QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if he is looking forward to Thursday's opener at New England) 9/6/04
"Yeah, everybody's looking forward to the opener. We've had some exciting opening-day games. I guess you like to play at home in the opener, but there's something about being outdoors. No question, it will be an exciting atmosphere. Kicking off the NFL season, this is a game that you'll remember for a long time."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if there could be a more exciting matchup after last season's AFC Championship Game) 9/6/04
"Well, the NFL has always tried to do that, tried to pick two good teams that had a key game last year and make a rematch out of it. But, last season is over with. There's nothing we can change about that. This is truly the 2004 season, but what a great challenge for us, getting a chance to play the defending Super Bowl champs at their place. We'll find out really quickly what kind of team we have."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the rules changes) 9/6/04
"In the preseason, (when I was in there), we didn't have one call against us, not that I'm saying there should have been. It hasn't changed our approach whatsoever. We don't call plays saying, 'Okay, either we're going to catch this or surely we'll get pass interference.' That's not how we approach things, and I've always said that when we call plays, we're trying to score the touchdown. The completion and the touchdown is so much better than a five-yard or 10-yard penalty. So, we try to throw to the open guy and hit the guy in stride. That hasn't changed our philosophy. It's up to us to make the play. You can't count on something else to happen."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if there will be any mental carry-over from last season's game) 9/6/04
"Each player is different, but certainly (Head) Coach (Tony) Dungy has talked about that. He even mentioned this is not a rematch of last year's AFC Championship Game. This is opening the 2004 season. That's really how you have to look at it. I think one thing we always have done here is move onto the next season."
