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Though he's been practicing and feeling pretty well New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul hasn't made a decision as to whether or not he can play Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys in the season opener.
Pierre-Paul returned to practice last week after recovering from back surgery he had in June. It's no use talking to coaches or doctors of the team because the only one making this decision is Pierre-Paul himself -- at least that's Pierre-Paul's version of the story. That decision, by the way, is coming on Friday.
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"It'll be on me definitely if I could play or not. It's all on Friday," said Pierre-Paul. "Two days from now you'll know my answer if I'm playing or not in the game."
Pierre-Paul may not be sure about his status for Sunday night, but he is still practicing everyday. He's taking more responsibility for his health and at the same time is dying to get out in a game.
"I'm very anxious. Who won't be anxious?" said Pierre-Paul. "I haven't played a preseason game so if I do play this Sunday night this will be my first time actually getting out there and showing everybody what I got off the back surgery. I'm very excited to see if I'm going to make it there Sunday night."
If Pierre-Paul were to play he's not sure if he'll be taking a full snap load Sunday night. That decision is, of course, on the coaching staff. They will just have to wait for Friday to see if he's ready.
"It's all on the coaches if they want to see me out there and take more snaps," said Pierre-Paul. "I normally take more snaps anyways, but it's a day-to-day process and I'm going out there just to see what I can do."
Either way when or if Pierre-Paul is ready to go, but is possibly limited in snaps he doesn't want it to be just a few. If he's out there he wants to make sure he makes his presence known. Only a healthy Pierre-Paul can do that.
"When it comes to games like this I like to be a big factor in the game and I don't want to put myself out there and only do 20 snaps and those 20 snaps are not really what counts to win the game," said Pierre-Paul. "I like to go out there and take all the snaps if I can."
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