Mike Kafka

Michael John "Mike" Kafka (born July 25, 1987) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Northwestern.

Kafka attended St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago, Illinois, where he played both football and baseball. Kafka led St. Rita Cascia to three conference championships. He ended his high school football career with 1,816 total yards and 16 touchdowns. After his senior season, he moved on to Northwestern University where he redshirted in 2005.

In his first collegiate appearance, Kafka threw a 19-yard touchdown pass against Miami. Against Bowling Green, Kafka suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out until the Ohio State game. In 2007, Kafka was the backup to C. J. Bachér and played in only two games. Despite being the backup quarterback again in 2008, Kafka threw for 330 yards and finished second on the team in rushing yards with 321. Following Bachér's graduation after the 2008 season, Kafka became the starter for 2009. Against Syracuse he set the school record for most consecutive pass completions with 16. In the same game, he became the first Big Ten Conference player to score a passing, receiving, and rushing touchdown since Zack Mills from Penn State in 2004. He was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. Kafka received second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2009.

In the 2010 Outback Bowl against Auburn, Kafka set the all-time bowl record with 47 completions and 78 passing attempts. He set Northwestern and Outback Bowl records with 532 passing yards and an Outback Bowl record with five interceptions. During his career at Northwestern, Kafka threw for 4,265 yards with a completion percentage of 64.1%, 19 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. He rushed for 891 yards and 11 touchdowns on 268 carries, and caught a pass for 24 yards and a touchdown.

Early years
Kafka was born on July 25, 1987, in Chicago, Illinois, to Michael and Sandra Kafka. He attended St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago where he played football (coached by Todd Kuska) and baseball. He was the team captain for both teams. In football, he led the Mustangs to three conference championships and had a career record of 35–8. As a senior in 2004, Kafka completed 75 of 129 passes. In the season-opener against Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Kafka went up against H-F's quarterback Freddie Barnes and won the game, 52–28. Against Mt. Carmel High School, he ran for 164 yards and passed for 126 yards. Kafka passed for 1,004 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2004. He ran for 806 yards with a 5.6 yards per carry average, and five touchdowns on 144 carries. His career stats at St. Rita were 1,816 total offensive yards and 16 touchdowns.

Kafka made the school's Silver Honor Roll all four years of high school and was an Academic All-State. He was an All-area selection by Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report and was an honorable mention all-state selection. SuperPrep named him All-Midwest Region and Rivals.com placed him on the Top 25 dual-threat quarterbacks list. SuperPrep ranked him 25th among players from Illinois at all positions and 50th nationally among quarterbacks. He was ranked 20th in Illinois by Rivals.com and 25th nationally among dual-threat quarterbacks. Kafka was named Team Offensive MVP and Catholic Metro Blue Offensive MVP. He was an honorable mention all-area honoree by Chicago Sun-Times and Daily Southtown.

Kafka committed to Northwestern University on December 10, 2004. He also received offers from Florida Atlantic University, the University of Pittsburgh and Stanford University.

2005 season
During the 2005 season, his first year, Kafka redshirted in order for him to learn the Northwestern Wildcats' offensive system.

2006 season
In his Northwestern career debut on September 1 versus Miami University, Kafka threw for 106 yards and one touchdown on 13 completions out of 17 attempts. His first touchdown was a 19-yard pass to running back Tyrell Sutton. He led all players with 89 yards rushing on 17 rushing attempts. His passer rating for that game was 148.26 as Northwestern went on to win 21–3.

Against New Hampshire on September 9, Kafka went 19–32 and threw for 173 yards along with one interception and a fumble. He rushed for 42 yards. The Wildcats ended up losing the game, 34–17.

He played the first half of the game against Eastern Michigan and rushed for 33 yards with a 6.6 yards per run average, along with his first career rushing touchdown, a 6-yard run. He passed for 76 yards and completed 10 out of 18 passes with an interception.

Days before Northwestern faced Nevada, coach Pat Fitzgerald confirmed that Kafka would remain the starter despite his prior performanaces. In the game, Kafka ran for a career-high 111 yards, which included a 13-yard touchdown rush, and averaged 9.2 yards per rush. He passed for 122 yards, completing 9 out of 21 passes and three interceptions. His 111 yards rushing were the most by a Northwestern quarterback since Zak Kustok ran for 111 yards in a November 21, 2001 game versus Bowling Green. Kafka suffered a hamstring injury during the game, which kept him out of the next three games of the season.

