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New York Giants: What Jason Pierre-Paul’s return means

By Ryan Disdier

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After weeks of uncertainty, the soap opera between Jason Pierre-Paul and the New York Giants finally appears to be over.

NFL inside Ian Rappoport reported New York and JPP agreed to terms on a one-year, incentive-laden deal. The two parties came to agreement after the Giants were ‘comfortable’ with their pass-rusher’s health.

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The 26-year-old defensive end was absent from the Giants since he injured his hand during a Fourth of July fireworks incident.

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Pierre-Paul’s return is going to help. There’s no question about that. The Giants have failed to generate a consistent pass rush all year, so getting the freak of nature Pierre-Paul back will boost the defensive-line unit.

With that being said, Giants fans shouldn’t get their hopes up too high. JPP hasn’t played a game of football since January, so there’s really no way to indicate where he’s at from a conditioning standpoint, despite training during his time off and trying to reinvent his technique.

Even more so, there’s no way to know where JPP is at from a mental standpoint. Playing without parts of his hand will no doubt take some adjusting to. But Pierre-Paul always has a positive attitude, and there’s no question he’s beyond happy to be back playing football with his teammates.

From the eyes of a pessimist, JPP’s return will provide Big Blue with another body, but that’s about it. He’s four years removed from his breakout season on an uber-talented defensive line, and he really hasn’t made an impactful play since them. Yes, he finished 2014 with 12.5 sacks, but they all came toward the end of the year, as he took advantage of poor offensive lines.

Obviously, that’s probably the worst-case scenario.

Despite not recording gaudy numbers over the past few years, JPP needs to be double-teamed by offensive lines, and at the very least game planned for. He’s not just a pass-rushing end, either. Last year, I thought Pierre-Paul really improved as a run stopper, and that’s something the Giants have lacked.

There’s no denying the fact that despite his setbacks, Pierre-Paul is going to make the defensive line better, even if he’s a shell of the player he once was.

Head coach Tom Coughlin said JPP weighed in at 268 pounds, which is 10 pounds less than the weight he played at last year. Coughlin also said his talented end is excited to put the Fourth of July incident behind him, and just focus on getting after the quarterback.

“He’s excited about being here. He’s anxious to get started,” Coughlin said, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano. “We’re all rooting for him.”

Although Pierre-Paul will not play against the Saints, he’s likely to travel, as the coaches want him to be around a competitive atmosphere.

I’ve said before I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pierre-Paul record two sacks in his first game back. He’s just that type of athlete and he has that good of a motor.

He also has zero experience with Steve Spagnuolo’s defense in a real-game atmosphere. It’s a complicated defense, and only one of the players currently on the roster — safety Craig Dahl — had any experience in the defense prior to this year. There will be a learning curve for sure.

It will take some games, but with first place in their hands, getting Jason Pierre-Paul won’t hurt New York’s playoff chances.

Now if only the rest of the roster could get healthy…

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