Shaun O'Hara on Neal's move to guard

[MightyGiants]

"I think it's probably the right move," O'Hara told the New York Post. "I think last year was a year for him to either prove you can play tackle or you're gonna have to try to play something else. Knowing the type of kid he is, I think he's gonna attack it head-on and he's always had a positive attitude. Now he's just got to put it all together. He's got all the tools."

"The physical side of it, he should be fine with, he's a big, strong kid," he said. "He's as big as a house. He's got to start using that size to his advantage."

"It's harder to go from guard to tackle than tackle to guard, in my opinion," O'Hara said. "What he's got on his side is it's not a new offense he has to learn, it's not a new technique, it's the same stuff he's been working on, he's got the same O-line coach. From that standpoint, it's just reps."

https://giantswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/giants/2025/05/23/shaun-ohara-new-york-giants-moving-evan-neal-guard-right-move/83813290007/?taid=6830718e9d70fd0001cfc79b&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter

[Bob In PA]

If he can't play NFL guard, the problem is mental. Like O'Hara said, he has all the tools TO PLAY GUARD, although he is a bit tall for a guard, IMO. But I believe he has enough "bend" to succeed at guard.

His feet are a touch above horrible, and he simply can't do what it takes to play NFL tackle. At his size, his good-play percentage would have doubled if he had even average footwork for an NFL tackle.

At guard, I can guarantee they'll never ask him asked to pull.

Bob

[MightyGiants]

If he can't play NFL guard, the problem is mental. Like O'Hara said, he has all the tools TO PLAY GUARD, although he is a bit tall for a guard, IMO. But I believe he has enough "bend" to succeed at guard.

His feet are a touch above horrible, and he simply can't do what it takes to play NFL tackle. At his size, his good-play percentage would have doubled if he had even average footwork for an NFL tackle.

At guard, I can guarantee they'll never ask him asked to pull.

Bob

I used to think 6' 7" was too tall for a guard, until the Saints' three-time Pro Bowl guard Andrus Peat

[spiderblue43]

Neal was such a disaster at tackle almost from the get go..so why did they wait so long to acknowledge that?

He is huge but so stiff .I mean like living room couch stuff, quite frankly.

They finally surrendered to the obvious    

[MightyGiants]

Neal was such a disaster at tackle almost from the get go..so why did they wait so long to acknowledge that?

He is huge but so stiff .I mean like living room couch stuff, quite frankly.

They finally surrendered to the obvious  

I hope it's not the case, but I can't help but wonder if they didn't want to move him to guard because that would sort of be admitting they made a mistake drafting the tackle 7th overall (as tackles have more positional value than guards).

[spiderblue43]

Rich

Quality organizations like the Eagles and Ravens realize quickly when they miss and move on appropriately...the Giants do they same thing oh very and over with their OL..Flowers ring a bell?

[MightyGiants]

@Bob In PA

Also Becton was successful at guard while being 6' 8"

[spiderblue43]

@Bob In PA

Also Becton was successful at guard while being 6' 8"

But that was with a great unit with suberb coaching ..ol room ..and Becton needed a kick in the ass..out of shape. injured with the Jets .Neal has proven nothing to me he can respond like Becton.

[spiderblue43]

The national media always makes the Giants look like fools for letting Barkley go .his title ride. Uh..hold on. He has the least impact of tacklers all year with those monsters in front of him ..the Eagles ol. Three yards before anyone got near him

That allowed him to really show his greatness ..the Giants couldn't replicate compare..at all.

Yea..this is a sidebar..but Neal would have been cut by the Eagles year two or traded. No?

[MrGap92]

I used to think 6' 7" was too tall for a guard, until the Saints' three-time Pro Bowl guard Andrus Peat

I could be mistaken, but wasn't he also a converted T?

[MightyGiants]

I could be mistaken, but wasn't he also a converted T?

Yes, he was.  I remember liking him in that draft.  He was on the thin and long side, so I was surprised he did so well at guard.

[Ed Vette]

The issue with being a 6'7" Guard isn't just bend and pad level, it's because he is difficult to see over from the QB pocket.

I posted the numbers for Wilson and his short passes which were the majority, were 19.5% middle field, compared to 14.2 left and 11.0 right. His completion % was 80.5 on short passes. Not bad, but he should have more attempts at the intermediate range. Most short passes are read pre-snap and intended Receivers.

At Pittsburgh all the Offensive Line players were 6'5 and under. Wilson at 5'11" will be 8 inches shorter than Neal. Knowing the route concept helps, but it might force Wilson to drift at times. Runyan, Schmitz, and Van Roten are 6.4, 6.3, and 6.3 respectively. So Neal is 4 inches taller.

His pass blocking grade is 15 points lower than GVR but he gave up less pressure and sacks. Neal's RB was the best on the team at 80.8 and it's 13-16 points higher than the other interior Linemen.

If they can make this work, it will be a slam dunk, but I doubt Neal will be picking up much Pulling duty. I'm curious how he will look at the second-level Run Blocking.

[Painter]

However it may turn out from here, how can we otherwise make sense of the success that Neal had at LG, RT, and LT in some 40 starts in the Nick Saban/ Doug Marrone Alabama Oline.

Some of the "all of whom" who had him ranked among the top 5-10 Olinemen in the Draft, now suggest that he was somehow "scheme protected" to which I say, COTS. And then there is the old standby- he can't handle the speed and athleticism of NFL Opponents as compared to those SEC deadbeats who he could manhandle at will. Oh! Of course, how obvious!

Then we must add to it the lousy footwork they never noticed (or covered up) at Bama, or has it developed only since he was drafted No. 7 Overall before becoming the 82nd of 83 ranked OT in the NFL?

Instead of applying our usual expertise in second-guessing, would it not make more sense to think along the same lines as Shaun O'Hara so that we can all learn whatever together?

Cheers!

[uconnjack8]

Really hope this works out. If Neal can be a good enough guard to start over an incumbent, it will mean a lot to the overall group.

[jimc]

However it may turn out from here, how can we otherwise make sense of the success that Neal had at LG, RT, and LT in some 40 starts in the Nick Saban/ Doug Marrone Alabama Oline.

Some of the "all of whom" who had him ranked among the top 5-10 Oline in the Draft, now suggest that he was somehow "scheme protected" to which I say, COTS. And then there is the old standby- he can't handle the speed and athleticism of NFL Opponents as compared to those SEC deadbeats who he could manhandle at will. Oh! Of course, how obvious!

Then we must add to it the lousy footwork they never noticed (or covered up) at Bama, or has it developed only since he was drafted No. 7 Overall before becoming the 82nd of 83 ranked OT in the NFL?

Instead of applying our usual expertise in second-guessing, would it not make more sense to think along the same lines as Shaun O'Hara so that we can all learn whatever together?

Cheers!

How about - those inept offensive line coaches the Giants have ruined a potentially great prospect.