(12-22-2021, 12:31 AM)t3r3e3 Wrote: It’s not a good move.  The Ravens are dealing with their own injury and Covid issues, but have largely played well.  Why perk them up, and also get them thinking about the previous humiliation the Bengals gave them?  Nothing good comes out of some minor player running his mouth and kicking the sleeping bear.  It’d be one thing if Eli was a team leader, but he’s absolutely not.

The goal is to make the Playoffs in a Division that likely only gets one team in. Talking shit to the likeliest rival for the Division crown ahead of the game is just dumb.

If the Ravens aren't already up for this game which decides who goes to the playoffs then they don't deserve to win.

I'm not a fan of this type of stuff but Apple was going to get targeted a lot in the game anyways, so either he backs it up or he's going to get torched all day.

(12-22-2021, 01:42 AM)Frank Booth Wrote: So now we have posters saying bulletin board material doesn’t exist for players

Huh...

It’s less of a factor in determining the outcome of a game than you think. They had material last game with Wilson’s comments, and they got blasted. If the Bengals lose, it won’t be because of a few Eli Apple tweets.

(12-22-2021, 03:51 AM)Murdock2420 Wrote: If the Ravens aren't already up for this game which decides who goes to the playoffs then they don't deserve to win.

I'm not a fan of this type of stuff but Apple was going to get targeted a lot in the game anyways, so either he backs it up or he's going to get torched all day.

I wouldn't go out on a limb and say Apple is going to be targeted a lot either. Dude has the same number of interceptions this year as Awuzie. (2) If anything, I expect they will target Waynes, since he is really just working his way back onto the field.

Ehh.. These are grown men..If one guy running his mouth like a locker room nitwit affects them to the degree they get stomped badly I guess they're not quite as grown up as they like to think.. I doubt it has much to do about winning and losing as it does just one guy looking a bit foolish.
Also if the opposing team's so thin skinned to have to have some nitwit from the other team be their motivator they're in a world of hurt before they even play the game..  Some writer is making basically zilch into a mountain..Click bait at best..

I wonder how many targets and receptions will the player covered by Apple get. He better walk the walk.

(12-22-2021, 10:52 AM)Interceptor Wrote: I wonder how many targets and receptions will the player covered by Apple get. He better walk the walk.

He either has a good game or he doesn't. Trash talk has little bearing on it. That's been around since the first Olympics in Greece.. 

Never was a fan of the public smack talk. Didn't care for it when Chad, T.J. (although his terrible towel shoe shine was pretty cool), Pacman, etc did it. Focus on letting your play do the talking.

While I've never been totally on Zak's side as a coach, one of the things I like about him is the boosting his squad in public and not reverting to commenting plublically when a Player(s) stink up the game.

Marvin used to be so coy about Chad's "cover list". He never tried to stop any of that.

Just play!

As others said, this is Apple's first decent year (even though he's had some terrible plays mixed in with the good ones).

Let your play on.the field do the talking
What did PB once say
When you win say nothing
When you lose say less

(12-21-2021, 11:40 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: Not so much.

Last 5 games. 

How about you link the PFF scoring where they rank him 116/117 CBs after this string of games?  PFF scoring can fit any narrative these days.

Eli Apple has been adequate the last several games and hasn't been the reason we lost.....that's all we can ask for from a guy who's supposed to be a backup.  

This doesn't make him good.  

I personally don't care if he runs his mouth...my only take is he's not good enough to talk trash.  

Trash talk is a tricky balancing act. A little trash talk is usually brushed off and a moderate amount of trash talk may just be bulletin board material. But eventually you hit a certain level where it actually starts being effective by re-directing a team's focus from winning to teaching you a lesson.

We all saw that level in real time when the Bengals played the Jaguars and Ramsey trash talked Green so well that he choked him.

If Apple is getting them worked up to that degree, then they may play worse. We'll have to see on Sunday :)

(12-22-2021, 02:03 PM)basballguy Wrote: How about you link the PFF scoring where they rank him 116/117 CBs after this string of games?  PFF scoring can fit any narrative these days.

Eli Apple has been adequate the last several games and hasn't been the reason we lost.....that's all we can ask for from a guy who's supposed to be a backup.  

This doesn't make him good.  

I personally don't care if he runs his mouth...my only take is he's not good enough to talk trash.  

