Giants CB Apple apologizes for Twitter post

Dec 14, 2017 - 12:45 AM EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Cornerback Eli Apple's strange season with the New Yorek Giants took another weird twist when, after being deactivated for the fourth week in a row, he took to Twitter during the NFL's mandated "social media blackout" period.

Apple retweeted a post made by an Ohio State Fan Club's account celebrating the 81-yard touchdown reception of Cowboys running back Rod Smith against the Giants.

After meeting with interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo, Apple apologized and, with his back and hip injuries having cleared up enough to allow him back on the practice field for his full workload, Spagnuolo is making good on his promise to get the team's first-round pick last year back into the fold.

"(Apple) practiced today -- not with the starting group, but got reps in there. Worked with the scout team. He did some special teams reps, so we're kind of getting him, trying to oil him back up," Spagnuolo said of Apple.

"We'll see where he is at the end of the week. At the end, you got to make a decision on 46 players, so that'll all unfold as the week goes."

Spagnuolo did hint that Apple would receive some sort of penalty from the team, likely a fine, but he wouldn't disclose what the punishment would be.

Meanwhile, teammate Landon Collins said he's reached out to Apple to lend his support to his struggling teammate.

"I had a sit-down with him -- a couple of us had a sit-down with him -- and we just said, 'Man regardless of the situation, we got your back. You're our brother.' Because at the end of the day, we have to go into battle whether if he's on the field or not on the field.

"We need him to want to be here and not fighting against us or fighting against the coaches. Because if he's fighting against the coaches or the organization or whatever he's fighting against in his head, we don't need him fighting us because that causes conflict."

Collins hinted that Apple, whose mother Annie dealt with health issues this year that included brain surgery last month, was dealing with some ongoing personal issues.

"He's got a lot of personal things going on at this point in his life," Collins said. "I'm surprised he's still here and didn't step away from the game because most players would. But he's got a lot going on in his situation. That's when you have to be a brother towards him and know and tell him that you got his back and we are here for you."

Collins said he didn't want to judge Apple for his tweets, but when asked if the second-year cornerback was talented enough to be on a NFL roster, Collins didn't hesitate.

"He has the most talent in the world. He can do some amazing things," Collins said.

"He already has a bad rep with the refs; they talk about his holding. Other teams will tell the refs he holds, and they'll keep an eye out for him. So other than that, he's a great cover corner. He understands the game, understands our concepts of what we're trying to put into the game and he does great things."

But for Apple to get back to doing great things, Collins said Apple needs to come to grips with his off-field issues, something he believes Apple is making progress with.

"It's a within-him battle. It's inside him that he's fighting with it. It's within him," he said.

That's also something Spagnuolo is hoping to help Apple accomplish.

"I don't want to pass judgment on a kid's attitude or character," he said. "He's going to have to deal with some repercussions because of (the tweeting). He's a young man that I'm into building up and not breaking down. So, we'll keep trying to build up."

That includes trying to get Apple back to playing the kind of ball he did last year.

"There are many snaps where Eli was covering his guy and they didn't throw it there and that's what goes unnoticed," Spagnuolo said. "Then, as the season progressed, I thought right before he hit this rough period that he had two or three games there where he played really, really well. We need to get back to that."

--Giants safety Landon Collins knows what he wants when it comes to football.

And for anyone who has any doubts about what's on the third-year safety's mind this week as the team prepares for its home game against the Eagles, Collins wants to be out there on the field, ankle injury or no ankle injury.

"If I know I can play, if I feel like I can play, or I can do something, I'm going to do it," Collins said Wednesday.

If he needs any evidence to support his desire, he need only point to the Giants' loss last week against the Cowboys. When Collins was on the field, the defense held Dallas to just 10 points in what was a tied game going into the fourth quarter

But when Collins tweaked his left ankle, the same ankle he sprained earlier in the season, the Cowboys went on to explode for 20 points as they beat the Giants 30-10.

Interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo said the team's medical staff hasn't ruled out the possibility of shutting Collins down for the rest of the season.

"I don't know if he'll let us," Spagnuolo added with a chuckle. "Sometimes you got to protect these guys from themselves. ... I don't want him to go out there and get hurt any worse. We'll do the right thing."

The right thing for Collins, who didn't practice Wednesday, is to be out there with his teammates.

"I would feel like I'm letting my boys down if I'm not on the field with them and that hurts me more than anything," he said.

Deep down, Collins knows he has to be smart about his health, so when he was asked how he balances doing what's right for his body against being on the field as a competitor, he took a few minutes to mull over the question.

He finally said, "I look at it as, people recognize when I'm on the field. Even though I'm injured, at the same time I can still do something and make a difference and be a playmaker regardless if he's on the field or not and make plays. Just my presence on the field helps our defense as a whole and it betters each one of us knowing that we have all of our guys out on the field."

Collins, who hasn't missed a game since being drafted, said he spoke with defensive end Olivier Vernon, who this year had his streak of never having missed a game snapped due to a high-ankle sprain suffered earlier in the season.

"OV said he had over 100 and something snaps so I'm trying to catch up to him, try to get up there," Collins said with a chuckle.

And if he can't get on the field for reasons beyond his control?

"It's definitely going to be hard watching it in the film room and hearing them boys talk and me not being on the field with them and not being able to fix problems and say anything," Collins said. "But I'm going to help the guys that were on the field and tell them what they need to be doing and what they need to see and stuff like that."

--Giants interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo has named defensive tackle Damon Harrison as the team's defensive captain.

Harrison, who is in his second season with the team, steps into the role that became vacant when linebacker Jonathan Casillas, who was voted into the role before the start of the season, was placed on injured reserve last week.

The choice of Harrison is an interesting one only because the defensive tackle has long since denied that he was a leader, and that if he were chosen for the role, he'd decline it.

"I'm not one of the leaders, man. I'm just one of the guys," he explained shortly after the team wrapped up training camp in September. "I just want to be that behind-the-scenes guy. We have some really good leaders in this locker room and it's not fair to them."

With the Giants having fallen apart at the seams and being desperate for leadership, Spagnuolo has turned to one of a few players on his defense who has been consistent with his play.

"I just said, 'God gifted you with some leadership tools,'" Spagnuolo said when asked how he managed to convince Harrison to accept the C on his jersey.

"He was more than willing to step up and be that guy. He doesn't like to be in the forefront of things. You know how there are all different kinds of leaders. There's guys that lead by example. There's quiet leaders. There's vocal leaders. He's a leader."

Harrison politely declined to speak to reporters about his new role on the team when approached by reporters Wednesday in the locker room.