New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll is rolling with Tommy DeVito as Big Blue’s starting quarterback for their primetime showdown against the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football. This came as a surprise to some as veteran Tyrod Taylor, the backup behind Daniel Jones to start the season, was back at practice on Monday.
While there is something to be said for riding the hot hand, this is a questionable call at best if the G-Men are serious about competing for a playoff spot.
“Tommy’s done a good job,” Daboll said. “He’s improved in each of the games he’s played… I thought he played well the last two games. He made good decisions, was accurate, and earned the right to play.”
While DeVito has certainly improved from game to game, the Giants offense has still not reached the level of efficiency compared to when Taylor was at the helm. Two out of three of the Giants’ best offensive outputs have come when Taylor was a starter, and DeVito has yet to put up better numbers despite starting and finishing two more games than Taylor.
“I think he’s done some good things the last couple of games and I think he’s earned it,” Daboll reiterated when asked if DeVito gives the team the best chance to win.
For a team that is still in the hunt for a playoff spot, it’s peculiar as to why Daboll and the Giants would opt to go with an undrafted rookie while they have a 13-year veteran on the bench. If Taylor was still recovering and the Giants were easing him back into game action, that would be understandable. Although Taylor feels that he is “right back into the swing of things.”
Considering the fact the Giants were the fourth youngest team in the NFL to start the year, one has to ask why veteran presence, especially at the signal caller position, would not be more heavily relied upon. In a media scrum at Taylor’s locker, he looked equally perplexed at the decision. When asked what reason he was given for DeVito to be the starter, Taylor replied, “Same reason [Daboll] gave y’all.”
A question was then asked if it gave the team the best chance to win and if DeVito earned it, Taylor said, “Is that what he said? That’s the way it was explained.”
As one of the most senior members of the team and a veteran lots of players look up to, this is an even more perplexing decision. DeVito is no doubt a great story that has rallied the Giants’ locker room. However, the two-game win “streak” the Giants are currently riding has come against a Washington Commanders team Taylor also beat this year, and the New England Patriots who just became the first team since 1938 to allow 10 points or less in three straight games and lose all three.
Needless to say, the two wins under DeVito’s belt have not come against any team close to the caliber he will face on Monday night against the Packers. When asked if Taylor agreed with the decision made, he said “My injury just had bad timing to it. We’ve won the last two games… just try to keep some momentum going forward. Obviously, yes, I want to be out there playing.”
It appears the Giants are hooked on the “Jersey Juice.” They have opted to ride the hot hand of DeVito rather than going with a more experienced QB who has put up better numbers than the rookie this year. It will be squarely on DeVito’s shoulders Monday night to prove Daboll right.
