Giants OT Evan Neal Delivers Solid Showing in 2023 Preseason Debut
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - If New York Giants offensive tackle Evan Neal was feeling the heat of late due to his all-important second NFL training camp being interrupted for almost two weeks by a concussion, he wasn't showing it in his 2023 preseason debut.
Neal, who played the entire first half at right tackle with the Giants' offensive line (the only offensive lineman to do so) in the Giants' 21-19 preseason win over the Carolina Panthers, started with a couple of rough patches, including an attempt to cut a guy low only to miss him and then taking a poor angle on a stunt which resulted in a quarterback pressure.
Otherwise, he settled down and played a relatively clean half of football, looking no worse for the wear from his injury or his prior struggles last season.
"Man, it's a good day to go out there, get my feet back under me," Neal said after the game. "I feel like it was an overall solid day. Still got a lot of things to clean up, but solid."
Neal, who worked this past off-season to find a stance that worked for him after struggling with his pad level and with flipping to the right side after playing his final season at Alabama on the left side, said he felt good.
"I felt extremely comfortable out there," he said. "I mean, nothing was perfect, but just getting out of my stance, being good with my hands, playing a lot more balance. I felt like I got that done."
Neal, the seventh overall pick in last year's draft, admitted that sitting and watching for most of these last two weeks benefitted him because it offered a different perspective, including little nuances that maybe he wasn't seeing when out there.
"I could just watch the game," he said. "You know, it's different when you're watching it as opposed to when you're playing it. When you're playing it, it may be subtle things you don't pick up on or things you can't see because you're like in your own zone. But whenever you're off the field, you have a chance to see the whole field and see the whole thing as an entirety."
While Neal was generally happy with his play, he said there was still much stuff he needed to clean up.
"I gotta watch the film--the film doesn't lie," he said when asked what he wanted to look at. "But overall, coming off the field, I felt solid."
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