QB-PEYTON MANNING (on being glad to have a home game after two straight road games) * *
"Sure, it's good to be back playing at home. We have had two long road trips, so it's good to be back playing at home again. It's obviously more convenient that way, but you still have to have a good week of practice. Two of the good reasons for a couple good wins, is that we've had good practices and good preparations. That will be key again this week, preparing for an unfamiliar opponent, a team that we really don't know a lot about their schemes and personnel. They have some new players since we've played them last. We really need to prepare hard this week."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on offense's continuity)
"I don't if I'm ready to make that statement. It's just three games. We have made some big plays down the field, which we're always looking for. They sure do make drives easier when you have 12 -yard runs or 20 -yard passes, which we define as big plays. There are still some things that we can improve on. We had a couple of costly penalties the other day that cost us some yards, and I don't think we were very good on third down. I mean, we hit some big plays, but 3-of-11 on third down, we need to be much better than that. (We) had one red zone series where we came away with no points. There is still plenty to improve on."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if he's looking forward to seeing RB-Edgerrin James)
"Yes, I am. It's always different when you're playing against a guy and everybody is really competitive. I'm happy the fans will get to see him. I've always sensed that when we have former players come back our fans have always given them a warm reception, and the Colts have usually shown a video tribute. I certainly would imagine they would do that again. It's going to be hard to cut it down and make it short enough with all of Edgerrin's highlights. I have to believe it will be one of the most memorable ex-Colts coming back to play here in recent times. I know the fans will be excited to see him. Edgerrin and I keep in touch, of course, he and Reggie ( Wayne) talk quite often, but he and I keep in touch. I see him some in the offseason. It will be good to have him back in Indianapolis."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on what RB-Edgerrin James has meant to Manning's career)
"Edgerrin was the key to our running game and really to our offense becoming what it was. They had to play the run every single play. All of a sudden, the buzz got out on our play-action, we had these great fakes, and we were hitting all these plays down the field. Well, it was because No. 32 was standing back there, it wasn't because some guy was back there. It was because those safeties were saying, 'Hey, if they hand it off to No. 32, we have to get up there and make that tackle.' All of a sudden, we'd fake it and hit them over the top. He'd just wear the defense down so much. It would get to the fourth quarter, you can remember so many guys, where they'd say, 'I'm tired of tackling this guy.' They'd whiff on him, or he'd run them over and turn a five-yard run into a 15-yard run. I never took that for granted. He has great durability. He showed up to practice everyday, played everyday. (He) knew the offense inside-and-out. I've always thought he was an underappreciated pass protector. He never gave up a sack. (He's) just a true warrior. I think really one of the guys that is a pillar for getting the Colts turned around, helping us become a winning franchise and getting teams to respect the Colts more. I can still remember, of course he held out a few games, we played the Saints, and coaches thought we had to teach him a lesson. He signed on a Thursday, and we played on a Friday, so they started Keith Elias. I love Keith, but to compare him to Edgerrin James… So, they started Elias, and we played like a quarter-and-a-half, and we weren't running the ball and they put in Edgerrin and his first run, it was a draw play. We didn't block the tackle, and he spun and made him miss and then spun again and made the linebacker miss. I just remember (former OT) Adam Meadows going 'This guy is awesome. This guy is awesome. All he does is spin and make guys miss every single time.' That really is about what he was. It's funny, you remember guys' first plays and you sort of see the beginning of what you think will be something special, and with him it was certainly true."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if RB-Edgerrin James is a Hall-of-Fame worthy RB)
"I certainly think so. Like I said, tremendous durability, and I think Arizona really got hot once they got him back in the lineup last year on their Super Bowl run. He is a guy, I think, that wherever he goes he's going to be a presence and be a factor. What he did here when teams were worried about the run, playing the run, he still got his yards. (He's an) excellent receiver out of the backfield, a lot of touchdowns, a couple of one-handed catches. In my opinion, he certainly is."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the Colts nearing the end of the first quarter of the season)
