Transcript: Quarterback Tommy DeVito

Quarterback Tommy DeVito

Q: What's it mean to win Offensive Player of the Week?

A: It's cool, I guess. I don't know. I didn't really think anything of it. It's kind of just outside stuff.

Q: How much has it been an effort on your part and the whole offense to avoid the sacks? There were a lot of them in the earlier games, none this past game.

A: It's something that was a point of emphasis from the week prior. Try to just get the ball out of my hands, use my legs, run, just make decisions a little bit quicker. The offensive line did a great job.

Q: It sounds obvious, but it's obviously not, 'Get the ball out of my hands or just run.' What goes into all this? You don't want to give up on a play, but you also don't want to get sacked.

A: It's always give and take. You realistically want to have zero sacks, but realistically in a game, it's not always going to happen each week, week in and week out. But it's just up to me just to make good decisions and try to help out the offense to not have any negatives.

Q: How much does it help the offense when it's not 2nd-and-15, when you're on a certain schedule, even if it's not a big completion, to not take those sacks and not be behind the sticks?

A: I don't think that would be good in any offense, no matter who's back there with anybody. I mean, just avoiding the negative plays as a quarterback will just help keep the offense and the team on track.

Q: How much are you enjoying the local attention and the national attention that your story is bringing?

A: It's good. I mean, I appreciate the support from everybody. Obviously, being from a small town, it's a lot going on in such a small area. But I appreciate everybody.

Q: The idea that you're close to your family, the cutlets, Don Bosco, what does it feel like when a lot of people feel like right now, you're the embodiment of all New Jersey Italians?

A: I'm just trying to continue to be me. I'm going to let my personality show. That's it.

Q: What ways do you think you have improved in the six games that you've been playing and in four games as the starter?

A: In a lot. I mean, there have been a lot of situations that I haven't been in before. That was my first two-minute situation at the end of last game. It's really all situational. But taking care of the ball, that's been a big thing. Right now, avoiding the sacks, trying to have those minimized, just keeping the team staying ahead of the chains.

Q: We know he's on IR, but has (quarterback) Daniel (Jones) been a sounding board for you during this?

A: He has, yeah. Yeah. When he's around, when he's done doing his rehab, and he's either in here or in the quarterback room, I'm always picking his brain, just having a conversation.

**Q: Is he a cheerleader as well? Is he the kind of guy that when you see him, he's excited for your success?

**A: Oh, of course. He's probably always the first text on my phone right after the game ends. I usually see him in here the next morning sitting getting treatment. So, we're always talking and he's always the first one.

Q: What's his advice been handling all the attention? Obviously being the starting quarterback of an NFL team is probably a next level of attention and eyes on you.

A: Yeah, it's just staying composed throughout the whole thing. It's kind of the same deal it's always been in college and everything else. When everything's going good, everybody loves you, and when you don't win, everything is—people don't like you, right? It's always somebody's talking this and that about you. So, staying even keeled through it all.

Q: Do you feel like you've kind of been seasoned in that regard? I guess it seems like you feel like you've kind of been through that.

A: Oh, yeah. I've dealt with the New York crowd before playing in Syracuse. I've dealt with it before, so I know how it goes.

Q: What does 'the New York crowd' mean?

A: They can love you or they can be the complete opposite quick, depending on how certain things are going. I know how it is. People are tough, but they expect the best. That's what we're going to try to give them.

Q: Could you imagine this happening anywhere else, like, another city or another team? Your situation seems pretty unique to the New York/New Jersey area.

A: I think it's only unique because I'm from the area.

Q: That's what I mean, yeah.

A: Then yeah.

Q: If you were doing these performances for the Bears or the Titans or something like that, it probably wouldn't be as big of a deal.

A: Not sure.

Q: New York is a lot bigger of a stage, I guess…

A: I would hope so, but I'm sure all the extra antics of it just being in the area certainly helps.

Q: Have you let your mind go on what possibilities could be here for you long term as far as maybe being the regular starter here beyond this season?

A: No, I'm just trying to take it one game at a time. I don't make any of those decisions. My job is to go out and help the team try to win a football game.

Q: How much early on would you try to get to know your teammates in here, including some of the defensive players? I've talked to teammates who mentioned that it was almost like you wanted to be part of their group as well.

