Jason Pierre-Paul confident that he'll help Giants put hits on Tom Brady

Two weeks ago Drew Brees threw for 505 yards and seven touchdowns against the Giants. What will stop Tom Brady from putting up similarly prolific numbers?

According to Jason Pierre-Paul, the answer is Jason Pierre-Paul.

"I wasn't there," the defensive end said of the game in New Orleans. "I wasn't playing. There's a big difference. Everybody knows that."

The Giants certainly do. Because even though they are last in the league with 9.0 sacks in nine games (their lowest total at this point in any season since team sacks were first compiled in 1963) and haven't had a quarterback takedown since Oct. 25 (their first two-game stretch without a sack since 2010), JPP's presence alone has given them confidence in the pass rush.

Certainly Pierre-Paul has confidence in himself.

"Of course we're going to get to the quarterback," he said matter-of-factly. "I know I am."

That ability, surely you recall, was the key to beating the Patriots in the last two Giants Super Bowl appearances. The team was able to put hits on Brady, fluster and frustrate him, and do it with just their front four.

This year, the Giants do not seem to have that kind of ability. At least they have not yet demonstrated it. But with Pierre-Paul in the mix, the players are feeling it more than at any other point this season.

"We've always had hope," defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins said, "but it was definitely a positive to be able to see him. We looked a lot faster in the fourth quarter against the Bucs than we have most of the other games. That's something we have to build off of."

Defensive end Robert Ayers called Pierre-Paul "a force who has to be accounted for."

"The more guys you have like that on the team, the better," he said, comparing the defense to the Giants' receiving group of Odell Beckham Jr., Rueben Randle and (eventually) Victor Cruz. "He gets a lot of attention, so I definitely felt [his presence]."

Even Pierre-Paul, though, noted that this Giants group is different from the ones that tormented Brady in previous meetings. They'll have to be craftier and work together.

"It was me, [Justin] Tuck, Osi [Umenyiora] -- those were pass-rushers," Pierre-Paul said. "We have pass-rushers, but we have to work together and that's what we're doing now . . . We have to be synced. And we could do that this Sunday. We did it last week. Things change."

Pierre-Paul should only be more effective this week, his second game since returning from the hand injuries in a fireworks accident on July 4. He said he felt "rusty" after last week's season debut and compared it to his return from back surgery in 2013.

"Anytime you have an injury you're going to be iffy about stuff," he said. "I find myself being iffy about stuff. Just like my back surgery, I was scared to turn the corner and at some point in that season I turned the corner."

It took a while for him to regain his form in 2013. He suspects this will happen quicker.

"Yeah, I'm missing an index finger," he said, "but my back was worse."

Tom Coughlin said Pierre-Paul "proved that he's a highly conditioned athlete and was at his best probably when his best was needed at the end of the game. So I expect that he'll rev it up and be ready to go for even more."

Perhaps he and the Giants defensive line can "turn the corner" against the Patriots.

Pierre-Paul spoke about the challenges that Brady poses, with his pocket maneuverability and ability to get the ball out "in 2.5 seconds, maybe less than that." But it's still a possibility.

"He could have an off game," Pierre-Paul said of Brady. "He might be sick. You don't know. Anything can happen. We're going to do the best we can. I hope he's sick. That'd be better for us."

Not that it matters to his confidence. When asked a question that included the premise that the Giants wound not be able to regularly reach Brady, Pierre-Paul shrugged off the possibility of failure.

"You don't know that," he said. "You have to wait until the game."

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.