New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - The Advocate Here is what Eli Apple needs to overcome to play this week against the Vikings

BY NICK UNDERHILL | nunderhill@theadvocate.com Oct 26, 2018 - 3:44 pm

The Saints had issues talking earlier this year.

That’s what they said when the secondary was busting coverages with some regularity earlier in the season, and one of the reasons for it, according to the players, was they were struggling to get on the same page with newcomers Kurt Coleman and Patrick Robinson.

Knowing that seems like a reason for concern considering the team just traded for Eli Apple, with the hope he will replace Ken Crawley as the starting cornerback and help settle a secondary that hasn’t quite come together as expected after making major strides last season.

But maybe it won’t be that big of an issue for Apple. Maybe he has enough working in his favor to buck the trend that placed critical eyes on the other newcomers.

One thing that helps is Apple is that he shared a field with safety Vonn Bell and cornerback Marshon Lattimore at Ohio State. While Apple is still learning a whole new set of lingo, those three players are already comfortable communicating with one another.

“It’s a lot of players that’s in here that we know, that we know each other real well,” Lattimore said. “Just to have him in here, it’s better than just bringing in anybody, because he can come in, take coaching. He can take me giving him some pointers, and he knows I’m going to have his back. That’s big with the chemistry.”

How does it get to where it needs to be in just a few days?

“Us making sure we communicate more to him, making sure he’s doing the right job,” cornerback P.J. Williams said. “Coach making sure they are getting it, and we’re also helping. Between the coaches and us, we are going to make his job easy.”

It might seem quick -- crazy, even -- to have Apple come in and contribute this week after practicing with the Saints just three times, but it seems more likely than not he will be starting opposite Lattimore this week against the Minnesota Vikings even if defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn said the team has given snaps to both he and Crawley this week.

The fact is, the leap isn't that big. The differences between what he was doing with the New York Giants and what he will be doing here are not all that different. To a certain extent, coverage is coverage. It’s either man or zone. Cover 1, 2 and 3 are pretty much the same everywhere. The differences exist in the verbiage and smaller details.

“There are a lot of coverage similarities, it’s just how you call them and how you communicate them here, how you play certain man looks,” coach Sean Payton said. “There are some adjustments, all those things that are new at that position. It’s just getting used to and quickly getting familiar with how things are called different than they were called somewhere else.”

The Saints aren’t tipping their hands on the record about what the plan to do this week at the position. But everyone agrees that Apple has had a good week of preparation. He has been prepared to play this week against the Minnesota Vikings.

Regardless of who plays, it will be a big test for this secondary. Minnesota has one of the better passing attacks in the league with wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. Those two can stress a defense, and can expose whatever issues New Orleans is still working out in the secondary if it is not ready to perform.

New Orleans will need to figure out how to deploy its players this week. And if Apple is the starter, that will include a decision on how to use him. The Saints often have Marshon Lattimore shadow players, but Apple played almost exclusively on the left side in New York. If Lattimore follows someone, that would require apple moving elsewhere on the field.

“I don’t look at that as a big deal,” Allen said. “I think when you go inside to the slot that’s a little bit different. There are some different things you have to deal with inside in the slot. Whether you’re playing right corner, left corner, I don’t really look at that as a big challenge.”

Getting up to speed and ready to play in a short amount of time is a big challenge. But it sounds like Apple is doing the things he needs to do to get on the same page with the rest of the defense.

If he makes it out there and plays well, it will be a credit to how well this team was able to rally around a new teammate and get him up to speed.