Does it seem strange to be playing a game on Christmas?
Daboll: “Yeah, a little different. A little different. Making sure that our schedules are how we need them to be, but it’s a little different than – this is my first time. In 20-something years, I can’t remember playing on Chri
Q: I don’t want to mention the number for fear of jinxing him, but Tommy DeVito has a pretty long streak without throwing an interception. Is that one of the impressive things for a young quarterback, that he doesn’t put the ball in harm’s way?
Daboll: “That’s an important part of playing that position. You touch it on every play and making sure that we’re possessing the ball is a critical component to playing that position. He’s done a good job with it. There’s always risk and reward to every play. So, making the right decision, whether that’s to throw it vertical, to throw it intermediate, to throw it short. That’s what we’re working on with him.”
Q: You’ve worked with a lot of quarterbacks. Is consistently throwing the ball to the right spot one of the most challenging aspects of the position?
Daboll: “Well, there’s a lot of things that go into playing quarterback. I wouldn’t say it’s just for young quarterbacks, it’s quarterbacks in general. You place a high premium on taking care of the ball and to possess it to give you an opportunity to move it down the field. There’s a lot of things that go into play with that, not just the quarterback. It’s the receivers being where they’re supposed to be, the line protecting, the running back making sure he knows where the blitz pickup is. It’s a collective effort, but he does have the ball in his hands and when he’s got time to go ahead and make sure he’s reading the coverage the proper way and throw it to the right guy, that’s something you teach in meetings. You put a high emphasis on it, you do it in practice and then until you get to the game, when you actually can get hit and taken down, you’ve got to make sure even on those sacks, you’re doing things the best way you can to maintain possession of the ball.”
