Final thoughts on Eli Apple's rookie season?

And I wanted Hargreaves. Apple has the size and speed the Giants covet at CB. His mistakes were typical of what we should have expected from a rookie at that very difficult position, and he made more than enough plays to show he has a bright future. Well done, Jerry.

he had some moments when he was not great, but you can see all the tools are there. Should be a solid starter moving forward.

a solid B+

Landon Collins, in his rookie year, was a C+

So Eli Apple, I think, had a really good first season.

Collins was criticized (unfairly, imo) because he was playing out of position, being asked to do basically everything, and was just a step slow. It has nothing to do with his AA. It is just learning the NFL game.

Apple was thrown in as the starter and while he wasn't asked to take on the opposing team's number one WR he was asked to take on some really good players one on one. He gave up some big plays. He has some mental mistakes. He bounced back. At best I would say he did okay this year but okay as a rookie is pretty damn good. If he has that work ethic and desire to be great like Collins we can see another huge jump next year.

not afraid to stick his noise in there to make the tackle.

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with it. Thought he was a fantastic pick, only going to get better.

than I expected. No way did I anticipate him beating our DRC for the starting CB job.

yesterday he was constantly a step or two behind his man.

Definitely a keeper.

Eli had a good rookie season. Yesterday he looked to me like the game got fast at times for him. Much better then the Prince. And if he takes the next step next year --we will be in great shape.

In comment 13318292 Eric from BBI said:

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than I expected. No way did I anticipate him beating our DRC for the starting CB job.

I don't think he beat out DRC at all. DRC was their slot guy and it seemed like they wanted to limit his reps because he is always banged up. Apple never played better than DRC at any point this year.

best in the league. Apple did as well as could be expected from a rookie, if he stays healthy he has a great future.

He was good for such a young guy. Next few years will be an inexpensive cab starter. Upside is there to make it a really good pick.

reminds me of amukamara.

I think he had a slightly above average season given his circumstances (being a rookie)

he had a very solid season. His best years are ahead of him and he's already got one season under his belt. And the coaches didn't handle him with kid gloves giving him easy assignments and limited playing time. They threw the kid into the fire against some of the best receivers in the NFL as a starter on the outside.

We are lucky to have him. The trio of Jackrabbit, DRC, and Apple is a luxury every team would love and the best deep backs I can remember on a Giants' team...and I'm old. Hopefully, DRC comes back for a couple more years as he's still very good as shown at the game in Philly.

In my opinion, Apple was the perfect pick by the Giants in last year's draft.

He is so young. So talented. Length and stout against run

Makes him even hungrier. He obviously didn't play well. But the skill set is there.

When they were both healthy and playing, Apple got far more snaps...he almost every snap if not every snap. DRC did not. In other words, DRC went to the bench.

But for the most part, he played well down the stretch

I think he has pro bowl potential if he can eliminate the errors. Most impressive was the improvement he showed from the beginning to the end of the season.

But he has the tools.

In comment 13318339 Eric from BBI said:

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When they were both healthy and playing, Apple got far more snaps...he almost every snap if not every snap. DRC did not. In other words, DRC went to the bench.

I know that but there are two different positions and imo they wanted to limit DRC's snaps. Playing the slot corner is way more difficult mentally and requires much more attention to detail and the playbook. They made it easy on Apple staying on the outside. There is a reason DRC got some accolades. He is a much better player than Apple. It isn't even close. DRC was banged up a ton last year and we saw yesterday what happened again. He had his role which should not be diminished by the amount of snaps he played. We saw what happened when he went down. None of the other DBs could do what he did. If he started on the outside this year he would have been a first team all pro (if healthy).

I understand that and agree with it. That's why DRC played the slot.

BUT when a CB came off the field, it was DRC, not Apple.

Right or wrong, Spagnuolo wanted Apple on the field more. That was demonstrated on a weekly basis by the snap count.

I would have expected DRC to shift outside and Apple to the sidelines when they went with a conventional package.

I didn't like the pick at the time (I remember being in Nashville at this bar Acme Feed & Seed & being pissed), but he impressed me. He had some rough moments, i.e. the first Eagles game, but he seems to have the tools to be a starter here for awhile.

Looking forward to improvement.

How many PI calls were there on him? I don't recall many and that was the knocks/concern when drafted.

That was a very, very good rookie season. Great pick. Huge talent. Size, speed, athleticism.

In comment 13318361 Eric from BBI said:

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I understand that and agree with it. That's why DRC played the slot. BUT when a CB came off the field, it was DRC, not Apple. Right or wrong, Spagnuolo wanted Apple on the field more. That was demonstrated on a weekly basis by the snap count. I would have expected DRC to shift outside and Apple to the sidelines when they went with a conventional package.

I understand that but that is an easy answer to me. One, I truly believe they wanted to limit DRC's snaps. Two, Apple got more reps which is the best way to learn while not having to cover the top receiver. Three, if they lost DRC getting extra snaps on the outside then they were fucked when they needed their slot guy.