Kafka made his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury against Ohio State, in which he passed for 17 yards and completed four out of eight passes. He averaged −4.0 yards per carry.

2007 season
In 2007, Kafka was a backup and only played in two games, where he passed for 11 yards on two completions and rushed for eight yards.

2008 season
Kafka entered the 2008 season as a backup quarterback behind C. J. Bachér. Against Syracuse, Kafka entered the game in the fourth quarter and rushed twice for 18 yards, which included an 11-yard run. Against Southern Illinois, he threw two passes and completed one for one yard and rushed for three yards. He played in the final series at Indiana and completed a pass, which went for nine yards.

Starting in place of the injured Bachér for the game against Minnesota, Kafka ran for 217 yards on 27 attempts, which included a 53-yard run, and passed for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 12 completions out of 16 throws. His 217 rushing yards set a school and Big Ten Conference record for quarterback rushing yards in a game. The Big Ten record was later beaten in 2010 by Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson on September 11, 2010. Kafka began the game by completing his first eight throws, which included a 36-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Ebert. He was named the team's offensive player of the week after that game, along with being named the Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week. Kafka earned an ESPN College Gameday Helmet Sticker and was named an AT&T All-America Player of the Week candidate.

The next week, Kafka started in his second straight game against Ohio State, and passed for 177 yards while completing 18 out of 27 throws. He ran for 83 yards and a touchdown on 29 attempts. He ran for 300 yards in his two starts against Ohio State, which is the most by a Northwestern quarterback in successive contests. He was named the team's offensive big playmaker for the game.

Against Michigan, he entered the game in Northwestern's second series on offense and rushed for 20 yards on three carries before he was forced to leave the game after suffering a concussion. He ran for one yard on three carries against Illinois.

Kafka passed for 330 yards during the season along with two touchdowns on 32 completions and 46 total attempts. He finished second on the team in rushing with 321 yards.

2009 season
Kafka entered his senior season as Northwestern's starting quarterback after C. J. Bachér graduated. He was named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list, along with 19 other players nationally, with two others in the Big Ten Conference. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy eventually won the award. In the offseason, he was tutored by offensive coordinator Mick McCall and former Northwestern quarterback Brett Basanez. Kafka was named co-captain for the 2009 season.

At home against Towson on September 5 to start the 2009 season, Kafka threw for 192 yards on 15 completions of 20 attempts. He ran for six yards on six carries. Against Eastern Michigan at home on September 12, he threw for 158 yards and one interception on 14 completions out of 24 attempts. He ran for 21 yards on five runs. During the Syracuse game, Kafka set a school record for consecutive completions in a game with 16, breaking the 47-year-old record set by Tom Myers in 1962. He set a career-high in passing yards in a game by passing for 390 yards. His previous career-high was 192 yards in a game against Towson in the 2009 season opener. Kafka also ran for a three-yard touchdown and threw three touchdown passes along with an interception. He caught a receiving touchdown when he tossed a lateral to Andrew Brewer who threw it back to Kafka for a 24-yard touchdown. Kafka became the first Big Ten Conference player to score at least one passing, receiving and rushing touchdown in a game since Zack Mills from Penn State accomplished it on September 4, 2004 against Akron. Kafka finished the game with 35 completions on 42 attempts. He was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week on September 20 for his performance against Syracuse. Kafka passed for 309 yards, two touchdowns and an interception against Minnesota. He took four sacks and during a desperation drive to win the game, fumbled the football, which helped end the game. In the Purdue game, Kafka went 28-of-44 and threw for 224 yards. He rushed for a season-high 39 yards on 18 carries and ran for the game-winning two-yard touchdown. After leading after the touchdown 25–21, Kafka threw a successful two-point conversion pass to Drake Dunsmore to increase the lead by six to win the game after Purdue failed to score on the final drive of the game. Kafka went 15 completions of 31 attempts for 191 yards and one interception to lead Northwestern to a 16–6 win over Miami (OH). He was the leading rusher for Northwestern, rushing for 53 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns. In the 24–14 loss at Michigan State on October 17, Kafka went 34-for-47 and threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns. He was the leading rusher for the second straight week for Northwestern, rushing for 42 yards on 18 carries. In a come-from-behind win against Indiana, the Wildcats trailed 28–3 during the second quarter before Kafka ran for a one-yard touchdown and later passed for two touchdowns to lead Northwestern to a 29–28 win. The Wildcats overcame a 25-point deficit, which was the biggest comeback in school history. He went 26-of-46 and passed for 312 yards, along with two touchdowns and a career-tying three interceptions. He rushed for 65 yards on 17 carries and one touchdown. Kafka totaled 377 yards of total offense, which is second-best in his career. Against 12th ranked Penn State, Kafka went 14-for-18 and passed for 128 yards, along with rushing for 42 yards on eight carries and a touchdown before leaving the game with a leg injury during the second quarter. He was replaced by Dan Persa. Kafka shared time at quarterback with Persa due to his strained hamstring on November 7 against the 4th-ranked, and previously undefeated, Iowa Hawkeyes. Northwestern coming into the game was a 16-point underdog, but still beat Iowa 17–10 in Northwestern’s first win over a nationally-ranked top-ten team since they won against Ohio State in 2004. Persa had to leave the game early to receive X-rays for a hand injury, which forced Kafka to play more than original planned. He finished as Northwestern’s leading passer with 72 yards on ten completions. Against Illinois on November 14, Kafka threw for 305 yards and went 23-of-37, along with a 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Zeke Markshausen. He rushed seven times for 12 yards and a one-yard touchdown to beat the Fighting Illini 21–16. Kafka threw for 300 or more yards for the fourth time this season. Against 16th-ranked Wisconsin on November 21, Kafka went 26-of-40 for 326 yards and two touchdowns, both to converted wide receiver Andrew Brewer. He rushed for 17 yards on seven carries to upset the Badgers with a 33–31 win. Kafka threw for 300 or more yards for the fifth time this season and for the second straight game. He was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Wisconsin.

