Ryan Neal

[nwHawk]

I suspect the logic is Diggs is a full go. Neal is likely seen as more of a FS. His body has not shown its strong enough to take the pounding at SS.

Love may hold up better at SS, but will he play the pass better? Likely not. So we better improve the pass rush or this could be seen as another fail. Would love to bring him back. Who knows how the market will play out.

 

[bileever]

I suspect the logic is Diggs is a full go. Neal is likely seen as more of a FS. His body has not shown its strong enough to take the pounding at SS.

Love may hold up better at SS, but will he play the pass better? Likely not. So we better improve the pass rush or this could be seen as another fail. Would love to bring him back. Who knows how the market will play out.

Love graded pretty highly as a coverage safety last year, even though he has a better reputation as a sure tackler on run plays. Remember, Julian Love was a highly regarded cornerback in college at Notre Dame. He was one of three finalists for the Jim Thorpe award (the award won by Cobe Bryant in 2021) and holds the Notre Dame record for pass breakups. He was projected to be a second round pick as a corner (a few even said late first). Probably his 4.54 in the 40 sunk him and he ended up not being picked until the 4th round by the Giants, and then converted to safety.

 

[JerHawk81]

With Love, Diggs, and Adams, on the team, Neal was going to be backup this year. With Neal 28, with a $2.6M hit, and us in some cap trouble, the more I think about this move, the more it makes sense.

I'm holding out hope that we sign Neal back at a lower rate. But, if our safeties are Love, Diggs, Adams, and a 5th rounder this year, I can get onboard with that.

 

[evergreen]

We let him go before too.

 

[pittpnthrs]

Bet they sign a cheap receiver really soon.

 

[nwHawk]

Reading a couple different Giants fan board sites, I don’t know. Definitely sounds like he lacks speed and he is more of an in the box safety/hybrid linebacker. Seems like insurance for Jamal Adams. Maybe Hawks can improve his foot speed and play him to his strengths.

“According to Pro Football Focus, the 24-year-old Love played 494 snaps in 2022 at free safety, 154 as a nickel corner and 271 in the box, or
essentially lined up as a linebacker.”

A different poster:
“didn't need pff to see that with my eyes but thanks, will show a lot of other people how little he did in the pass game...”

https://thegiantsboard.proboards.com/thread/12855/love-seahawks?page=3

 

[BASF]

As soon as we kept Diggs' overinflated contract on the books, Neal's days here were numbered. Neal's agent saw dollar signs with the PFF All Pro news. I think he believes he can get his client a lot more money and a long term contract. So, they ask out of the tender. We will see if their gamble pays off.

 

[Jville]

This is one of those decisions that you can't evaluate unless you've watched the coach's tape, but the coaches must have determined that Julian Love is better than Ryan Neal. In fact, significantly better, to warrant paying $6 million as opposed to the $2.6 million that Neal would have cost. Let's hope that they did a good job of scouting (and self-scouting) and made the right move here.

This also shows the limitations of PFF's metrics (especially when it applies to safeties because you don't know what the player's assignment was on any given play). If Neal is really an all-pro as PFF says, and one of the highest rated safeties in the league according to their grades (4th with an 82.0 grade), then why has he not received any offers when much lower rated safetles like Taylor Rapp (13th), Juan Thornhill (20th), Jessie Bates (24th), Vonn Bell (35th), Love (44th), and Gardner-Johnson (49th) have all been signed? Maybe now that he's no longer a restricted FA, it will be interesting to see if Neal gets a decent offer from another team.

Good points ......

People forget that PFF is an entertainment website. They don't own or field an NFL team. Their grading system is geared toward their entertainment product. And, they see the game thru the same soda straw as the rest of us. Actual teams are immersed in the game. Those 32 teams know their schemes and play calls and run a grading system that reflects their business goals.

Counts of defined statistical events that independent websites offer up can provide useful data. But, grading and ranking is still done via distant impressions.

It's up to the individual fan to discern the difference.

 

[Appyhawk]

With Adams getting healthy and the addition of Julian Love it made sense to cut Neal loose. Gonna miss his energy but he wasn’t the best in coverage tbh

Maybe not the best in coverage but he was as good or better than Adams. Pete's speech about plans for 3 safeties at the same time gave me high hopes for Neal being part of that. I just do not trust that we will see Adams on the field as a dependable fixture. Would love to be mistaken on that notion.

 

[Jville]

The door is still open for Neal. However, Joey Blount may have been a factor in rescinding Neal's tendered offer.

Joey Blount is someone whose speed and energy was mentioned by Pete Carroll. In this fan's eyes, Joey's play on special teams stood out.

I have little doubt that Joey is someone they want to develop to see how he fits in with their envisioned 2023 defense.

This is always a most interesting time of the year.

 

[Hawkinaz]

As soon as we kept Diggs' overinflated contract on the books, Neal's days here were numbered. Neal's agent saw dollar signs with the PFF All Pro news. I think he believes he can get his client a lot more money and a long term contract. So, they ask out of the tender. We will see if their gamble pays off.

