Eli Manning Q & A

Eli Manning Q & A

Quarterback Eli Manning has played in the shadow of his older brother ever since he entered the NFL. There were those who even viewed him as the 'Bad" Manning because he hadn't performed on the same level as his brother, Peyton. But against the Packers, little brother Eli came through for his team and now will be playing in the Super Bowl. He addressed his feelings on achieving what no one thought he could this year.  

 What was the plane ride back last night like?

It was just fun.  Guys were walking around.  A lot of high fives, handshakes, and guys just fired-up.  I was sitting next to Jeff Feagles who has been in the league 20 years and it is the first time he is going to the Super Bowl so you never know when it is going to be your opportunity, you never know when you are going to get a shot.  We got a shot and we are going to make the most of it because you don’t know when or if you will ever get back.

What did you learn about the Patriots when you played them last?

They are good.  They are a good team.  We have to play our best football and we have to play perfect football if we want to win.  That is the mindset we have to go into the game with and we are going to have to play great.  They are talented and they find ways to win.  Nothing is going to be easy and we are going to have to prepare well and play well. 

Has it sunk in yet?

Yeah, kind of, I guess.  I don’t know.  Today you start getting your plans and you start preparing for it.  I am sure I am going to start getting ticket requests and will have to deal with those things so I am going to try to take the first couple days and get everything prepared, talk to your family and friends and see who is coming to the game, and then we come in on Thursday and start practice.  From there on it is going to be work.  You can take it all in and you can enjoy it the first couple days but nobody remembers who loses the Super Bowl, it is about winning it.

What have the past 12 hours been like?

It has been a fun experience.  Last night it was tough to fall asleep.  You sit up, you watch ESPN, you watch all the sports shows, and you just kind of see it happening and realize we are going to the Super Bowl and everything we have done to prepare for it; we have finally made it work and we made it happen.

When you last played the Patriots did you have some hope that you would get to see them again?

You didn’t know if they were going to be in the Super Bowl but you hoped you had another opportunity.  We thought we played pretty well against them but we didn’t play perfect.  We made enough mistakes to put us in a situation where they won the game.  We know now we are going to have to play great football to beat them because they are a heck of a team, a lot of good players, they find ways to win, and we are going to have to go in with the mindset that we have to play perfect.  We can’t make any mistakes, but we are capable of doing that.

Was that loss a springboard for this postseason run?

I think so.  I think it definitely helped.  We have played in some tough games and had some bad weather conditions the couple weeks before and we weren’t playing our best football and all of a sudden that week we had a great mindset.  We were going in to try to beat an undefeated team and we played good football.  We gave ourselves a shot to win, we fell short, but it got our confidence going.  It got us playing good football, it got us back in a rhythm and from then on we have been on a hot streak.  We have been playing great football and finding ways to win and hopefully we can keep that going, but we know they are a good team and we know what it is going to take to beat them.

What are your thoughts about going up against a team that is trying to make history?

I think it is a great opportunity.  This is the position you want to be in.  We like making things tough on ourselves.  We like the tough situations.  You are going against a team that is undefeated in the Super Bowl and it is not going to be easy.  It is going to be a tough game but that is when we have been playing our best football. 

How physically and emotionally drained are you after all you have been through?

Yeah, just the last couple weeks it is a lot of emotion.  From winning your first playoff game to going into Dallas and beating the number one team in the NFC to last night playing in the cold in Green Bay.  There was a lot of excitement, a lot of hard work, but definitely it is good to have a week off and take it all in, get some rest, and come back refreshed and playing good football.

Is there any part of you that says to the naysayers, ‘take that! I can do it’?

No.  This is bigger than that.  This is about this team.  It is about the players, the coaches, everybody who has believed in us, who has had no doubt and just comes to work every day preparing and keeps working.  That is what it is about.  It is not about proving anything to anybody.  It is just about doing it for yourself, doing it for your teammates.

Is the extra week off a worry about losing momentum?

No, I don’t think so.  I think it will do us well.  We have a few guys who are banged-up, you get those guys back healthy.  You get to kind of take it all in for a couple days before you start work but once we start practice we have the mindset of preparing to play a game.  It is a little different because I think you get your best practices while you are here and we will try to get that Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Those are kind of your big practices where you have to get a lot of your work in and then again, you have a week left to play the game.  It is about getting great practices this week and then once you get down to Arizona, I guess over to Arizona, you have to have a great mental capacity to just take everything in, remember what you are doing, and get good work.  I think we are going to have to get in our best work this week.

What was your conversation with Peyton like?

I talked to him last night briefly and he just said, ‘I am proud of you, congratulations, this is fun, take it all in, and enjoy it.’

Any advice?

He said I am past the point where he can give me advice now; he wants it the other way around.  I don’t know if I believe that but it is good to hear him say that and I will take all the advice I can get from him.

How important has his support been?

It is great to have a good supporting cast.  My family has been incredible and to have someone who after a bad game or anything that happens is right by your side.  Peyton has been wonderful to me, he has been a great person just to talk to, and not many people have that relationship with someone who is a football player, who is a quarterback, who you can just talk to.  A lot of it is not Xs and Os, it is just that quarterbacks deal with things that not a lot of people have to deal with and the normal person, the average person, you can’t talk to your best friend about it, you can’t talk to your mom about it, there is just kind of a special relationship that quarterbacks have and to also have a brother in it, it has been an amazing situation to have.

How nice was it to have a good performance in the cold after being labeled a warm weather quarterback?

Again, I had no doubt.  I hadn’t played great in cold weather but that is a team deal.  We played some tough teams and it is always a little tougher in the cold and yesterday we did some good things, but it was just fun to go out there and play the game.  I think you look back and it was just a great game.  Whether you are a Giants fan, Packers fan, or any football fan at all, I think it is one of those games that you can just watch.  There was great football being played and coming down to the wire, it was a great thing to be a part of.

Has the offense changed over the last few weeks?

No, I don’t think the offense has changed.  I think we have gotten some guys back.  We have Steve Smith back in the offense, he has been doing some good things, we have kind of the new combination of Brandon and Ahmad in the backfield, we have Plaxico back healthy and being able to practice the last four weeks, which we didn’t have throughout the whole season pretty much.  We just finally got back to getting everybody in the game, finally figured out exactly what we are, got all our weapons in there, guys are playing well, and it is just a matter of that we kind of got back into a rhythm, and that has been the difference.

How much of your recent success has been attributed to having more confidence?

I am always confident going into a game or into a situation.  That is never going to change.

Not having any interceptions in the postseason?

That is just a lot of things.  Interceptions are not just one person making a bad play, there are a lot of things going on.  It is being behind in a game, or feeling you have to force things, or you are getting pressured by the defensive line, you have receivers that are being covered, and the last few weeks receivers have been getting open, offensive line has been blocking, the defense has been playing great football where you are not behind and you don’t feel like you have to force things.  That is the football where if you can do that you can be in good situations in the games, you are not stuck in third-and-longs, you are not having many penalties or get put into bad situations, and it makes your job a lot easier, and guys are making plays for us.

How do you think you guys can stop Tom Brady?

That is for our defense.  I don’t know how to stop Tom Brady.  He is a heck of a player and he has had an unbelievable season.  We have our hands full from my standpoint dealing with their defense and it is going to be tough to stop their offense also.

Has it sunk in that you are heading to the Super Bowl?

I know we are heading there so I just have to get all the travel arrangements and those things.

And that you are playing in it?

Yeah it is exciting.  We are excited to be a part of it, but again, no one remembers who loses the Super Bowl, it is about winning the game.

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