Football is a team game that doesn't have shared and equal salaries. Players are paid individually, commensurate to their own personal success and performance.



Sometimes the lines (and salaries) can blur. Was former Seahawks cornerback Bryon Maxwell really that good or did he look better than he actually was because he played alongside All-Pros Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas in the league's best secondary?



The Eagles thought Maxwell was the real deal and offered him a contract that paid $63 million over six years as a free agent. Maxwell's first year in Philadelphia wasn't all that encouraging.

The Giants have to make a similar determination within their own house. Was defensive end Robert Ayers really that good or did he look better than he actually is because he played opposite Jason Pierre-Paul?



Ayers, 30, had a career-best 9.5 sacks this past season, with 8.5 of them coming after Pierre-Paul returned for the second half of the season. Pierre-Paul missed the first eight games following a Fourth of July weekend fireworks accident that cost him his right index finger and parts of two others.



Based on the comments section, email and Twitter, it has come to my attention there is a large faction that believe Ayers' success was largely contingent on Pierre-Paul's presence. I wasn't so sure.



My original thought was it had more to do with Ayers being healthy than anything else. Ayers hurt his ankle in pregame warmups during a preseason contest and later missed four games (Weeks 3-6) with a hamstring injury. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said during the season it took Ayers several games to get back up to full speed following the hamstring problem, which included a setback at practice as he tried to return.



It wasn't until Week 8 that Ayers hit full stride. He received a +4.5 grade (per Pro Football Focus) that week with four hurries against the Saints.

Ayers' return to full health just so happened to coincide directly with Pierre-Paul's return to the lineup. So I decided to examine the 9.5 sacks and see just how much Pierre-Paul factored into the increased production.

(Note: Ayers had six hurries in a Week 1 loss to Dallas without Pierre-Paul. That was the third most of all players in the opening week. He had a sack in Week 2 before hurting his hamstring. He was never fully healthy again until Week 8.)

Sack 1: Fourth quarter of Week 2 vs. Atlanta

This is just Ayers (91) sticking to his assignment and not falling for the play-action fake. He's unblocked. It had nothing to do with Pierre-Paul, who was still unsigned and recovering at the time.



Sack 2: Fourth quarter of a Week 10 loss to the Patriots

This is Ayers abusing Brian Stork (normally a center playing right tackle) around the edge. It has nothing to do with Pierre-Paul (90), who made zero progress against the left side of the Patriots line on the play. If anything it was Markus Kuhn (78) who deserved an assist.

Sack 3: First quarter of a Week 13 loss to the Jets

Ayers is on the right side on this play. He overpowers left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, but is also aided by the rush of Pierre-Paul. Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was trying to escape when he ran into Ayers. Give Pierre-Paul an assist on this play.

Sack 4: Fourth quarter of a Week 13 loss to the Jets

This is all Ayers working from the interior. He quickly beats the Jets guard for the sack. But as former Giants defensive line coach Robert Nunn said upon Pierre-Paul's return: "It opens some things up for Robert. Robert can move inside more, which is what he does best is rush inside, so having [JPP] back certainly opens up other opportunities for everybody else." This is the first of three takedowns Ayers has from the interior.

Sack 5: Late second quarter of a Week 14 win over the Dolphins

Again this is Ayers working from the interior. He benefits from Pierre-Paul's pressure off the left edge.

Sack 6: Early second quarter of a Week 15 loss to the Panthers

This is all courtesy of Ayers' violent hands. He works Carolina left tackle Michael Oher all the way into quarterback Cam Newton. This has nothing to do with Pierre-Paul, even if the line appears to shift toward his side.

Sack 7: Late third quarter of a Week 15 loss to the Panthers

Ayers uses his speed off the edge in a goal-line situation. Pierre-Paul isn't even on the field.

Sack 7.5: First quarter of a Week 16 loss to the Vikings



This sack was split with defensive end George Selvie. Ayers was working from the interior on the same side as Pierre-Paul. Still, this sack was all Ayers. Pierre-Paul was handled well by the left tackle.

Sack 8.5: Late second quarter of a Week 16 loss to the Vikings

About that left tackle. Ayers beats Vikings left tackle Matt Kalil with straight speed off the edge. Kalil can't even get his hands on him. Pierre-Paul isn't a factor in the sack. He's busy chucking the wide receiver in the slot at the line of scrimmage.

Sack 9.5: Early third quarter of a Week 17 loss to the Eagles

This is just Ayers overpowering injured left tackle Jason Peters into a sack. Still impressive and nothing to do with Pierre-Paul, who didn't get anywhere against right tackle Lane Johnson.

Final tally: Five of Ayers' sacks came working off the right side, 2.5 came from the interior and two off the left edge. Pierre-Paul, who rarely faced double teams upon his return, only directly contributed to two of Ayers' 9.5 sacks.

Maybe most impressive from Ayers is that he did much of his damage against the opposition's left tackle, which is usually their best tackle. He had sacks against the

'

, Vikings' Matt Kalil, Eagles'

and Panthers' Michael Oher. Those are some quality players.

This is just one of the reasons Ayers, 30, will be coveted in free agency. That and no other player on the market (Von Miller and Muhammad Wilkerson will be designated franchise players) had more sacks in 2015 than Ayers.

TALK IS CHEAP, Ep. 42: Which free agents should Giants keep?

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Jordan Raanan may be reached at jraanan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JordanRaanan. Find NJ.com Giants on Facebook.