Giants interim coach Mike Kafka responds to social media criticism from Malik Nabers, President Trump
Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka against the Lions at Ford Field on Nov. 23 in Detroit. Credit: Getty Images/Nic Antaya
Mike Kafka still didn’t know who his quarterback will be Monday when the Giants face the Patriots. Jaxson Dart remained in the concussion protocol for the start of a third consecutive week.
Dart was a full participant in practice Wednesday. He took first-team reps during open portions of practice seen by media. Kafka said that Dart and Jameis Winston worked with the first-team offense.
Yet until Dart gets cleared by an independent neurologist, the waiting game continues for his return to game action.
“I would just say I'd lean on the professional opinions of the doctors and where they're at,” Kafka said. “But if he's ready to play, like just any player, if they're ready to play, then we have a plan for him, then we'll put him in.”
One thing Kafka was more confident about was defending his decision to go for it on fourth down from the Lions’ 6-yard line with the Giants up three late in the fourth quarter. It sparked outrage from receiver Malik Nabers to even President Donald Trump.
Nabers, who is rehabbing from a torn ACL injury suffered in Week 4, deleted his tweet on Sunday criticizing Kafka’s play-calling and not kicking the field goal. On Truth Social, Trump called the decision "weird" and said that the Giants should’ve kicked it, which would’ve given them a 30-24 lead with under three minutes left in regulation.
The Giants lost 33-27 in overtime, their sixth loss in a row.
Kafka said he didn’t see Nabers’ tweet and didn’t speak to him about it. If a player says something that he feels is detrimental to the team, Kafka said he’d address it in-house and move from there.
That, apparently, was not the case with Nabers. Through his first two seasons, he’s never been shy speaking his frustrations whether it’s not getting enough targets or calling the team’s effort “soft” after a loss to the Buccaneers last season.
Kafka, however, wasn’t concerned about this latest outburst.
“That's the beauty of the National Football League. You can express yourself any way you want,” Kafka said. “The beauty of it is any player, they're going to go out there and they're going to have an opinion of what they'd like to see.
“But at the end of the day, those are the calls we're going to make on game day and those are the calls we're going to make for the betterment of the team.”
The decision was the first controversial one Kafka’s made since being promoted to interim coach Nov. 10. It also wasn’t a hard call to make.
The Giants’ defense blew four fourth-quarter leads entering Sunday. They allowed Jahmyr Gibbs to run for a 49-yard touchdown earlier in the quarter make it 27-24.
Kafka wants to be an aggressive coach and instead of trusting his defense, he went with his offense. The Giants finished with a season-high 517 yards and had little trouble moving down the field on Sunday.
It was all the more reason Kafka doubled down on his decision. He was fine living with the call even if it attracted disdain from the president of the country.
“Whatever that call, whoever it was, a player, a coach, my aunt and uncle, my dad, like I heard it from everybody,” said Kafka, “And that's OK. They can have their opinions, and I respect that. But I'm going to do what's best for the team, try to do what's best for the team.”
Lawrence suffers elbow injury
Kafka said defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence injured his elbow during Sunday’s loss at the Lions. It’s the same one he dislocated last year on Thanksgiving that ended his season.
Lawrence didn’t practice on Wednesday and neither did linebackers Kayvon Thibodeaux and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles.
The injury, which Lawrence said happened in the first quarter, limited him to just 53% of the Giants’ defensive snaps, his second-lowest total of the season. He wasn’t on the field for the team’s final defensive play, a 69-yard touchdown by Gibbs in overtime.
“Just nicked up, nothing serious,” Lawrence said Sunday.
Kafka didn’t say how serious the injury was. He also didn’t say if Thibodeaux’s shoulder injury was a long-term concern after he missed the last two games.
Blue notes
Cornerbacks Paulson Adebo and Deonte Banks were present during stretching and individual drills. Adebo missed the last five games with a knee injury while Banks was out Sunday with a hip injury.
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
