In their last two games against the Giants, which came in 2009 and 2011, the Saints have put up 97 points on their way to two blowout victories.
Despite that, defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul thinks this week’s date with New Orleans will go better than Monday night’s meeting with the Redskins. In particular, he thinks it will be “much easier” for the defense to face Drew Brees than it was to match up with Robert Griffin III in Washington’s 17-16 win.
Pierre-Paul cited the lack of the option in the New Orleans playbook as the biggest reason why things are so much easier and it generally makes sense that a defense would rather face a more traditional offense, even one that has put up the numbers the Saints have put up over the last few years. The Giants defense has had problems with offenses of all stripes this season, though, and Pierre-Paul called the defense “a little soft” while making the case that the team needs to make a statement.
“As a defense, like, we have to make a statement. We haven’t made a statement ever since, I’ll say, San Francisco. Well, I’m lying, because we did beat up on Green Bay quite a little bit. But, ever since then, we haven’t made a statement. We’ve just been losing,” Pierre-Paul said, via Jenny Vrentas of the Newark Star-Ledger. “And we’re all not playing together. When you’re a team, on an organization like this, you’ve got to play together as one. Otherwise, you’ll keep going downhill.”
The problem for the Giants hasn’t been coming up with good performances in “statement” games. Their ability to win games with their backs against the wall is fairly legendary at this point. The problem has been avoiding getting there in the first place.
Antrel Rolle thinks the team is too nice and JPP calls it being soft, but it might just be time to call it Giants football and be done with it.