Eli Apple had been a little quieter this season with the trash-talking. A lot of Cincinnati Bengals fans and NFL fans remember the Super Bowl last season when Apple was talking a lot of smack and then got schooled by one of the best receivers in the league on the biggest stage. Naturally, he got memed for weeks after the game, and deservedly so. As they say, "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes"
For the most part, Apple has been quiet this year with the trash talk but it resurfaced on Sunday after the Bengals defense mostly shut Tom Brady out in the second half. Apple had arguably his best game of the season and did a nice job shutting down his assigned players in the second half.
At the end of the game, Apple was seen on TV waving to the Bucs fans. While that'd be minor if that was all he did, he didn't hold back in his press conference following the game.
Eli Apple keeps the trash talk going
When asked about the scheme in the second half, Apple responded with "Got to get that old man tap dancing, man." Obviously, the old man is Brady and to Apple's credit -- They did rattle him and make him uncomfortable so he wasn't lying.
Reporter: Did you do more scheme-wise in 2nd half to get pressure?
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) December 19, 2022
Eli Apple: Got to get that old man tap dancing, man. Got to get him out of the pocket and get him uncomfortable.
Q: He was better in pocket in first half?
Apple: He was fairly OK, but not good enough to win.
The part that really made me chuckle, however, was when Apple was asked if Brady was better in the pocket in the first half and replied with "He was fairly okay". This, of course, is a dig to Brady saying the Bengals defense was "fairly tough" ahead of the matchup.
Apple did say that Brady is the GOAT but noted that wasn't the case on Sunday.
Eli Apple: “Tom is the GOAT. But today he wasn’t.”
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) December 19, 2022
Honestly, considering how Apple can be, that's quite the compliment coming from him.
I'll admit this is pretty light trash talk from Apple but referring to Brady as an old man while also throwing back the "fairly" comment in his direction was petty. It's pettiness that I can absolutely get behind, however. Apple deserves to say what he wants after what he and the Bengals defense did on Sunday.