PEYTON MANNING
1/14/04
(on how the team is preparing for this week's game)
"It's a boring answer for you, but it's the same approach it has been the past few weeks and really all season. One of the best things we've done all year is our preparation. We've really gotten ready to play and deal with injuries. You know, guys filling in for those guys, whatever it may be, and we expect the same thing this week, and we'll have to have our best week of practice because it's going to be our toughest game of the season, going up there and playing the hottest team in the league right now.
(on whether you watch even more film this week)
"I have a routine that I kind of get into and you just prepare for a team from what you've seen on film from the first game you played against them, and you realize that they're going to have a package for the Colts and you try to adjust to that during the game. It's still going to come down to who executes the game plan the most. In the first game we didn't protect the ball very well. We just didn't do our jobs very well, and at the same time, New England played very, very well. If you don't play well against New England, it's going to be tough to win."
(on whether there's an emphasis this week on protecting the football)
"It's our mindset every game. I think that's one of the biggest reasons for some of our wins this year is that we have protected the ball. There really hasn't been a special emphasis on it in these playoff games. Tony (Dungy) has emphasized it all season. The more games you play, the more it just gets ingrained into you that you need to protect the ball to keep your defense out of tough situations, and our defense creating turnovers can help us, like they did against Kansas City. That was a huge turnover there, but obviously it will be important this week to protect the ball and not put our defense in a tough situation."
(on you having not won a game in four tries in Foxboro)
"You take the four games there and most of them don't have a whole lot to do with this year and this particular game. You've got a rookie game in there, one time we were 6-10 that season we went up there, so it's this year. Every time I've played the Patriots, whether it's been up there or been here, I've always played against a good football team and, in my opinion, especially a good defense. That's certainly going to be the case this week, but I think a lot of this talk gets to be about our offense versus their defense. If you look at the first game, I thought New England made two absolutely huge plays on special teams that were big differences so I think whichever team plays all three phases well has the better chance of winning. Offensively, we just want to do our part and we feel our defense will hopefully do their part and special teams as well."
(on whether you've even thought about playing in the Super Bowl)
"I haven't. We're just preparing for this game. Like I said, we have tremendous respect for the Patriots as an opponent and plus the fact that we're going up there is going to make it even tougher. That's really all we can worry about at this point."
(on the reads you make between you and C-Jeff Saturday)
"It's all part of the game plan. Plays are called in and you have to change a route or pattern or run or protection, it's all kind of part of the plan. It's something that the offensive line is aware of, and obviously Jeff is the guy I'm communicating with first and he's kind of making the calls from that standpoint, but most of that stuff is all kind of part of the game plan."
(on how much emphasis you put on pass protection)
"It's always been one of the big focuses or focal points of our offense is protection. Obviously if you don't protect, it's hard to have much of a passing game no matter how good your receivers are or great pass patterns you have. You have to be able to protect. That's something we want to do a better job of this time around then we did the first time."
(on the challenge of facing New England's defense)
"I think the defense is about good players. I think that's something that gets kind of overlooked in all the talk about their defense. They have excellent (players) and they're very well-coached. I think Coach (Bill) Belichick, you hear his name mentioned a lot with their defense, Romeo Crennel, who you hear is a head coaching candidate, he's the defensive coordinator and they obviously work together, but he's the guy I think calling the blitzes and calling the disguises. He does an excellent job. On a good offense or a good defense, you have to go to the players and (Willie) McGinest and (Ty) Law, those guys get all the credit which they deserve, and they get all the attention, but (Teddy) Bruschi and (Mike) Vrabel and (Tyrone) Poole's playing well. Rodney Harrison's given them a huge lift and making a lot of plays. (Eugene) Wilson and (Asante) Samuel are playing well. (Richard) Seymour is obviously a Pro Bowler. I think you've got to have good players and they certainly have the players, so that's who were worried about. We're concerned about the players. Seymour and McGinest really disrupted our offense in the first game and we've got to deal with those guys. Then you've got to the linebackers and then you've got to get to the secondary. There's plenty to worry about."
(on whether you're ready for the challenge of the Patriots defense)
"It's a great challenge and a great opportunity. We're excited about the opportunity. We certainly know it's going to be difficult and we know playing New England is tough enough. Playing them at their place, where they are undefeated this year and haven't given up a lot of points, is going to make it even tougher, but it's nice to have the opportunity."
(on your definition of a great quarterback)
"I really don't have a definition of that. I guess more important to me as a player is to be a consistent quarterback. That's something I've always strived for and what I mean by that is kind of day-to-day, in practice, week-to-week during the season and then really year-to-year, showing some improvement not only from the year before, but also, always kind of playing at a high level. That's something that I have felt like I have achieved so far in my career. I feel like I have. Whether it's shown in statistics or wins, maybe not always, but myself as a player I feel like I have improved. I've used and things that have happened to me in the past to my advantage, and this year, I felt like I've really used everything in my first five years to my advantage. It's helped me play my best football so far."
(on how the team is preparing for this week's game)
"It's a boring answer for you, but it's the same approach it has been the past few weeks and really all season. One of the best things we've done all year is our preparation. We've really gotten ready to play and deal with injuries. You know, guys filling in for those guys, whatever it may be, and we expect the same thing this week and we'll have to have our best week of practice because it's going to be our toughest game of the season, going up there and playing the hottest team in the league right now.
(on whether you're ready for the challenge of the Patriots defense)
"It's a great challenge and a great opportunity. We're excited about the opportunity. We certainly know it's going to be difficult and we know playing New England is tough enough and playing them at their place where they are undefeated this year and haven't given up a lot of points is going to make it even tougher, but it's nice to have the opportunity."
(on your definition of a great quarterback)
"I really don't have a definition of that. I guess more
