Sal Licata is happy the Daniel Jones ‘error’ is over, as the Giants are going with Tommy DeVito at QB going forward, but the news drew a mixed reaction from Brandon Tierney.
“It is officially over, and I am all here for it!” Sal screamed at the top of the show. “I’m all about the Cutlets!”
“I don’t understand the move, but I think I speak for a lot of fans that I’d much rather watch Tommy DeVito play than Drew Lock and Daniel Jones,” BT replied. “There's no doubt Giants are going nowhere; they've been cooked for a while, they’re boring, and they’re bad, so at least give the local kid some run.”
Here’s the thing, though: Lock signed a one-year deal to be the backup, while DeVito has been inactive all season – but if, as Brian Daboll later said in discussing the move, they went to DeVito because of the spark he gave the team, why did the Giants bother signing Lock at all?
“What to me is the reasoning behind this? That to me is the most interesting part. Is it John Mara trying to gain a little equity from the fans, throw them a bone so they shut up for a minute?” BT asked. “Could be because if it's not, and they're trying to win, then I would probably argue that it's the wrong move. Not that I think they should be trying to win, but if they are, I think the better option would be Lock.”
“I don’t care what the reasoning is, BT, but they’ve said it was going to be a football decision,” Sal replied. “I believe there is some truth to that. I don’t think they’re trying to tank and lose games, but I do think part of this is giving the fans what they want. Lock is a backup QB at best, and at least with DeVito, there is some excitement, and the fans want it.”
It is true that Lock has 23 career starts to DeVito’s three and has been around a long time, and as Daboll said in his later presser, the team went to DeVito because they saw ‘the spark he brings’ and what he did last season was impressive.
Is it that, or is it also partially ‘we’re benching Jones to make sure his $23 million injury guarantee doesn’t vest,’ while also keeping Lock out of play so some of the $3 million he has in incentives (a good chunk of it reachable if he became starting QB) off the books?
“You also have to incorporate the finances here, because if it's not a Mara-pushed thing and it's just, we're going with the better guy…hey, Joe Schoen, come to the owner's office for a minute,” BT said. “Why’d you give him $5 million, and we’ve come to the organizational determination that the kid making $900K is better than the guy making $5 million. Why did you sign Drew Lock?”
What’s the worst that can happen…besides the Giants once again winning games late to ruin draft position?
"I’m excited to watch the Giants! Doesn’t mean I’m excited to see them win, or that they’re going to win – even if they do, it’s not going to do any good for this team,” Sal said. “It’ll probably hurt them like it did a year ago, but I’m excited to see him play.”
“Me too, but that’s the wrong way to go about it,” BT replied. “The big picture is for the Giants to get into a position to draft the next Eli or Phil Simms, so when you look at this from a football perspective, but I think it’s safe to say Drew Lock is more refined than DeVito, so he’s better equipped to maybe win a game or two? They’re throwing the fans a bone, and that’s the worst way to operate at this point.”