As long as he keeps calling it “spaghetti sauce” rather than marinara, Patrick Ricard is unlikely to be mistaken for Tommy DeVito anywhere in New York or North Jersey.
Still, Ricard — the 300-pound fullback who represents John Harbaugh’s preferred brand of physical football while evoking Giants fans’ memories of the smashmouth 1980s — may be on track to build a DeVito-style cult following of his own.
“I’m like the spaghetti sauce on the offense,” Ricard said, explaining an analogy that run-game coordinator Greg Roman uses with him. “I’m like the secret sauce, where you put me in different spots to get the advantage, and I’m usually a mismatch with 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.”
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