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QB-PEYTON MANNING (on playing the 'numbers game' with his brother Cooper growing up and Eli not being interested)
"The main difference between Eli and I is the timing in which we grew up. I was eight years old when my dad retired, Eli was three, so I grew up going to some Saints practices and I went to a Pro Bowl when my dad played in it and I went to the locker room after Saints games, so it wasn't abnormal for Saints players to be over at my house, Ricky Jackson or just some of my dad's other pro football friends over there. So, Eli didn't really grow up in that environment. That had a big influence on me. I liked watching the game, I liked the players and had a little passion about it. So, that was one of the differences in the way Eli and I grew up. Cooper was very much the same way. We were both into the history of it, played a lot of football trivia questions with it. That's probably one reason in the difference in the fact that I knew a lot about the history of the game as opposed to Eli."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if he and his brothers ever envisioned the day they would play in the NFL head-to-head)
"No. Eli didn't really play in any of the games that we (Cooper and Peyton) played in. Cooper and I played a lot of pick-up games, we had a lot of neighborhood games. Eli, being five years younger, just wasn't quite old enough to play in those same games. So, no one in our family expected this to be the case at any point. Obviously, once Eli became the top draft choice in the league, I knew at some point we were going to have to play each other. By the rotation of the schedule, 2006 was here, and I figured I'll get him in 2010 and 2014. I might be out of eligibility by then. It's kind of been a surprise for us. I know it's going to be difficult and awkward for my family and my parents, and I know they will just try to get through it, but Eli and I are excited about the game actually being here."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on how he would describe Eli to someone who doesn't know him)
"He's a very bright guy, funny, loves to laugh, has a good sense of humor in his own way. He's very easy to get along with. The whole, they call him 'Easy,' I've never called him that, and I don't think I've ever heard him answer to that to tell you the truth. That's kind of one of those myths that gets made up. Is he laid back or is he not? The thing about Eli, he's very intense and passionate about his preparation and his commitment to being a good football player in the NFL. All quarterbacks in the NFL need to put the time and effort into it, and he does. He lives there in New York in the offseason and is committed to being the best player he can be."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if he has been talking to Eli recently)
"We talked Monday and talked 20 or 25 minutes and you don't talk about football. We just talked about basic things and it was a fairly normal conversation. Usually, in the past, we have talked by about Thursday or Friday, and we have gotten into who we're playing—that's been going on since college—and he'd give me the breakdown on Georgia's defense and I would tell him what the Dolphins look like. And we've done that since (being in) the NFL, but obviously I don't think that conversation will take place this week. I will probably call him Friday or Saturday maybe when we arrive. I'm really proud of him. I pull for Eli every single Sunday. Nobody pulls harder for him and pulls for him to play well and for his team to win. Obviously, this Sunday will be a different scenario."
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