1) Introduction: As a second-round NFL Draft pick in 2010, Neal has been somewhat of a disappointment. It’s only been in the last two years where he’s been able to play full 16-game seasons without missing time due to injury. He’s had some success, as well, as a recent “elephant” hybrid DE/OLB.
2) Profile: Mike Neal
- Age: 27
- Born: 06/26/1987 in Gary, IN
- Height: 6’3″
- Weight: 285
- College: Purdue
- Rookie Year: 2010
- NFL Experience: 5 years
3) Expectations coming into the season: After having his best season in 2013, Mike Neal came into this season a bit lighter on his feet. Shedding some pounds has helped him play his new hybrid role a bit better, and it seems to have had a positive effect on his injury risk. The hope for this season was to build on what he started last year.
4) Player’s highlights/low-lights: There hasn’t been much – positive or negative – when it comes to Mike Neal’s highlight reel. Perhaps the biggest play he made was the Tom Brady sandwich sack in tandem with Mike Daniels to help ice the game.
5) Player’s contribution to the overall team success: Mike Neal’s biggest role was as a run stuffer on the edges. In that regard, he was kind of like the antithesis to Julius Peppers, who was much more of a pass rushing specialist. He was the third most used OLB, with almost twice as many snaps taken as Nick Perry. Neal also ranked fourth in sacks on the team, just one behind Mike Daniels.
6) Player’s contributions in the playoffs: During the postseason, Mike Neal continued his solid, if unspectacular, performance from the regular season. Outside of a sack against Tony Romo, he didn’t have many impact plays.
7) Intangibles: Mike Neal’s strength is in his strength. He doesn’t get blown off the line easily, and he has become a solid contributor along the line.
Season Report Card (Player Grades):
(B) Level of expectations met during the season
(B-) Contributions to team’s overall success.
(B-) Contributions to team during the playoffs
Overall Grade: B-
——————Chad Toporski, a Wisconsin native and current Pittsburgh resident, is a writer for AllGreenBayPackers.com. You can follow Chad on twitter at @ChadToporski
Follow @ChadToporski——————
Fair grade!
I don’t have access to the statistics, but Pro Football Focus rated Mike Neal as the worst defensive player for Green Bay in 2014. Personally, I found that puzzling….like the article mentioned, he’s not a big impact player, but he isn’t getting beat like a drum either.
This grade is generous. If Neal’s biggest role was as a run stuffer on the edges, he was JAG at it. His pass rushing was not stellar either. The postseason grade seems high. 8 tackles, 0.5 sacks in two games doesn’t seem to support a B-. Nick Perry had 8 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a run stuff, but only got a C+ for the postseason. I would have given Perry a C and Neal a C+. Actually, I like Neal and when I learned that he had dropped his weight down to 263 Lbs., my expectations increased. While he had 1 sack for every 128 snaps, 0 forced fumbles, 0 interceptions, 0 passes defensed last year (2014), in 2013 he had 1 sack in every 146 snaps, but also had an interception, a forced fumble and a pass defensed. I don’t see a lot of improvement. Grade C+.