JETS: JPP STILL A FORCE FOR GIANTS,
Jet coach says Pierre-Paul is same player he was before July 4 accident
JASON PIERRE-PAUL has played in three games since returning from the July 4 fireworks accident that led to the amputation of his right index finger, and while he’s still working his way back toward his old form, Jets head coach Todd Bowles believes the threat the twotime Pro Bowler poses is the same as the old JPP.
“He's just as dangerous to us as he's always been,” Bowles said Friday.
Though the defensive end hasn’t registered a sack yet, he has injected life into what had been a terrible Giants pass rush, and this week Pierre-Paul practiced with his injured right hand planted for the first time.
Longtime Jets left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson will be the one primarily tasked with keeping Pierre-Paul at bay, and he sees a similar Pierre-Paul compared to previous years.
“I recognize that he had an injury and he’s coming back,” Ferguson said, “but when you look on tape he still looks very explosive, and you have to prepare for that.”
Bowles also said from watching film, he sees Pierre-Paul getting off the ball just like he used to. It's something Ferguson, the threetime Pro Bowler who will make his 156th consecutive regular-season start on Sunday, is aware of from his previous matchups with Pierre-Paul in preseason games and the 2011 meeting between the two teams. In that Week 16 game in 2011, a 29-14 Giants victory, Pierre-Paul had five tackles and two sacks.
“I think because I’ve played him I can say that he's a very talented player, and we’ve just got to prepare and make sure we don't let him ruin the game,” Ferguson said.
Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey couldn’t notice any differences in Pierre-Paul from before and after his injury. He didn't recall his 2011 meeting with the Giants as the Bills’ head coach when Pierre-Paul had three tackles and a sack.
What Gailey does see is an improving pass-rusher, and if JPP can take his game up a notch by being able to plant his injured hand into the turf and begin plays with the proper body angle, he might get even more disruptive.
“I just know he looks like he is getting better each week to me,” Gailey said. “From the first game he played in, until the last game he has played in, that’s a little unnerving.”