New York Giants Jason Pierre-Paul does not practice with illness

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick (7) is hit by New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (90) in the second quarter during the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

New York Giants star DE Jason Pierre-Paul has recorded just one sack so far this season, and he only had 6.5 sacks last season following his monstrous breakout campaign in 2011 when the Giants won the Super Bowl. But while the entire Giants pass rush has been slow so far this season, the play of Justin Tuck and JPP against the run cannot be overlooked. It’s well-established at this point that Tuck is an excellent two-way defensive end, but Pierre-Paul needs to get more praise for his work in run defense. In fact, while he was “only” decent at rushing the passer last year (his sack totals didn’t do him enough justice, to be honest), he was absolutely amazing against the run, and his ability to stop the run will be crucial this Monday in order to stop Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings.

Giants head coach Tom Coughlin stated that Jason Pierre-Paul was unable to practice today due to an illness, and he is fully expected to play in this week’s game against the Vikings. It seems like JPP was suffering from this illness yesterday, because he showed signs of some sort of a sickness yesterday.

Pierre-Paul has slowly made a return to form this season following offseason surgery, and he had a killer game against  the run in his first start of the season in Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers. He is also slowly but surely returning to form this year as a pass rusher, and the Giants will need him to have another big year with the way they are playing.

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