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QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if he is ready to get back) May 16, 2008
"We certainly are. It's always an exciting time, the mini-camp. The rookies were here for rookie mini-camp, but it's really the first time the whole team's together in one setting. It makes you feel like the season opener is getting closer, and to kind of form your identity for the 2008 season. So I always look forward to this first mandatory mini-camp even though the majority of our team has been here since the first of April working out. All of our draft choices are here and it's always an exciting time for the team."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on WR-Marvin Harrison coming into the season and if there is any question he can still do it coming off last season's knee injury) May 16, 2008
"I don't think there's any question that he can still do it. Obviously that's our hope that he'll be 100 percent healthy, to be able to play against Chicago in the season opener. I know he's still going through his rehabilitation process, but that is what we expect. That is why we didn't draft a receiver in the draft or pick up a free agent, because Marvin has told us that he will be 100 percent healthy and ready to go. That's obviously what we need for our team to be as good as we can be in 2008. We addressed our tight end situation. We lost a couple of tight ends, so we addressed that. We addressed some other needs, but we did not necessarily address the receiver situation. We feel like we should be in good shape if Marvin comes back, and that's certainly the plan."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the return of RB-Dominic Rhodes) May 16, 2008
"I'm excited to have Dominic back. He gives us a real boost at running back. He gives us a veteran player there that is familiar with this system. It will take him a little time to catch back up on any changes that we've made and to get familiar with it again, but Dominic played great for us in the time that he was here. And I thought he really ran well against us in Week 14 in Oakland last year, so you still feel like he has it. He really played well in his last year here, so we hope to get that same kind of production out of him this year as well. So I'm glad to have him back. He's a good receiver out of the backfield, knows what to do, and I think he'll be a big addition to our team."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on WR-Marvin Harrison's situation) May 16, 2008
"I have not spoken to him about it, and I know Bill Polian and Coach Dungy released a statement today, so I don't really feel the need to say anything beyond that."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on Brett Favre and Steve McNair retiring and him being an elder statesman of quarterbacks now going into his 11th season) May 16, 2008
"Certainly with Brett and Steve McNair retiring, and for the record, both were outstanding football players. I'll miss both of those guys being in the NFL, playing against them and watching them play. I wrote Steve a letter the other day just congratulating him on his career. I haven't written a letter to Favre yet, we'll kind of wait and see what happens there I guess. I do take a lot of pride in going into my 11th year, and I've always admired guys that have played as long as McNair did or Favre did or Marino did. It's not an easy position to have longevity in this career. I turned 32 this past March, but I really feel as quarterbacks, it's not necessarily how old you are, but maybe it's how old your body is. And I think because of the protection that I've had with the offensive line and what Howard Mudd's been able to do for us and our system, I'm probably in maybe a 28-year-old body, if that makes sense. H