No NFL GM cares about who’s on the PFF All Pro Team

 

[BASF]

O

No NFL GM cares about who’s on the PFF All Pro Team

Of course not. Maybe I should have put a *snort* in my post in regards to his agent seeing dollar signs. I did end the post calling the move a gamble.

 

[Chevy]

No NFL GM cares about who’s on the PFF All Pro Team

JS follows PFF's work. So there is at least one.

 

[FrodosFinger]

Maybe not the best in coverage but he was as good or better than Adams. Pete's speech about plans for 3 safeties at the same time gave me high hopes for Neal being part of that. I just do not trust that we will see Adams on the field as a dependable fixture. Would love to be mistaken on that notion.

He wasn’t as good as Adams in coverage. Adams had a few blown assignments early but is always in position to make a play. Explosive in the box when healthy. Great off the edge in blitz assignments

Edit: My bad you said that in your first sentence lol

 

[kidhawk]

According to this article, Seattle has -5.4 million in effective cap space. This move saves the team 2.64 million.

Effective cap space is pretty meaningless right now. We have a lot of time to wiggle around with the cap numbers. If it’s purely about the cap they could hold onto Neal and save a lot more cap space cutting Adams after June 1. I could be wrong but it feels like something more going on with this than just dollars.

 

[flv2]

Just a reminder that Neal was originally undrafted. The Seahawks put the lowest RFA tag on him which was the 'original Draft round' tag. With any RFA tag Neal was free to talk contract terms with other teams and with this tag any team that signed Neal to an offer sheet wouldn't have to give up any compensation. All the Seahawks had was a right of refusal to match any offer. In reality Neal was using up $2.6M in cap space but he could still leave at any time. If the Seahawks really wanted to control Neal's future they would have put a 2nd round tag on him. They could then have given him a 'take a pay cut or be released' option just before the season began.

Neal could still re-sign with the Seahawks at whatever both parties agree is fair, but it's clear from the Seahawks signings that Neal wasn't expected to be a Seahawks starter in 2023, or be retained at $2.6M. Most teams would have retained the player option at this point and waited to see what happened in training camp. I tip my hat to Seahawks management for not treating him like a piece of meat.

It will be interesting to see what size contract he eventually signs.

 

[keasley45]

Jalen Hurts' forthcoming megadeal underscores Eagles' brilliance; Julian Love reshapes Seahawks' D

In this edition of the Scout's Notebook, Bucky Brooks studies one organization's spectacular work at the game's most important position. Plus, an overlooked signing that could completely revitalize a once-proud defense.

www.nfl.com

You have to scroll a bit to get to our piece, but it's a good read.

Love wasn't brought in to replace Neal or Adams. And Neal is odd man out in backing up Adams.

 

[Jville]

Jalen Hurts' forthcoming megadeal underscores Eagles' brilliance; Julian Love reshapes Seahawks' D

In this edition of the Scout's Notebook, Bucky Brooks studies one organization's spectacular work at the game's most important position. Plus, an overlooked signing that could completely revitalize a once-proud defense.

www.nfl.com

You have to scroll a bit to get to our piece, but it's a good read.

Love wasn't brought in to replace Neal or Adams. And Neal is odd man out in backing up Adams.

Quotes from article .....

"With Love and Diggs playing as a split-safety tandem in a scheme that mixes in some quarters coverage and two-deep looks, the Seahawks have a pair of high-IQ defenders calling the shots from the back end. The duo's combined range and ball skills should discourage opponents from taking downfield shots against Seattle's umbrella coverage.

Last year, Diggs notched his sixth straight season with at least three interceptions, the longest active streak in the NFL today. He picked off four passes while ranking first among qualified safeties in receptions allowed (10) and completion percentage allowed (47.6 percent), per Pro Football Focus, while also finishing second in passer rating allowed (60.7). As an established ballhawk with 23 career picks, including 14 over the past three seasons with the 'Hawks, Diggs should continue to thrive as the designated center fielder in the middle of Seattle's defense.

Love comes over from New York with a game that makes him an ideal candidate to be the Swiss Army Knife of Seattle's defensive backfield. As a former green dot defender (defensive play caller) with the Giants, the 25-year-old possesses the instincts, awareness and IQ to make plays from multiple spots. Whether he's lining up as a traditional safety or as a slot corner, Love's versatility will enable the Seahawks to move defenders around to create the best matchups in coverage while also producing some mismatches in pass rush and run defense. Considering he just finished his first season as a full-time starter with 124 tackles, two interceptions, five passes defensed and six tackles for loss as a Giants team captain, Love is upgrading Seattle's secondary with his versatility, intelligence and playmaking ability.

Moreover, Love's overall skills and positional flexibility will make it easier for the Seahawks to enable one of their top playmakers to reprise the role that helped him set the single-season sack record for defensive backs. Given the impact of pressure on turnovers, allowing Adams to consistently pin his ears back on blitzes should prove quite fruitful for Seattle."

 

[FrodosFinger]

Love is a major upgrade from Neal and a guy that you need on the field even with a healthy Adams. Secondary depth is decent even with letting Neal walk