It’s late July, and no one has put on pads yet. So naturally, they all think they’re going to the Super Bowl.
OK, maybe not the Jets.
But New York’s other team is in position to contend for the title, according to their longest-tenured defensive player.
“I think the key is we added a lot of guys and people are like ‘Wow, this year has to be a team that goes to a Super Bowl this year,’ ’’ Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said, via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. “But it’s all about the hard work.’’
Much of that offseason work included signing Pierre-Paul to a long-term deal, though the rest of their big moves were on offense after last year’s splurge on defensive free agents. And has hard as it may be to believe, the 28-year-old is an elder statesman now, with only quarterback Eli Manning and long snapper Zak DeOssie having been there longer.
“That’s crazy,’’ he said. “Nobody on that defense has been here longer than me, I’ve been there the longest, I know what it takes to get to the Super Bowl, to bring a Giants pride in our heart. That’s what defense is really about.’’
And because it’s late July, they (along with everyone else in the league) think that will lead them to Minnesota for the Super Bowl.