When New York Giants General Manager Jerry Reese drafted defensive end
Jason Pierre-Paul in the first round of The 2010 National Football
League Draft it raised some eyebrows. The Giants already had two Pro
Bowl defensive ends in Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck. Reese has always
stuck to his beliefs of drafting the best athlete available and that
held true with the man referred to as JPP. While at The University of
South Florida, Pierre-Paul showed off his athletic ability. Prior to The
2010 International Bowl, JPP did eleven consecutive back flips which
made him an overnight sensation on YouTube.
Pierre-Paul didn’t play football until his junior year of high school.
After a stint in junior college, JPP played one season for The South
Florida Bulls. In that one season in Tampa, Pierre-Paul managed to
record 6.5 sacks and returned an interception for a touchdown.
Pierre-Paul earned First-team All Big-East honors as well as being named
a Pro Football Weekly All-American.
Pierre-Paul was the 15th overall selection of the draft and The Giants
hoped that he was ready for the bright lights of New York City. In his
rookie season, JPP tallied 4.5 sacks while subbing for Tuck and
Umenyiora. This season, Tuck and Umeyiora have been plagued by injuries
which has allowed Pierre-Paul to step into the spotlight.
In the first game of the season against The Washington Redskins, JPP
sacked Redskin quarterback Rex Grossman twice and forced a fumble. It
seems like Pierre-Paul finds a way to make big plays in every game this
season. In week 12 versus The New Orleans Saints, New Orleans head coach
Sean Payton decided to attempt a fake field goal in the first quarter.
Backup quarterback Chase Daniel completed the pass to tight end Jimmy
Graham, but it was Pierre-Paul who dropped back into coverage to prevent
the easy touchdown and stopped Graham short of the first down.
Pierre-Paul may have saved The Giants season against The Dallas
Cowboys in week 14. The Giants rolled into Cowboys Stadium losers of
four straight and needed a win as bad as I need a six pack. Pierre-Paul
put the first points of the game on the board by sacking Cowboy
quarterback Tony Romo in the endzone for a safety. Pierre-Paul sacked
Romo once more in the game, but it was his play in the fourth quarter
that will have Giant fans talking for years to come. Pierre-Paul blocked
kicker Dan Bailey’s potential game tying field goal in the final
seconds to preserve a 37-34 victory for The Giants. That play helped to
setup this Sunday night’s winner-take-all scenario with Dallas for The
NFC East Title.
Last week in a do-or-die game against The New York Jets, JPP sacked
Jet quarterback Mark Sanchez twice and would have had another if the
ruling was not overturned by the official. Pierre-Paul has been on a
mission this season with 15.5 sacks through 15 games. For the second
time in three weeks, JPP earned NFC Defensive Player of The Week honrs.
Pierre-Paul’s efforts have not gone unnoticed as he earned his first
trip to The Pro Bowl. The way that JPP is constantly in the opponents
backfield you would think that he 30 sacks for the season and this is a
man that has only played football for a few years.
At 22-years of age age JPP has only scratched the surface with his
ability. Right now Pierre-Paul is primarily playing off of his instincts
which may remind some Giant fans of Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence
Taylor. Taylor played primarily off of instincts and he was able to get
away with it. Pierre-Paul will get better at reading play-action plays
and screen passes during his career. For now he is just using brute
force to overpower offensive tackles and speed from his basketball days
to get around them. The Giant lineage for defense is a long one as it
has stretched from Yankee Stadium to Giants Stadium and now to MetLife
Stadium. Giant fans fell in love with players such as Andy Robustelli,
Harry Carson, and Michael Strahan. I am not saying that Pierre-Paul will
end up in The Hall of Fame like these three gentleman, but he is
building a path for himself to be a great player. JPP is going off of
raw ability and once he becomes a football player it will be scary for
offenses around the league.
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