It's like throwing in a forest, dude.
Those are Tom Brady's words captured from the sidelines of Super Bowl XLVI against the Giants. The "forest" he referenced were the arms of Jason Pierre-Paul, who blocked two of his passes in the game, and JPP's fellow Giants defensive linemen.
Brady and the rest of the NFL witnessed the emergence of JPP this past season and the defensive end was ranked No. 24 in the latest segment of NFL Network's "Top 100: Players of 2012."
"JPP is just," former teammate and current Redskins NT Barry Cofield began, looking for the right words. "It's almost scary how good he can be. He's still a baby when it comes to football in terms of technique, but physically he's a man amongst boys. He's one of the most amazing athletes I've ever seen for his size. It's hard to fathom a guy who's 270 pounds could be that nimble, that quick."
In his second season, Jason Pierre-Paul notched 16.5 sacks and was named first-team All-Pro. A stat that may be overlooked is he led all defensive linemen with 87 combined tackles. Bills running back Fred Jackson certainly won't forget it, though.
"He's always around the ball," said Jackson, who was ranked No. 83 on the same list. "It could be 30 yards down the field and he's running down there, chasing somebody down and getting a part in the play. He's got to be one of the most athletic defensive lineman in the league. His engine never stops. He's making sacks and making tackles. He's doing everything for them."
Division rivals also got to know Pierre-Paul this season. Eagles offensive linemen Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans were interviewed in the segment.
"Another guy with an incredible amount of physical talent and ability," Mathis said. "And his wingspan is ridiculous. As an offensive lineman, our number one job is keeping him off the quarterback, but when you stop him at the line, the guy wants to put his hands up. If we don't have time to react and try to get his hands down, a lot of times the quarterback doesn't adjust his throwing lane, it could end up as a batted ball."
"Another thing people might sleep on him is about how strong he is," Herremans added. "He threw me on the ground one play and I really don't feel like I've been thrown to the ground since I was a rookie. I thought he was going to give me a speed rush upfield and I just kind of got my weight going offside and he just dumped me to the ground. I had to swallow my pride a little bit on that one."
With just two episodes to go, here's a look at the list:
- RB Chris Johnson, Titans
- C Ryan Kalil, Panthers
- RB Willis McGahee, Broncos
- OT Donald Penn, Buccaneers
- LB D'Qwell Jackson, Browns
- QB Tim Tebow, Jets
- RB Marshawn Lynch, Seahawks
- CB Cortland Finnegan, Rams
- FB John Kuhn, Packers
- QB Tony Romo, Cowboys
90. WR Hakeem Nicks, Giants
89. DE Dwight Freeney, Colts
88. RB Michael Turner, Falcons
87. LB London Fletcher, Redskins
86. RB Darren Sproles, Saints
85. LB NaVorro Bowman, 49ers
84. DE Chris Long, Rams
83. RB Fred Jackson, Bills
82. OT Joe Thomas, Browns
81. DT Vince Wilfork, Patriots
- WR Jordy Nelson, Packers
- Nnamdi Asomugha, Eagles
- LB Derrick Johnson, Chiefs
- WR A.J. Green, Bengals
- OL Carl Nicks, Buccaneers
- TE Jason Witten, Cowboys
- QB Joe Flacco, Ravens
- CB Johnathan Joseph Texans
- LB Lance Briggs, Bears
- WR DeSean Jackson, Eagles
- QB Michael Vick, Eagles
- CB Carolos Rogers, 49ers
- DE Elvis Dumervil, Broncos
- OT Joe Staley, 49ers
- S Earl Thomas, Seahawks
- WR Roddy White, Falcons
- G Logan Mankins, Patriots
- LB LaMarr Woodley, Steelers
62. DE Justin Tuck , Giants - QB Philip Rivers, Chargers
- RB Darren McFadden, Raiders
- OT Jake Long, Dolphins
- LB Jonathan Vilma, Saints
- DE Trent Cole, Eagles
- WR Greg Jennings, Packers
- CB Patrick Peterson, Cardinals
- LB Brian Cushing, Texans
- TE Tony Gonzalez, Falcons
- LB Von Miller, Broncos
- LB Brian Urlacher, Bears
- QB Peyton Manning, Broncos
- C Maurkice Pouncey, Steelers
- WR Devin Hester, Bears
- WR Mike Wallace, Steelers
- CB Champ Bailey, Broncos
- FB Vonta Leach, Ravens
- DE Jason Babin, Eagles
- TE Vernon Davis, 49ers
- OT Jason Peters, Eagles
- QB Matthew Stafford, Lions
- QB Cam Newton, Panthers
39. WR Victor Cruz, Giants - DT Ndamukong Suh, Lions
- RB Steven Jackson, Rams
- CB Charles Woodson, Packers
- WR Steve Smith, Panthers
- LB Tamba Hali, Chiefs
- RB Matt Forte, Bears
- G Jahri Evans, Saints
*31. QB Eli Manning, Giants
*30. QB Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers
29. LB James Harrison, Steelers
28. RB Frank Gore, 49ers
27. LB Clay Matthews, Packers
26. DE Julius Peppers, Bears
25. RB Arian Foster, Texans
*24. DE Jason Pierre-Paul, Giants
*23. WR Wes Welker, Patriots
22. RB Ray Rice, Ravens
21. TE Rob Gronkowski, Patriots
