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Tommy DeVito is back as Giants starting quarterback, replacing Daniel Jones for the remainder of another lost season, which means New Jersey football fans get the sequel they never knew they needed just in time for the holidays. But what should we call it?
DeVito II: Italian Boogaloo?
The Cutlets Strike Back?
I Still Know What You Did Last Season?
The sequel, sadly, is unlikely to live up to the original — they rarely do. Maybe the Cedar Grove native will provide a few moments of joy in an otherwise dreary autumn. DeVito was more than just a human emoji last fall, after all, leading his hometown franchise to three straight victories (and ruining their draft position in the process).
His rise to the top job, however, doesn’t reflect well on a front office that spent $5 million this offseason in an apparent vain attempt to replace him. You think you’re having a bad day? Imagine how Drew Lock, who arrived in East Rutherford expected to push Jones for the starting job, felt when he heard the news.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in Drew and the way he’s handled himself since he’s been here,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “This is no indication on Drew whatsoever. He’s been excellent for us. This is more about what I thought Tommy gave us.”
Sorry, but that argument doesn’t hold much water. Daboll likely saw what everyone else saw with Lock during the preseason and his limited snaps in real games, and that was a quarterback who had business starting for an NFL team.
And, still, this one signed him.
The Giants could have spent the money they wasted on Lock to address their depth at a number of other positions, but this is about more than just asset allocation. This raises more red flags that this leadership team, general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, might have fallen into the deep end of the pool with no plan to reach the deck.
Ask yourself this: If Schoen and Daboll failed to find a competent backup for Jones in the free agent market last summer, are you confident that they’ll be able to draft or sign the long-term solution at the position?
It is, at the very least, worth reviewing Schoen’s track record since he arrived here. He isn’t the one who drafted Jones with the sixth overall pick in 2019 — that was the final parting gift from Dave Gettleman — but he has botched every decision since.
Schoen declined the fifth-year option on Jones’ rookie contract, only to give him $81 million fully guaranteed a few months later. He refused to sign Russell Wilson, who is thriving in Pittsburgh, to a veteran’s minimum contract since summer, instead opting to pay Lock $5 million to — and this can’t be emphasized enough — not play football.
Meanwhile, the GM will almost have to draft a quarterback this spring in what is widely regarded as a weak class for the position, and he’ll do so after failing to select a single passer during three straight years when the college crop of players was very good.
In a word: Whoops!
Schoen declared “we’re not far off” during his midseason press conference last week, but until the Giants find an elite player at the sport’s most important position, they are miles away from competing for their fifth Lombardi Trophy. And they are no closer to finding that passer than they were when Schoen was hired.
DeVito, no matter how much fans try to wish it into existence, is not the answer. The narrative that the Giants needs these final seven games to evaluate him is absurd. They know exactly what they have in the former Don Bosco starter, which is a capable backup who can keep a team afloat in the short term when pressed into duty.
He proved that in beating Washington, New England and Green Bay during a three-game stretch last season, and still, Schoen felt it necessary to sign Lock.
“I’m excited to see what Tommy brings to the table,” Daboll said, but we already knew what that was, of course. He brings cutlets to the table — thinly sliced and preferably from his mom’s kitchen — and a skillset that isn’t quite good enough.
The Giants are running him back out there in search of a spark, and it’s quite possible that DeVito will provide one give they still have winnable games against Dallas, New Orleans and Indianapolis. But what, exactly, will that accomplish?
They’ll still be looking for their franchise quarterback when the offseason rolls around, and nothing this leadership duo has done since arriving in East Rutherford offers hope that they’ll find the right one.
MORE FROM STEVE POLITI:
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Steve Politi may be reached at [email protected].