DE Jason Pierre-Paul
December 7, 2015
Q: Tom [Coughlin] says, “You’ll win when you deserve to win”.
A: I agree.
Q: How close are you to that?
A: I don’t know. All the guys came in today, we watched film, so we know exactly what we need to do to get this team going.
Q: You know what you need to do to get the team…
A: I said we know what to do. Coming in and not having bad practices, execute our plays betters, and play some great football.
Q: Is it, maybe difficult isn’t the right word, but does it require a focus that even though you lost yesterday, you lost three straight, that you’re still in it in the division? Is it almost kind of hard to wrap your head around it but at the same time you have to?
A: I mean, we’re still in it. Anything can happen any given Sunday. You just have to go out there and play some great football. The tackles that we missed, we have to make those tackles, yards after the catch, we can’t let that happen, and we have to get to the quarterback faster. We have to play the run even better as a defense, basically all of those things.
Q: Justin [Pugh] said last night that if you guys can get to the playoffs, you’re a dangerous team. Do you feel that way?
A: I think anytime we make the playoffs, we’re a dangerous team. It doesn’t matter when we make the playoffs or where, how we got in it. You know once we get in, it’s one and done, and everybody knows that for sure. I think the playoffs are a beautiful thing, only the good teams make it, and hopefully we get back in it this year.
Q: Do you feel like the leaders, guys like you and Eli [Manning], maybe some of the other guys who have been here, have to convince this group?
A: For me, I think my play says it all. It’s only my fourth game back, I’m getting better and better each game and I’m not the type of guy that does a lot of talking. I let my play do the talking for me. As far as other guys, if they follow, they follow. I’m more of a guy that whenever I’m on the field, I’m going to give 110% no matter how I feel and they see it.
Q: Coach Coughlin mentioned today there was a ball at the line of scrimmage he thought you might have been able to pick off.
A: Yeah, he mentioned it to me. I didn’t really see it until he mentioned it to me, but I watched the film and I probably could’ve made that play. I was too busy trying to get to the quarterback and trying to get there fast enough, so I didn’t play that technique well enough. It’s football. I feel like as long as you’re going fast and you’re giving 100 percent effort, then if you see it, you see it. If you get there late, you get there late, but I didn’t see it at all. I was just going 100 percent.
Q: Like you didn’t see the ball?
A: I didn’t see the ball at all. On film you see I could have probably made that play.
Q: Is that just a lack of awareness?
A: My awareness wasn’t that good on that play.
Q: You think maybe 10, 12, 14 games into a season, maybe you…
A: Yeah, of course, of course I would have seen that play, but I didn’t.
Q: Are you satisfied with everybody’s effort? You talk about your own a lot.
A: Yeah, I’m satisfied with my team’s effort. I speak for the defense. Like I said, I don’t know if a guy is going 100 percent, only they know. When the game is over, there is no need to argue or be very pissed off. I feel like if you give that effort, then you did your best. I feel like I did the best I could and I only want to get better from there. I came in today and looked at film and I know where I need to get better at.
Q: You had a much larger wrap and club on your hand.
A: You think so? I don’t think so. I think it was the same as I’ve been using since I came in.
Q: It seemed like your thumb was a covered up a little more?
A: I don’t know.
Q: You don’t know?
A: I don’t remember. It’s not in my locker so I don’t know.
Q: You’ve been to the top of the mountain with this team before. A lot of other fellas who have only been here the past three years, they haven’t been there. What do you tell them about the kind of push that’s necessary to get you guys into contention again?
A: I’ve been there, I’ve been to a Super Bowl, I’ve been to the playoffs, we made the run my second year I was here with those other guys. No matter what the negativity was on the outside, what people were saying about us, we came together as a team and that’s very special to have when all the guys come together as a team. I’m talking about special teams, offense, and defense. If the offense wasn’t doing well, the defense made the plays until the offense does well, and I just think if we come in like that with that mindset, then we can actually go far. We’ve got four games left and we can win all four of them, but it’s all up to the players, man. The players have to give it all in and come in and practice, even if you’re hurt, just come in and do your job. You’re going to be banged up around this time of the season.
Q: Has there been much pep talk between the offense, defense, and specials? Have guys crossed those lines to kind of pep each other?
A: Yeah, but as a player, you take in what you want to take in. It’s been improvement, you see the guys on punt return just getting after it and stuff. I think as a team we need to come together as a team and communicate.
Q: When you guys had that run in 2011, you had a lot of vocal leaders on that team, Antrel [Rolle], Osi [Umenyiora], [Justin] Tuck, do you feel like this team has that vocal leadership, too?
A: I don’t know that was in 2011. The faces have changed. We have vocal leaders but like I say, I’m not a vocal person, my play does my speaking, and that’s basically it for me. You’ve got other guys who like to talk, but I’m more of a do it all on the field, don’t say it. You’ll see every Sunday who’s putting their heart out there, so that’s basically it.
