Eli Apple (2 Viewers)

[mccombmike]

Here’s something to think about: in the 2016 draft, the Giants took Apple at the 8th spot. The Saints took Rankins at 10. What a whale of a draft that turned out to be for us. We picked twice in the top 10 and didn’t even know it.

 

[GoldenSaint12]

There were so many times that Ryan had absolutely no where to go with the ball because his receivers were blanketed by our good coverage. Could we say the same if we didn't have Apple? Probably not. Those extra seconds allow the d-line to get home even though they are held almost every freaking play. I almost enjoyed watching our defense play last night more than the offense.

 

[Chris]

Definitely an upgrade over Crawley. No question about it.

 

[NeverGiveUP2]

Apple may go down as one of the better trades in Saints history.

Yep. A season impact trade. And he is young.

 

[BlueChimay]

Agree 100% ^. He is definitely gaining confidence and you can see by his smiles, how much he is enjoying playing with this Saints team.

My eyes are not the greatest, so I am asking for others thoughts on the following. Lattimore looks stronger to me and is even more physical than last year, but he looks a step slower. Has anyone else seen this? Thanks

I made the same observation. He appears to have lost a step. I initially thought that it was the temporary result of an inadequate offseason conditioning . I think you are right; being slower is merely the trade off for getting more powerful.

 

[onednasty]

Julio was getting absolutely zero YAC. Did an excellent job of bringing him down and causing the occasional breakup.

 

[thetownedrunkard]

Here’s something to think about: in the 2016 draft, the Giants took Apple at the 8th spot. The Saints took Rankins at 10. What a whale of a draft that turned out to be for us. We picked twice in the top 10 and didn’t even know it.

They actually drafted Apple #10 and we drafted Rankins at 12. I liked the trade when it went down. He was a reach being picked that high but still had a first round grade. Crawley jus regressed this year for whatever reason and we needed someone with ability. Good trade.

 

[demented]

Crawley was not suited for playing press man with dedicated over the top support against the other teams #1. He didn't have the physical skills. You're supposed to do well at pressing off the LOS and then shadowing underneath without panicking. I wasn't super thrilled with Lattimore's man skills if the opposing player got away from the boundary though. He gave up a lot of separation against Ridley. If Matt Ryan wasn't being harassed effectively then Ridley would have had a big day.

 

[demented]

They actually drafted Apple #10 and we drafted Rankins at 12. I liked the trade when it went down. He was a reach being picked that high but still had a first round grade. Crawley jus regressed this year for whatever reason and we needed someone with ability. Good trade.

The only downside is that we're going to have to PAY a whole ton of people in the next few years We'll have to go with Taysom as the QB just to afford our rather stacked roster.

 

[Chris]

 

[Goatman Saint]

Jones one great skill was running really really fast in a straight line. He’s never been good at quick cuts, and has very poor suddenness. As he has gotten older, bigger and slower it killed off the one thing he did well, and his lack of ability in other areas is keeping him from progressing into that shorter/medium range target.

 

[Madmarsha]

Does all this seem too good to be true? I mean, the first few games felt EXACTLY like last year where everything seemed such a struggle. Now it's like we have some control without everything being against us.

 

[Icon]

Does all this seem too good to be true? I mean, the first few games felt EXACTLY like last year where everything seemed such a struggle. Now it's like we have some control without everything being against us.

This is the team that many people thought we could be. There is a reason the Saints were picked as the NFC favorites by many pundits during this past preseason. Yes, the Bucs and Browns games (despite the latter resulting in a win) made people think they'd been sold a bill of goods on their Saints preseason predictions.......but time would reveal that we were alot closer to being that 2017 team that was teetering on SB aspirations.....as opposed to just another 7-9 blowhard team that we've tended to become immediately following a promising season.

But then something funny happened along the way. We had the two-headed RB duo which supposedly was in place to shoulder much of the load while Brees played great "when needed". Unfortunately half of that duo was gone for the first month......so...well.........ok, ok, Drew.....just get us through this month, and then we promise, we'll go back to not asking as much of you.

But........that Drew, you know how he is..........you ask him to straighten the decorative pillows on your couch, and he helps you rearrange your living room. He just had to go and start playing the best football of his career.

And that's the difference.

Ingram and Kamara are still Ingram and Kamara. Our defense is back to playing like they did last year when Crawley solidified the #2 CB spot, only this time with Apple. But Brees is playing MVP-level football in addition to that. May sound weird to hear someone say that Drew Brees was the "unexpected" X factor in all this.......but really, he kinda was.

 

[Andrus]

Here’s something to think about: in the 2016 draft, the Giants took Apple at the 8th spot. The Saints took Rankins at 10. What a whale of a draft that turned out to be for us. We picked twice in the top 10 and didn’t even know it.

Slightly off concerning where they were taken in the 2016 draft, but I agree with the sentiment. Apple was the 10th pick, and Rankins was taken with the 12th pick.

 

[ndcc]

No true WhoDat could watch this for 15 sec. + without a grin!

Pure GOLD!!!!!