Giants vs. Patriots: Are New York's Rushers in Tom Brady's Head?

New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul had a fantastic second professional season, as he racked up 16.5 sacks and earned first-team All-Pro honors. While that is all great, Pierre-Paul made a big mistake on on Thursday, claiming New York's pass rush was in New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's head. 

You can't rip on the kid's confidence, but giving Brady bulletin board material just a few days before Super Bowl XLVI is as bad an idea as I can think of.

Pierre-Paul based his assessment on the Week 9 matchup between the two teams, which the Giants won 24-20. In that game, Brady completed 28-of-49 passes for 342 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was sacked twice, and on a play in the third quarter he clearly flinched in the pocket with no rusher near him.

Yes, that was probably an embarrassing moment for the 34-year-old signal-caller, but it certainly doesn't mean the Giants are in his head. Frankly, Brady has seen enough over his career that I seriously doubt he gets rattled by anything at this point. 

The Giants have a fantastic pass rush that racked up 48 sacks during the regular season, and has produced nine more in three postseason games. That said, the Patriots only allowed 32 sacks this season, while piling up 612 pass attempts. That is a remarkably low number.

Expecting Brady to be rattled by a little pressure when his offensive line has been that good all year is probably wishful thinking on the part of Pierre-Paul. But he's a young guy and made a huge mistake by essentially taunting Brady. It was a terrible move that could end up coming back to haunt the Giants.