Eli Manning, 11.16.09

Q. Did the break do what it was supposed to do?

A. Yeah, I think so. I think going nine weeks in the season without a break from training camp and everything, I think sometimes you don’t feel tired until you get away and realize that your body is tired, your mind is tired. So I think it was good for us for it to come at this time and get the break. We came out today and guys are excited to be back and ready to go and excited about playing well and ending the season on a good note and get back to winning games.

Q. What did you make of last night’s Colts/Patriots game and what does that tell us about the NFL’s playoff situation?

A. Well, it was a great game. It was a great game to watch and you never know in this league what can happen. You have to keep fighting and put yourself in a situation where you have a chance to win in the fourth quarter. That’s kind of what the Colts did; they kept fighting and found a way to win. It was a fun game to watch.

Q. What did you think of the Cowboys and Eagles losses and what that does for your chances over the next seven games?

A. Well, we have to worry about the Giants. We have to handle our business; we have to go out there and play well and win games. We know that we have to play Philly again, the Cowboys and the Redskins again. Really what it comes down to is we have to focus on Atlanta this week. That’s all we can do is focus on them, go out there and play well and see if we could get a win and get back on a winning streak.

Q.  A lot of people are saying that with the losses of the Cowboys and Eagles last week that there is still hope for this season. But that is kind of the way you guys went into the bye week, right? 

A. Yeah, we felt that all the way along. We knew we weren’t in an awful situation. It’s not exactly where we wanted to be, but we knew that there were still a lot of games left, a lot of season and if we went out and handled our business and play well, got hot again and got back to winning some games, we would be very much into the playoff hunt. We need to have that mindset. It really comes down to all we can worry about this week is Atlanta, go out there and play well and see if we can get a win.

Q. Have you seen enough in the last couple weeks to give you any confidence that you can take advantage of the situation with the Cowboys and Eagles losing?

A. I have seen enough in our team and the way that we have responded and put ourselves in a situation to win the game against San Diego that we can play at a high level and win some games. I know in the NFL you are never out of anything, especially after nine games. There is a lot of football left and teams can turn things around. Teams can get hot at the end of the season. We have to go out there and start playing better football and we are capable of doing that.

Q. Did the week off help your foot or is that going to be a constant for the rest of the year?

A. No, the foot feels fine, it’s not an issue. That injury I think is kind of over and done with. I think a week off of not practicing, not putting any pressure on the body and the arm definitely helps and refreshes the whole body.

Q. What did you do to get away from it?

A. I went back to Ole Miss. Hung out there, watched them play on Saturday and just relaxed for the most part.

Q. Did you watch a lot of football on Sunday?

A. Yeah, I watched a lot of football on Sunday. It’s fun to sit at home and take advantage of Direct TV and have all those games on. I was flipping back and forth to a lot of games, a lot of football being played.

Q. When you and your teammates got back to the complex today, was it a sense of guys are champing at the bit, can’t wait to get going again or was it kind of hard to shake off the rust of being off a few days?

A. It wasn’t hard to shake off the rust. We went out and practiced, it wasn’t a real long practice, but I thought there was good energy. Guys were sharp, we were excited about the opportunity that we have and excited to come back and play. I think they enjoyed the time off. I thought guys took advantage of it, were smart about getting back healthy and getting fresh and that we have to come back knowing that we have a great opportunity ahead of us. But it’s a matter of what we are going to do with the opportunity. We have to take advantage of where we are and know that we have to win some games.