JPP putting the Big Blue legacy first
JASON Pierre-Paul was in the Giants locker room Friday, putting his watch on his left wrist using his mangled right hand. It’s easy to forget what the Giants defensive end has had to overcome just to play football until you see the visual evidence. The damage from a July 4, 2015, fireworks explosion will be with him for the rest of his life. Football won’t.
Perhaps that’s why even with the Giants in the midst of perhaps the worst season in franchise history, he is looking forward to boarding the airplane for Arizona on Saturday and playing the Cardinals on Sunday. He does not take a single game for granted anymore, and it’s why he’s treating a broken bone in his damaged hand like it is a hang nail.
“It’s very minor,” Pierre-Paul said of the previously undisclosed injury suffered last week against the Eagles. “Ain’t no sympathy over here. I’m going to go out and play a game and I’m going to play 110 percent. So it better be ready.”
Pierre-Paul lost most of his right thumb, all of his right index finger and the top of his middle finger in the accident. After wearing a protective glove last year and most of this year, he went back to the wearing a club against the Eagles.
“It’s not going affect my play at all,” he said. “With it or without it, I’m going to be the same person. I can protect myself. I’ll be out there running this week. I’m very excited to play football.”
He knows the feeling of thinking his career is over. That kind of fear sticks with you. That’s why 2-12 is just a number and Sunday is another opportunity to do what he was born to do — chase quarterbacks. There’s also another reason he practices and plays through pain. It’s the way he was taught. Pierre-Paul was part of the Giants’ last Super Bowl team in 2011. It was just his second year in the NFL, a year in which he collected 16.5 sacks and was named first-team All-Pro. It’s not the accolades he re- members, but the lessons taught to him by the veterans on that team.
“I was blessed to learn from older cats like Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Mathias Kiwanuka, Dave Tollefson and even my old [defensive line] coach [Robert] Nunn and coach [Tom] Coughlin,” Pierre-Paul said. “There were a lot of guys who have come through here, and I’ve learned so much from them. It’s not about how the season’s going or what your record is. You’re playing with a brotherhood. That’s why you keep it going.”
The season is more enjoyable when you’re in contention for the playoffs. But it can’t be all about the trophy.
“Sometimes you just play for pride, Giants pride,” he said. “It’s really not about us. It’s about what has come through here. This might be one of the worst seasons ever in Giants history, but we’ve got to look past it and get ready for Sunday and then next year.”
Pierre-Paul said he often hears from his former teammates. Kiwanuka reached out three days ago to offer encouragement. Once a Giant, always a Giant, in good times and bad. Pierre-Paul, who has 6.5 sacks this year, wants his actions to speak louder than words.
“No matter how the season is going,” he said, “I want you to turn on the film and watch Jason PierrePaul know and know that he’s doing everything he can to win.”
He is confident the front office will make the right hires and acquire the right talent to make the Giants a contender sooner rather than later.
“I look forward to that and I know the fans look forward to it, too,” he said. “We just have to finish this year off strong and have fun doing it.”
That’s rule No. 1. Football should always be fun.
“That’s why I’m ready to run around and have fun and get some tackles and a couple of more sacks,” he said.
Ain’t no sympathy here.