Tommy DeVito Shines in Giants' Loss to Lions
On the one hand, New York Giants quarterback hopeful Tommy DeVito knew what he had to do.
On the other, he didn't, so he went to veterans Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor for advice ahead of getting his first significant playing time as an NFL quarterback.
“Really just to enjoy it," DeVito said after the game in which he finished 15 of 24 for 155 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. "(Daniel Jones) told me he was nervous the first time going out for his first preseason game.
"Tyrod’s had a million of them, so he’s helped me with certain situations like, ‘Be weary in case the headset cuts off.’ Because I’ve never had a headset on before, it’s not something I’ve thought about. So little things like that that they’ve helped me with coming into the game, really just taking a deep breath and enjoy it. That’s what I tried to do.”
If DeVito was nervous, he sure didn't show it. He made smart decisions in the pocket, threw the ball well, and looked more like a young veteran than a first-time rookie trying to find his way.
Even when he was under duress late in the game--he absorbed five sacks behind the Giants' third and fourth-string offensive lines--DeVito kept his cool. And yes, he impressed his head coach, who had planned to give the New Jersey native the bulk of the snaps this week.
"Yeah, I thought he did a nice job," Brian Daboll said. "He operated well. Obviously, we threw the interception at the end, but it was fourth-and-15, and he hit a play like that in camp early on when it was fourth-and-15, and he threw a check-down for five yards. And obviously, he threw it up to try to give him a chance. They made a play on it.
"But I thought he operated well. Made some good decisions. Used his legs. He was under some pressure sometimes there. Took care of the ball on some of those sacks. So definitely a performance to work off of.”
The highlight of DeVito's night was his connecting with fellow Don Bosco Pre alumnus Tommy Sweeney on the offense's first touchdown.
"Yeah, I know they’d like to get a couple more of those," Daboll said. "I think probably pretty cool for those two guys. I think he was a freshman when Sweeney was a senior. So sudden change, you got there on the 13-yard line, and he made a nice rail swing, made a nice catch. Got to be able to do that more when we get the ball down there.”
DeVito, who has been a quick study, said his goal coming into this week's game was to have fun.
"There are a lot of external things like pressure, first NFL game, it’s not official, it’s a preseason game," he said. "Now it’s just really playing the game of football. I’ve been playing since I’m five, six years old. I’m enjoying it. Just help lead the team, move the ball. I wasn’t thinking about it. Just enjoy it one play at a time and go from there.”
While generally happy with his showing, DeVito also said there were things he hoped to clean up. "There were many things to clean up, a couple of throws that I missed that will haunt me tonight, that I’ll be sitting up thinking about. But I think it’s just a step in the right direction, and I look forward to getting up tomorrow and watching the film.”
DeVito said his biggest growth since signing as an undrafted free agent has been developing his mental understanding of the game. He credited Giants quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney ad offensive coordinator Mike Kafka for helping him to expand his football acumen.
"It's just playing it like I’m a little kid that learns to swim again. They just throw him in the pool, and then all of a sudden, they float, and they figure it out," he said. "That’s how it was when I first got out, so a lot of information came all at once. I try to segment it and then put it together. Being able to have a game atmosphere, it was slower, and it calmed down, and I’m looking forward to what’s to come.”
DeVito doesn't know if he'll get more opportunities this preseason to put his skills on display, but regardless, he knows what he wants to accomplish the rest of training camp.
"For me, it was just showing improvement day-by-day and week-by-week and game-by-game," he said. "It was the first preseason game, so when I look at the film tomorrow, the next preseason game, I want to be able to take that leap and really just see what I did wrong and what little things I can clean up, ball placement on some things even if it might’ve been completions, it could’ve been better and gotten a couple more yards.
"At the end of training camp, show the growth I’ve made from the time I walked in the door.”
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