Jason Pierre-Paul has big plans for the Snoopy Bowl.
Disregarding the fact it’s a preseason game, Pierre-Paul vowed the Giants are “going to make a statement” in Friday night’s annual exhibition with the crosstown Jets at MetLife Stadium.
“We’re both in New York, and you want to know who’s the best team,” the veteran defensive end said Wednesday. “I say the Giants are. But as far as [the rivalry], everybody’s going to be playing hard and the stadium’s going to be packed and guys are going to be going wild.
“They’re the home team, right? So we’re going to play our hearts out,” Pierre-Paul added. “We’re going to make a statement in this one.”
Effort and production were frequent topics with Pierre-Paul in his post-practice chat with the media, mainly because those haven’t been seen much out of him in Big Blue’s first three preseason games — or the past two years, for that matter.
After a 16.5-sack display during the Giants’ 2011 Super Bowl season had analysts describing him as a potential NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Pierre-Paul has managed just 8.5 sacks combined.
The former first-round pick was limited to just 11 games last season by a shoulder injury and the remnants of back surgery the year before, but says he is healthy now and nothing is holding him back.
That hasn’t translated into much so far in the preseason, with Pierre-Paul mustering just four tackles and one quarterback hit in three games. And all of that production came in just one contest, a 20-16 win over the Steelers in the second game.
Pierre-Paul considers the preseason an unfair snapshot of his performance because of limited playing time.
“[Sacks in the preseason are] not important at all,” he said. “When you only get 25 snaps … that’s not a realistic number for me to play hard at 25. You don’t get the full feel of what the offensive tackle is doing or the inside rush.”
Bringing up his lack of sacks in the preseason also led to more confident talk from Pierre-Paul.
“I’m not worried about sacks in the preseason,” he said. “Wait a couple of weeks [for the start of the regular season], and we’ll see.”
A similar jump in production can be expected from both the Giants’ defense and their struggling offense, Pierre-Paul predicted.
“As far as defensive players, when it comes time to play hard, I think we’re going to step up and play in harmony together,” Pierre-Paul said. “Guys right now are probably getting their technique down and seeing what they can do best. As far as slacking, I know the guys will pick it up. I’m not saying they do slack, but come the first game, you’ll see a big difference in our defense and offense.”
Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell recently said he doesn’t doubt that Pierre-Paul will be able to flip the switch when games start counting again.
“He’s having fun playing the game again,” Fewell said. “When he’s got that smile on his face, then he’ll get that hunger in his eye as we build up towards the week for games, and I think you’ll see the guy perform like he can perform.”
The fact that Friday’s opponent is the Jets could result in that all-out effort Pierre-Paul plans for the regular season making an early appearance.
Asked if the game will produce more energy because it’s against the Jets, Pierre-Paul said: “I think so.”
“It’s going to be a hard game,” he added. “We’re going to play hard, and they’re going to play hard.”