This was the next step, proving the talk was more than hot air. It’s easy to act more mature and seem improved in the summer, before the games begin to count, before adversity strikes.
So on Sunday afternoon, Giants cornerback Eli Apple truly began to make his way back from his disastrous 2017 season. There were no major highlights, just quality and consistency across the board in a 20-15 loss to the Jaguars, no small feat considering the lack of depth in the Giants’ secondary.
“I thought he played a really solid game,” coach Pat Shurmur said of the former first-round draft pick. “He was competitive in coverage, made a couple plays on the ball, and I liked it. It was a good opening game for him.”
The 23-year-old Apple redirected the credit to his teammates, almost refusing to talk about himself, perhaps another sign of growth. When asked about his own play, he used the word “we” to talk about the defense or secondary as a whole.
He saw a lot of positives in the first game in new defensive coordinator James Bettcher’s aggressive 3-4 system, as the Olivier Vernon-less Giants shut out the Jaguars in the second half and limited them to 39 yards of offense in the fourth quarter.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Apple admitted. “I just wanted us to go out, play hard. That’s one thing we did as a defense. We made the necessary corrections now. We just got to continue to get better, keep building off that.”
The same can be said for Apple, who had a nightmarish second season after a strong rookie year. He lacked hustle at times, as his play slipped considerably. Teammates ripped him after a film session revealed he clearly wasn’t giving all-out effort. He clashed with Landon Collins after the safety attempted to help him. And he was suspended for a Week 17 game after getting into a shouting match with former defensive backs coach Tim Walton for “a pattern of behavior that is conduct detrimental to the team.’’
The new regime gave him another shot, and so far Apple is making the most of it. He took every single defensive snap against the Jaguars, had three solo tackles and two passes defensed. He didn’t let up a single big play and graded out as the fourth best Giants defender, given a 74.9 by Pro Football Focus.
Apple also kept his cool when Jaguars offensive tackle Cam Robinson hit him in the face after the whistle during a pileup, resulting in a 15-yard unnecessary-roughness penalty.
“He was into it,” Shurmur said Tuesday on WFAN radio. “He was engaged throughout the game.”
Apple wouldn’t go overboard when asked to assess his performance, describing it as “solid.” There were things he wants to clean up. A few times the Jaguars attacked him down the field, but he was right there, giving quarterback Blake Bortles no margin for error and leading to incomplete passes that sailed out of play.
“I was on the hip for sure,” Apple said. “I wish he would’ve put it more in the field of play. Of course, any time they throw the ball out of bounds, it’s a win for the defense.”
It was a strong game, in particular, for the secondary. The unit limited Bortles to 18 of 33 passing for 176 yards. There were eight passes defensed. Cornerback-turned-safety Curtis Riley held up in his first start at his new position.
“I felt like for the most part we competed well on the balls and we made plays on the ball,” Apple said. “[Janoris Jenkins] had a pick, [we had] a couple of pass deflections. If we just continue to do that, we’ll be a great defensive secondary.”
He may hold the key to such success. With established difference-makers such as Jenkins and Collins expected to lead the secondary, an improved Apple could elevate the Giants’ defensive backfield.
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