New York Giants, Jason Witten
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Most thought the Eli Apple benching came simply via poor performance. Nope. The New York Giants suspended him for other reasons.

When New York Giants fans saw their defense playing without Eli Apple last Sunday, they didn’t fret. Quite honestly, most were pleased with the decision.

Everybody thought the reasoning for his benching came due to poor play. The former first-round Ohio State product has been pretty miserable this season, especially as it pertains to the deep ball.

It turns out poor performance wasn’t the reason.

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo has reported that the benching stemmed from poor conduct at practice.

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said Thursday that he “wouldn’t call it a benching.” Spagnuolo went on to offer an implausible explanation for why recently acquired cornerback Ross Cockrell got snaps over Apple in the nickel package early in the game, via Dan Duggan of NJ.com.

“That was more of a compliment to Ross and what he’s been doing out here,” Spagnuolo said. “Ross has been out here working, we see it and we notice it.”

The Jints fans’ No. 1 suspect during this disappointing campaign wasn’t happy about the semi-benching.

“I wasn’t happy,” Apple said. “To me, that’s what happens. You lose games and it’s got to be someone else’s problem and they look around and think, ‘OK, this is the problem.’ But it’s not just one guy – it’s the whole culture, it’s everything. We’ve got to fix it.”

Apple will look to help Big Blue pick up its first victory in Denver on Sunday Night Football.

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Robby Sabo is a co-founder, CEO and credentialed New York Jets content creator for Jets X-Factor - Jet X, which includes Sabo's Sessions (in-depth film breakdowns) and Sabo with the Jets. Host: Underdog Jets Podcast with Wayne Chrebet and Sabo Radio. Member: Pro Football Writers of America. Coach: Port Jervis (NY) High School. Washed up strong safety and 400M runner. SEO: XL Media. Founder: Elite Sports NY - ESNY (Sold in 2020). SEO: XL Media. Email: robby.sabo[at]jetsxfactor.com