pierrepaul.JPG

Jason Pierre-Paul's sack total dropped this season as he faced double and triple teams. GM Jerry Reese thinks Michael Strahan can offer helpful advice.

(Photo by Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger)

Jason Pierre-Paul's sack total in 2011: 16.5. His sack total in 2012: 6.5.

After his phenomenal breakout season, the third-year Giants defensive end had to get used to life as a marked man. And general manager Jerry Reese knows just the person to help.

"The guy I would love for him to talk to in the offseason some is Michael Strahan," Reese said in an interview with Mike Francesa on WFAN Radio today. "After Michael became the superstar defensive end, he was getting double-teamed, he was getting chipped, but he was still getting sacks. The great ones still get through there and make plays. And he’s got to do that."

Strahan, of course, played 15 seasons for the Giants before retiring after Super Bowl XLII. The future Hall of Fame defensive end posted double-digit sack totals six times in his career, including his NFL-record 22.5 sacks in 2001.

If anyone understands what Pierre-Paul faced this season -- double and triple teams, chips and motions to his side -- it is Strahan. And Reese believes Strahan can help the former first-round pick get over the hump.

"It’s frustrating for a young player. But to be a superstar defensive end, a pass rusher in this league, you have to beat those double-team blocks," Reese said. "I am going to reach out to Michael Strahan this offseason and see if we can have him have some conversations with JPP and just tell him, 'Look, it is inside your chest, a lot of it.' You’ve got to have the heart to do it, and I think he does. But I think if he hears from somebody like Michael Strahan, that will really encourage him. "

Strahan is no stranger to the Giants since he retired. In fact, he visited the defensive line meeting room before the 49ers game with a similar message. The Giants recorded six sacks in that 26-3 win, including two from Pierre-Paul.

The Giants' sack totals were down as a team this year: They recorded just 33 sacks, 22nd most in the NFL, a drop-off from last season's third-best 48 sacks.

"I’d like to make some excuses for them, but we didn’t get the job done," Reese said. "There were some things to try to counter our pass rush, but the No. 1 thing, we didn’t get it done. The pass rush didn’t get it done, and they feel badly about it. Those guys have a lot of pride up front."

Coach Tom Coughlin agreed, telling WFAN today, "it wasn’t always chips, it wasn’t always double teams, we didn’t win the one-on-one battles."

But Coughlin thinks the defensive front, Pierre-Paul in particular, will learn from what took place this season.

"He is still a premier, premier football player and pass rusher as well," Coughlin said of Pierre-Paul. "He’ll benefit tremendously from looking at and studying the way in which people went about their business this year. Because it didn’t happen all the time. They don’t chip you on every play, they don’t slide that way on every play. Sometimes you do have that opportunity, but you’ve got to be able to take advantage of it when it’s there."

Jenny Vrentas: jvrentas@starledger.com; twitter.com/JennyVrentas

NJ.com has free mobile phone apps for Giants, Jets and Rutgers football. Download today for iPhone or Android.