Kafka ranked third in the Big Ten Conference in passing yards with 241.5 passing yards per game and he ranked second in total offense. He finished the season tied for first in the Big Ten in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with seven. His 65.7 completion percentage for 2009 ranked first in the Big Ten. His 414 pass attempts ranked third in the Big Ten and eighth among all quarterbacks nationally.

Kafka was named second-team All-Big Ten following the 2009 season. He was named first-team All-Big Ten by Rivals.com. He finished fourth in the Chicago Tribune's Silver Football voting, given out to the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player, behind Brandon Graham, Daryll Clark and John Clay.

Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese said of Kafka that he "has the three qualities I look for. One, he's a good decision-maker, he knows when to throw the ball away. Two, he's accurate. Three, he makes plays. This is where Kafka really jumps out. If he has a playmaker downfield, he gets the ball to him."

Kafka graduated from Northwestern in December.

In the 2010 Outback Bowl against Auburn on January 1, Kafka set the all-time bowl record with 47 completions and 78 passing attempts. He set Northwestern and Outback Bowl records with 532 passing yards, a career-high. He set an Outback Bowl record with five interceptions. He tied the Outback Bowl record with four touchdown passes. His 98 plays and 566 total yards were also Outback Bowl records. He threw four touchdown passes in the 38-35 loss that went to overtime, with two going to Andrew Brewer (39 and 35 yards), one to Drake Dunsmore for 66 yards, and one to Sidney Stewart for 18 yards. He finished second in rushing for Northwestern with 20 carries for 34 yards and a two-yard touchdown. He was named to ESPN.com's All-Big Ten Bowl team as an honorable mention.

Kafka was named Northwestern's Most Valuable Player on offense following the season.

Kafka led the Big Ten in passing yards with 3,430 yards, total offense with 286.8 yards per game, completions with 24.5 per game, and fewest interceptions with 2.44 of all passes being intercepted. He was seventh nationally in completions, 16th in passing yards and 12th in total offensive yards.

His 3,430 passing yards are third-most in school history. His 3,729 total offensive yards are second-most in school history.

In the 2010 East–West Shrine Game on January 23, Kafka started at quarterback for the East squad and, despite a slow start, led the East squad to a comeback victory. On the final drive of the game, Kafka threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Penn State tight end Andrew Quarless to win the game for the East squad, 13–10. After the game, Kafka was named Offensive MVP after he went 18-of-27, passed for 150 yards and threw the winning touchdown pass.

Statistics
Source:

His win/loss ratio for his career as the starting quarterback for Northwestern was 11–8. He finished his career as the third all-time leading quarterback rusher at Northwestern with 887 yards rushing, and as the eighth all-time leading passer with 4,265 yards passing.

