Four games into the season, frustrations are boiling over in East Rutherford.
During the New York Giants’ 21-point home loss in prime time to the Seattle Seahawks, things unraveled, with the offensive line surrendering 11 sacks, Daniel Jones tossing a field-flipping pick-six and coach Brian Daboll seemingly tossing a tablet out of frustration on the sidelines. The Giants fans in attendance at MetLife Stadium responded in kind, audibly booing their soon-to-be 1-3 team, a Bronx cheer in the swamps of Jersey.
Right tackle Evan Neal didn’t take too kindly to the fans’ response on Monday night.
“They were booing us, so I said, ‘Boo louder!'” Neal told Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media on Wednesday.
The second-year offensive lineman didn’t stop there in regards to critics of his play and the team, asking Slater, “Why would a lion concern himself with the opinion of a sheep? … The person that’s commenting on my performance, what does he do? Flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere?”
Asked by Slater why he told fans to boo louder, Neal added, “Because that just further shows that people are fair-weather. A lot of fans are bandwagoners. I mean, I get it: They want to see us perform well. And I respect all of that. But no one wants us to perform well more than we do.
“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?”
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Neal, who’s allowed 20 pressures in four games this season, said he’s quite aware that he and his fellow offensive linemen need to be better for the Giants to turn the page.
“We’ve got to keep fighting,” he said of New York’s banged-up line. “We definitely have a lot more out there. We’ve just got to get better for sure. We haven’t been having the greatest performances. But we’ve put a lot of good things on tape as well. So we’ve just got to capitalize on the good things that we do — and minimize the mistakes.”
After Neal’s quotes from the locker room went viral on Wednesday, inspiring blowback from those offended by the OT’s apparent shots at the working class and ticket-buyers, he issued an apology on social media.
“I am wrong for lashing out at the fans who are just as passionate and frustrated as I am,” Neal wrote. “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.
“We are working day in and day out to grow as a team and this was an unnecessary distraction. I apologize.”
How far Neal’s whiplash apology will go with a fan base already as its wit’s end is to be determined. The only thing he, the Giants and their supporters can (and should) do is move on and focus on the next week. That brings the 3-1 Miami Dolphins, who are middle of the road in pressure rate (35.7%, 17th) and average pass EPA allowed (-0.04, 22nd) and rank bottom-10 in scoring (29.8 PPG, 28th) and total defense (374.5 YPG, T-26th) this season.
Making matters tricky, though, is that Neal and the Giants’ front might not be full strength for the matchup. Neal was limited Wednesday with hand and ankle injuries, and while New York could get Saquon Barkley back after two games missed, he may be running behind a line without Shane Lemieux (groin), John Michael Schmitz (shoulder) and Andrew Thomas (hamstring), all of whom did not practice Wednesday.
With Bradley Chubb, Christian Wilkins, Emmanuel Ogbah and Andrew Van Ginkel on the other side of the ball, the Giants’ league-worst scoring offense (11.5 PPG) could be in another rough outing. If Neal and New York don’t flip the script in Week 5, the burger-flippers may unleash their boos again.
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