A: Yeah, always. It's a team game, right? It's not just the offense, not just quarterbacks and receivers, or quarterbacks and running backs. You've got to be a very I think personable person. I don't know – I like to vibe with everybody.

Q. With that being said, how much has (running back) Saquon (Barkley) – he's always been in your corner, but how much has his respect for you carried?

A: A lot. That's my thing. Kind of early on I tried to just earn respect from everybody throughout my work ethic and everything. Whether it's in the weight room, on the field, film, whatever it is, just trying to earn that respect, and especially from a guy like him, was something I wanted to try to do early on.

Q. When do you think you did? When do you think you earned a lot of the veterans' respect?

A: I don't know, might be a question for them. Maybe after preseason, after I played a little bit or maybe after I played in a real game, not sure. Might still be going, some people I might not have it yet. I'm still trying to—can't impress everybody, but you can try.

Q. I did a story in August, just for context, about your family at the airport. They were flying back from the Detroit preseason game. They were so fired up for you playing the role that you did that day after (quarterback) Tyrod (Taylor) exited the game. What has your family meant to you during this journey as you are now at a different point obviously in your career?

A: Everything. They've given me everything leading up to this point to help get me into this position. While I'm in this position I am living at home, as you all know, so they're helping me with everything external, so I only have to focus on football – because there's a lot of externals going on right now.

Q. Dad trained you when you were young, correct?

A: Yup.

Q. Has he told you recently how proud he is?

A: Yeah, he does. All the time. He's a proud dad, rightfully so. But I just continue just to try to give back to them always.

Q. Has anything surprised you about how much attention they're getting and how much the story outside of you has evolved?

A: Honestly, no. I know how it is in the area, especially when things took off, especially with the whole Italian stuff. Social media is a crazy place. Things can catch fire real quick. So, that took off, and try to keep going.

Q. What about the season itself, but in playing too, has surprised you about the process, or has anything surprised you about the process?

A: I wouldn't say anything has really surprised me to this point. Just playing football, that's it.

Q. How much are you thinking about the playoff race, and what do you think of the chances now that you're kind of back in it as a team?

A: I'm not thinking about anything but this week with the Saints. That's it.

Q. What do you see from the Saints when you look at this team and this matchup?

A: Yeah, they're a good team. Obviously have a lot of guys on that defense I've kind of looked up to in the past. The Honey Badger (Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu), he's on that defense. That'll be my first time playing against him. That's kind of a cool deal when I went through the scouting report and saw his

name on there. That's someone I've always watched when I was younger, so that'll be just a cool person to play against out there.

Q. Are you expecting — you showed a more run-heavy game – kind of impacting the defense taking advantage of that this weekend perhaps?

A: I don't know, we'll see how they play. Last week that wasn't really the whole game plan, it kind of just evolved into that depending on how the defense plays.

Q. I know you're on the other side, but how big is it that the defense, your defense, is creating turnovers at the pace that they are?

A: Oh, it's huge. It gives the offense a tremendous advantage, the team a whole advantage. Offensively we need to capitalize more off of them, get some more points out of it. But they did a tremendous job, whether that's if their offense gets good field position, holding them to three or nothing, and then just giving us good field position…Whatever it is, it's just all very beneficial for our team.

Q. Are you nervous before games? Do you have a way to calm yourself if necessary?

A: No, it's just a football game I've been playing since I was five. Kind of just treat everything like practice.

Q. One of the most common questions you are getting in New Jersey is did Rutgers recruit you?

A: A little bit, yeah. Not heavy though.

Q. Were you surprised by that at the time?

A: At the time? I don't know. I'm not going to comment on it. But no, I was not heavily recruited by Rutgers.

Q. How much have you seen the offensive line improve last week and maybe the week before? They got the game ball, but what did you see from them as far as improvement?

A: They've improved a ton week in and week out for the past couple weeks. They've been meeting so much and all the walk throughs and everything. They've taken such attention to detail with everything, and I just appreciate everything they're doing. Last week, not this past week, but the week before that, I made their jobs a little harder with some of the sacks, could have helped out with some of them. So, this week really honed in on it, just tried to get that number down as low as possible and I'm going to continue to try to do that moving forward.