Transcript: Offensive Tackle Evan Neal

Offensive Tackle Evan Neal

Q: How did it feel to be back at practice and how do you generally feel?

EVAN NEAL: It felt good to be back out there. It's been a long time. So, it's always good to be back out there with the guys.

Q: What have the last nine months been like for you?

EVAN NEAL: Just rehabbing, trying to get back healthy, staying in shape, keeping my mind mentally into the game, and doing everything that I can to get back out there.

Q: If my timeline is correct, we haven't talked to you since before they changed the diagnosis of your injury. Do you have any ill will towards the Giants that they didn't know what your original injury was?

EVAN NEAL: I have no ill will whatsoever. The Giants' training staff has done everything that they can to help me get back healthy. I just can't help but misdiagnosis. I mean, things like that happen. It's nobody's fault.

Q: What was your reaction when you found out that it wasn't a sprain and you had to go get surgery?

EVAN NEAL: Yeah, it was just another thing that I was going to have to overcome.

Q: How much have these months and months tested you?

EVAN NEAL: Quite a lot. It was the first time I've ever been injured, to that extent. First time getting surgery. But at the end of the day, I'm built for it, and I feel like I've came back stronger. So, if anything, I feel like it helped me.

Q: How much were you doing out there today?

EVAN NEAL: I just started out doing individual drills, kind of knocking the dust off, shaking the cobwebs off, get back into it.

Q: They've obviously moved (tackle) Jermaine (Eluemunor) to right tackle. How do you look at that and in fact, the job isn't waiting there for you anymore.

EVAN NEAL: Whatever role that the team has for me, I'm going to embrace it. So, whether that's starting or not starting, I'm here to contribute to the team, and I'm going to do everything in my power to do so.

Q: You're a high-level contributor though, and being a high-level athlete, high-level competitor, high draft pick, I'm sure you feel like you deserve to be starting?

EVAN NEAL: I'm not owed anything, and I can't feel like I deserve anything. All I want is what I work for.

Q: Are you playing catch-up? Do you feel you're catching up since everybody's got a three-week start?

EVAN NEAL: That's not something that I think about because that's not something that I can control. I have to just control like how I address every day.

Q: Was part of it in the rehab process that you'd feel good one day, but then the next day it didn't feel right? You kind of rode that rollercoaster quite a bit.

EVAN NEAL: Yeah, it's kind of tricky, especially with it being a bone. You can't really do anything to it other than just let it heal. So, some days I'll go out and it'll feel really good. Other days, not as good. But I feel like I've been feeling, as of lately, just consistent enough to be able to go back out there and contribute to the team. So, that's where I'm at.

Q: What happened in the spring? Because it looked like you were progressing, and then they shut you down.

EVAN NEAL: Yeah, like I said, in the spring, which is one of those things, they decided to back off me because I was having more days where I wasn't feeling well than days when it was feeling good. So, they just kind of decided to just back up off me.

Q: What was the diagnosis? What did you have to come back from?

EVAN NEAL: I had to come back from ankle surgery January 2nd.

Q: Are you surprised it took this long? Because generally in ankle surgery, those of us who don't play football think it's going to be a fairly swift recovery, and yours was not.

EVAN NEAL: Everybody's different. I'm a large man. I put a lot of pressure and a lot of weight on my ankle. Everybody's body is different. Nothing's natural about a surgery, getting cut open, so your body's going to have a different response. So, there's not a cookie-cutter model in terms of when a player's going to be back and when he's not going to be back.

Q: What's the process just been like to deal with emotionally? Trying to navigate?

EVAN NEAL: It's just another thing I'm going to have to overcome. Obviously, that's not something that I wanted to happen. I'm just not going to worry about the things that are out of my control. But what I can control is how I approach every day, continuing to get healthy, continuing to refine my skills, and do everything that I can to contribute to the team, one way or another.

Q: During an offseason, can you work on the mental aspect of handling the pressure of playing in this market, the ups and downs? Is that anything that you put time into, like maybe how you approach paying attention to certain things?

EVAN NEAL: In this business, in this line of work, and especially in this city, pressure is going to be there. But that's not something that I think about because that's not something that I create. So, at the end of the day, I'm just going to focus on controlling what I can control, my attitude, how I approach the game, going out there and playing as well as I can. So, to me, the pressure really doesn't exist.

Q: When you got shut down or you were told you needed that surgery and it was a fracture, what were the emotions at that point? Because I'm sure you were looking to try and get back on the field to put better tape on, just take us back to that.

EVAN NEAL: Like I said, it definitely kind of caught me by left field. Really everybody because it was something that initially kind of wasn't seen on the initial scan. But I just knew it was going to be another thing that I was going to have to overcome. That was something that was out of my control. So, I was just going to have to deal with it the best way that I knew how at the time.

Q: Was the surgery something to reattach something, or would it clean up loose particles, or how did they describe it to you?

EVAN NEAL: I'm not a doctor, so I can't really describe it in depth. I know I got cut open and I went to sleep for it, so that's what happened.

Q: (tackle) Andrew's (Thomas) career took off when his ankle got right. He had the two surgeries and then it took off. Have you talked to him about that? Do you use that as kind of an encouraging blueprint?

EVAN NEAL: Not so much about his career taking off or anything like that after the surgery, but I do talk to him all the time just in terms of how he got his ankle back healthy, some of the things that he would do, and maybe during his rehab processes, what were some of the hurdles or the obstacles that he faced. And he gave me some of the best insight that he could.

Q: I was going to say, 'bad timing is bad timing', but it's halfway through your rookie contract. How would you describe your first two years, and do you look at this as a pivotal point in your career?

EVAN NEAL: Yeah, it's a big year for me. I'm not going to sit here and act like it's not, but at the end of the day, the past two years, they weren't perfect by any means, but I feel like they were solid. They definitely weren't what I wanted them to be, but a lot of things that happened were just out of my control, just like the future, it's out of my control. I can only control the present and how I approach every single day, and that will be a big indication of my future.

Q: When (Senior Vice President and General Manager) Joe Schoen spoke late in the season, he said, 'Evan needs to play better'. What was your reaction when you heard him say that?

EVAN NEAL: That's his opinion. That's his job to evaluate the players, and if he thinks I need to play better, then hell, I'd be the first person to tell myself that I need to play better, so it really doesn't matter whether it comes out of Joe's mouth or anybody's mouth. I'm always going to be the harshest critic on myself, so I need to play better. Yeah, I need to play better.

Q: You said you would do anything if they said, 'play guard'. Did you play guard?

EVAN NEAL: Like I said, whatever role that I'm asked to do on the team, I'm going to embrace it to the best of my abilities.