Do Evan Neal comments show Giants are cracking under pressure?

Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post suggested that New York Giants right tackle Evan Neal lashing out at fans earlier this week indicates at least some within the Big Blue locker room are already feeling the pressure after a 1-3 start to the season. 

Cannizzaro may be correct. 

"[He] came in last year as a rookie and everything was sunshine and rainbows," wide receiver Darius Slayton said about Neal, the seventh overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. "We started the year 6-1. There was nothing bad to say. We made the playoffs. These are our fans and you don’t want to make an enemy of the fans. It was a mistake and he’s learned from it." 

During a rant delivered on Wednesday, Neal referred to fans who booed the team during this past Monday's 24-3 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks as "bandwagoners" and people who "flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere" and who "really don’t understand the game of football to the level that we understand it in this building." Neal has since apologized on multiple occasions, but his original words may show just how shaken some Giants players are after only four games. 

General manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll both accepted their jobs with the Giants in January 2022 and ultimately helped the club earn a playoff berth and a road postseason victory. Schoen then signed quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year contract in March reportedly worth up to $160M that's already being labeled a mistake by many, and ESPN stats show the Giants enter this weekend ranked dead last in the NFL in scoring with an average of 11.5 points per game. 

While the Giants offensive line has understandably received boatloads of criticism for surrendering 11 sacks against Seattle on Monday night, Ryan Chichester of Audacy mentioned that New York special teams players muffed a punt and committed a total of six penalties in the losing effort. 

"Pressure? That comes with the job," Giants special teams coach Thomas McGaughey explained. "Pressure is wearing this [pointing to the Giants logo on his shirt]. Pressure’s my friend. I keep it right here in my back pocket. Pressure don’t bother me. I absolutely love it. I wouldn’t want to be in any other place [where] they don’t give a … they don’t care. You want the pressure of being in New York." 

As of Friday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the Giants as 11.5-point underdogs for this Sunday's game at the 3-1 Miami Dolphins. One wonders how Neal and others associated with the Giants will react if the Week 5 contest at Hard Rock Stadium goes as many expect.