His poor showing against the Eagles on Christmas Day has likely ended The Tommy DeVito Show in New York.
Daboll made the move at halftime when he decided to play Tyrod Taylor at quarterback to start the third quarter. Taylor had the Giants’ offense moving, too. But in the end, it was the usual outcome: the Eagles beat the Giants Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Giants have now lost 11 in a row to the Eagles in Philadelphia, and they have lost five in a row to the Eagles overall, including 13 of the last 15, 17 of the previous 20, and 26 of the last 32 games.
But the losing streak against the Eagles was a subliminal to the main story. That was about DeVit0 and whether he could lead his team to a win. Now benched, the storyline flips as to whether he’ll ever see the field again in New York.
Daboll has been noncommittal about who’d start this week at home vs. the Rams. Still, it’s not hard to speculate about what will likely happen, including for DeVito himself. When a quarterback gets benched, and the other guy does well, the inclination is to stick with the hot hand rather than return to the original player. So, it appears that Taylor will likely start the final two games in the Giants’ forgettable (except for DeVito) season.
Besides, as I wrote in my last article, Daboll has never been enthralled with DeVito’s game, and the organization does not want a training camp quarterback controversy between DeVito and starter Daniel Jones. So, at least how I saw it, it was just a matter of time before DeVito’s season ended.
DeVito didn’t help his cause in Philly. The Giants were offensively challenged in the first half at Philadelphia, mustering just three points, behind 17 points at the break, in what was a disappointing end to an otherwise upbeat week. There were endorsements and autograph signings for this unheralded QB out of Illinois by way of Syracuse as he capitalized on newly found fame.
But many of us figured that DeVito’s run was bound to end sooner than later. That’s the typical storyline for NFL backup quarterbacks.
Still, the way I see it, DeVito did enough to earn a start in the last two games of the season. If he does, fans would still be interested in watching the Giants. But remember what happened to Tim Tebow in Denver? Even though he played well for the Denver Broncos, John Fox and John Elway had no interest in starting him because they knew his play was limited. So, they went with a better alternative in the person of Peyton Manning.
The NFL is a tough business, and for second-line players and below, you are only as valuable as your last game. You can get released anytime, benched, or (worse yet) never heard of again. Just consider what happened over the past few days for the other NFL NY team after management decided to activate Aaron Rodgers. That move affected other players on the roster, and even Rodgers intervened to smooth out the impact.
DeVito knew all this going into the NFL. Now, he has experienced it personally. He can say (and we can say it, too) it was a helluva ride while it lasted.