"Coach Caldwell really hasn't referenced that particular phrase as much. He's truly talked about one game at a time, and that's all we've dealt with. This is a game that we have to have, because it's the next one. I think it's a challenge coming off that long trip, but it's something you have to deal with. We have to prepare well this week. That's the key. We have to have a good week of practice, and hopefully we can get that started this week."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on Seattle's defense)
"I think they play very smart. They are very sound in what they do. They really had the (Chicago) Bears beat. (Chicago WR-Devin) Hester really made a heck of a play, caught a short pass and broke it for a long run at the end of the game. Otherwise, they beat a very good Chicago team. They've had some injuries, but it sounds like they'll get some of those guys back. You have to be prepared to play against anybody, but we think they'll get some of their starters back, which will make a difference. They've got playmakers on both sides of the ball."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on practicing with the Saints in high school while Seattle HC-Jim Mora was on staff there)
"I do remember Coach Mora, that was here with the Colts, was the head coach, and Jimmy Mora was there on staff. That was a great thrill for me to go out there as a high school player and throw 1-on-1s and some 7-on-7s in an NFL camp. I had never seen NFL athletes like that. We played some pretty tough competition at (Peyton's high school Isidore) Newman, but it wasn't quite the same. We didn't have any 250-pound linebackers or 4.3 40 (yard-dash) corners. That was really a great experience for me. I got to know Coach Mora and Jimmy Mora. He was a great guy then, he's always been nice to me. We played against him when he was in San Francisco and spent some time with him out in Hawaii when he was the head coach of the (Atlanta) Falcons and the NFC Pro Bowl team. (He's) a great guy and a great coach."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if he called any audibles in the huddle with the Saints in high school)
"I did not. One-on-ones is one thing. You can just throw in 1-on-1s, but all of a sudden, you get into the team periods and you get into the huddle, and I was bigger than all my linemen in high school. So, you get in there in an NFL huddle, talk about being a little uncomfortable, but it was a good experience for me."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the play of RB-Donald Brown, WR-Austin Collie and WR-Pierre Garcon)
"Donald and Austin, both being rookies, are playing a lot. We're asking a lot of them as first-year players. Both Pierre and Austin played just about every snap the other day in three wide-receiver sets. Donald and Joe (Addai) are kind of in a rotation. That's one thing about the NFL, especially here, when we draft guys as rookies, it's not like a one-year maturation process. We're drafting you and expecting you to come in and play right away. That's why those offseason sessions are so important. Pierre didn't play a whole lot last year, but credit to him, he used last year to his advantage. He got more comfortable with the system, and he's getting valuable experience. The key for those guys is to keep working. They are still making some mistakes, which you expect, but we have to keep trying to eliminate those and keep getting better every week."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the Colts being able to win a good majority of close games)
"I can't really give you a reason. I really have a hard time summarizing games collectively. I still think it's each individual game. I think every game takes on its own identity. When you go down to Miami, you certainly don't expect the game to turn out like that, where your offense is going to have the ball for 14-and-a-half minutes, and you really didn't see that coming the other night against Arizona. We had three three-and-outs and threw an interception, and then all of a sudden, we kind of clicked and caught fire. You really have to be prepared for anything. I do think one thing, we have a mentally-tough team. We don't really get distracted very easily. We're prepared for what we call storms. You might have some storms, which are things that just kind of go bad. We handle those. We overcome those. We put the previous series behind us, either offensively or defensively. Whether it's a touchdown or it's a fumble or an interception, it's over with right away, and we move on to the next series. I think that's something you have to do in close games, and you truly concentrate on the series or the play at hand. Hopefully, you can execute it when it comes down to it."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on WR-Pierre Garcon)
"Like I said, Pierre has good speed. He can run. He is a guy on deep balls that you can kind of let it go and he has the ability to run under it. It looked like he did a good job of kind of holding the corner until the last minute. That guy (Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie) is a good cover corner, he has really good speed. It certainly came at a good time, and it sure gave us a big play."
