Mike Kafka ‘s plan to unlock the Giants ‘ downfield passing attack reflects the evolution of New York ‘s offensive coordinator as a play caller to maximize the team’s new personnel.
Call the Giants’ new scheme ‘Screen ‘Em Deep.’
Kafka showed a familiar, creative tendency this spring and summer in his second stint wearing the headset:
He forces linebackers and safeties to run from sideline to sideline with horizontal receiver routes and passing concepts, then aims for an explosive play with misdirection or a shot over the top.
But there was a new emphasis in Kafka’s game plans this preseason: a heavier-than-ever reliance on Giant screen passes near the line of scrimmage during Brian Daboll’s regime (10.1% of passes targeted, 4.7% to running backs, according to NFL NextGen Stats