The circle to the far right is the most important, as well as the numbers above it. It's not a subjective grade but a statistical fact of how he played. I like to check out the grades but i prefer to see how they look numbers-wise over the grades. The last 5 games, as well as 5 of the 9 grades previous to those, he's kept his QB rating against at and below 77.1

In those specific 10 games, he's not given up a touchdown and he has two interceptions. In the most recent 5 games his QB rating against is no higher than 55.6

(12-22-2021, 10:19 AM)Sled21 Wrote: I wouldn't go out on a limb and say Apple is going to be targeted a lot either. Dude has the same number of interceptions this year as Awuzie. (2) If anything, I expect they will target Waynes, since he is really just working his way back onto the field.

Awuzie should be back shouldn't he??

Figured it be Awuzie, Hilton and Apple with Waynes getting worked in.

Relevant statistical numbers for CB (outside). *This was based on playing 50% of max snaps--81 CBs qualifying. 


TGT: (most)
Chido- 12th (77)
Apple- 45th (57)

REC: (most)
Chido- 23rd (42)
Apple- 59th (32)

Rec%: (least)
Chido- 13th (54.5)
Apple- 19th (56.1)

Yds: (least)
Chido- 39th (442)
Apple- 25th (403)

Yds/R: (least)
Chido- 21st (10.5)
Apple- 57th (12.6)

YAC: (least)
Chido- 30th (137)
Apple- 36th (147)

TD/INT/PBU:
Chido- 3/2/8
Apple- 2/2/5

Penalties:
Chido- 2
Apple- 5

QB r/a:
Chido- 14th (73.6)
Apple- 16th (75.4)

Chido has been more consistent, game by game on the year and after a rough, inconsistent start, Apple has been playing very well as of late. 

P.S. I saw Mike Hilton's name in there a lot while searching but i only did Chido and Apple, being on the outside

I was gonna post this in the ZT vs ML thread but didn't seem to fit there.

These were some of the scouting bullets recorded in 2016 on him....they are all still true...

• Apple has an almost pathological aversion to the football. He often doesn’t even attempt to look for the ball and make a play on it, instead choosing to stay focused on his man and play with his back to the quarterback. Last season, had just one pick and four pass breakups; there could have been many more INTs but for this flaw.
• Apple will whiff completely at times in the run game. He earned a solid grade in that area this season, so overall it's a strength, but when he misses, he tends to miss badly for big plays.
• He's out of his comfort zone (pun intended) playing in zone-coverage at the moment for Ohio State; prefers being able to lock onto a receiver.
• Apple can get too grabby in coverage; he likes to get hands on receivers and ride them through the route. He doesn’t need the contact to cover, so that should be fixable, but it will cost him flags early in the NFL.

(12-22-2021, 10:14 PM)basballguy Wrote: I was gonna post this in the ZT vs ML thread but didn't seem to fit there.

These were some of the scouting bullets recorded in 2016 on him....they are all still true...

• Apple has an almost pathological aversion to the football. He often doesn’t even attempt to look for the ball and make a play on it, instead choosing to stay focused on his man and play with his back to the quarterback. Last season, had just one pick and four pass breakups; there could have been many more INTs but for this flaw.
• Apple will whiff completely at times in the run game. He earned a solid grade in that area this season, so overall it's a strength, but when he misses, he tends to miss badly for big plays.
• He's out of his comfort zone (pun intended) playing in zone-coverage at the moment for Ohio State; prefers being able to lock onto a receiver.
• Apple can get too grabby in coverage; he likes to get hands on receivers and ride them through the route. He doesn’t need the contact to cover, so that should be fixable, but it will cost him flags early in the NFL.

You have to wonder what the Giants were thinking when drafting this guy in the 1st round...

Wait, I know

His name is Eli Apple. He plays in the big Apple. His qb is also named Eli

We still mad at him?

Eli Apple continues to rise up and play great football for the #Bengals.

Since they returned from the bye in Week 11, among CBs, Apple ranks:

?- PFF Coverage Grade (88.6)
?- NFL Passer Rating Against (11.0)
?- Catch Rate Per Target (35%)@EliApple is shutting down the NFL. pic.twitter.com/x6udeo4EKj

— Willie Lutz (@willie_lutz) December 27, 2021