Despite the NY Giants defeating the Patriots 23-21 last week, some players still had rough performances, leaving fans wanting more from them. While yes, it is the preseason, some of these showings have carried over from training camp, causing people to become worried.
Typically, you expect some of the players further down on the depth chart to struggle a bit. However, the NY Giants saw some of their key starters/contributors play poorly against the Patriots. If they want to remain in Brian Daboll’s good graces, they’ve got to step it up a notch. Here’s a look at four guys who must perform better this weekend vs. the Bengals.
4. OL Evan Neal
While Evan Neal certainly wasn’t “bad” against the Patriots, his play left some things to be desired. For starters, one of the only concerns with Neal’s game coming out of college was his balance. This was put on full display this game, as on a couple of occasions, Neal put too much of his body weight forward, and would either fall, or have this weight used against him.
Sam Roberts working over Evan Neal, the seventh overall pick in this year’s draft 👀 pic.twitter.com/NCSsW4F4uP
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) August 12, 2022
Despite this, I am not worried about Neal in the slightest, as not only did he have several great plays this game, he is also a rookie tackle who was forced to switch positions – you’re going to see a slip up every now and then.
Neal is an athletic phenom with loads of potential to be an elite offensive lineman in this league. If NY Giants fans learned anything about offensive linemen the last three years, it is that sometimes you have to wait for them to develop.
Throughout training camp thus far, Neal has had several up and down performances, which will come when a player has balance issues. When he maintains it, he is absolutely dominant, but when he doesn’t, it can look very rough. If Neal can come out and dominate this week against the Bengals, the doubt surrounding him and his play will quickly fade.