Giants lineman glad to be back on field despite struggling at times

There was Evan Neal, back in the saddle at last at his old RT home, burying Tanzel Smart into the turf on the second play of the first Giants series, resembling a pile-driving people mover on the ground, not looking like a heavy-footed plodder getting to the second level of the Jets defense.

Sorry to spoil what had the early makings of a triumphant return:

There was Takk McKinley blowing by Neal to the outside to sack Tommy DeVito on the second series.

And there was the press box announcer soon after reporting that Evan Neal was questionable to return with an ankle injury.

Questionable became unquestionably not.

Heaven can wait for Evan Neal.

“I feel like I played decent,” Neal said after Jets 10, Giants 6. “Obviously it wasn’t ultimately up to my standard, but for my first game back in about a year, I feel like I did well in the run game. Pass protection I was OK, I gave up the one sack, took a bad set angle.”

It was his surgically-repaired left ankle, but there was no concern from him.

“First of all, I wasn’t out with an ankle injury. I was only supposed to play 20-25 reps, and I came out on the 21st play that I was in,” Neal said. “It just so happened that I got rolled up on on that last play. But I got up, I was fine. Probably gonna go get a scan tomorrow but I feel OK so I don’t think it’s anything going on.”

Maybe one day he will get back up off the mat and realize the vision for him as the bookend for LT Andrew Thomas for the next decade.

“I didn’t hear any pops, I didn’t hear any cracks or anything like that,” Neal said. “I mean it’s football, it just happens.”

Brian Daboll wrapped Thomas and Daniel Jones and every starter except for C John Michael Schmitz, who suffered an ankle injury, in bubble wrap for Saturday night’s preseason finale against the Jets.

No bubble wrap for Evan Neal.

Because Neal had ankle surgery in January and started training camp on the PUP lost and only returned to practice on August 11 on a limited basis and missed 10 games last season and four as a rookie and has relinquished the starting RT job that had been handed to him to free agent signee Jermaine Eluemunor.

He finished dressing at his locker and was in a good mood as he said: “It was just fun to go out there and play football with the guys.”

Neal has some work to do to prove to the Giants and to the fan base that he is not a Bust as the seventh pick of GM Joe Schoen’s first draft in 2022.

In no universe should the Giants give up on 6-foot-7, 350-pound Evan Neal.

The hope was that he could take the first significant steps on a comeback climb on this night.

“I still have things to clean up, still knocking rust off,” Neal said.

Neal did himself no favors last October when he ripped into “fair-weather” Giants fans who had been booing him for his matador pass protection.

“Why would a lion concern himself with the opinion of a sheep?” Neal told NJ.com. “The person that’s commenting on my performance, what does he do? Flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere?”

Because it was a Jets home game, Neal caught a break with fewer Giants fans than normal in the MetLife stands who flip hot dogs and hamburgers.

Daboll was encouraged by Neal’s showing in the joint practice with the Jets, and is holding out hope that he can serve as a swing tackle when the regular season starts at home against the Vikings. It meant plenty to Neal to be a football player playing football again.

“Pregame I was just thanking God for the opportunity for me to just step out on the field and play football again,” Neal said.

The change in offensive line coaches from Bobby Johnson to Carmen Bricillo may prove to be beneficial for Neal.

“I’ve learned a lot from Carm. … Carm’s a teacher,” Neal said. “That’s the first thing that I noticed, his ability to explain the offense, explain what he wants us to do, but also allowing us to have individuality as our own players. I kinda feel like he doesn’t take the approach where he has to change who you are entirely, but if it’s something that maybe he can tweak to fit into our scheme of how we want to do things while allowing the player to still play to their strengths.”

He incurred the wrath of Giants fans when Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence used him as a turnstile for three sacks in Week 3 of his rookie season. Just because you are the seventh pick of the NFL draft, just because you played for Nick Saban at Alabama, you better not show up with any sense of entitlement, or you will learn that the NFL can humble you quicker than an Aaron Donald get-off. He has been a virtual punching bag for disenchanted Giants fans.

“Daniel Jones, Evan Neal, and I think the whole Saquon Barkley thing — those are the three most-called-about topics on the show for the last two years,” said Paul Dottino, co-host of Big Blue Kickoff Live.

Neal struggled in his first preseason game as a rookie and said afterwards: “I’m definitely not a finished product, but I’m getting better and better every day. I belong here, I belong in this league, and like I say, I’m just going to take it day by day. I like to listen to the opinions that matter. I’m going to win reps; I’m going to lose reps. That’s all a part of it. The preseason games and everything and so forth are just extra experiences that I’m going to get under my belt, and I’m going to learn from all those mistakes and learn from the things that I need to get better at.”

He didn’t expect the trials and tribulations. So Heaven Neal can wait. It’s still up to him to turn Bust into Boom if he can.