Suspension;Giants Tommy DeVito has been suspended definitely his not playing for New York Giants sad to report…

The question was posed to New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley very clearly. What do you think of your starting quarterback living at home?

“Living at home?” Barkley asked quizzically.

When informed by ESPN that this week’s starting Giants quarterback, New Jersey native Tommy DeVito, was living at home, Barkley asked with whom.

With his parents, of course.

“For real?” Barkley said with a chuckle, unaware that DeVito was playing for the Giants while living in his childhood home in Cedar Grove, N.J., nine miles away from the team’s practice facility and stadium.

It makes sense that DeVito lives at home, given the situation. He is a rookie, an undrafted free agent, playing for his hometown team. He’s a Don Bosco Prep High School star who wasn’t even sure he would be on the roster this season after six collegiate years, the final being at the University of Illinois.

DeVito started the season on the practice squad. He was signed to the active roster last week when Taylor went on injured reserve.

“It was a no-brainer for me,” DeVito told ESPN about living with his parents. “Everything that I need is there at the house. The decision was made since this level of football is stressful for a rookie, especially from the quarterback position. There is a lot going on, a lot of meetings. So everything outside of football is handled by my family.

“I don’t have to worry about laundry, what I’m eating for dinner, chicken cutlets and all that is waiting for me when I get there. My mom still makes my bed. Everything is handled for me. Honestly, I don’t even know if I could find a place closer to here than where I live. It takes me 12 minutes to get here.”

Veteran offensive lineman Justin Pugh also had no idea DeVito was living at home. Pugh said in his 11 professional seasons he hasn’t known of a player who lived at home during the season, although there have been a few.

But he’s certainly not against such an arrangement, especially considering the work and growth he’s seen from his fellow Syracuse product.

“That is the greatest. You know what, smart!” Pugh said. “Saving his money. Genius! That’s the one thing I’d say from a financial standpoint. Your mom helping with your wash, making sure you’re up on time, no distractions, unbelievable.”

While Pugh expects an invite in the future for a Sunday meal with the offensive line, the DeVitos have already served as familial hosts. Wide receivers Jalin Hyatt, Wan’Dale Robinson and Bryce Ford-Wheaton have all been over.

Hyatt, a fellow rookie, even credits DeVito with putting him onto the good restaurants and spots in the area after moving to New Jersey in the spring.

“I’ve been over there. I love going to his spot,” Hyatt said. “He has a little hot tub in the back. The crazy thing about it is he lives, maybe, 15 minutes away. So he’s close.”

At the postgame news conference following Sunday’s 30-6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, when he entered after starter Daniel Jones tore the ACL in his right knee, DeVito wore a cut sleeves black and white t-shirt that caught even the attention of coach Brian Daboll. His personality has won over his teammates.

“When I came out here, that is what I thought a New Jersey guy was,” offensive lineman Ben Bredeson said. “I love Tommy. Absolutely love Tommy. He’s got, obviously, a loud personality. But he’s always fun, always having a good time. He’s just a very self-confident guy, and not in a bad way.”

And as offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said on Thursday, he also has a unique opportunity. The kind of opportunity that isn’t generally afforded to rookie quarterbacks, much less undrafted quarterbacks. DeVito will be just the 10th undrafted quarterback since 2000 to start an NFL game.

“I literally told him [Thursday], it could be a hell of a story. Let’s make it a hell of a story,” Barkley said. “Undrafted guy from Jersey. Lives in Jersey with his parents;

Without quarterback Matthew Stafford, who missed the game with a sprained UCL in his right thumb, and running back Kyren Williams, who was on injured reserve with an ankle injury, the Rams scored just three points to fall to 3-6. The loss was their third straight, dropping them to 12th place in the NFC and causing head coach Sean McVay to call the game “humbling.”

But after a bye week that enabled the Rams to get healthier, they’ve won two in a row — both against NFC West opponents — and enter Week 13 a half-game out of a playoff spot. At 5-6, the Rams have equaled their win total from last season and resemble a team that can contend for a playoff spot.

Los Angeles enters Sunday with a 37% chance to make the playoffs, according to ESPN Analytics. Those chances climb to 47% with a victory against the Cleveland Browns and fall to 20% with a loss. The Rams, who were 5-12 last season, have not missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons since they went a franchise-record 12 straight seasons without a playoff berth from 2005 to 2016.

But if the Rams are going to make a run at the postseason, it starts with two tough tasks: games against ESPN Analytics’ top two defenses, the Browns and Baltimore Ravens. Although the Rams’ offense came alive on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, that was against the NFL’s last-place defense, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index.

