ALBANY — Jason Pierre-Paul is a man of faith, and very often in the morning, upon awakening, the first thing he does as he opens his eyes is express thanks that he’s made it to another day.
“Just because in life you never know what might happen,’’ Pierre-Paul told The Post yesterday before practice at the University of Albany. “You try to think about God as much as you can. Life is too short to take for granted.’’
He was brought up attending church with his parents and admits “I like ‘the word.’ ’’ He attends chapel services on Sundays but cannot make it to church, because most Sundays are workdays for the 23-year old phenom they call JPP.
“Even when we play on Sunday, it’s a God-given day, Sunday I wake up, pray,’’ he said. “It’s just a blessed day to ask God for forgiveness and thank Him for blessing you for so much He’s given you.’’
Every vibe Pierre-Paul gives off suggests he’s at peace with himself, but he’s no gentle giant and he recently let some honest-to-goodness bad feelings infiltrate his thoughts. He didn’t appreciate getting taken down on a play Monday, when a combination of Will Beatty and Bear Pascoe knocked Pierre-Paul to the grass as he attempted his pass rush. On the very next play, a riled-up JPP shred anyone and everyone in his way and slam-dunked an Eli Manning swing pass to the ground with a resounding thud.
Asked about getting blocked on the first play, Pierre-Paul said, “I don’t ever get blocked,’’ but he was smiling when he said it. “Coach tells us don’t bat passes down and I guess I was trying to jump and the offensive line, I think it was Beatty or [Kevin] Boothe, one of them grabbed me when I was in the air and I didn’t like that. That’s what they’re taught on the offensive line, so the next pass I faked him and blocked it.’’
Defensive linemen are constantly reminded not to bat down passes in practice, for fear of injury, but JPP couldn’t resist. Boothe didn’t apologize for dealing with this monster pass rusher in any way deemed necessary.
“I’m tired of seeing him try to bat balls down, try to prevent that at all costs,’’ Boothe said. “He’s a great player, we got to do everything we can to stop that from happening. We got to take care of our own teammate so we just try to stop him from jumping, basically. We’ll do anything, hold his arms, grab his arms, anything to try to prevent it. Hopefully we’re getting under his skin, that’s a good thing.’’
Boothe, the starting left guard, said he won’t merely hold Pierre-Paul on one or two plays. “I’ll do it multiple times,’’ said Boothe, before the team’s other starting guard, Chris Snee, walked by.
“Do you like it when JPP tries to bat balls down?’’ Boothe asked Snee.
“Usually when they jump, you take their legs out,’’ Snee responded. “You want us to do that?’’
No doubt that wouldn’t sit well with Pierre-Paul, who in 2011 amassed 16 1/2 sacks in his first season as a starting defensive end. He said at the start of camp he feels he’s been about 50 percent of the player he can be, prompting Justin Tuck to say, “Considering the year he had last year, to say that he’s getting better is scary.’’
The violence of the game and the serenity he feels in prayer are a strange couple, but Pierre-Paul is not conflicted.
“God puts everybody in a situation to make a statement and to prove something, to show somebody their way,’’ he said. “He may have put me on a football field to be a mentor to other kids. When the fans see you they see you as a football player and a great person. They say, ‘Oh my gosh, it took time and hard work to do,’ but you know you were given this talent for some reason. I’m grateful for everything God has blessed me with.’’