Giants' Pierre-Paul starts getting comfortable

When Justin Tuck talks about Jason Pierre-Paul, it's usually with the pride of an older brother. It was Tuck who, after Pierre-Paul recorded his first NFL sack last Sunday, ran over to the rookie to congratulate him on the milestone occasion.

But Tuck wasn't always so firmly behind Pierre-Paul.

"There were times at the beginning of the year where I was thinking, 'Maybe we made a mistake with that 15th pick,' " Tuck said Thursday, echoing concerns about the rookie's work ethic and football acumen. "He's proven me completely wrong."

At a time when most first-year players are starting to feel the effects of their inaugural pro season - the infamous "rookie wall" - Pierre-Paul is starting to find his footing. He didn't have one sack Sunday, he had two. Both of them came with forced fumbles. And he was credited with seven tackles after getting only eight in the first 10 games.

"Things finally clicked," Pierre-Paul said.

The Giants knew it would take some time for that to happen. Without a base of knowledge and experience in the sport - he played less than one season of major college football before he was drafted - he was selected more for his potential than for any immediate impact he could provide.

"We have a lot of defense in and it's very difficult for a young player to recall and remember all that defense," coordinator Perry Fewell said. "He's been able to do that, and now he's capitalizing and he's able to make some plays. Some of the plays we would hope he would make earlier in the season, but because we've been able to spoon-feed him, he has been able to make those plays now."

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Tuck said his initial concerns about Pierre-Paul were "a misdiagnosis" based on the rookie being overwhelmed in his first few months.

"He wasn't a football guy," Tuck said. "He's athletic and he's really talented, but as far as football knowledge, he wasn't where most rookies are. He was kind of behind the eight ball with that."

But Tuck had his doubts assuaged by the time that Pierre-Paul spent in extra meetings with defensive line coach Robert Nunn. Tuck has been watching Pierre-Paul on the field and has been impressed with his hustle in practice and his willingness to give extra effort.

"Earlier in the year, he wasn't playing well because he didn't understand what it took to be a New York Giant on this defense and to be successful at this level," Tuck said. "Now he's watched me and Osi [Umenyiora], he's watched Dave [Tollefson], he's watched Chris [Canty], he's watched Barry [Cofield]. He's seen how we go in the weight room, how we run, and he's emulating that and it's paying benefits for him."

Pierre-Paul said he knows he still has a way to go. He said the best way for him to build on Sunday's performance is to forget it happened and pretend he still hasn't had an NFL sack. That shouldn't be too hard, given that only six days ago, that actually was the case.

"He doesn't ask a lot of questions anymore," Tuck said. "Sometimes you don't ask questions because you don't know what to ask and sometimes you don't ask questions because you don't need to. He hasn't had many mistakes in the game, so I'm looking at it as he's not asking questions because he's picked it up."