With six games remaining, the Rams have put themselves in position to make a run at a playoff spot, especially by sweeping the Seattle Seahawks and going 4-1 in the division. But they’ve got the 15th-hardest schedule remaining, a stat impacted by their next two games.

Although the Rams have a playoff shot — something that was not the case a year ago — McVay makes it clear it cannot be the team’s sole focus. After their win in Week 12, McVay was asked about whether the team’s performance gives him the confidence they can make the postseason.

“I think what we’re interested in is taking care of our business one week at a time,” he said, “and that’s what keeps you relevant in those conversations, and our players know that.”

Rookie receiver Puka Nacua said he’s “aware, but not necessarily really aware” of the Rams’ place in the standings. He said he hasn’t heard much conversation about their playoff chances in the locker room. Instead, Nacua said, the conversation is about taking it one day at a time and trying to “find the things in our game plan to help us execute on Sunday.”

That’s the message, he said, that McVay has tried to impart to his young team.

“I think really the guys understood that, hey, if you take care of your business then you keep playing games that have importance and you stay relevant in regard to those things you’re talking about,” McVay said. “I think the consistent approach has been if you take care of your business, then that conversation continues on.

“There’s still a lot of football left to be played. There’s still a lot of things that we have to do to continue to take steps in the right direction, but all we can do is have a good day today. We know it’s going to be a great challenge against a team that has done an excellent job. … So that’s where our focus is. I think the guys have earned the right to be able to build some positive momentum and it’s a ‘what have you done for me lately’ type of league, and

“I feel like up until this point in my career, I’ve accomplished things, but ultimately, you want to get to a Super Bowl, and you want to win it,” Mack said in his first training camp news conference. “And that’s the only thing on my mind at this point in my career.”

Despite being one of the best outside linebackers since he entered the league in 2014, team success had evaded Mack. When he joined the Chargers, Mack had played in just three playoff games over his first eight seasons, losing all.

But with the Chargers, it seemed that Mack’s fortunes would shift. On paper, the Bolts would be the best team that Mack had played with in his career: Joey Bosa, Derwin James Jr. and J.C. Jackson on defense. Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler on offense. Mack was also reunited with Chargers coach Brandon Staley, who was his position coach in Chicago.

“It was weird to hear,” Mack said then of being traded, “but having a relationship with Coach Staley, it went from bittersweet to excited.”

But over a year later, Mack has been part of a historic playoff meltdown and is playing for one of the league’s worst teams. The Chargers (4-7) are last in the AFC West, with a 12% chance of making the playoffs.

“It’s definitely frustrating, man,” said Mack, gazing down at the ground after Thursday’s practice. “Just understanding what we had the chance to do. You don’t get too many opportunities in this league, and we’re running out of them.”

Mack was referring to the Chargers’ most recent close-but-not-good-enough loss, which has been the theme of this Chargers team. Five of their seven losses this year have been decided by one score. Sunday’s loss came against the Baltimore Ravens, the AFC’s top seed.

The Chargers lost 20-10 in one of the defense’s better performances of the season, limiting the Ravens’ offense, which had scored 30 in their past five games, to just 20 points and 164 yards passing, their third-lowest point total all year.

With 2:57 remaining in the game, the Chargers’ offense took the field down 13-10, the fifth time this season they have been in that position, but they didn’t capitalize. The Ravens scored on the next drive to put the game away.

“In a game like that where it’s low-scoring, where it turns into a defensive game, you have to get one more stop,” Staley said after the game. “That’s what we needed to do at the end of the game was just get one more stop, give Justin one more opportunity, and we weren’t able to do it.”

Mack has been a bright spot on the struggling defense. He sacked Jackson twice in the loss to bring his total this season to 13 through 11 games, the second most he has had in his career and his most since 2015. Mack is now only 2.5 sacks away from 100 for his career, a feat only six active players have eclipsed.

Still, Mack tried his hardest Thursday to avoid questions about the year he’s having.

“Stats, whatever comes with it, it comes with it,” Mack said. “But I want to win ballgames. I’m at that stage of my career where I want to f—ing win.”

The Chargers will play the (2-7) Patriots on Sunday, the first step, they hope, in turning this season around after a three-game losing streak.

“We are not thinking about defeat …” Mack said of the state of this season, “just putting one foot in front of the other. Getting ready for the next game is

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — At first it looked a little bit funny and unorthodox, and needed an explanation. Atlanta Falcons running backs coach Michael Petrie was happy to supply one.

Petrie wants his players to understand the why of anything they do, from game plans to practices to meetings. Petrie asked his players to perform a specific drill, not one they do daily, but one with a specific purpose.

It’s a drill with different variations, leading to different names. Petrie — and the people he learned it from — call it the “rugby drill.” In reality it looks like something else: a few seconds of controlled chaos.

