A Giant mistake.
Evan Neal hasn't exactly lived up to his No. 7 overall draft selection yet through 17 games of his NFL career. The Giants tackle has routinely graded out as one of the NFL's worst blockers on a New York offensive line which desperately needs him to be good.
Now, instead of merely taking on pass rushers, he's going to have to deal with the ire of Giants fans.
Neal, who has been criticized from all corners of the NFL sphere from analysts to fans, has seemingly had enough. On Oct. 5, he took some shots at Giants fans, which sparked quite the uprising from Big Blue supporters and analysts.
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Hell hath no fury like a New Yorker scorned. Here's what Neal had to say that cause the uproar:
What did Evan Neal say?
On Oct. 5, in an interview with NJ.com's Darryl Slater, Neal took aim at Giants fans who criticized his on-field performance, mocking fans in a condescending way.
The person that’s commenting on my performance, what does he do? Flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere? … Most critics really don’t understand the game of football to the level that we understand it in this building. 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? …
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 also called Giants fans "bandwagoners" and "fair-weather fans," which sparked a certain level of outrage. ESPN Radio's Don LaGreca is one of those fans, and he took to the airwaves on the "Michael Kay Show" on Wednesday to excoriate the Giants offensive lineman.
ICYMI: @DonLagreca had some thoughts on Neal's comments in the article below https://t.co/AnCourTJuT pic.twitter.com/PWlqMQ5rSg
— The Michael Kay Show (@TMKSESPN) October 4, 2023
Are you kidding me? I'd cut his ass. I would. How dare you? These people pay your salary, they pay an obnoxious amount of money to park, an obnoxious amount of money for PSLs, to sit there and watch this pap, and you call them hamburger flippers? What, you're so much better? I'd rather have a guy that's flipping hamburgers block than your piece-of-garbage ass.
Who the hell are you to talk to fans like that? You piece of garbage. I hate when players do that. What, because you play a sport? You're better than me? You're better than the people that pay your salary? These Giants fans will be here before you, and they'll be here after your sorry ass is cut. What a piece of human trash.
And I don't want to hear some apology. I don't want to hear, 'Oh, I was taken out of context.' I don't want to hear — done. Done. I would cut his fat ass.
If you see him in the mall at Willowbrook, boo his ass. If you see him in the DMV, boo him. Don't stop booing him. If he goes to the Pro Bowl, boo him. If he goes to the Super Bowl, boo his sorry ass. Screw that guy.
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Well, the heat from the so-called "bandwagoners" seem to get a bit too hot for Neal, who issued an apology hours after the interview surfaced.
"I am wrong for lashing out at the fans who are just as passionate and frustrated as I am," Neal wrote on social media. "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."
It might be too little, too late for the Giants tackle. Neal has allowed a sack and a gaudy 16 pressures through the first four games of the season, per PFF, including six pressures vs. the Seahawks in an ugly "Monday Night Football" loss.
With the way things are going, Neal should hope he pancake-blocks some defenders over the coming weeks, or else he'll find himself working at an International House of Pancakes in short order.