{"id":51103,"date":"2022-08-20T13:12:43","date_gmt":"2022-08-20T13:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/giants-evan-neal-already-turning-heads\/"},"modified":"2022-08-20T13:12:43","modified_gmt":"2022-08-20T13:12:43","slug":"giants-evan-neal-already-turning-heads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/giants-evan-neal-already-turning-heads\/","title":{"rendered":"Giants&#8217; Evan Neal already turning heads"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>The drill at Giants camp the other day was all about simulating a linebacker running downhill, directly at the offensive lineman.  Basically a runaway freight train taking aim at a mountain.  The key for the lineman is to drop his center of gravity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaking sure he&#8217;s got everything nice and tight, the way we teach it,&#8221; offensive line coach Bobby Johnson said on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>A large and heavy bag was pushed and swung into each lineman.  They are the largest players on the Giants&#8217; roster and they all were pushed back by the momentum of the bag, some only a few inches, some a few feet.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption>Evan Neal showed off his size and strength during Friday&#8217;s practice. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Noah K. Murray-NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Check that.  Not all of them.  Evan Neal stood firm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe&#8217;s got mass on his side,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n<p>If it had not been a drill, but an actual game situation, even the massive Neal would have budgeted a bit, which would be acceptable, as long as he kept his balance.  It was a drill, though, and Neal proved to be immovable.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cYeah, I&#8217;m a large human, I have a lot of mass,\u201d Neal said, smiling.  \u201cThe bag wasn&#8217;t that heavy either.  I was pretty much able to absorb it.  I know I probably weigh more than the bag.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The rookie right tackle, taken with the No.  7 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, thus far is living up to his advance billing.  His teammates \u2014 many of them very oversized human beings \u2014 marvel at his physical presence at 6-foot-7 and 350 pounds.  Wide receiver Darius Slayton recently referred to taking a lane behind Neal as running behind a fire truck.<\/p>\n<p>Max Garcia, a 30-year-old veteran lineman new to the Giants, noticed Neal right away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe came in, has this stupid deep baritone voice.  He&#8217;s just a commanding presence,&#8221; Garcia said.  \u201cStill a rookie, he has a long way to go, but I&#8217;m excited for him.  Really looking forward to seeing how he progresses.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Neal&#8217;s technique, thanks to the quality of the coaching he received at Alabama, is more advanced than that of most novice NFL players.  His durability, thus far, has been exemplary and his attitude and ability to fit in with his older teammates is on point.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>At 21 years old, is he perfect?  No sir.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the end of the day, I&#8217;m definitely not a finished product, but I&#8217;m getting better and better every day,\u201d Neal said.  \u201cI belong here, I belong in this league.  I&#8217;m going to win reps, I&#8217;m going to lose reps.  That&#8217;s all a part of it.  The preseason games and everything and so forth are just extra experiences that I&#8217;m going to get under my belt and I&#8217;m going to learn from all those mistakes and learn from the things that I need to get better at.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It is early and there will be struggles, because there always are with first-year players, no matter their pedigree.  Neal has already shown an ability to shrug off the criticism sent his way.<\/p>\n<p>After he played 19 snaps \u2014 some good, some not as good \u2014 in the preseason-opening victory over the Patriots, Bleacher Report labeled Neal \u201cone of the NFL&#8217;s most disappointing rookies so far.&#8221; Chris Long, the former NFL defensive end ( with 70 career sacks) in an interview for 33rd Team said, \u201cI wasn&#8217;t a big fan of what I saw from Evan Neal.\u201d  Long called Neal \u201ctop heavy, &#8221; he pointed out\u201c he was on the ground twice the first series, &#8221; he blamed him for allowing a sack and called his top-heavy tendency \u201ca tough habit to kick.  He could kick the habit.  He could kick it next week.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/11_Giants_Camp_081922_NM.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"However, Neal knows there is further improvement he needs.\" class=\"wp-image-23540025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/11_Giants_Camp_081922_NM.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/11_Giants_Camp_081922_NM.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/11_Giants_Camp_081922_NM.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/11_Giants_Camp_081922_NM.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption>The Alabama product has been praised for his strong technique, even as a rookie. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Noah K. Murray-NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Asked if he has ever been called \u201ctop-heavy&#8221; before, it was clear Neal was familiar with Long&#8217;s critique without mentioning his name.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really don&#8217;t take the time to focus on what goes on in the internet,\u201d Neal said.  \u201cIt&#8217;s the internet, everybody has their opinion.  I like to listen to the opinions that matter.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Not everyone is coming at him.  During the offseason, Neal worked out with Hall of Famer and former Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin, who said on NFL Network: \u201cI&#8217;ve never in my life seen a big man, this big, this fast, work this hard.  This dude is a workhorse.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Neal admitted he has to work on \u201cset angles, hat placement and my base \u2026 things that are definitely going to help propel my game to the next level.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He has already dominated the heavy bag.  There is a heavy bag.  Johnson calls it \u201cBig Bertha,\u201d but it takes a four-man crew to put in place.  Perhaps that is what&#8217;s needed next time to get Neal out of his spot.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>    .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The drill at Giants camp the other day was all about simulating a linebacker running downhill, directly at the offensive lineman. Basically a runaway freight train taking aim at a mountain. The key for the lineman is to drop his center of gravity. \u201cMaking sure he&#8217;s got everything nice and tight, the way we teach &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/giants-evan-neal-already-turning-heads\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Giants&#8217; Evan Neal already turning heads<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[19434,11757,9026,423,307],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35865,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/new-york-giants-offensive-tackle-matt-gono-likely-has-a-career-ending-neck-injury-source-says\/","url_meta":{"origin":51103,"position":0},"title":"New York Giants offensive tackle Matt Gono likely has a career-ending neck injury, source says","date":"August 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ -- New York Giants offensive tackle Matt Gono likely has a career-ending neck injury, a source told ESPN on Thursday.Gono, 26, underwent surgery on his neck last year with the Atlanta Falcons. 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This continued a trend this summer, as the reviews\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Kayvon Thibodeaux","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/giantsthibodeaux.2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36566,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/giants-add-will-holden-for-swing-offensive-tackle-depth\/","url_meta":{"origin":51103,"position":2},"title":"Giants add Will Holden for swing offensive tackle depth","date":"August 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The role of swing offensive tackle is not an exotic one but it is vitally important on a roster, as any starter is one play away from going down, and the entire offensive line suffers if there is not a viable replacement. The Giants on Friday secured a new candidate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"  Will Holden #69 of the Detroit Lions in action ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/giants-sign-will-holden-offensive-line.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":51115,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/giants-news-8-20-evan-neal-vanishing-offensive-line-more-headlines\/","url_meta":{"origin":51103,"position":3},"title":"Giants news, 8\/20: Evan Neal, vanishing offensive line, more headlines","date":"August 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Good morning, New York Giants fans! 2022 NFL Rookies Who Have Disappointed in Training Camp, Preseason | Bleach Report Bleacher Reports uses Nick Falato's Big Blue View breakdown of some of Neal's training camp reps to \u2014 inappropriately \u2014 slam the rookie right tackle. Valentine's View: This is a classic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/17_Giants_Camp_081922_NM.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51103"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51103\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}