Jason Pierre-Paul and the New York Giants defensive line will undoubtedly present a challenge for the Houston Texans when they meet this Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Head coach Bill O'Brien had nothing but high praise for the G-Men, whose 0-2 record he believes is not indicative of the squad's talent.
Despite the Giants' aggressive play on the defensive side of the ball, Texans players and coaches have confidence in the offensive line. O'Brien, who presented the entire O-line with a game ball in the Week 2 victory over Oakland, expressed his satisfaction with the position group during Wednesday's press conference.
"I like this offensive line," O'Brien said. "I think that they play well together. They're really good teammates, none of them are selfish. They're all very good communicators.
"One of the things that I really enjoy about offensive football is the offensive line. I've been around some really good offensive lines at this level. Just the jump they made from Game 1 to Game 2 was really good to see. We challenged them last week and they came out and played well. They're gonna have to do it again this week. There's another challenge in front of them this week. But I really enjoy watching these guys work together."
Fourth-year right tackle Derek Newton, in particular, has impressed.
"He has worked extremely hard since I've been here," O'Brien said of Newton. "He had a very good offseason. He was here the whole time, he became stronger, came back in better condition, and he's athletic. He's the guy that if we wanted to move him over to left tackle, he would really be the next left tackle.
"He's played very, very well in the first two games, and hopefully he can continue to do that."
"(Newton)'s grown leaps and bounds from when he first got here and even last year," echoed running back Arian Foster. "You saw him grow in training camp when I think Duane (Brown) had missed a day of training camp practicing against the Falcons, and just to see how that day helped him grow and how he helped throughout the day and he took that confidence that he gained from that day, and he's just a totally different player then he was. I've seen it. I'm extremely happy for him because anytime you see somebody kind of thrown into the fire as a young player, you see their confidence grow throughout their career. It's always a great thing to see."
