Sports fans love unexpected underdog stories, and New York Giants starting quarterback Tommy DeVito perfectly represents that. The local Jersey kid’s meteoric rise to the Meadowlands has given Giants fans something to cheer about in a disappointing season. He’s had two straight turnover-free outings that have led to two victories, doubling the Giants’ win total for the season. This was enough to win him the starting job for the foreseeable future as well.
Head coach Brian Daboll named DeVito as Monday night’s starter vs the Green Bay Packers. Tyrod Taylor was activated off of injured reserve but will serve as the team’s #2 quarterback. Sticking with DeVito isn’t completely shocking, but it certainly was a bit of a surprise. Taylor has been the team’s backup for two seasons and was the original replacement for an injured Daniel Jones. Before getting hurt in week eight, he played fairly well.
DeVito has been a fun story, but unfortunately, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Brian Daboll could come to regret this decision quite quickly. Taylor has done more than enough to earn this opportunity. Brian Daboll owes it to Tyrod, his team, and himself to play the quarterback who gives New York the best chance to win.
Growing Pains for the New York Giants’ Starting Quarterback
After disastrous performances against the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys, DeVito has stabilized over his past two starts. He’s completed 68% of his passes for 437 yards, four touchdowns, no turnovers, and most importantly, two victories. For a player who wasn’t supposed to see the field at all this season, he has played admirably. Where he lags behind Taylor though, are some aspects of quarterbacking that might not show up in traditional box scores.
Over his last two starts, opponents have sacked DeVito fifteen times. While a lot of the blame could fall on the shoulders of a makeshift offensive line, DeVitos’ processing speed and pocket presence are not quite NFL caliber yet.
Tyrod Taylor has a huge advantage over Tommy DeVito in two key areas: overall accuracy (CPOE) and avoiding sacks (almost a 15% difference)
— Justin Penik (@JustinPenik) December 5, 2023
Taylor is more accurate, avoids negative plays while having the same explosive play rate pic.twitter.com/kusuldewEm
The above tweet, which features all three of the New York Giants starting quarterback options this season, shows that DeVito takes sacks at a significantly higher clip and still does not have as many explosive plays as Tyrod Taylor despite holding onto the ball for longer. He needs to learn how to get the ball out of his hands quicker, and how to step up and avoid pressure. As an undrafted rookie, these struggles aren’t particularly surprising, but it’s still the reality of his situation.
ESPN’s QBR stat, which tries to factor in every aspect of a quarterback’s game, grades DeVito harshly. He put up 33.7 and 7.4 ratings over his past two starts. For reference, Mac Jones, Bryce Young, and Zach Wilson are the only primary starters in the league to have a season QBR below 38 this year. That is not the best group to be a part of. In those same two starts, his quarterback ratings were markedly higher, with 137.7 and 103.9, respectively. That stat only factors a quarterback’s passing ability, so the steep drop-off in his QBR shows just how damaging his pocket awareness is.
So You’re Saying There’s A Chance?
A valid question to ask is why the Giants should even care about starting Tyrod Taylor right now. He’s 34 and on an expiring contract and probably is not a part of the team’s plans. DeVito is 25 and under cheap team control for another two seasons, so why not just roll with the new kid on the block? Well, they technically aren’t dead just yet.
The Giants making the playoffs is an extreme mathematical improbability. Both The NY Times and The Athletic’s playoff simulators have Big Blue’s odds to make the postseason at below 1%, and they have to pass five teams in front of them to grab the final playoff spot. It would be nothing short of a miracle for this to happen, but Brian Daboll should not let the numbers get in the way. The Giants sit just two games back of the seventh seed and play three of the teams (Packers, Saints, Rams) they need to surpass. Running the table and going 9-8 shoots their playoff odds up to 98%, and even going 4-1 with wins against the aforementioned three teams raises their chances to around 50%.
As fans are not a part of the team day to day operation, it’s fair to chalk this season up as a lost cause.
Inside the organization, however, they would never tolerate that type of talk. Understandably, a segment of the fanbase has shifted its focus to tanking and draft positioning, but it’s completely unreasonable and unfair to expect the team to do the same.
Players and staff are competing for their jobs, pay raises, and personal achievement. For them, tanking is something that is never on the table. Sure, starting DeVito could help develop his skills as a potential backup option next season, but he isn’t auditioning for much more than that.
Sophomore Slumps
Brian Daboll also has to be quite careful. The Giants have fired three head coaches in a row before they got to their third season. This includes coaches like Ben McAdoo and Joe Judge. McAdoo made the playoffs in year one of his regime, and Judge came close to doing the same. Both were praised for strong first seasons but were fired without a fuss after year two went off the rails. It’s highly unlikely Daboll goes regardless of what happens the rest of the way, but the same could’ve been said for McAdoo and Judge.
The Giants already have the second-worst point differential in the league and have lost four games by at least three touchdowns. Coaches get fired because of those types of numbers, so Daboll must tread lightly before things become untenable for him. One wrong QB sneak call and he could find himself in a bad situation. Starting the better quarterback would also help evaluate and develop young players like Jalin Hyatt. As a rookie, simply getting reps is critical. The third-round pick also figures to factor into the Giants’ plans much more than DeVito. The more experienced, more skilled quarterback throwing him the ball would be a big plus.
Rooting for Tommy DeVito has been easy. His story of going undrafted and fighting his way from a rookie minicamp invite to the New York Giants starting quarterback has been inspirational and riveting. Add in that he’s from New Jersey, and it’s one of the best stories coming from East Rutherford this season. The NFL is not about fun stories though. Brian Daboll needs to produce results, and recent history shows that time is not on his side. Tyrod Taylor gives New York the best chance to compete and develop their young playmakers.
Thanks for reading! For more on Big Blue and New York Sports in general, follow me on Twitter! Keep up with Belly Up Sports on Twitter as well for even more. Keep up to date with the NFL on Belly Up Sports for the latest analysis and discussion. Featured image credit: Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images
