QB-PEYTON MANNING(on if the difference in offenses changes the Colts' mindset) 11/17/04
"No. (Head) Coach (Tony) Dungy in our team meeting always addresses the team and talks about their team overall. He talks about special teams, defense and offense. I doubt half of the guys on offense are listening to the part when he's talking about their offense. I kind of pay attention to it because I'm just kind of listening, but you can't change the way you approach a game because anything can happen in games now."
QB-PEYTON MANNING(on their outside pass rush) 11/17/04
"Their defense is really playing outstanding, especially the last three games, creating turnovers and field position to help their team win the game. (They won) the Tennesseegame with an interception for a touchdown by a D-lineman and a safety in overtime. So, they're playing together. They're flying all over the field. (LB-Brian) Urlacher's out, which is a guy that because the caliber of player he is, he's hard to replace. But the way they play together and the way they fly all over the field, they'll be able to manage."
QB-PEYTON MANNING(on playing with so much confidence) 11/17/04
"It's nice to have some momentum, but the more you play, the more you realize it doesn't really matter what happened the week before. Going on the road to Chicago, a team that's won three in a row, they're going to be excited to be at home. You have to show up every Sunday and do it. What happened the week before just doesn't matter. It's nice that we've shown that we're capable of doing it, but you have to show up every Sunday."
QB-PEYTON MANNING(on if the team has to guard against looking ahead to Thanksgiving at Detroit) 11/17/04
"No, not on this team. We haven't talked about it or addressed it as far as schedule and those kinds of things. You don't have to look any further than the AFC South and to see Jacksonvilleand where they are and where Houstonstill is, and even Tennesseestill. So, you just can't afford to look past any game and can't afford to lose one to the field. Just looking at the AFC standings, there's probably going to be two teams with good records that are going to get left out of the playoffs. And we hope we're not one of them."
QB-PEYTON MANNING(on if with all of the options he has, does he feel like he has to spread the ball around to keep everyone happy) 11/17/04
"As long as we're winning, everybody's just doing their part to help us win. One thing we have now, and (offensive coordinator) Tom Moore talks about sometimes, on film he'll point out a guy running a route just to run the route, because he doesn't think he's going to get the ball on that play. Now, we have all five guys running the routes thinking they're going to get the ball. As a result, we're spreading it around. So, a pattern we haven't thrown all year, but we're coming back and the guy's open and he's on the run. Guys are ready and they're expecting the ball. That's why I think guys are doing a good job getting into the end zone, because they're expecting the ball and they're ready for it. Guys are always on their toes and that's what has made the offense even better. Everybody's doing their part. Everybody kind of knows that Sunday might be their day. Sunday was (Brandon) Stokley and Dallas (Clark's) day. I guess Minnesotawas (Marcus) Pollard's. Kansas Citywas Reggie (Wayne) and Marvin's (Harrison) day. I wish it could be all of their days every Sunday, I really do. But I think they realize that's not possible. But the fact that we're going into each play and everybody's on there toes, that's what 's made us effective so far."
QB-PEYTON MANNING(on when he will start thinking about breaking Dan Marino's TD record) 11/17/04
"I guess if I had 47 going into the (January 2nd) Denvergame, I'm sure it would be hard to say it wouldn't cross my mind at that point. Thirty-one is the second-most I've ever had. I could not throw another one from here on out and it would be hard to say it wasn't a pretty fair year. It still seems like a long way away to me. The more I think about it, the more I'm amazed at what Marino did. That's really what I think about it. In his second year, that's pretty amazing."
QB-PEYTON MANNING(on if he has talked to Eli this week) 11/17/04
"Yeah, I talked to him briefly on Tuesday, and I just wished him luck. I can't remember who it was, some quarterback was named a starter earlier and it was kind of like he had won an award. It's not an award. It's not a time to say, 'Congratulations.' It's a time to call and say, 'Good luck,' especially with the five defenses he's about to have to face here. I'm proud of Eli and the way he's handled everything all season, and I'm looking forward to watching him play and wish him the best of luck. No great advice or anything from me. I'm just looking forward to watching him play."
QB-PEYTON MANNING(on how much he keeps in touch with Eli) 11/17/04
"A couple of times a week. We talk Sunday usually after the game, lot of times catch each other on the bus going back to the airport at the same time. And maybe Thursday or Friday we get to catch up. It's kind of like what we did in college. I do that with my older brother Cooper as well and most of the people in my family."