The drill itself is simple. Four running backs — sometimes holding a football, sometimes not — sprint at each other. If all goes to plan, at the last second, all four backs will jump cut and then sprint away again. After the jump cut, a coach might add a secondary or tertiary move just to practice more things at once.

“It looked cool,” said fullback Keith Smith. “But once you hear the logic behind it, it makes sense. Just as far as making tight cuts in compact spaces. You got to have your feet tight, so that’s kind of what that is simulating.

“But it is definitely a different drill.”

Atlanta doesn’t do this drill weekly. But it’s a small part of why the Falcons enter Week 13 with the NFL’s fourth-best rushing offense (139.3 yards a game) and rank in the top 10 in almost every major rushing category.

Atlanta has a running back in the top 10 in almost every statistical category: Bijan Robinson, who is eighth in yards with 703 and yards per rush (5.0) and ninth in yards per game (63.9). Tyler Allgeier is No. 31 in rushing yards (466), No. 28 in yards per game (42.4) and No. 11 in average yards after contact (2.03).

Petrie started showing the drill on film for a multitude of reasons. Since the drill is different, he wanted his players to have a vision of what it’s supposed to look like first. If someone doesn’t listen to the instructions of left or right beforehand, it can be ugly.

“One wrong move, it’s all going to get messed up,” Robinson said. “Everyone has to be in sync.”

Robinson saw the drill on social media but hadn’t participated before arriving in Atlanta. He immediately saw its value because it trains a combination of footwork, vision, jump-cutting and timing.

Petrie is quick to deflect credit. He doesn’t know where it came from, only from whom he picked it up. Petrie discovered it through one of his closest friends in coaching, former Carolina Panthers running back DeShaun Foster, who is now UCLA’s running backs coach.

Foster never ran it as a player. He uses it weekly at UCLA and every NFL back out of the Bruins program since 2017 — the Chargers’ Joshua Kelley and Seattle’s Zach Charbonnet, among others — experienced it.

“The key to the drill is everybody has to sprint to the center,” Foster said. “Everybody sprints to the center and then you jump cut right or left, whatever direction we decided, and you shouldn’t hit each other.

“But if you do hit each other, that means that that guy was going too slow.”

It trains while helping pick up on a player’s understanding and instincts. Foster learned it from his mentor, now-Las Vegas Raiders running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu, when Foster started his career as a low-level assistant at UCLA.

It’s a drill Polamalu does often. But he wasn’t aware of the impact, how it started to travel through running back rooms. He brought the drill from American Samoa.

“I learned it from the kids from the island,” Polamalu said. “The reason why they taught me was because they said that was the drill they did for rugby, so I tagged it ‘rugby drill.'”

Polamalu worked at a football camp put on by his nephew, Troy Polamalu, trying to figure out ways to accomplish as many things as possible during practices. The drill offered a lot. It was a better simulation than using bags or garbage cans or cones because it had humans moving with humans.

When Polamalu first saw it, he was awed. Not only did it drill almost every part of a running back’s skill set, but it saved time in situations where individual periods could be shortened. Instead of having players go one

“We always talk about sticking your route, sticking your cut, not being too high, being in a good balance, not having a wide base, having a good, strong base and your chest is over your knees,” Polamalu said. “All that good athletic vision goes off of this drill and it goes fast.”

Polamalu didn’t modify much while translating it to college football and then the NFL. He might add another move after the jump cut, often a spin or a second hard plant. He’s not sure how many disciples of the rugby drill there are. He knows about Foster and Petrie. When he got to Minnesota as the Vikings’ running backs coach in 2017, he watched film to learn his players and was excited to see players running the rugby drill, coached by his predecessor, now-Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.

It was in Minnesota where he saw the player he believes is the best he’s ever seen at the drill: Dalvin Cook.

“It was almost like he was going to run into the guy,” Polamalu said. “You’re telling him to go right and now he’s cutting off the other guy going right and he just, makes a plant and he’s to the right before you know it, the left before you know it.

“And that guy that’s going left, he better go because he’s going to be right on his ass.”

Cook proved the point: Treat other backs sprinting at you like the offensive linemen creating the hole or the defenders a back is trying to evade.

There are variations of it, too. When Packers running back AJ Dillon was at Boston College, he was introduced to a similar drill he and his then-running backs coach Brian White called the “chaos drill.” It’s not the same drill, Foster said, because of the instructions of where to cut beforehand or not. At BC, they did it daily, multiple backs running at the same cone full speed and then making moves as close to the cone as possible, helping with vision and footwork.

“It’s unpredictable,” Dillon said. “You don’t know where guys are going to come off, you don’t know when you’re going to need to make a cut, so having three, four guys going full speed in close proximity, that first cut you make, everybody’s not cutting to the right.

