Giants Country

Giants QB Tommy DeVito: The Good, the Great and the Ugly

Coach Gene Clemons takes a detailed look at quarterback Tommy DeVito's game.

Gene Clemons

Giants QB Tommy DeVito: The Good, the Great and the Ugly
Giants QB Tommy DeVito: The Good, the Great and the Ugly /
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New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito had the best game of his young career in the team’s 31-19 victory over Washington. Before his 246-yard, three-touchdown performance, DeVito struggled in his time behind center. He threw for 261 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions in the two games before that breakout.

He followed up that game with a pedestrian performance against New England, but the team still found a way to win. In all of those games, there were elements of DeVito's game to like and some not to like, but in the team's 24-22 Monday night victory over Green Bay, we got a thorough look to assess DeVito's full game.

This is the Good, the Great, and the Ugly of the 25-year-old rookie who has captured New York with Jeremy Lin-like excitement.

The Good: Quick Throws

DeVito has arm talent--that much is clear. When he knows where he's delivering the ball, it normally comes out fast and accurately. So quick throws like screens, hitches, slants, speed outs, or hot routes when defenders blitz tend to be money throws for DeVito because there's not a lot of thinking; it is just reacting, and he seems to be at his best when he's just able to react.

Usually, those balls get thrown to receivers in a way that leaves very little for them to do to catch it. Accuracy never seems to be a problem with these throws. His placement seems to be in the perfect area for receivers to run after the catch or avoid taking major hits on the play.

In this series of plays I've highlighted above from the game against the Packers, you can see when he "catches and throws," he's successful. He's also successful when he hits his back foot on his drop and delivers the pass.

Dec 11, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito (15) throws a pass during the second quarter against the Green Bay Packers at MetLife Stadium / Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

The Great: Escapability and Athleticism

DeVito’s greatest ability is when he uses his legs. While preparing for the draft, he ran a 4.59 forty at the Illinois Pro Day. He also jumped 33 inches on the vertical and 114 inches on the broad jump. He's a legitimate athlete regardless of what position he is playing.

That explosion and speed mean that when he decides to pull the football down and run, he explodes out of the pocket and immediately gets to his top speed. There have been many times when defenders have been bearing down on him, and he was able to explode through a small opening or jump out of the way and extend the play or run.

During the Packers game, he showed elusiveness and Houdini-like escapability; he showed the speed to run away from defenders and made several players miss in the open field.

On the split zone read where he pulled it and almost scored a touchdown, he launched out of the backfield, and it legitimately seemed to surprise the Packers how fast he got into the secondary.

He made two defenders fly by him, and his teammate, Wan’Dale Robinson, was the only player who could keep him out of the end zone.

The Ugly: Anticipatory Throws Under Pressure

Sometimes, a player's greatest gift can cause their biggest deficiency. Like so many athletic quarterbacks, DeVito’s ability to escape makes him pull the ball down and take off whenever peril is near.

As a passer, the quarterback is charged with understanding how the route combinations fit within the defense to predict where the opening will be and throw it before the defense can get to them or the receiver.

This is what the elites do consistently; we saw flashes out of Tyrod Taylor when given the opportunity. Many of those deep passes he completed were thrown before the receiver was open. Taylor knew the way the defenders played in the secondary, they could not get to the receiver in time.

This is specifically where DeVito struggles, especially when pressure is coming. He does not diagnose it fast enough; instead, he focuses on the rushers instead of completing a pass. The result is usually a positive run by DeVito, but it could have been a big gain.

In the set of plays against the Packers, we see multiple times where DeVito should have stood in there and delivered a pass where he may have taken a hit, but it could have resulted in a big gain for the team.

Despite the team's success with DeVito, he has not amassed great passing numbers. He has averaged 170 yards and 1.75 touchdowns per game in his four starts. If you include the Raiders game where he replaced Taylor, the numbers get worse: 154 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground is not enough over that time is not enough to offset that limited production.

Improvements from the pocket would take DeVito's game to the next level.

Final Thoughts

DeVito most certainly has charisma, toughness, and Moxy. He has proven that he belongs in this league, and he has inspired a movement in the tri-state area.

At the end of the day, a player's job is to help the team to victory, and he has done that over the last three games. But if he wants to have a longer career, he will need to improve as a decision-maker in the passing game.

He's a 25-year-old rookie. That’s only a year younger than Daniel Jones. The patience will not be long as the Giants look to improve this team for the future. DeVito and many fans want him to be a part of that future. 

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Gene Clemons
GENE CLEMONS

Gene "Coach" Clemons has been involved with the game of football for 30 years as a player, coach, evaluator, and journalist.  Clemons has spent time writing for the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, Bridgton News, Urbana Daily Citizen, Macon Telegraph and footballgameplan.com.  He has a YouTube channel called "Coach Gene Clemons" where you can find his popular "X&O The Joes" series as well as other football related content. 

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