Giants RT Evan Neal rips fans as 'fair-weather' and 'sheep' after getting booed in loss to Seahawks
New York Giants fans don't care for right tackle Evan Neal right now. The feeling is apparently mutual.
Neal, the seventh overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, had some strong words for fans who have been critical of his play so far this season, in which the Giants have struggled to a 1-3 start.
The most recent "Monday Night Football" game against the Seattle Seahawks represented another low point, especially as far as the offensive line was concerned. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was sacked 11 times and was pressured on 46% of his dropbacks, per Pro Football Focus. Neal allowed a team-high seven of those pressures, but no sacks.
As the Giants walked off the field with the fans booing, Neal raised his arm and gestured sarcastically. Asked Wednesday about the incident by NJ.com's Darryl Slater, Neal said he was yelling "Boo louder!" at fans, then explained why:
“Because that just further shows that people are fair-weather,” he said. “A lot of fans are bandwagoners. I mean, I get it: They want to see us perform well. And I respect all of that. But no one wants us to perform well more than we do.
“And how can you say you’re really a fan when we’re out there battling our asses off — and the game wasn’t going well — but the best you can do is boo your home team? So how much of a fan are you, really?”
Neal proceeded to explain his outlook on a season that has so far gone very badly.
Evan Neal has been one of the NFL's worst offensive linemen this season
Theoretically, the offensive tackle position should have been one of strength between $117.5 million left tackle Andrew Thomas and Neal, the former top-10 pick in his sophomore season. Instead, Thomas has been out since Week 1 with a hamstring injury, while Neal has been one of the worst offensive linemen in the NFL.
PFF ranks Neal's play 68th out of 71 offensive tackles this season, and Thomas' backup Joshua Ezeudu hasn't been much better at No. 64. Neal is credited with allowing only one sack through four games, but he's tied for the NFL lead with 20 pressures.
The lowlight came on a play where Neal accidentally found himself pushing tight end Darren Waller, leaving Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall free to rush Jones and force an interception:
Evan Neal blocked Darren Waller and caused an INT 💀 pic.twitter.com/hz4tPwJCWw
— GhettoGronk (@TheGhettoGronk) October 3, 2023
It was with that background that Neal ripped Giants fans', or at least his critics', understanding of football with the well-trod "Lions don't concern themselves with the opinions of sheep" line:
“Most critics really don’t understand the game of football to the level that we understand it in this building,” he said. “So why would a lion concern himself with the opinion of a sheep? I’m just going to focus on Evan — and getting better. I honestly do not care what anybody has to say about Evan Neal, because they’re going to talk anyway.
“At the end of the day, I put a lot of good things on film. But people are going to go and find the bad reps, and that’s what they’re going to highlight. That’s what they’re going to put out there. I can’t control that. So why should I care?”
Later asked why he maintains an account on X (formerly known as Twitter), Neal again took a shot at fans critical of his play by implying they could be fast food workers:
“People tag me on stuff all the time,” he said. “So it’s like, yeah, I see it. But I genuinely don’t care. Why should I? I’m in the National Football League. The person that’s commenting on my performance, what does he do? Flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere?”
After his comments made headlines, Neal offered an apology on social media.
— Evan Neal (@ENeal73) October 5, 2023
"I am wrong for lashing out at the fans who are just as passionate and frustrated as I am," Neal wrote. "I let my frustrations in my play + desire to win get the best of me. I had no right to make light of anyone's job and I deeply regret the things I said.
"We are working day in and day out to grow as a team and this was an unnecessary distraction. I apologize."
Suffice to say, none of this is what the Giants needed, and it's not going to earn Neal many sympathetic ears. Some Giants fans might not know the intricacies of their teams' blocking schemes, but it's not like there are football experts out there making the case Neal is being underrated, and it's also not like you need to be a football expert to know something has gone wrong when the right tackle is blocking the tight end.
It's not like Neal is a lost cause, though, given that he turned 23 years old less than a month ago. It can take years for offensive linemen, particularly tackles, to develop into their best selves. They just don't often rip their team's fans on the way there.