I agree with what you are saying. I am just pointing out that I disagree that DRC was benched or beaten out by Apple. Apple played well for a rookie but is not even in the same zip code as DRC. Remember that when DRC entered the league or at least in the early part of his career he wasn't that great. My friend who is an Eaglesfan js so pissed at how good he is now because he wasn't close to what he is now. I think Apple has a bright future but we still need all these DBs.

Let me ask you this question? I am not being a dick. I am serious. How many times in the past has Spags had his corners follow receivers. From my memory when he was here last time he had a left corner and right corner. He rarely moved his corners. This year he had no problem with that. Imo, as good as Jenkins was I feel he did that th help out Apple more. I dont think anybody knew Jenkins would be this good. I think they thought he could handle moving around but to this level? Am I totally off base here?

That brought the ire of many here. Yet, he had a great rookie season and, flashed ridiculous talent at times.

The majority of ridiculos BBI 'scouts' were wrong. Shocking.

Almost all of the Giants games were nail-biters. But that didn't seem to matter to Spags. Had it been me, I would have had DRC on the field all of the time.

Do I think DRC was better in 2016? Yes. But Spags felt better off with Apple on the field more. And that surprised the hell out of me. I actually expected Apple to get half the snaps he got this year.

will be what Collins drop against the pats last year was. A harsh reminder all offseason. We will be lucky to have Apple and Collins for a while.

In comment 13318303 KWALL2 said:

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He was good for such a young guy. Next few years will be an inexpensive cab starter. Upside is there to make it a really good pick.

Lol, that play is going to sting for a while. But I agree, good season for a rookie, and I'm optimistic about his upside.

And the Giants were also preserving him. As the season went on DRC earned his money. The secondary next season is even going to be better.

Forgot to mention Apple..
Solid !!! Especially against the run for a rookie. No fear! He will only get better.

I wouldn't call him a great pick yet, but I wouldn't call him a mistake either. Another year or two will tell

Hope to see his fellow Buckeye Hankins on the field with him next year.

Reports coming out that he was "grabby"

Did not see that much if at all this season.

Got burnt a few times but less times than I expected him to.

All in all, everyone on the defense had a pretty good year, Apple included. If anything the growth we have seen in Collins from year 1 to year 2 gives me reason to be very, very optimistic about Apple's future.

Now for Darian Thompson, what a bummer. He will be a rookie all over again next year, again with how well Landon got after a year under his belt it would have been nice to see Thompson come back and play.

was nursing a hamstring injury a good part of the season and that was a major reason he was on and off the field at times. Am I mistaken?

I saw here when we drafted him had me worried about a lot of PI calls, he did well to minimize those. I thought he had a very very good rookie year..

at OSU.

People pay attention to what serves their opinions. Coming off a 6-10 year, everyone was ready to believe they got the draft wrong.

but the way all of our draft picks played, it would be solid. We didn't have one clear superstar like OBJ, but each one of them justified being picked where they were.

Apple had his two worst games against the Eagles, his hometown team growing up......

stud.

Apple was torched yesterday, except for the one nice pass breakup on the near sideline; otherwise, AR went after him repeatedly and it paid off for GB

For value and talent? Compare Brown in the 6th and it's not even close

will help.

where I was really disappointed in him was his pass defense of Garcon in the last Skins game where they were on our 1 or 2. He took a first step back reaction and got beat easily on the slant. Maybe someone should teach him to jam the receiver in that situation.
Got beat his fair share, but overall a good season. Should become a very good corner for us.

In comment 13318538 ColHowPepper said:

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Apple was torched yesterday, except for the one nice pass breakup on the near sideline; otherwise, AR went after him repeatedly and it paid off for GB For value and talent? Compare Brown in the 6th and it's not even close

The best Qb in the league beat him in his first playoff game. I wouldn't take a 6th rounder over him

In comment 13318482 Blue Angel said:

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Apple had his two worst games against the Eagles, his hometown team growing up......

You're right. That's fucking stupid.

I thought he was pretty damn good. And got better as the season went along. Their secondary is going to be scary good with him, Jack Rabbit, Collins and maybe Thompson.

RE: Better
robbieballs2003 : 6:15 pm : link : reply
In comment 13318292 Eric from BBI said:
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than I expected. No way did I anticipate him beating our DRC for the starting CB job.


I don't think he beat out DRC at all. DRC was their slot guy and it seemed like they wanted to limit his reps because he is always banged up. Apple never played better than DRC at any point this year.

not sure if he is worth the 10th pick in the draft not
to knock him he was up and down but looks to have all the tools at that point in the draft I expect a Pro Bowl
lock down CB I hope he develops into that .
Hindsight is great would you take Taylor Decker could have
traded down and got another pick and landed Taylor who
is developing into a great LT

If that's ok to say on here...