Pre-draft
Prior to the 2010 NFL Draft, Kafka was projected to be drafted in the sixth round by NFLDraftScout.com and as high as the fourth round. He was rated as the eleventh-best quarterback in the draft. Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald said at the time that 85 NFL scouts, general managers and personnel directors who watched film or came to see a game or a practice said about Kafka was that he "throws a lot better than our No. 3 [quarterback] does right now." Fitzgerald also said that he would be "shocked" if Kafka was not drafted in the 2010 NFL Draft. After the Outback Bowl loss to Auburn on January 1, in which Kafka threw 78 passes for 532 yards, Fitzgerald said, "I hope the NFL sees the same thing that I see, a man with a big-time arm." An NFL general manager said at the 2010 Senior Bowl that Kafka could be drafted as high as the third round.

Kafka was invited to the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, which started on February 24, along with teammates Corey Wootton and Sherrick McManis. Kafka chose Mike McCartney of Priority Sports of Chicago as his agent, who also represents Wootton. Priority hired former Chicago Bears quarterback Erik Kramer and a trainer in Phoenix, Arizona to help Kafka prepare for the NFL Scouting Combine. To prepare for the Combine, Kafka worked out twice a day in Arizona, and held practice sessions with Notre Dame wide receiver Golden Tate. At the Combine, Kafka said, "I want to be an NFL starter. I'm not going to the league to be a No. 2. I think my whole game can go to another level. I'm ready to take it up another notch."

Kafka chose not to bench press at the NFL Combine. On February 28, Kafka answered 35 out of the 50 questions on the Wonderlic test, and was "99 percent sure" that he answered all 35 correctly. Draft analyst Mike Mayock said that Kafka was "a developmental guy" who should stay on a team's practice squad for a year. Kafka had some of the best measurements in the vertical jump, broad jump, 60-yard shuttle, and three-cone drill among all quarterbacks.

At Northwestern's Pro Day on March 11, Kafka passed to his former teammates Andrew Brewer and Zeke Markshausen, and, according to Gil Brandt, only missed one pass during the entire workout. 25 NFL teams attended the workout, including the Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese and the Arizona Cardinals quarterback coach Chris Miller.

Northwestern held its second Pro Day workout on March 29. He passed to his former teammates Brewer, Markshausen, and Brendan Mitchell during the workout. He was reportedly not as accurate on the second Pro Day as he was on the first, but still "very accurate." 24 NFL team representatives attended the Pro Day.

Kafka worked out for the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders prior to the draft. Mike Mayock called Kafka the "sleeper" of the quarterback class, projecting him to be drafted in the sixth round. Mayock also said, "He's a really smart kid. Has a better arm than people think. I don't even think he's sleeping anymore. He was a month-and-a-half ago, but he's on the rise. He's a kid who could surprise people at the end of the day." Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski concurred, saying that Kafka "knows how to play the quarterback position. There's a real feel for hitting the open receiver, good anticipation. I can see him being one of those sleeper type guys." A scout before the draft said that Kafka "throws a lot of picks, but at least he's willing to pull the trigger. You don't see that from a lot of young kids."

2010
Kafka was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round (122nd overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft. He was the fifth quarterback taken in the draft, behind Sam Bradford (1st overall), Tim Tebow (25th overall), Jimmy Clausen (48th overall) and Colt McCoy (85th overall). Kafka was expected be the team's third-string quarterback behind Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick. Eagles head coach Andy Reid said of Kafka, "I think once you meet him, I think you'll see he's a smart guy. He has some of the intangible things - the leadership, he's a tough kid. Inner city, Chicago kid. He's got a little grit to him. I think that's important. You have to be wired right to handle you guys and play in the city of Philadelphia. I think he's wired right. He likes to compete." Kafka was signed to a four-year contract worth $2.256 million with $467,000 guaranteed on June 15, 2010.

In the final practice of rookie and selected veterans training camp on July 29, Kafka took all the snaps at quarterback after Kolb and Vick got practice off. After practice, offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said Kafka was "the best rookie that I've ever had in 15, 16, 17 years or something like that. So, he's really sharp. Now, he's sharp book-wise, but he's also very intelligent in a football sense. He's really picked [the playbook] up very quickly."

In the first preseason game on August 14 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kafka went 3-for-7 for 76 yards and threw a 57-yard pass to wide receiver Chad Hall after taking over for Vick late in the third quarter. Kafka began the second preseason game on August 20 against the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth quarter. He went 4-for-12 for 29 yards and two interceptions (both to cornerback Morgan Trent) with a passer rating of 2.4. He also had one carry for 24 yards. On August 27 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Kafka came into the game in the fourth quarter and went 9-for-13 for 93 yards and one touchdown. He led the Eagles on the winning drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Riley Cooper with 23 seconds left in the game to win, 20–17. In the final preseason game on September 2, Kafka replaced Vick during the second quarter and played for almost three quarters. He went 9-for-27 for 76 yards and an interception against the New York Jets.

