Brian Daboll Sticking with Tommy DeVito at Quarterback
If given his druthers, New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll likely would have preferred to let quarterback Tommy DeVito spend the entire year on the practice squad developing his craft.
Of course, the injury bug had different ideas, as by taking out starting quarterback Daniel Jones (ACL and Tyrod Taylor (rib cage), DeVito's time came far quicker than anyone anticipated.
To his credit, the rookie did all he could to ensure he was as ready for his first NFL start as he could be. Unfortunately for DeVito, he is one of 11 on offense, and the Cowboys' defense is as good as it was when the Giants last saw them in Week 1.
“It’s tough. You put a lot into the week. You put a lot into the preparation – practices, meetings," DeVito said after the game. "This is not the outcome we wanted. Something has got to change. We’ve just got to be better.”
That something, DeVito said, starts with him.
“I don’t feel sorry for myself. You get put in any situation; you’ve got to get out of it," he said. "I think I could have helped us get more first downs. I’m at the front of that. I have to ensure everyone is dialed in, locked in, ready to go."
Daboll predictably kept his response neutral when asked about DeVito's debut as a starter, saying, "I thought he did some good stuff. Things to work on, that’s why we competed to the end and gave him as many different situations as he could get."
But if we're being honest, the plan to get the ball out of DeVito's hands quickly never really had a chance, given the Giants poor starting field position or the Giants offensive line failing to control the line of scrimmage.
DeVito finished 14 of 27 for 86 yards in the game, the best part of his contributions being his scrambling, in which he picked up 41 yards on seven carries.
Otherwise, it was a mixed bag that saw one interception dropped, his missing some easy throws, the underthrowing of receiver Jalin Hyatt on a deep pass into triple coverage that led to an interception, and showed an inability to make plays.
Like many rookies, DeVito, when he broke the pocket, tucked the ball in to run rather than buy time with his legs, showing a poor feel in the pocket and never seemed very eager to move off his initial read.
While the 17 points were the second most scored by this team this season, it all came in garbage time rather than when it mattered most.
That all said, Daboll plans to roll with DeVito as opposed to veteran Matt Barkley next week when the Giants visit the Washington Commanders, likely because DeVito has been here the longer of the two and is more up on the offense than Barkley, who is still trying to get up to speed.
As for DeVito, all he can do is continue to work to get the game to slow down for him to where perhaps he'll get to a point where they matter more when he does do good things than they did this week.
"Nobody believes in us but us. In this team, we know what we have. We just need to come together and battle for each other," he said.
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