If he keeps calling it “spaghetti sauce” instead of marinara, no one in New York or North Jersey is going to confuse Patrick Ricard with Tommy DeVito.
But Ricard — the 300-pound fullback who embodies John Harbaugh’s ideal of physicality as well as Giants nostalgia for the smashmouth 1980s — could be well on his way to developing a DeVito-like cult following as a fan favorite.
“I’m like the spaghetti sauce on the offense,” Ricard said, relaying the analogy run-game coordinator Greg Roman makes to him. “I’m like the secret sauce to where you put me in different spots to get the advantage, and I’m usually a mismatch of who I’m blocking because I’m usually bigger than them.
“It’s a lot of fun to be in this offense — to be moved around a lot in motion and shift and be in different spots. It’s almost like ‘Where’s Waldo?’ on Sundays, and it can be a lot to defend.”