I reserve "great" and other superlatives for future top 5 position players and true game changers. He didn't cross me as that. But he did look good.

Can't argue with a solid corner. He'll only get better, too.

I said that Collins was playing out of position last year, but either way, he made so many mental mistakes. Clearly, I had no idea WTF I was talking about and continue to usually not know what I'm talking about regarding football.... Go figure, I'm a social worker and not a scout :)

the big worry about him was that he was grabby player in college. Didn't see that. He looked perfectly fine.

In comment 13318587 Bluesbreaker said:

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RE: Better robbieballs2003 : 6:15 pm : link : reply In comment 13318292 Eric from BBI said: Quote: than I expected. No way did I anticipate him beating our DRC for the starting CB job. I don't think he beat out DRC at all. DRC was their slot guy and it seemed like they wanted to limit his reps because he is always banged up. Apple never played better than DRC at any point this year. not sure if he is worth the 10th pick in the draft not to knock him he was up and down but looks to have all the tools at that point in the draft I expect a Pro Bowl lock down CB I hope he develops into that . Hindsight is great would you take Taylor Decker could have traded down and got another pick and landed Taylor who is developing into a great LT

Who gives a fuck what you say. You're a coward and a quitter. The game threads prove it. Fuck off pussy.

In comment 13318776 Kulish29 said:

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In comment 13318587 Bluesbreaker said: Quote: RE: Better robbieballs2003 : 6:15 pm : link : reply In comment 13318292 Eric from BBI said: Quote: than I expected. No way did I anticipate him beating our DRC for the starting CB job. I don't think he beat out DRC at all. DRC was their slot guy and it seemed like they wanted to limit his reps because he is always banged up. Apple never played better than DRC at any point this year. not sure if he is worth the 10th pick in the draft not to knock him he was up and down but looks to have all the tools at that point in the draft I expect a Pro Bowl lock down CB I hope he develops into that . Hindsight is great would you take Taylor Decker could have traded down and got another pick and landed Taylor who is developing into a great LT Who gives a fuck what you say. You're a coward and a quitter. The game threads prove it. Fuck off pussy.

Oh, and who could forget you condone violence against women!

His rookie year. All he was at Alabama was a tackler, period ...

And now he's an ALL PRO safety ! Eli Apple has similar ability, not saying he's going to be ALL PRO next year, but he's playing with damned good players all around him and a great coach ....

I think Eli apple had a very decent year (good enough to have DRC go to the slot. - That's saying something ....

All that Eli was at Ohio State was a grabber ...

Next year, I anticipate excellence from Eli.

Jenkins, Collins, DRC gets A's.

Assuming good health, we should have the clear cut league's best secondary next year.

This assumes D. Thompson is the real deal and an upgrade over UDFA Adams at FS.

I think we have to eat the bullet and take on a bigger than we want contract for 2017 on JPP so we can have a top 2 defense again, only better "statistically" and such (more sacks, pressures, better run D and less points allowed.

Apple is going to be a big part of the Giants future.

become a top CB in this league. And I love that he tackles.

1 thing I noticed Sunday though that needs to be worked on: he doesn't turn his head back the ball consistently. Once he does that he will make more plays and get more picks.

but I'll also admit I was wrong. He's been terrific, and he's only going to get better.

Throughout the year on a very good defense. It's pretty obvious he played well this year.

His physicality and speed were as advertised, good pick.

Eliminating consideration of injuries as a input

If he works as hard as Revis did in his prime, not easy to do, he will approach Revis in his prime as a CB. The rare thing for a kid with his physical gifts is the toughness.

but what really concerns me are his coverage skills and ball awareness. Much of this cannot be taught at this point. It was known that he uses his hands too much vs getting his feet into position. It was on his draft report and we saw quite a bit of that this season.

Not passing real judgement at this point though because so much of playing defensive back is using instincts. In your first year, your head is focused on what your assignment is and not "blowing it". That is what we saw from Collins last year. Then, as the schemes and where you are supposed to be comes to you as second nature... THEN you can begin reacting to the things that are happening on the field much faster.

Made some typical rookie mistakes but is very talented and showed constant signs of growth. Terrific pick.

.

The guy Dallas drafted in the sixth round. Not quite, but almost.

In comment 13319881 elbowj said:

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The guy Dallas drafted in the sixth round. Not quite, but almost.

http://m.imgur.com/lKnGiaf

And it pains me to say that... But stats don't tell the whole story with that comparison. Brown is a good player and a steal where he was picked but stats don't make him better. I'll take Eli Apple all day every day, thanks....

I don't believe rookie CBs in the NFL need years of experience. He should have a big jump next year.

DRC is a force on defense; I think QBs are afraid to throw his way sometimes.

did Eli Apple "beat out" DRC. He's not capable of "beating out" DRC. Spags was clearly trying to limit DRC's snaps throughout the season and he felt comfortable enough with Apple to give him the snaps. End of story.

How lucky we are