Eli Apple still hounding teammates as he continues adjusting to Saints

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New Orleans Saints cornerback Eli Apple said his teammates were ribbing him about dropping a couple would-be interceptions.

In the third quarter against the Rams in Week 9, Apple jumped a short route to Robert Woods, but he couldn’t make the catch. Then, in the third quarter against the Bengals last Sunday, Apple was covering John Ross on a deep route, and although Apple perfectly timed his jump toward the ball, he again couldn’t make the catch.

Finally, in the fourth quarter against the Bengals, he made the interception that had evaded him, snagging a ball after it had been tipped at the line by safety Chris Banjo.

This was Apple’s first interception since Dec. 4, 2016, during his rookie season with the New York Giants, and it came in just his third game with the Saints.

“I know there’s going to be a lot more opportunities coming up, so I just got to continue to try to take advantage of those,” he said.

Apple has shown improvement in each of his three games with the Saints as he’s gained comfort in the defensive scheme. However, he said the adjustment process hasn’t been too difficult because the Saints system is similar to what he did in college and with the Giants.

It also helps, Apple said, to be learning from friends like safety Vonn Bell and cornerback Marshon Lattimore, two of Apple’s teammates at Ohio State.

“You always get the best out of yourself when you can have fun with something you need to do,” he said.

Apple admitted it was tough adjusting to a new team without training camp, but he’s been asking his teammates and coaches a lot of questions.

“I’ve just tried to hound them as much as possible about signals and different little things they like to say to get everybody on the same page basically,” Apple said.

Although Apple is settling in well with the Saints, his life away from football isn’t totally comfortable yet. He’s still learning how to get around New Orleans and adjusting to the culture, and while he found a place to live, he still has just three bags of stuff since moving last month.

“I’ve been wearing a lot of Saints gear every day,” he said.