His lack of explosiveness and naturally heavy feet. But here’s hoping.
Which begs the question AGAIN…..how in the hell was this guy rated so highly? Did all these coaches who were evaluating him see these huge deficiencies which should have sent up a big red flag?
I’m sure he was extensively tested before the selection as well as analyzing his tape. Surely, these deficiencies were screaming at you to see.
So how was he still the #2 rated OT? Were they all just as deficient or more as he is?
regardless of the outcome, if one looked, they'd find that not everyone thought he was all world. By the time draft season came around, there were lesser analysts calling him a 1st rounder, but not elite pick. His size and raw athleticism is sensational - everyone is prone to being enticed by that, from fan, to GM. Our brains love novel stimuli.
A lot of NFL picks bust. Very few tackles come in at that level and play consistently among the worst in the league, and then become great players. Sure, it happens occasionally, but there is no correlation, and certainly no causation, between awful first year play and success.... Thomas is anecdotal evidence. You never want a player to come in and look that atrocious. Based on how teams seem to move on from first round picks faster these days, if he doesn't have significant improvement this year, I would imagine he'll be benched by the end of the year and they'll move on. The NFL just doesn't have the same long game approach that it used to, due to salary cap and expectations. Here's hoping he turns things around.
about “lack of explosion” and “heavy feet” are laughable. His issues are technique related TOTALLY!! He was rated as high as he was BECAUSE of elite athleticism for a guy his size. Wait for the season, you’ll see. This guy WANTS to be great- and he will be.
about “lack of explosion” and “heavy feet” are laughable. His issues are technique related TOTALLY!! He was rated as high as he was BECAUSE of elite athleticism for a guy his size. Wait for the season, you’ll see. This guy WANTS to be great- and he will be.
Absolutely a possibility. He didn't show the level of improvement Thomas did by year end but he had some extenuating circumstances that he was dealing with too such as the position switch , leg injury, and a more aggressive pass set that Johnson was trying to teach him.
A lot of people were fairly down on Thomas after year 1. Year 2 he really started to turn it on. It often takes guys on the OL, especially OT, to take a year or so to adjust to NFL speed/strength.
Really our best hope for OL improvement is that Neal (and to a lesser Ezedu) improve in year 2. Having 2 solid OT's would be huge, and even an average LG along w/Glowinski (and possibly a draft pick at C) would go far to solidifying the offense as a whole - even just with the current weapons we have.
I can't wait for Neal to tell his BBI critics to STFU this coming season. I think he's going to bounce back big time. Don't forget that he was coming on prior to his injury in that Jags game.
There's been a lot of silly crap posted about the kid. I'm pretty sure a lot of the people ripping him are the same ones who were calling Thomas a bust as well. Not saying he will now hit the same heights as Thomas but I'd be surprised if he doesn't make a nice jump. He had to come back and play hurt too. Says a lot about the kid
Agree with you guys.
I agree. A lot of people don’t realize oline coming out isn’t like it was 10-20 years ago when they came out ready to go for the most part. I don’t know if it’s the spread type stuff that dominates the college level now or what it is but guys just aren’t ready to plug and play. Of course there are some exceptions. I think Neal just needed a little more time. With how hard he works I expect a dramatic jump in his play. A better rg wouldn’t hurt either
Neal finds a stance that works better for him while training off season.
Coaches shouldn’t have any issue with that I would assume.
I know some are hard headed but that would seem to make sense.
I know AT had issues with Colombo’s techniques and I believe he went back to what worked worked for him
Since Bobby j encouraged this I don’t see how he could have any issue
His lack of explosiveness and naturally heavy feet. But here’s hoping.
Which begs the question AGAIN…..how in the hell was this guy rated so highly? Did all these coaches who were evaluating him see these huge deficiencies which should have sent up a big red flag?
I’m sure he was extensively tested before the selection as well as analyzing his tape. Surely, these deficiencies were screaming at you to see.
So how was he still the #2 rated OT? We’re they all just as deficient or more as he is?
Except this statement is total bullshit made by someone that obviously doesn’t know what he’s looking at
about “lack of explosion” and “heavy feet” are laughable. His issues are technique related TOTALLY!! He was rated as high as he was BECAUSE of elite athleticism for a guy his size. Wait for the season, you’ll see. This guy WANTS to be great- and he will be.
