Giants' Brian Daboll undecided on who will start at quarterback vs. Rams
Gians quarterback Tommy DeVito, left, and Tyrod Taylor. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Maybe it’s fitting that the Giants have a question at quarterback with two meaningless games to play. The Giants season has reached the stage of dreariness. Officially, they are eliminated from the playoffs. The one percent chance is gone. So far, no one has mentioned “playing for pride.” But there’s still time.
At some point Wednesday, coach Brian Daboll will unveil his decision on whether 13-year veteran Tyrod Taylor or undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito will start against the Rams on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Daboll said Tuesday on Zoom that he was not yet ready to commit. He wanted to first talk with his staff.
The Rams are in playoff contention.
Asked when he decided to make the quarterback change from DeVito to Taylor Monday, Daboll said it was at halftime, with the Giants trailing the Eagles, 20-3.
“Just felt we needed to do something to try to spark us,” he said. “I think we were one-of-eight on third down, 55 yards passing. That was a collective thing, though. For everybody. But it’s a decision I made at halftime and that’s how we went with it. I just felt for that particular game, that was the decision that I needed to make.”
The Giants scored 21 second-half points with Taylor, including cornerback Adoree’ Jackson’s interception return for a touchdown.
When Taylor was eligible to come off injured reserve – with his broken and displaced ribs healed -- Daboll made the decision to stay with DeVito, who then beat the Packers for his third win in a row.
Players will be on the practice field Wednesday as they begin preparing for the Rams.
Taylor is a pending free agent, and general manager Joe Schoen, at his bye week press conference, dismissed Taylor by noting that his contract is up. DeVito remains under contract with the Giants in 2024.
Asked if his players will remain engaged with their season effectively over, Daboll indicated he did not believe that would be a problem.
“Look, I thought we competed hard [Monday],” he said. “We have a bunch of competitors that are going to do their jobs. Come in, get ready to go against the Rams and try to play and coach as good as we can.”
The 10 consecutive losses to the Eagles and Cowboys will linger through the offseason with Saquon Barkley, the longest-tenured current Giant.
“Didn’t close it,” Barkley in the visiting locker room Monday. “Clearly shows. We played the Cowboys twice, got beat. Fought a really good game here, got beat. Not saying anything negative, that’s the truth. If this team, this franchise, wants to go where we want to go, we got to start beating these teams.”
Where's the spark?
The Giants receiving corps sometimes seems like it has lost its big-play ability.
Darius Slayton provided a reminder against the Eagles that there are still playmakers on the Giants roster at that position. Slayton had three receptions on three targets for 90 yards and a 69-yard touchdown.
Wan’Dale Robinson led the Giants in targets with seven. He made three catches for 16 yards. Robinson’s 49 receptions lead the Giants. He has averaged 7.9 yards per catch this season. By comparison, the Cowboys are led by CeeDee Lamb’s 109 receptions and 1,424 receiving yards.
And the Eagles are led by A.J. Brown’s 1,394 receiving yards.
Asked generally by Newsday about the Giants not having a big-play receiver this season – a player the quarterback can count on time and again – Daboll did not dispute that there is an issue.
“Right now, we’re just going to try to do as good as we can against the Rams and put together a plan,” he said. “There’ll be a time for all that, but now it’s to get ready to go here on the Rams.”
Blue Notes
Inside linebacker Bobby Okereke and safety Xavier McKinney have been iron men for the Giants. Neither has missed a defensive snap all season. “They do a really good job of taking care of their bodies, prehabbing,” Daboll said. “They practice, too, almost every play. So, durability is obviously an important thing and both of those guys have been good players for us. It’s certainly a hard thing to do.”… In what likely will not come as a surprise, tackle Evan Neal has been placed on injured reserve. The seventh overall pick in the 2022 draft generally has been disappointing or injured. “Evan’s done everything he could possibly do but couldn’t make it [back],” Daboll said. “So there’ll be stuff down the road [likely surgery], but the young man’s done everything he could possibly do. Just didn’t work out.”
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
