Silver: Have you taken a lot of young players under your wing?

Neal: Yeah. There's this one up-and-coming fullback, Michael Karney of the Saints [who scored three touchdowns in Sunday night's victory over Dallas], who met me through a fence at training camp a few years ago. We were training in Carson [Calif.], and he walked over to the fence and yelled, "Mr. Neal!" He was coming off his junior season at Arizona State, and he handed me a tape and asked if I'd watch it. He said, "I've really wanted to meet you -- I want to play the way you play." I watched the tape, and he was pretty good. We kept in touch. And that next offseason, when he was getting ready for the draft, he came out to Fresno and worked out with me. The fullback at Fresno State now, Roshon Vercher, works out with me sometimes, and there are some young players around the league who've come up to me after games and said, "It's an honor to meet you." When it comes down to it, that's why you play the game.