Giants' teammates show support for Jason Pierre-Paul

In some of the biggest news of the summer, wayward defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has returned to the New York Giants.

It has been well reported, to say the least, how Pierre-Paul injured his hand in a fireworks accident on the 4th of July. The injuries resulted in a fractured thumb and the loss of a finger. How he shut out the Giants following his injury and throughout much of his recovery.

But now Pierre-Paul is back in East Rutherford, and his teammates are happy to see him back.

Fellow defensive end Robert Ayers believes that JPP will provide a lift to the whole defense, and not just with his play.

"Like I just said, not just on the field type thing—just the morale of the unit. He's a true warrior for us. He's put in a lot of work for us. He's grinded, he's busted his butt for us and this team. To have him back is going to lift everyone's spirit, because every day he's on our minds—worrying about him, thinking about him, wishing him well. To see him back, see his smile and his energy that he brings to this unit—it's really going to lift us up. How he plays, and if he plays, and when he plays—that's another thing. But just being around your brother, that's big."

The big question for the Giants and fans alike is what how will JPP play, and how will he adapt to Steve Spagnuolo's defense. Robert Ayers, for one, isn't worried.

"That's like asking me, ‘How hard will it be for a Ferrari to get going?' Again, that's what he is. I view him as a well-oiled machine. He's a very smart guy, so I can't tell you how long it's going to take for him to get things going. He's going to do everything he can to get ready. Some guys learn faster than others. I'm not the smartest fish in the barrel myself. So he may catch on, be right there. But I definitely expect him, whenever he's ready, to be full-tilt and to give it his all, and do whatever it takes for him to be ready. That's the one thing I can promise you, he's going to prepare. The results, we're going to see.

"Pass rushing is not necessarily about pushing and grabbing and pulling. It's about hand combat -- you put your hand on me, I knock it off. You do something, I lift. If you watch JPP and truly study him, he's not a big grab guy. You've got some guys who rush the passer and play the run that push, pull, grab guys like that. But JPP is so powerful, sometimes he just lifts guys without grabbing them. So for his game, the way he plays, and the way I study him and see the things he does—I think he'll be alright. But a lot of injuries is the mental part of it. Like for me, for example, dealing with an ankle or whatever, you have to get over the mental part and teach yourself that you're okay. I think once he does that, once he feels comfortable, I think he'll be the same JPP that we have all grown to love and see. I'm looking forward to it and I'm excited for it. I just want to get him back and work with my guys. I'm looking forward to it."

Giants quarterback Eli Manning was also asked about JPP's return. As the face of the franchise and the leader of the offense Eli's perspective is a bit different than Ayers, but his primary concern is still welcoming Pierre-Paul back into the locker room

"...we'll see how everything goes and when he can get back to playing. So, still a lot of uncertainty. We've just got to focus on getting ready for the Cowboys and going out there, everybody doing their job. When he can come back and join us, that'll be great.

Well, obviously just welcome him back and try to get him caught up to speed. It's a new defensive system for us. Try to get him up to date on that. Obviously, it's a locker room, it's a close group, close-knit group. We'll welcome him back and he's a part of the team. Get him back and support him in his process to getting back to playing.

It's just business [as usual]. You get a guy who's back, he's been here. He's made plays. Obviously, circumstances occur, but we welcome everybody back. Hopefully he can come back and be healthy and play some good football for us."

Ultimately, while Eli has an interest in welcoming JPP back into the locker room, but as he alluded to, his concentration has to be getting the offense ready to face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night.

"Hopefully we can give him a boost. Hopefully, we just keep going. And hey, it's time to play football. We've got Dallas this week, if that's not a boost enough—we've got the first upcoming game, I don't know what will get these guys going.

Again, just wait and see. I don't know how he's feeling. Obviously, he wasn't out there today. So I think you just plan and prepare as if he won't be out there. If he can back and practice this week—great. If not, we'll just keep going forward and wait until he gets back."