During the 2010 regular season and playoffs, Kafka was inactive as the team's third quarterback for all but five games. In week two Kafka was the backup to Vick against the Detroit Lions after Kolb suffered a concussion in week one against the Green Bay Packers. In week five against the San Francisco 49ers, week six against the Atlanta Falcons and week seven against the Tennessee Titans, Kafka was the backup to Kolb after Vick, who took over as the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season, suffered a rib injury in week four against the Washington Redskins. In the week seventeen game against the Dallas Cowboys, Kafka was the backup quarterback to Kolb in a decision to rest Vick and the team's starters before the playoffs.

Kafka said of his rookie year that he "learned a lot about football. I learned a lot about being a professional, especially being around [Vick] and [Kolb]. Those guys have been great mentors, and obviously the coaching staff that I have has been really great as far as developing me to learn the west coast system."

2011
Following the 2010 season, Kafka said that his goal for the 2011 offseason was to "continue to learn the offense. I haven't mastered it by any means, the more study and preparation I can get the better. Physically, I can work on my feet, my arm strength, and my timing and rhythm. There's a bunch of things I can work on, and I'm really excited to get to it." Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said Kafka is the hardest working player in the NFL, but needs to get bigger and stronger. The Eagles reportedly received trade offers from other teams for Kafka prior to the 2011 NFL Draft but declined due to his potential. Kafka, in response, laughed and did not believe the rumors.

Because of the NFL lockout, Kafka and his teammates organized informal workouts in Marlton, New Jersey. After one of the workout sessions, Vick said Kafka was "ready for" the backup role and would embrace it should Kolb leave after the lifting of the lockout. Kolb was traded to the Arizona Cardinals on July 28 following the lifting of the NFL lockout, and Kafka was temporarily elevated to the backup behind Vick before the Eagles signed former Tennessee Titan Vince Young on July 29. Kafka took second-team reps at the start of training camp, but on the first official depth chart that was released on August 9, Kafka was listed as the third-stringer behind Young.

Against the Baltimore Ravens in the preseason opener on August 11, Kafka replaced Young at quarterback during the second quarter and played into the fourth quarter. He went 13-of-19 for 132 yards with one interception thrown to Ravens safety Bernard Pollard in the game. In the second week of the preseason on August 18 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kafka entered the game in the fourth quarter and led the Eagles to two scoring drives in a 24–14 loss. With less than four minutes remaining in the game, he threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Gerald Jones, and with only 19 seconds left on the following drive, threw a second touchdown pass to Jones for seven yards. He finished the game going 14-for-19 for 160 yards along with the two scores. Kafka played in garbage time in the next preseason game against the Cleveland Browns, handing the ball off twice and kneeling down twice. Against the New York Jets in the preseason finale, he filled in for the injured Young, who started the game, to start the third quarter. Kafka had the wind knocked out of him on a sack, but was able to play the rest of the game despite a rib contusion. He finished the game 7-for-11 for 76 yards and one interception. He went 34-for-49 for 369 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in the preseason overall.

2012
To start training camp, Kafka was listed as the team's number two quarterback, expected to easily overtake rookie third round pick Nick Foles and the free agent Trent Edwards.

In the preseason, Kafka played in the second quarter in game one, but he broke his non throwing hand. He was benched for the rest of the preseason, and finished with a quarterback rating of 23.1, with zero touchdowns and one interception. On August 29, the Eagles announced that Nick Foles would be the number two quarterback, leaving Kafka and Edwards fighting for the team's third stringer. On the final preseason game, Edwards had a great game. On August 31, Kafka was released during final cuts.

The New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and the Kansas City Chiefs had shown some interest in him.

On January 4, 2013 The New England Patriots signed him to a reserve/future contract.

Personal
Kafka majored in communication studies at Northwestern University. Mike's brother, Jason, is a redshirt senior pitcher at San Jose State and attended St. Rita of Cascia High School. Both Kafkas were recruited by Ken Margerum, who is now an assistant at San Jose State.

Kafka worked as an instructor at former Northwestern teammate Brett Basanez's prep quarterback development camps in Woodbury, Minnesota and Minnetonka, Minnesota, in mid-2011. Kafka worked at a Pop Warner Football passing camp, Three5Seven, with former Northwestern teammate Chris Malleo in July 2011.