Some people never learn …
Everyone has someone in their life like Eli Apple, the dude who flexes after winning something by default, or at best having a very minor role in a success.
Let’s be real for a sec: The only apple that gets cooked more often than Eli is a pie before the Fourth of July, and yet he loves talking trash after being carried to the AFC Championship by the team around him.
Now look, I tend to think Apple gets a touch too much hate — and then just when I start feeling that way he goes and does something like this and pulls me back in. This is basically the NFL equivalent of Patrick Beverly, a dude who talks so much undeserved trash for what he’s bringing to the table.
If this was Joe Burrow or Ja’Marr Chase making fun of Stefon Diggs it would be something, but Apple has been objectively mediocre this season. He ranks well below most starters in the NFL at cornerback, and his 52.9 player rating from Pro Football Focus is bad.
Obviously he’s still playing, so he and the Bengals deserve some props — but trolling particularly Damar Hamlin, who wasn’t even on the field, it’s just so damn unnecessary for a guy who more often than not gets burned like incense at a holistic healing convention.
Apple best be ready for Kansas City this weekend because he absolutely set the tone. When you talk this much shit you need to be ready to back it up, and history tells us that might not happen. Hell, lest we forget that Apple was one of the biggest reasons the Bengals lost the Super Bowl less than a year ago.
Cooper Kupp did most of his work as a receiver when aligned on the right side of the formation:
Right: 6 rec, 71 yds, 2 TD
Left: 2 rec, 21 yds
» Bengals Eli Apple lined up at left cornerback on 88% of snaps; allowed both TD as nearest defender vs Kupp#SBLVI | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/VbTWfvbTok
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) February 14, 2022
Bold move talking trash again, Eli. We’ll see how this one pans out.
