It’s ‘Tommy Time’ — NY Giants need to play DeVito

It was just about a year ago that the New York Giants were spiraling out of control and needed a spark. Quarterback Daniel Jones tore his ACL in a Week 9 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders after his backup Tyrod Taylor hurt his ribs against the Jets.

With nowhere else to turn, head coach Brian Dabol put in Tommy DeVito, a local hero from nearby Don Bosco, signed as a free agent in May and who dreamed of one day playing in the NFL.

DeVito would lead the Giants to wins over the Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, and a Monday night national television win over the Green Bay Packers, where he engineered a clutch drive at the end to set up Randy Bullock's winning field goal.

In that game, DeVito completed 81% of his passes (17 of 21) for 158 yards, a touchdown, no interceptions and a 113.9 rating. He also had 71 yards on the ground and was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

Tommy's record as a starter was 3-3. Among rookie quarterbacks with a minimum of 100 passing attempts in 2023, DeVito finished 2nd in touchdown percentage (4.5), completion percentage (64.0) and passer rating (88.9).

That was then. This is now.

Once again, the Giants are spiraling out of control. They are the worst team in football, having lost to the Carolina Panthers in Germany. They are 2-8 and starting quarterback Daniel Jones may have played his last game with the team. More than ever, the Giants need a spark, and his name is Tommy Devito.

As good as DeVito was last year, he's actually gotten better this year. Here's what Dabol said of DeVito in August
"Where Tommy (DeVito) came from in rookie camp to where he was playing last year to understanding a lot of the nuances of our offense, I think he's made strides."

He went on to say...

"He's getting better. I think he's got firm control of the offense. The guys have a lot of confidence in him. I have confidence in him. He's really come a long way since he's been here. It's good for him to play as much as he did. So, keep on developing him. Quarterbacks are hard to find in this league. Undrafted, free agent, won three games, played in some games last year for us. Still knows he has a long way to go, but smart, accurate, makes good decisions. Good young player to work with."

MORE: Tommy DeVito vs. Eli Manning: Throwing dough at NJ pizzeria

The time has come to work with him. If you're a Giants fan, you remember how much fun those wins were last year. That huge televised Monday night tailgate with the family spreading chicken cutlets all around. Tommy brings a passion and energy that we fans so desperately need. The players see it every day.

There are different schools of thought about the Giants. Some say they should lose out and draft a quarterback high. The problem with that is that there are no "can't miss" quarterbacks coming out this year. What if they already have theirs? Also, if you're a Giants fan, do you really want to spend the next seven weeks watching losing football?

If the Giants, as general manager Joe Shoen said at his press conference, are making a football decision, then the move would be to put Devito in. He's proven he can win, will spark the fanbase, and will give Brian Daboll another quarterback he can develop.

The time has come for the Giants to see exactly what they have in Tommy DeVito. There's a reason why they kept him this year: they didn't want to lose him. How bad would it be if he were to go somewhere else and flourish?

Now is the time. It's Tommy time. Chicken cutlets all around!