the opportunities that we can learn from? Where are the opportunities we can grow from? And there's plenty of things that he did well in that game too. Whether it was in and out of alerts, operation at the line of scrimmage. Sure, there's things that we could improve on, just like there is every single game. So, I think the consistency of that dialogue and really where the points of emphasis for that game, kind of turning on the page, and now what can we do to apply those same learning tools to this game? This is a different team. This is a different scheme. Yeah, there may be similar pressures. There may be similar fronts and structures, but this is a different group. This is a different game entirely. So, making sure that we kind of compartmentalize that game and now what's the focus for this game? Turn the page and putting together a great plan and having a great practice routine and great practice schedule so that we can have a good game this week.

Q: Not giving away too much, like you said, they're a different team. I'm sure this is going to be a little bit of a different game plan than what you had run heavy last time.

KAKFA: I mean, every week's different. Every week's different, and I think whatever we can take advantage of, whether it's our personnel, their personnel, our scheme, their scheme, we're going to look at that. Every game's going to be a little bit different. Whatever we think is the best way to attack them and give us the best chances to win the game, that's what we'll try to do.

Q: How much have you had to talk to him about allowing him to sort of play his game, his freelance style? There was a post he liked that seemed to suggest he's not able to fully play his game.

KAKFA: I'm not sure I got the post? I'm not sure I saw that post. All I know is that we want to give our players, we don't ever want to have our players in a box, put them in a box. So, we want to give our players the ability to express themselves on the field to the best of their abilities and let their natural ability show. But sure, we have framework within the offense, within our offensive system that has certain rules that we have to work through. And so you take those rules and then you give it to the players, and then they elevate it and they put their own stamp on it and they make it their own and they make it great.

Q: So, from your perspective, you haven't heard that from him, that he's frustrated with the approach there?

KAKFA: No, no, we talk almost every day on a personal level, and then obviously on a football level. But we have those discussions about how the game could have went or should have went or things that we can get corrected together. And again, I'm right there arm-in-arm with him in terms of our operation, how we're going to play on offense. We say it's an 11-man operation. I'm kind of the 12th man of that, right? And our coaching staff is an extension of me as well. So, we're all in this thing together. We want everyone to have their best games. We want everyone to play well. But every game is going to be different. And so, it's going to take certain things on certain games to win. And we've said this in the past, whether it's running the ball 30 times or throwing the ball 50 times, we don't necessarily know how it's going to declare itself. But the ability to adjust and adapt to that scenario and then give ourselves a chance to win it in the fourth quarter, which is where a lot of these football games come down to, that's the main goal.

Q: The last couple offseasons, you've gone through the interview process for head coach. I'm curious how you would characterize the things you've learned about yourself and about doing this job in these last five or six weeks here.

KAFKA: Yes, I think it's been a great learning experience. Every single day, I'm growing. Every single day, I'm learning something new, not only about myself, but about the players. How can I continue to give my best to the players, an asset. You know, where can I be an asset to them? Where can I be an asset to the coaching staff? How can I continue to serve them, the people around us and our organization? How can I be an asset and serve them to the best of my ability? That's really the one thing I'm learning every single day. Where's the one piece I can help insert myself to help them be better? And we talk about it a lot as a staff, not only just offensively, but talking with the coordinators on our team and where we need to be and what are the messaging and what are the things that we need to talk about to get the best out of our players, whether that's changing things in the schedule, whether that's changing personnel groupings or getting into certain scheme stuff, or it's just, hey, how are we going to operate in the building? How are our meetings going to sound? How are they going to look? What does the feel of this building look like and how is that going to change on a weekly, if we need to make adjustments, or overall what we need to do to be better and to continue to find a way to win.

Q: You've always been, in front of us, it's always been about the players. But for you as a head coach, you're still waiting for your first win. How difficult has that been to not taste that yet and the drive to get that done maybe Sunday?

KAFKA: Winning's hard in this league, and we all know that. But we know that there's also, if we do the right things, offensively, defensively, special teams, we do the right things as a staff, then we'll get those results. So, we have a great focus in on what's most important, that's today, and working through our critical situations, our third down, our short yardage, mixing in some two-minute as well. That's going to be a huge part of this game. So, we have to be detailed. We have to be understanding what this game plan is and master that game plan. That way we can apply it to Sunday.

Q: Do you at all, and this is one more question about that, just, I mean, it's human nature to wonder, for all of us what our future is, what the next step is. Do you wonder about that at all? When iyou're having a quiet moment at home, do you think about that? Or are you blocking that out in getting through these two games? Like, how do you handle that?

KAKFA: Yeah, my only focus has been just on this team, this week, today. Because you don't have time, I don't have time to overthink all those other things. My only focus is on the players. How can I make them the best? My coaching staff, the staff around us, how can I make them the best? And so that's really the only focus. So, if you think of it that way, it keeps it really simple in your mind, and you don't have to worry about all the other stuff. That just bogs your mind down. So that's really where our focus is, and I'm excited. Every day I come to work, I love my job. So I love coming to work every day and working with everyone here. And it's special. It's a special organization. This is a special team. I know the results aren't where we're at, but that's in the past. We can only focus on today and find a way to get a win today.

Q: You mentioned the messaging. Like, when (former Giants head coach) Tom Coughlin used to say, at the beginning of his Wednesday meetings, he used to lay out everything for the team, right? The rhetoric outside of the building is, okay, the loser here is in line for the number one overall pick. Do you bring that up to the guys at all? Is it even part of your messaging? Like, hey, ignore that. Don't pay attention to that. Just tune that out. Anything like that of the sort?

