Ryan Neal

[hox]

balled out yesterday. In addition to the pick, think he had 4 passes defensed. PFF grade of 93.9, that's an elite rating.

 

[ivotuk]

John Schneider, GM of the Year! Pete Carroll, Coach of the Year! Geno Smith, Comeback Player of the decade!

 

[orca]

Ryan really stood out. Well done, young man!

 

[sdog1981]

Ryan Neal can play and always makes an impact when he is on the field.

 

[oldhawkfan]

It interesting to me that once Ryan was inserted and his playing time increased, the defense started playing better. Coincidence?

 

[nwHawk]

Loves seeing Myles Adams being disruptive too.

 

[Mase]

-- I said it in the preseason, looking at the roster make up, that Neal was going to play a lot, with Adams playing more of a nickel linebacker role, to take advantage of his box tackling and blitzing. But with Neal hurt, Adams was playing a more standard safety role, which left Barton to play inside. Now with Adams out we will never know. But I would love to have seen that alignment.

Mase

 

[onanygivensunday]

Ryan Neal can play and always makes an impact when he is on the field.

And to think that he's a lowly Saluki, from Southern Illinois University... as is Rick Rizzs and Jeremy Chinn.

onanygivensunday, SIU alum (1972-74, 1977-1980)

 

[JPatera76]

Neal was good when we first got him and used him as well. The kid is really good and has really good ball/play awareness

 

[Nunya]

According to PC in yesterday's presser, Neal woke up gameday morning "sicker than a dog".

 

[Polk738]

Was Ryan Neal hurt in the beginning of the year? I'm trying to wonder why Josh Jones was starting ahead of him after Adams went down

 

[Mad Dog]

It interesting to me that once Ryan was inserted and his playing time increased, the defense started playing better. Coincidence?

Happened last year too. I think Ryan is the special sauce. A safety that can tackle, cover and diagnose plays. I'm sure it will rankle some but the eye test tells me he is better than Adams.

 

[hawks85]

Neal keeps playing the way he's playing Adams will be gone next year.

 

[nanomoz]

John Schneider, GM of the Year! Pete Carroll, Coach of the Year! Geno Smith, Comeback Player of the decade!

We have several rookie-of-the-year candidates, too.

 

[Mick063]

Adams is what I define as a luxury piece. An expensive piece of jewelry. Certainly, he can be impactful at times, and the team is loaded with so much young value, they can even afford to keep and utilize him until the end of his deal. Maximize what he does best.

But diversity is the name of the game for NFL longevity. If you are not elite, then you have to compensate by contributing in multiple ways. The more you can do, the better chance you have to stick. If the team keeps Adams, they have to figure out how to utilize him for more than just exotic blitz packages. I have watched him against the run game and he is a far cry from Kam Chancellor when it comes to disrupting the run game. He certainly doesn't blow up pulling guards like Kam could. He is not a "point of attack" player like that. He makes plays by chasing folks down. You know how you game plan against players like that? You run AT them. Regardless, if blitzing is all he can do, even at a high level, then he is merely a luxury piece. Personally, I believe that if the team feels compelled to own expensive jewelry, the defensive side of the ball is probably where it is needed most. So yea......they can make Adams work and he can even be impactful. If anyone can get the most out of him, Carrol can. Personally, I would prefer a less expensive guy to fulfill his limited role.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

And hey, it IS ok to be digging what Neal is doing AND be bummed that Adams isn't playing. People seem to forget how damn good Adams is.