Four months after blowing off part of his right hand in a July 4 fireworks accident, New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul finally played in an NFL game this past Sunday. He had two tackles in 45 snaps – 71% of the defensive plays – and the Giants won.
Giants coach Tom Coughlin said Wednesday that Pierre-Paul “proved that he’s a highly-conditioned athlete and was at his best probably when his best was needed at the end of the game. So I expect that he’ll rev it up and be ready to go for even more.”
This time the opponent won’t again be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have a rookie quarterback and are in last place in the NFC South. Coming to East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday to take on the 5-4 Giants will be none other than the New England Patriots, led by the seemingly ageless Tom Brady.
The Patriots’ offensive line is banged up, with players being shifted to one side or another as a result, but that has hardly bothered Brady. He has the highest passing rating in the league, completing 68.6 percent of his passes for 22 touchdowns (and only two interceptions).
And the Patriots are 8-0. Brady, not the most nimble quarterback ever, has been sacked 18 times this season, but he is so good at quickly spotting receivers and getting them the football that he probably would prosper with five guys in hooded sweatshirts throwing blocks.
When asked Wednesday if he saw any difference in Brady than when the Giants last faced him nearly four years ago – in Super Bowl XLVI, a 21-17 Giants’ upset victory – Coughlin tartly replied: “Nothing. He gets better.”
But the Giants are better than they were even just two weeks ago, and Pierre-Paul is pretty much the reason, battered right hand and all. He joked after practice Wednesday that he hoped Brady would be sick Sunday, but he also made it clear, in a way, that he helps his team.
During a mass interview at his locker, Pierre-Paul was reminded that New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees passed for 505 yards and seven touchdowns in a 52-49 victory over the Giants on November 1. Brady is capable of accumulating even fatter statistics.
“I wasn’t there,” Pierre-Paul said.
Meaning: Brees would not have thrown for 505 yards and seven touchdowns if Pierre-Paul had played in that game.
He is, at the least, a matchup problem. Pierre-Paul is, according to none other than New England coach Bill Belichick in a conference call Wednesday, “obviously very athletic and has great length, balance, speed, quickness, good motor. So he’s a tough guy to block in any situation and I’m sure he’ll be better this week than last week with another week of practice and that first game under his belt. We’ll expect his best and try to prepare as best we can to handle him, but he’s a great player.”
The Patriots’ starting left tackle on Sunday was Sebastian Vollmer, who played the first five games at right tackle before Nate Solder suffered a biceps injury that ended his season. Then Vollmer suffered a concussion and was replaced by Cameron Fleming, who’d never played left tackle before. The right tackle was Brian Stork, a former center. Vollmer missed practice Wednesday.
So Pierre-Paul will probably be lined up Sunday against someone who has little experience playing his position, let alone blocking a guy with 42 career sacks. He might not sack Brady, but he said he is sure someone from his team will. He does not lack confidence.
Even before the fireworks “incident, or whatever it is,” as he put it Wednesday, Pierre-Paul was a pretty interesting person. He has faced Brady twice – both times in the 2011 season, which ended with Super Bowl XLVI – and he sacked him once.
Pierre-Paul said Wednesday he did not remember that sack. “I never do,” he said.
But he did seem to remember that Brady hates pressure, like much less talented quarterbacks, and the Giants won both games because Brady was less than perfect.
“It’s a different group,” Pierre-Paul said. “It was me, [Justin] Tuck, Osi [Umenyiora] – those are pass rushers. We have pass rushers, but we have to work together and that’s what we’re doing now.”
The Giants have only nine sacks in nine games, but, when Pierre-Paul was asked if he thinks the Giants’ current defense can get to Brady, he said: “Yeah, of course. We’re going to get to the quarterback, I know I am, I know others guys as well. We have to do whatever it takes, it’s a big game. Like I say, they’re undefeated, but they have to come through here first.”
Pierre-Paul played with his right hand heavily wrapped Sunday. He looked like he was wearing either a boxing glove or an oven mitt, but the “club,” as he called it, did not seem to affect his play too much. He hit quarterback Jameis Winston twice in the fourth quarter.
He said Wednesday that he felt “a little bit rusty,” but he was in no pain during or after the game. He said, “Like I say, I trained all season even with my incident or whatever it is, it happened or whatever, but I trained my butt off, so it was OK for me.”
Pierre-Paul went so far as to say that he might abandon the heavy wrapping – perhaps even before Sunday, maybe during the game, maybe not at all. He said, “Sooner or later, I’m not going to use a club. It’s just for protection, but my hand didn’t hurt. Like I said, it doesn’t hurt, no pain, I’m just out there protecting myself. When I feel like I don’t need it any more, it’ll be off.”
And he will move on. He was supposed to earn $14.8m as the Giants’ designated franchise player this season, but he was forced to sign an incentive-laden one-year contract after the fireworks accident. On Sunday, he gets a chance to show if he can still be a premier player even though he has fewer than 10 fingers.