In a weird way with the way he works hard and wants to be great it might be better in the long run he struggled instead of being good from day 1. Learning from the beginning he really has to work on it instead of relying on natural talent could catapult his level to Thomas’s level.
No worries about him “getting” it. Now the middle of the line I might need to order some pepto bismal by the case
of Neal and Thomas getting out of their stance and getting into their pass protection. He went step by step and showed Neal's feet matching Thomas' foot plants, but Neal nearly always seemed to not finish his third step correctly. But speed wise, Neal almost exactly planted his feet at the same time as Thomas. IIRC, Skinner thought Neal was just not trusting his technique and was worried about getting beat to the inside so he would not get that 3rd step in the correct position.
Quote:
His lack of explosiveness and naturally heavy feet. But here’s hoping.
Which begs the question AGAIN…..how in the hell was this guy rated so highly? Did all these coaches who were evaluating him see these huge deficiencies which should have sent up a big red flag?
I’m sure he was extensively tested before the selection as well as analyzing his tape. Surely, these deficiencies were screaming at you to see.
So how was he still the #2 rated OT? Were they all just as deficient or more as he is?
regardless of the outcome, if one looked, they'd find that not everyone thought he was all world. By the time draft season came around, there were lesser analysts calling him a 1st rounder, but not elite pick. His size and raw athleticism is sensational - everyone is prone to being enticed by that, from fan, to GM. Our brains love novel stimuli.
A lot of NFL picks bust. Very few tackles come in at that level and play consistently among the worst in the league, and then become great players. Sure, it happens occasionally, but there is no correlation, and certainly no causation, between awful first year play and success.... Thomas is anecdotal evidence. You never want a player to come in and look that atrocious. Based on how teams seem to move on from first round picks faster these days, if he doesn't have significant improvement this year, I would imagine he'll be benched by the end of the year and they'll move on. The NFL just doesn't have the same long game approach that it used to, due to salary cap and expectations. Here's hoping he turns things around.
Absolutely a possibility. He didn't show the level of improvement Thomas did by year end but he had some extenuating circumstances that he was dealing with too such as the position switch , leg injury, and a more aggressive pass set that Johnson was trying to teach him.
Really our best hope for OL improvement is that Neal (and to a lesser Ezedu) improve in year 2. Having 2 solid OT's would be huge, and even an average LG along w/Glowinski (and possibly a draft pick at C) would go far to solidifying the offense as a whole - even just with the current weapons we have.
Nice find! Great to see a young player work hard in the offseason like this.
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In comment 16074912 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:
Quote:
I can't wait for Neal to tell his BBI critics to STFU this coming season. I think he's going to bounce back big time. Don't forget that he was coming on prior to his injury in that Jags game.
There's been a lot of silly crap posted about the kid. I'm pretty sure a lot of the people ripping him are the same ones who were calling Thomas a bust as well. Not saying he will now hit the same heights as Thomas but I'd be surprised if he doesn't make a nice jump. He had to come back and play hurt too. Says a lot about the kid
Agree with you guys.
I agree. A lot of people don’t realize oline coming out isn’t like it was 10-20 years ago when they came out ready to go for the most part. I don’t know if it’s the spread type stuff that dominates the college level now or what it is but guys just aren’t ready to plug and play. Of course there are some exceptions. I think Neal just needed a little more time. With how hard he works I expect a dramatic jump in his play. A better rg wouldn’t hurt either
Coaches shouldn’t have any issue with that I would assume.
I know some are hard headed but that would seem to make sense.
I know AT had issues with Colombo’s techniques and I believe he went back to what worked worked for him
Since Bobby j encouraged this I don’t see how he could have any issue
Quote:
His lack of explosiveness and naturally heavy feet. But here’s hoping.
Which begs the question AGAIN…..how in the hell was this guy rated so highly? Did all these coaches who were evaluating him see these huge deficiencies which should have sent up a big red flag?
I’m sure he was extensively tested before the selection as well as analyzing his tape. Surely, these deficiencies were screaming at you to see.
So how was he still the #2 rated OT? We’re they all just as deficient or more as he is?
Except this statement is total bullshit made by someone that obviously doesn’t know what he’s looking at
In a weird way with the way he works hard and wants to be great it might be better in the long run he struggled instead of being good from day 1. Learning from the beginning he really has to work on it instead of relying on natural talent could catapult his level to Thomas’s level.
No worries about him “getting” it. Now the middle of the line I might need to order some pepto bismal by the case
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