The arrival of old friend Jason Pierre-Paul for Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium should shake to the core the entire Giants organization and serve as a reminder of what used to be and what unquestionably no longer is.
Just as much as Eli Manning’s postseason heroics, just as much as the yeoman’s work of the offensive line, it was a ferocious pass rush that fueled the two most recent Super Bowl runs. Winning it all after the 2007 and 2011 seasons was in many ways as much a byproduct of relentless pressure from Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Pierre-Paul than it was anything the Giants accomplished with Manning throwing it to Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks or handing it to Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw.