Jason Pierre-Paul To Have Back Surgery

[PTBG]

Well, this is newsy, no? Adam Schefter reports that New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is having back surgery today. I mean, I know the report says the Giants expect him back in time for the season, but you never know with surgeries, or backs, and so you have to worry at least a little bit if you're a Giants fan.

We've discussed this on here before, but the reason Pierre-Paul matters to the Giants as much as any player other than Eli Manning is that he has a level of talent that could help elevate the team above its annual nine-win pattern and back into championship form. His emergence and dominance down the 2011-12 stretch was a big reason the Giants' pass rush was able to help deliver the team's most recent Super Bowl title. And while there is some level of coverage here -- Mathias Kiwanuka is certainly good enough to take over as a starting defensive end in Pierre-Paul's place, and as Ohm writes here there are younger guys who should get more offseason reps now -- there's no one on the team with Pierre-Paul's blend of speed, athleticism and instinct for the pass rush. Put simply, when he's at his best, Pierre-Paul has the ability to win a game by himself, as he did a critical game in Dallas in December of 2011.

The Giants have major question marks at every level of their defense as this offseason gets underway. The linebacker corps is a total mystery, and there are legitimate questions about how much they improved a secondary that was a big problem for them last year. The whole thing works off the pass rush, and without Pierre-Paul that pass rush becomes less dominant. When the pass rush becomes less dominant, the weaknesses at the second and third levels become more pronounced.

Now, maybe the optimistic timetable is to be trusted. Maybe Pierre-Paul's relative struggles last year were due to a back injury and the fact that he's getting it taken care of is a good thing that will help him return to peak form in 2013. Maybe he really can't be 100 percent ready in time for the season opener three months from now. But if he's not -- if there are setbacks in his recovery or if it goes slowly -- the Giants will have added a monster concern at a position where they previously had reason to expect to be not solid but spectacular.

If JPP is missing time, than there goes the Giants defense. He was great 2 years ago, but imo was mad overhyped last year and wasn't as good as 2 years ago, but a great draft pick though by the Giants.

 

[heisenburrr]

without JPP that defense is swiss cheese status

 

[obarth]

Only thing that worries me will be his conditioning going into the season if he misses a substantial amount of camp. Backs can be tricky lingering issues, but he's young.

 

[Rev]

If JPP is missing time, than there goes the Giants defense. He was great 2 years ago, but imo was mad overhyped last year and wasn't as good as 2 years ago, but a great draft pick though by the Giants.

ehh...it's looking like he under-performed because of the fact that he had a bad back, which even needed epidural shots throughout the season in order to not miss games.

 

[PTBG]

ehh...it's looking like he under-performed because of the fact that he had a bad back, which even needed epidural shots throughout the season in order to not miss games.

True that. I was like when he made the Pro Bowl last season when he didn't have that good of a year, but he still is young as fukk, and still has even more time to get even more better. But, the Giants D without JPP though would be

 

[Adebisi_Said]

No more tossing Prince in ice water.

 

[Frump]

without JPP that defense is swiss cheese status

It was with him last year

 

[GoPro]

Wtf didn't he have this surgery when the season ended? Giants might be going for a high draft pick this year with not paying Nicks, Cruz, and now this dumb move

 

[Ku$h Parker]

Wtf didn't he have this surgery when the season ended? Giants might be going for a high draft pick this year with not paying Nicks, Cruz, and now this dumb move

#TankForClowney

 

[Kings County]

ehh...it's looking like he under-performed because of the fact that he had a bad back, which even needed epidural shots throughout the season in order to not miss games.

so why is he waiting till june to get it ? he shoulda got these in janurary

 

[Rev]

so why is he waiting till june to get it ? he shoulda got these in janurary

I don't know why this happens with alotta athletes. Could be a wait and see first thing, could be a formality thing, could be an insurance thing.

For example, Danilo Gallinari tore his ACL in mid April or so, but didn't get the surgery til this week.