A lot has gone wrong for the New York Giants during the 2023 season. They are currently 1-3, unable to build off their come-from-behind victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2 of the season. After losing to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday Night Football in Week 3, the team had another dud against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4 on Monday Night Football.
Three prime-time games in the first four weeks of the season, all embarrassing defeats, have a lot of people frustrated. There is a lot of blame to go around as there isn’t any area where the Giants are currently excelling.
New York is currently last in overall PFF grade with a 53.3, second-to-last in offensive grade with a 54.4 and 28th in defensive grade with a 57.1. Pinpointing what has been the most disappointing area on the team isn’t easy, but the offensive line would be a good place to start.
Without Andrew Thomas at left tackle, things have fallen apart for this unit. Backups and third-string players are in starting spots as things have gotten really ugly in the trenches. Arguably the most disheartening has been the performance of second-year tackle, Evan Neal.
Neal was thrown into the fire in 2022 and struggled as a rookie. The Giants were hoping that he would start showing improvement in Year 2, which he technically has. Last season, the No. 7 overall pick had an overall grade of 41.8, this season, he has a grade of 42.5.
That is the fourth lowest grade on the team this season, as guard Shane Lemiuex is the only offensive player to grade out lower. Defensively, Boogie Basham and Jihad Ward are both lower than Neal as well.
Tired of seeing bad play on the field, Giants’ fans have been vocal booing the team during games. That is something Neal hasn’t taken kindly to, as he fired back some harsh comments to the team’s fans.
“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? 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?
Neal also said that the people booing are fair-weather fans and bandwagoners. The players are giving it their all on the field but nothing is working, leading to middling results. Fans are free to express themselves how they want and the players have to know boos will be coming when they don’t play well.
There are a lot of frustrations boiling over as no one likes to lose. The players and fans can both agree on how much they hate it. If the Giants don’t figure things out soon, those boos are going to get louder and louder. Or, worse yet, they will turn to cheers as MetLife Stadium will be full of fans of the opposing team.
