QB-PEYTON MANNING (on: If he signed for everyone after the first practice) Sunday, August 02, 2010
"I try. First day, how about all these fans? We'll be here for two and a half weeks. It's hard to sign every single person's autograph in one practice, but we'll be here two and half weeks and it was a good start to the day. It was good to see, for the most part, everybody at practice. I guess we have a few guys who may have an injury or two, but it felt like a healthier group out there than what we've seen in mini-camps or OTAs, so that was encouraging and hopefully we can keep that throughout camp."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on: Reggie Wayne) Sunday, August 02, 2010
"Certainly, you love having all your best players here and I thought he looked really good today, in tip-top shape, and thought he was really off to a good start today."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on: How Anthony Gonzalez looked) Sunday, August 02, 2010
"I know Anthony is happy to be out there and like I said, every time Anthony is on the field he makes plays, big plays as you would know from the big plays he's made throughout his time here. So it'll be good to get him back out there on the field. He is truly going to help our offense this year."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on: Getting everyone on offense involved) Sunday, August 02, 2010
"Obviously Clyde (Christianson) will be creative that way. There are ways to get them all on the field in different packages and different formations. Certainly throughout a 16-game regular season, as we've seen in years past, everybody's number is going to be called so you have to have some depth from that standpoint. I look at all those guys as starting receivers, I really do. They've all been strong at some point in their career and really whoever is lined up out there I'm going to have 100 percent confidence to throw it to them at any down and distance. That's really how I'm looking at it. Sure everyone wants to be out there; obviously they want to be in that first play of the game to be known as a starter. It's a competition for a number of spots, but I look at it as a number of starters in the wide receiver position."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on: Offensive depth) Sunday, August 02, 2010
"It's hard to say or get into comparisons of years past, but I really like the group because of how hard they work, the unselfishness of the group and guys who like to catch the ball and make yards after the catch. Guys who like to get physical and from that standpoint I'm really excited about the group."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on: Offensive versatility) Sunday, August 02, 2010
"All of them are capable of working different sides of the field. Reggie (Wayne,) Anthony (Gonzalez) and Austin (Collie) are all capable of playing in the slot. Austin's working some outside, Reggie's the one guy who hasn't played as much in the slot, but Pierre (Garcon) is very early in his career and he's a guy who we can move around. So there's no question they've got some versatility, but they're all physical, they all block, they're all unselfish, they all know the system, they all like to work hard. Those are all good characteristics you like to see in any receiver."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on: Offensive line gaining continuity at camp) Sunday, August 02, 2010
"That is certainly very important. Obviously at mini-camp and OTAs there's no pads, it's just shorts and helmets. So for an offensive lineman or a defensive lineman having your shoulder pads on really is the time to prove yourself and see how you've improved throughout the offseason, how you've gotten stronger, quicker and that's going to pay off when the pads are on. So this is an important couple weeks, but also a time when we're going against our starters and as you go into the regular season we start going against the scout team. So now is the time when they've got to block Dwight Freeney, Dan Muir, "Mook" (Antonio) Johnson, Robert Mathis, and it's good, healthy competition to go against the top defensive lineman around. It's very important and I know those guys are excited about the challenge."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on: having Bob Sanders back) Sunday, August 02, 2010
"It's just important to have all your players out there, and Bob, when he's been on the field, has certainly made his presence known. He's made a lot of plays. Defensively they have somewhat of a challenge, too, like we do on offense, because when Bob hasn't been in there, Antoine's (Bethea) been a two-time, all-pro safety and Melvin Bullitt, I don't think you can even count all the big plays he's made just off the top of your head because they're huge ones; interception against Pittsburg to seal the game, interception against Houston to seal the game. So defensively it's a good problem to have. How do we get these playmakers on the field? Certainly good to see Bob out there."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on: signing Deshea Townsend) Sunday, August 02, 2010
"I'm glad to see we've signed Deshea (Townsend.) He's a solid veteran who's been around winning football and a winning organization. That can only help and we certainly have a depth issue at cornerback due to some injuries we've had, due to some free agency. So I really hope Deshea can come in here and add that veteran leadership to a pretty young group of corners with Kelvin Hayden being our main, vested veteran, if you will. I think anytime you have a veteran from a winning organization that's a plus. I know Deshea. I've played against him since college, he's a Mississippi guy. It's good to add an SEC guy."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on: spending time with other QBs) Sunday, August 02, 2010
"We've done that all offseason and certainly training camp is one phase, but we've been working with those guys. Curtis (Painter) and I have been meeting every morning with the quarterbacks since the first of April this year. We met every morning, Monday through Thursday, at 6:45am. Curtis and I have spent more time together, and Tim (Hiller) and Tom (Brandstater) have really put a lot of time in this offseason trying to learn the offense. Just like the receiver position, as a quarterback we really understand how important the cerebral part is, the mental part. So we spend a lot of time at training camp in meetings and any chance I can get to help those guys I'll certainly do it."
