Eli Manning, 08.02.09

Q: Ready to get camp started?

A:  Yeah, I think everybody is excited about training camp. It’s time to get back to work and get the season started.  It’s always a long offseason and everybody wants to get back to playing football, practicing, and getting into the season and playing the games. That’s the fun part. It’s fun to get back and see everybody. We’ve been on a five-week break. I think everybody is looking forward to this opportunity and the season ahead of us.

Q: Does the team have enough talent in the absence of Plaxico Burress?

A: I think we have a lot of play makers on this team. Some guys are going to have to step up. Given the opportunity, I think we have a number of guys who can do some great things for us. It’s just a matter of us getting our timing down. We have to see who’s going to step up the most and be ready to start the season and who’s going to be our playmaker.

Q: Increased leader now?

A: I think you’re always going to be a leader. I don’t think I have to try and increase the role or do more. I just need to go out there and get the team ready, get the offense ready to play and play smart football. Everybody needs to do their job.

Q: Other than reps, what can you do to increase the chemistry with the receivers?

A: Talk with them. Making sure everybody understands what they’re doing during practice, after practice, during meetings.  A lot of it is reps.  Make sure to correct them when they do something wrong, but talk to them when they do good stuff. I need to make sure everything is clear in their mind and that we’re thinking the same way.

Q: How does this team compare to the Super Bowl team?

A: I don’t know. It’s hard to do that, it’s hard to compare. I think we have a lot of talent on this team and enough talent to win a lot of games this year. That’s our job, but we’re going to get ready, see what kind of season it's going to be, see what kind of offense we are going to have in the passing game and run game.  Every season things are going to happen, things are going to be different. We need to just go out there and win games.

Q: Best way to deal with Pierce distraction?

A: Everybody just worry about playing football. That’s our concern right now. To get physically and mentally ready to start playing games. We support Pierce and we’re going to hope the best for him. There’s nothing we can do about it right now. Everybody here needs to focus on their job, making sure they’re thinking about football and getting prepared to play.