Evan Neal hasn’t lived up to expectations as a New York Giant. The former top 10 draft pick has struggled in his transition from Alabama to Brian Daboll’s team. His 42.5 blocking grade from Pro Football Focus is one of the lowest among all starting tackles in the NFL.
But Giants fans haven’t lived up to Neal’s expectations either. After a chorus of boos rained down upon the team following a listless 24-3 Week 4 loss to the Seattle Seahawks — New York’s third blowout loss in four games — Neal took aim at the boo birds for expressing their displeasure with a team that’s playing like hot garbage.
“They were booing us, so I said, ‘Boo louder!'” Neal told Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media. “Why would a lion concern himself with the opinion of a sheep? The person that’s commenting on my performance, what does he do? Flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere?”
Neal apologized for his comments the following day. He’s probably going to have to apologize to quarterback Daniel Jones as well because, uh…
https://t.co/Rcuh37i2p0 pic.twitter.com/5m2WCXOAcl
— TMKSburner (@TmkSburner) October 8, 2023
That’s Neal, feinting toward Miami Dolphins pass rusher Emmanuel Ogbah, then deciding his talents are needed elsewhere. The tailback behind him is clearly not in pass protection mode and, seconds later, Jones is forced to step into the middle of a collapsing pocket for a sack on third down.
That was a big deal; the loss of six yards pushed Graham Gano’s field goal attempt to an iffy 55 yards, and he left the kick wide left to keep the Giants scoreless.
This is a rough scene for a guy who took aim at the fans for being dissatisfied with a subpar product. Naturally, the “sheep” rose up to point out Neal’s sloppiness soon after.