What we know about Kafka
If the regular season started Sunday, Mike Kafka would be the Eagles' backup quarterback.
What we know about Kafka
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
If the regular season started Sunday, Mike Kafka would be the Eagles' backup quarterback.
And while there's still a whole summer to get through, he's in place to get the call should Michael Vick suffer an injury in 2012.
As I've written before, backup quarterback is the biggest concern on the offense and one of the biggest concerns on this team. That's not meant to be a jab at Kafka, but it's important to look at the signs we've seen in the past couple years.
Last summer, the Eagles needed a backup after they traded Kevin Kolb, and they gave Vince Young a call. Fair enough. Kafka was drafted in 2010, did not get a full offseason to work with the coaches after his rookie season, and the Eagles wanted to cover themselves in case of a Vick injury. Things didn't work out according to plan, but signing a veteran quarterback was the smart move.
In April, the Eagles revealed what they thought of Kafka's ceiling when they drafted Nick Foles in the third round. Foles was a developmental pick, but the Eagles seem to think he has the upside of a quality starter in the NFL. If they felt the same way about Kafka, they probably would not have made the Foles pick.
In terms of in-game performance, there's not a lot to go by with Kafka. Against Atlanta, he came in at the end of the third quarter and played well, going 7-for-9 for 72 yards. His only incompletions were a fourth-down drop by Jeremy Maclin and a Hail Mary at the end of the game.
We saw two things from Kafka that are worth noting. One, Andy Reid wanted to play it safe with his second-year quarterback, who was seeing his first game action. Take away the Hail Mary, and six of Kafka's eight pass attempts came within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. To his credit, Kafka completed all the short throws, and while he was only asked to throw downfield once, he completed a 43-yard pass to Maclin. But overall, mostly short, quick throws.
We also got a glimpse into his football IQ, which Reid and Marty Mornhinweg have raved about over the years. The Falcons threw different looks at him, blitzing three times, dropping defensive end John Abraham into coverage and sending a defensive back from his front side. Kafka handled the pressure well, getting rid of the ball quickly and completing all three attempts against the blitz.
Against the Giants, Kafka led two drives, which both ended in interceptions. He was looking deep each time and made bad throws/poor decisions.
Overall, Kafka completed 11 of 16 passes for 107 yards and a pair of interceptions. Again, it's a small sample size, but nine of those 11 completions came within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. Five of them were behind the line of scrimmage. Kafka has talked this offseason about improving his arm strength, which is important, because this offense needs to hit on big plays downfield to be successful.
Since Reid became the head coach, the Eagles are 17-15 in games started by a backup quarterback. The two most successful runs were 2002 (Koy Detmer and A.J. Feeley) and 2006 (Jeff Garcia). Of course, it always helps when the defense does its part and the coaches cater the offense to the backup's strengths.
In the past five seasons, the Eagles are 4-7 in games started by the backup. That includes last year's 1-2 mark with Vince Young under center.
This year, Kafka wll likely get his shot. And with free agency looming after the 2013 season, his performance will help determine which direction his career is headed.
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Kafka may have a chance to be Jeff Garcia.— JBP- Sheil, when you give stats please provide league wide averages as context. We don't know what to make of the 17-15 record with backup QBs without a league wide average as context.— soulman386
- I think the Eagles would have a better chance of making the Super Bowl if Kafka was named the Starter in training camp. I'm not praising Kafka. Just realize that there is no way Michael Vick is ever taking any team to the Super Bowl. He may give you 1 big start. But he is way to inconsistent & turnover prone to win 3 consecutive playoff games. Will never ever happen!!— FetchDixon
- Isn't the battle Kafka vs. Trent Edwards? How is Trent's arm strength? Isn't there a speed gun for Qbs like baseball pitchers? What are his pro stats vs. Kafka/Young/Kolb?
I see Edwards as the back-up and Foles runnign taxi squad for two years.— LA Mike - Foles reminds me of Napolean Dynamite— blueye7
- Foles is a statute in the pocket. He won't survive a season in the Eagles scheme. Kafka could be a Garcia like QB. He has the intelligence to learn the reads and can throw accurately. At least two of the interceptions he threw were not his fault. One was his first throw of the game and Andy shouldn't have made that call at that particular moment. The other was in effect a Hail Mary.— BLUEBELLION
- Soulman - please ask a relevant question when posting a comment. Dont ask for further information on a statistic that doesnt hold much context to the rest of the article, which is about Kafka, and not the Eagles coaching abilities of a backup QB.— uunderstandben
- I'm with Soulman: more context!
Example - The Eagles were the 8th D in the NFL last year, right?
Was the difference between one and eight greater than that between eight and 16? Between eight and 23? Many times 8th is closer to 20th than it is to 5th. OK, done ramblin'.— Warhound - I think your most teling observation is the correct one that if the Eagles thought Kafka was a future starter they would not have wasted a third rounder on a developmental project like Foles. They could have used that pick on a safety!— Bama
- They really can't be too high on Kafka if they brought in Edwards and drafted Foles in the 3rd round. My guess is that Edwards is insurance in case Kafka regresses during the OTA's. But make no mistake, he's not a starter. Not by a long shot. Lacks the arm strength to get the ball down the field.— beegal99
- Alas, I suspect that FetchDixon may be closer to the reality of the situation than any Eagles' fan wants to acknowledge.
Vick will likely cost the Eagles as many games as he may win for them. The turnovers and questionable decision making needs to end ... but can we truly expect it to change??? I think not.
... and I hope that I'm wrong.— FishFryFrank 
Comment removed.- I think people are sleeping on Kafka. He has heart, intelligence and pocket presence. I think if he can get his arm stronger he can be a quality NFL qb. Better than Kolb..— Zeru
- I thought Kafka looked like he had some ability in the Giants game last season. Need to see more.— p-diddy
- I am not so sure they drafted Foles and brought in Edwards because they weren't satisfied with Kafka. Edwards has experience and is cheap insurance if something happens to Vick or Kafka before the season starts. I think Andy likes to have a third QB - now Foles - that he develops as an investment as much as insurance.— borntosuffer
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