New York Giants rookie right tackle Evan Neal understands his responsibilities. And he knows that just because it’s effective doesn’t always mean it has to look pretty.
“My job is to keep the guys off the quarterback, so in any way I can,” Neal said Tuesday.
“Whatever works best at this moment, that’s what I’m going to use. Rather, I have to attack a guy aggressively, or I have to be more patient and take an angle set. However I have to get the job done, I will get the job done.”
Neal had some good moments and some bad moments in the first few weeks of his first NFL training camp. He’s been solid in 11-on-11 work but has had some tricky periods in 1-on-1 drills, which are more geared towards giving the pass-rusher an advantage anyway.
Neal, which both he and offensive line coach Bobby Johnson have admitted in the past, can be hard on himself, learning to “turn the page” when a rep isn’t running the way he’d like.
“I’m at the highest level, so you’re going to win some and lose some, but the most important thing is to keep fighting and win the next game,” Neal said.
The No. 7 overall from Alabama is in proper tackle, a point he hasn’t played in a couple of years. He also conforms to Johnson’s teachings.
“I think a lot of kids, especially tackles, go a certain way,” Johnson said Tuesday. “We’ve set ourselves differently, just philosophically based on how we want to protect the quarterback … he’s making tremendous strides every day.”
Johnson said the Fan Fest scrimmage was Neal’s “best practice” at training camp.
“We all have higher expectations of him, and he’s the type of kid who’s constantly working toward those expectations,” Johnson said. “He’s doing a good job, a really good job.
“Everyone wants them to be really good, but I don’t think everyone wants them to be as good as they want to be.”
Johnson said his philosophy is “Passing professionals aren’t passive…it has to be aggressive.”
Neal likes this philosophy.
“I never believed that pass protection was passive in any way,” he said. “You can look at my college tape, whenever I had the opportunity I would clean the bag, stop the guys at the line of scrimmage, quickly attack the guys and shut them down. So I definitely agree with that philosophy because there is nothing passive about passport protection at all.”
Neal said he understands he needs to be a better technician at the NFL level.
“Well, in the past I got great coaching from Alabama in college as well. But often they just let the talented players play, just play their game,” Neal said. “At the NFL level, a lot of people are more tech-savvy, so I need to be more of a tech, too. That’s definitely something the coaches have tried to emphasize and it’s definitely shaping me into a technician.”
Johnson hasn’t had a problem with Neal blocking the barrel so far.
“It’s the size of a bus,” Johnson said. “If you’re in his way, you’ll probably move.”
Neal is certainly not blown away by the NFL stage.
“Well, I like to say that I fear God. Nothing about this sport really intimidates me. It can be an intimidating sport to compete against world-class athletes, but I’m also here for a reason. You’re just going to go out and compete,” Neal said.
“I definitely know I belong and I can play at that level. Camp made me better. I feel like I’ve made other guys better too. I’m just excited, time will tell. It’s exciting to get out there and keep competing, getting better with my teammates and hopefully winning a few ball games.”
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