‘Perplexed Plumber!’ Eagles Force Benching of DeVito; Upset Dad Reacts

Tommy DeVito, a rookie quarterback in the undrafted draft by the New York Giants, is quite the tale in his native state of New Jersey. He came from “nowhere,” well, New Jersey, to become the team’s top quarterback and a folk hero. Everything collapsed, if only momentarily, on Christmas Day when the young player was benched in favor of Tyrod Taylor during the Giants’ 33-25 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Nor does Tom DeVito Sr. understand it. According to DeVito’s father, “I thought he was hurt, maybe.” “Perhaps something took place. I didn’t receive any texts from him during halftime, which is usually how I know whether he’s hurt or anything. Then, just as you people did, I heard it from the “Coach’s decision,” the reporter said in jest.

Dad doesn’t seem to have realized that the playoff-bound Eagles were crushing the lowly Giants prior to — well, before the Eagles nearly faltered as Taylor helped the Giants make it a nail-biter. Dad responded, “I guess they tried something else because the offense wasn’t working out too well.” And he was right. That is essentially the agreement. Before being benched, DeVito completed 9 of 16 throw attempts for 55 yards. In contrast, Taylor completed the game with 133 throwing yards, a touchdown, and an interception.

We have long believed that adding family members to stories like this is a very bad idea. Wife, mother, father, anyone. That’s not to imply the playoff-bound Eagles have anything to complain about (see the link below), but professional teams function better when

mom, dad, the wife, or whoever puts in charge of bringing the orange slices

rather than giving advice on playing time.

“I found it a little confusing,” Dad remarked. “I saw nothing improper that he did. It was evident that there were no

interceptions visible, so you thought, “I guess I’ll find out after film.” Indeed.

We’re confident that Tom DeVito Sr., who in addition to his football knowledge

moonlights as the proprietor of New Jersey-based DeVito Plumbing & Heating,

would share his assessment of the circumstances after “studying the film.”””