“So you might cut right and somebody on your right might cut left and you’ve got to cut back and this guy might come and you’ve got to spin in and spin out.”

It might sound like chaos or disorganization, but so often a breakdown in a block or unexpected defender can cause the same issue on a Saturday or Sunday.

“It’s definitely different. At first, it’s like, it’s almost a trust thing, too, because you got to trust that everybody is on the same page,” Smith said. “Otherwise, you’re going

After a brief exchange of whispers, he turned to offer this on the man who has been Carolina’s special teams coach since 2022.

“Just confirming,” Jansen said with a smile. “Coach Tabor cannot pronounce the word ‘orange.’ He pronounces it ‘O-ing.’ And we have signals and game plans and calls that include the word O-ing just to mess with him.”

Tabor doesn’t mind being messed with. He actually likes it. It fits right in with his goal over the final six games for the Panthers, who have the NFL’s worst record at 1-10. His message to players heading into Sunday’s game at the 4-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS) was to have fun.

“We’re playing a kids game played by grown men,” Tabor said. “So let’s have some fun while we’re doing it.”

Panthers owner David Tepper fired head coach Frank Reich Monday and replaced him with Tabor on an interim basis. In all likelihood, Tepper won’t consider Tabor, 52, a candidate for the full-time job for 2024, unlike last season’s interim coach Steve Wilks, who was in contention before Reich got the gig. Tabor falls into the category of Perry Fewell — Tepper’s interim coach in 2019 after he fired Ron Rivera in-season — who was never a serious candidate for the job.

Carolina likely will go after a young offensive mind to groom quarterback Bryce Young. Among the possibilities are Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Carolina’s top choice last offseason before he opted to stay with the Lions, and Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, who has helped develop rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud to an MVP candidate.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh spoke to Tepper during the last coaching search and could be a candidate this time around too.

But for now, Tabor was the perfect choice to guide a team that hasn’t had much fun this season. His goal is to get everyone to play loose, starting with Young, who is 1-9 as the starting quarterback.

“Play loose, not reckless,” Tabor said. “Say, ‘Hey, here’s my chips. I’m all-in. Let’s go.’ And I think that can be comforting to players.”

One of Tabor’s methods of levity is to bring a front-desk bell to meetings. He taps it to start and end a meeting. He taps it if players aren’t paying attention. He taps it to deliver one of his $5 fines that can be for anything from a bad haircut to mispronouncing a word.

Sometimes he fines himself.

“He uses that as a Pavlov’s dog piece of equipment to bring our attention back,” said Jansen, referring to the psychologist who experimented with conditioning dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell. “We jokingly say that we are purchasing comradery among levity.”

If the mood in the locker room the past few days is an indication, Tabor’s message is sinking in. Players were smiling and laughing — and a few even dancing — while media were present.

“It’s not worth firing coaches for,” Jansen said. “But I do think you get a little bit of a, ‘Hey, we’d really like to reset and shrink this down to six games.’ And that can bring some energy.

“This also is a small reflection of Tabor’s leadership.”

Tabor is willing to tease players in team meetings, and they seem to n Wednesday, he told a player he thought was from Tampa he looked like he was from Tampa, and everyone laughed. Turns out Tabor was close. The player was from Miami.

Mainly, Tabor has remained himself, which has been reassuring to players and coaches.

“His personality has always been fun-loving, light-hearted,” outside linebacker Brian Burns said. “He always makes jokes, but you always can tell he’s about business.

“He said there’s two ways to have fun. You can have fun kicking somebody’s behind or being on the other side of having somebody kick your behind.”

Tabor began his coaching career in 1993 as an assistant coach at his high School in St. Joseph, Missouri. His only head-coaching job that wasn’t an interim position was in 2001 at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri. The team went 6-5, its first winning season in 15 years.

Tabor didn’t get to the NFL until 2008, when the Chicago Bears hired him as a special teams assistant. He has been a special teams coordinator since 2011 with the Cleveland Browns, Bears and Panthers.

But Tabor knows football beyond special teams. He was a three-year starting quarterback at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where he was the team MVP in 1992.

He also knows how to teach. Jansen called him a “tremendous teacher.”

“His teaching style is really unique, and really effective,” Jansen continued. “We go six, seven, eight minutes of real intense football. And then there’s always a minute or two of a joke or story, something to keep it light-hearted. And then we kind of reset.

“This keeps guys engaged. There’s a lot of memorable stuff that I think helps as we get later in the week and then into the game, a guy’s recall is better instead of a 40-minute meeting where you’re falling asleep.”

If Tabor is interested in the full-time job, he doesn’t show it. He said there have been no guarantees he’ll get an interview, adding all of his focus is on “today.”