After a lackluster three quarters for the Eagles offense, quarterback Mike Kafka came off the bench and led the Eagles on a pair of scoring drives - both ended with touchdown passes to wide receiver Gerald Jones - in last Thursday's 24-14 loss to the Steelers.
In the first two preseason games, Kafka has completed 71.1 percent of his passes for 292 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for a 99.9 QB rating which is the best on the team.
"Any opportunity you get you have to make the most of it. I'm going to work as hard as I can to execute the offense and the plays that are given," Kafka said. "I can't control a lot of the other things that go on. I know Coach (Andy) Reid has a plan. He has a role for everybody. Whatever that role is, I'm going to do it the best that I can."
Kafka is in his second NFL season and his second go-around with this offense. Young, meanwhile, is in his sixth NFL season, but first in a West Coast offense. Young's athleticism was on display in the preseason opener when he scrambled before finding wide receiver Chad Hall for a 32-yard completion. Even though he's new in this system, Young relies on his previous experience.
"I'm a six-year guy. Everybody thinking I'm a first-year guy," said Young, who is 30-17 as an NFL starter. "I have been around the game for a long time. Not as long as some guys, but I've played a lot of games in the NFL so I just take it as that."
Young has completed 61.5 percent of his passes (8-of-13) for 79 yards with an interception in the preseason. Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg is impressed with how quickly the new quarterback has assimilated to the offense.
"I will tell you this; he has done an outstanding job with many things. He's right in the middle of the hard work, and it takes a lot of hard work especially with this system, in all that preparation. So he's right in the middle there," Mornhinweg said. "He's done some excellent things on the field."
With the starters expected to play into the second half on Thursday against the Browns, there will be few reps for Young and Kafka. That, however, doesn't change the mindset for either player.
"The biggest thing you can do is always stay ready then when your number is called to get some reps and things like that you want to make sure you're on point with what you were paying attention to," Young said.
"Either way, you have to prepare to be the starter to be honest with you," Kafka said. "You have to prepare with that same mentality every day that you're going to execute at a high level."
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