BLUE ‘D’ SAYS BRING IT ON!
There’s no longer the question of will he or won’t he, Ezekiel Elliott will indeed be playing against the Giants on Sunday and members of Big Blue’s defense are welcoming that challenge with open arms.
“As a competitor you want the best players out there on the field and as a defense you always want to see the best,” said cornerback Eli Apple. “So it’s going to be a challenge.”
Elliott’s six-game suspension for an alleged domestic violence incident was upheld in court on Tuesday but he was made eligible to play Week 1 due to the timing of the decision.
The Giants have repeatedly stated that it did not matter if Elliott would play or not — they would be prepared — but knowing the league’s leading rusher from last season will be in the backfield does eliminate some uncertainty heading into the game. “There won’t be too many ‘what ifs,’” said middle linebacker B.J. Goodson. “It takes away from their element, so I like that.”
Apple, who was teammates with Elliott at Ohio State, said he followed the news of his ex-teammate and upcoming opponent “a little bit,” but acknowledged it wasn’t easy to get a gauge on if Elliott would play.
“With the NFL and all that stuff, it can be crazy,” Apple said. “You never can just guess what’s going to happen, you know what I’m saying? So it’s just kind of weird.”
The Giants corner, who practiced fully on Wednesday for the first time since injuring his ankle against the Jets, has seen Elliott play up close more than anyone else on the team.
He said part of the reason his former college teammate is so good is because Elliott has an “old-school running back mentality.”
“He’s just crazy in the head,” Apple said. “As a running back that’s something you need. He’s not afraid to stick his nose in there; he’s somebody who’s going to finish every run. Very hard runner, speed, quickness, can jump over people.”
But Apple’s also seen what it takes to stop Elliott.
The Giants were able to hand the Cowboys two of their three regular-season losses last year largely due to their defense being able to keep the Cowboys’ running game and offense in check.
In Week 1 they held the Cowboys to 101 total rushing yards, with Elliott rushing for just 54 yards. The Cowboys running back had a better showing in Week 14, rushing for 107 yards but the Giants kept him out of the end zone and held Dallas to just seven points.
“Just setting a wall, stopping his cutbacks,” Apple said regarding the key to the Giants’ success. “(Oliver Vernon) and (Jason Pierre-Paul) do a great job setting the edges and you got (Damon Harrison) in the middle clogging it up. It takes 11 guys to run to the ball.”
Meanwhile, in Dallas, they are just relieved to put the Elliott drama behind them — for now.
“Just happy for my guy to be out there,” quarterback Dak Prescott said on a conference call Wednesday. “He’s just excited about moving forward. You can see that in his attitude. He’s going out there taking on practice the right way and he’s done a great job.”
The Elliott saga is far from over — he could still get his suspension blocked if a judge approves a temporary restraining order — but for now it just adds more juice to an already highly anticipated Sunday night primetime matchup.
“They’re a great team. We’re a great team,” Apple said. “Should be fun.”