KAFKA: I haven't talked about it with the players. The players want to win. The coaching staff wants to win this week. Like, this is our only focus is this week. And so, all our messaging, all that we're talking about is how we can get better, number one, as a team, and then what we have to do today to go out there to Vegas and beat the Raiders.

Q: With Abdul, the last three games, it feels like he's turning a corner, I would say. How do you just tell him to just keep going and just not, you know, not necessarily not get complacent, but just keep building on this to end the rookie year strong for him?

KAFKA: I think when you put in the work and you have a plan and then you go and have success, I think that kind of proves to you that, hey, this is kind of the recipe. There's really no substitute for the hard work, for the dedication, for the time. And when you put that process in, you continue to work through that process, because I'm sure even though he came in early, he's looking at certain things, he goes, okay, well, how can I make this more efficient? What more can I add to that? Well, maybe there's some things I can subtract that I don't necessarily need at that point in time. So, he's working through that process as a young player, but when you see success, that's going to continue to charge him forward and get more. Like, where can I get more? Where's another edge I can go grab to make myself a better player? So, when you see young players doing that, like Abdul, and I can go up and down the roster in terms of the guys that are doing that, you're going to see the results, and you've got to believe that.

Quarterback Jaxson Dart

Q: Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions? Anything unique?

DART: Yeah, just meals is kind of the big one. My mom makes the best crescent rolls. They're all out here right now so it's going to be cool to have our first Christmas in New York and be as a family. Just excited that they're out here for it.

Q: Did you get to see the tree and everything?

DART: Yeah, I went and saw the tree. It was my first time seeing it. I did think it was going to be a little bigger than what it was, but it was cool to see the iconic tree.

Q: How many will you have getting together family-wise?

DART: Just the seven of us. Or six of us, sorry – six of us.

Q: What's your feel about kind of the bounce back after - I know you were disappointed on Sunday. You hadn't really had a game like that. How have you approached this week and how much are you looking forward to getting back out again?

DART: Yeah, obviously, you look back at the tape, look at the things that you can correct. At the same time, I know the kind of player I am. I'm going to bounce back. I think everybody in their careers is going to have a game that they're unhappy about. But I've done some really good things too and I know that my work ethic and my ability to perform, I don't doubt that at all. I'm excited to have that opportunity and play close to home.

Q: Did you have any of the two veteran quarterbacks come up to you and say stuff, since they've been through everything, obviously, a hundred times? Did those guys say anything to you after that or in between Sunday and today, just about, 'hey, I've been through 10 of those things'?

DART: Yeah, no doubt. They've been through it all. They've played at the very highest level and have had bad games, as well. To get their perspective and obviously have the urgency to clean up some mistakes here and there, but at the same time, also don't overreact to it. Keep playing your game, there are a lot of really good things this year to continue to stack on and I'm excited for another opportunity. And I think it's great, this league's week to week, so it's a quick turnaround for us and be able to go execute and play at a high level.

Q: Is there anything you would like to do more of, whether it's run, pass, throw the ball down the field, that maybe you haven't had the opportunity these last few weeks?

DART: Definitely love all that stuff. So, you just go back and communicate with the coaching staff and have those conversations. Just excited for this week and like I said, being able to clean up on some things individually and as an offense, try to just do our best to get back in sync.

Q: Do you feel like you're being heard when you say those things, that you want to run and throw deep and do all that?

DART: Yeah, our coaching staff is great, and they've been great from the moment that I got here with that communication. I know that as a rookie, sometimes it's not always the case. But to have those conversations and those heart-to-hearts is something that I definitely respect.

Q: Do you see a difference in the way you're being handled post-concussion, and do you feel restricted in any way? There was a post that your account liked that kind of stated that point.

DART: I have all the confidence in this coaching staff and their ability to put me out there and put me in good situations. There are definitely things that I need to improve on myself. I definitely take accountability when it comes to mistakes here and there. I think that offensively, for the most part this year, we've done some really good things. I think for us, just having communication and being on the same page with things is huge and then going out there and executing at a high level.

Q: How much would it mean for you to help (wide receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson) get to that 1,000-yard mark? It's a spot he hasn't hit yet in his career.

DART: Yeah, it's huge. Just a milestone in his career. I think that he told me that there's a statistic of something at his size nobody's ever done before. Really looking forward to going out there, competing with him. He's a great player and has done amazing and has been a guy who I've loved playing with. Just his ability to compete each and every play and he does such a great job of leading and working hard and making plays. Definitely going to do my part to help him.

Q: With (interim head coach) Mike Kafka, obviously the early part of your relationship with him was as an OC. What's it been like, in your eyes, as a head coach? Obviously, you're a first-year player so you don't have a lot to compare to. But has it been different with him as a head coach with you personally, between the two of you guys, or remained fairly the same?

DART: Nothing's really changed too much. For him, he has more of a responsibility for all three phases of the game. So, from a time standpoint, you definitely lean on the other coaches. From a conversation standpoint, there's maybe been just a little bit of a difference, but his priority is still the quarterback and the offense. So, we still have great conversations, and I've loved playing with him.

Q: And obviously, you want to win a game. Everybody in that locker room wants to win a game for yourselves. He has not won a game as the interim coach yet. Is there an element in there, you think, amongst you guys that wants to get him that first win?

DART: I just – you know, we're sick of losing, so we definitely are just wanting to get that feeling back. It's hard to go week to week and have these close games where you put in a ton of hard work and things just haven't really paid off for us this year. You definitely want to play hard for him and just as a locker room, from a morale standpoint, it'll be huge for us these last two weeks to give everything we can to try to go get a win.