Kafka gets reps, praise and other Thursday practice notes
QB Mike Kafka gets plenty of reps, and wins high praise from Marty Mornhinweg, plus other notes from the morning practice.
Kafka gets reps, praise and other Thursday practice notes
It was a low-key practice in damp conditions Thursday morning. Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick were given the day off, leaving plenty of repetitions for rookie Mike Kafka.
Kafka is expected to be the emergency quarterback this year, but could carve out a role for the future. The Eagles obviously thought enough of Kafka to take him in the fourth round, and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg delivered an eye-popping assessment of the quarterback's smarts.
Asked about how fast Kafka is learning the offense, Mornhinweg said, "he's the best rookie that way I've ever had in 15, 16, 17 years. He's really sharp. He's sharp book-wise, too, but he's also very intelligent athletically."
Kafka, a Northwestern product, threw around 17 passes in seven-on-seven drills and completed about nine, mostly on short routes, by my very rough count. A couple were dropped, and one went off a receiver's finger tips and was intercepted by safety Ryan Hamilton, a Council Rock North alum.
Kafka, who played in a prolific spread offense in college, was sharp on short and underneath throws but missed several passes on deep looks or throws to the sidelines that required more power.
Mornhinweg said it was important to see how Kafka responded to making many throws, and having to get back into action immediately after a mistake. To this point, the rookie has had few practice repetitions behind Kolb and Vick.
"I wanted to see how he could go back-to-back-to-back-to-back. You know he was going to make a mistake at some point in there and how he responds to that, and he did a terrific job today," Mornhinweg said. "It was a good experience for him."
After all the throws, Kafka still stayed after practice to work some more with wide receiver Chad Hall.
-- The offensive and defensive linemen scrapped in one-on-one pass rushing drills, one of the more entertaining and gritty features of camp so far. The power displays were punctuated by offensive line coach Juan Castillo shouting encouragement and running up to the wrangling competitors, sometimes so close that he could have provided a double team.
Castillo seemed particularly encouraged at one point by the performance of Jeraill McCuller, a soft spoken giant who goes six-foot-seven, 320-pounds.
"He's been knee-deep in me every day," said McCuller, an undrafted free agent from North Carolina State.
"Today was the first day when I just felt really comfortable, getting out here practicing hard, going up against the best talent in the world," McCuller said. Wait until the vets get here tonight.
-- The Eagles worked out two receivers today: Kelley Washington and Jared Perry. Washington, 6-foot-3, 218 pounds, last played for the Ravens last season. In six NFL seasons, Washington caught 107 passes for 1,327 and 11 TDs. The 6-1, 180-pound Perry is an undrafted rookie out of Missouri. He was recently cut by the 49ers.
-- When asked if wide receiver DeSean Jackson would continue to return punts, Mornhinweg said, "Why wouldn't you?"
-- Mornhinweg said that Chad Hall, who has played strictly at wideout thus far in camp, would get some reps at running back.
Comment removed.
a redskins fan calling philly losers? the skins blow, the caps choke every year, the wizards (aka the Arenas BULLETS) are a mess and the nationals are awful. talk about a town of losers. have fun with mcnabb way past his prime. we appreciate you giving us a stud safety for him.- Enjoy the air guitar and worm-burners McNabbtoMoss
- As long as he doesn't have a metamorphosis into a bad player. Ha, get it?— Philly Fan in Kuwait
- Go root for your deadskins m to m, with that line and receiving corps McNabb will be on the DL by the bye week.— brs50
- Comment removed.
- He will be much happier throwing one hoppers on a bad team— Reid Must Go
- and haynesworth just failed his conditioning test!! talk about a bunch of losers! how much you paying him again? skins blow.
- I'm much more excited about Kafka than Kolb. Every article I've read indicates Kafka has been putting in a LOT of extra time, something that Kolb hasn't been doing. Kolb does a lot of talking; Kafka does a lot of talking AND puts a ton of extra time into practice. I honestly think this guy is going to be a starter (maybe not here) in two years time, if not less.— psv
- I'm much more excited about Kafka than Kolb. Every article I've read indicates Kafka has been putting in a LOT of extra time, something that Kolb hasn't been doing. Kolb does a lot of talking; Kafka does a lot of talking AND puts a ton of extra time into practice. I honestly think this guy is going to be a starter (maybe not here) in two years time, if not less.— psv
- McNabbtoMoss give it a break would ya,you're doing nothing now but making a fool of yourself— slyv
- psv - huh? how do you know how much time kolb is putting in? morningwheg has done everything but get on his knees when talking about kolb's preparation and focus so far. kafka hasn't done anything yet. every rookie practices hard. get a clue dude.
That Joe is a cockaroach.- Kafka was a good draft pick. Of the seven guys I asked for, he and Nate Allen were the only two the Eagles gave me for Christmas in April, although I liked the pick of Riley Cooper too. If you watch Northwestern football, you know the players are smart. They give fits to the larger Big Ten schools, who get higher-rated recruits but have trouble figuring out Northwestern's schemes. This guy shredded OSU's defense.— tacklinjoe
- I hope we are bad enough to be able to draft a franchise QB-you know like Mc Nabb and by the way Kolb looks I think there is a very good chance.— TYMcNabb
