Evan Neal did something not-so-great on Wednesday. He was talking to a reporter named Darryl Slater from NJ.com. Evan, who plays for the New York Giants and is still learning, said some things to fans who were not happy with how he played.
What he said to Slater was not very nice.
“Why should a lion care about the opinion of a sheep?… I really don’t care. Why did I do this? I’m in the National Football League. What are the people commenting on my performance doing? Flip hot dogs and burgers somewhere?”
Things have not been going well for Neal since the Giants selected him seventh overall in the 2022 draft. As a rookie, Neal ranked last among 57 eligible tackles rated by Pro Football Focus. He was also sidelined with an injury to his knee.
This season, Neal has not been doing so well in his position compared to other players. There are 63 players like him, and he is ranked 60th, which is not good at all.
He allowed the other team to get to his quarterback 20 times, which is more than anyone else in the NFL in four games. The way he played in some moments, like the one you see in the photo, made fans wonder what was going on.
Additionally, the Giants are off to a dismal start to the season, going 1-3. They won the two home games 64-3. Fans at MetLife Stadium expressed their displeasure after Monday’s 24-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Neil didn’t handle it well.
According to Slater, Neil gestured to the fans in a way that suggested they boo, but he did not turn them away. Full disclosure: I was in the press box Monday night and did not see this reaction from Neal.
“They were booing us, so I said, ‘Boo louder!'” Neal told Slater.
“Many of our fans are followers. I mean, I get it: They want us to do well,” Neal told NJ Advance Media. “And I respect all of that. But no one wants us to do well more than we do.
“And how can you say you are a real fan when the only thing you want to do is boo the home team when we are playing hard there and the game isn’t going well? So, how big of a fan are you really?”
Valentine’s View:
I was really surprised by what Neal said. I have talked to him a few times, even when he did not play well. Last year, after a game against Dallas, where he did not do so well and let the other team get to his quarterback three times, Neal sat in his locker and talked to me about it. He accepted that he did not play well and answered questions about it patiently.
On Monday night, Neal was the offensive line announcer. Surrounded by reporters in the dimly lit locker room after the game, he once again assumed the manager’s seat. I am not angry. It is not an accusation. It is not noisy. He did not blame or criticize anyone. He was mature.
We also know from private moments that Neil is sensitive to the criticism he receives.
He is a 23-year-old young man who has never experienced failure. He was one of the most highly recruited high school players in the country. He went to Alabama, where he became one of the best linemen in the country and won a national championship.
This is the first time he has experienced failure as a player. This is the first time in his life that he plays on a team that is likely to fail. Neil clearly is not handling this very well.
Players say they do not typically see or hear criticism on social media. That is a lie. We know they hear it and see it. We know that players have friends and family who will share what is said about them online, even if it does not happen in person.
Still, it is never a good idea to infuriate fans, whether in the stadium or online. My guess is that Neal will end up apologizing on Thursday, but perhaps that is what the organization said he had to tell him. In fact, Neil apologized on Twitter (yes, we’ll call him Twitter) on Wednesday night.
What is Happening Now?
We have already said that Neal is no Erec Flowers, but it’s understandable that his play thus far has reminded Giants fans of the 2015 No. 10 overall pick who failed as the Giants’ left tackle.
Flowers was the opposite of responsible. He spoke little to the media, seemed unpopular in the locker room, and did not really seem to know how to practice his craft. Neil is none of those things.
But did Neal do something that made it really hard for him to do well on the Giants’ team? Did he make it so the Giants had no choice but to find a new player, even though they really wanted him to be an important part of the team?
I am not convinced that Neal’s mistakes mean the Giants have to move on from him. But Neil has not had it easy as a Giant. Fans have long memories. Every time he makes a bad call or a bad game, it explodes on Wednesday.
The only way for Neal to fix this, if he can fix it, is to play like the Giants expected him to when they drafted him.
