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"I think a lot of times in these division games, I really think you get more out of the last time you played that team. The last two times we played this team it's been very close games, it's gone down to the fourth quarter, a drive here or a play there. It's always tough, especially when we play down there in Jacksonville. That's kind of what we prepare for. We know when you get into a division game it has a little something extra to it. You never quite know what you're going to see. We're prepared for a tough game. We played down there in December at night the past couple of years. This is going to be an October game, a day game, so we're expecting the weather to play more of a factor. I think it will be a tough challenge."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the importance of this game being that it is a division game)
"There's no question that it is an important game because it's a division game. Not that we don't emphasize the others, but we really stress the importance of these division games because we have to win, especially the ones on the road. We know how important it is, and it is important for both teams."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the offense's efficiency in the red zone this season)
"I think we'd still like to improve a little bit. Getting points is good, (but) there is no question that we'd like to get more touchdowns. We've had a couple great opportunities, on the special teams turnover the other day and only got three points and had a big stop down there against Houston and only got three points. So, we're still looking to get touchdowns and to capitalize on good field position or a good drive. When we get down there we want to be able to get touchdowns. Certainly it is important to come away with some kind of points. We practice it a lot and it's just a mindset to put some points on the board for you team when you get down there."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on Jacksonville's pass defense being ranked 29th in the league heading into Sunday's game)
"I think Philadelphia, nobody quite knew what to expect. They kind of had a new offense with (QB-Michael) Vick playing, so that may have caught them off guard. They are very familiar with us. It's always been a tough challenge. Their defensive line is really improved. I think they have almost eight sacks, I think that is almost half of what they had last year for the whole season. Protection will be key and guys getting open on time. They are getting some injured guys back, (S-Anthony) Smith is back. They've had some injuries in the secondary, and I think they are getting a little healthier this week. Therefore, I think it will be tough."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the team's 'Next Man Up' philosophy)
"Coach Caldwell definitely brings it up because he shows past examples. He'll be showing the WR-Blair White example a couple of years from now. I can't think of anybody offhand, but he often points to that. He talks about the game when somebody went down on a Friday and we activated the guy or a rookie that hasn't played at all stepped up and played. I think people have kind of caught on through experience that it is real and that you never know when your name and number is going to be called. That's why you have to be ready. You have to be studying your playbook at all times, whether you're on the practice squad or you're on the inactive list, whatever it may be. Blair did a good job of being ready. He kind of had a crammed week last week because he really didn't know. WR-Pierre (Garcon) didn't really get injured until Thursday's practice. It's a credit to him. It's a credit to Ron Turner, his receivers coach, for getting him ready."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on some franchises not subscribing to the Colts' theory)
"It's just happened a number of times over the past number of years that it's proven. That's why we talk about the mini-camps, the OTAs, the training camp reps, how important those are. Those may be your only reps for awhile because during the regular season those practice squad guys aren't getting reps, and so they have to draw on those mini-camps and OTAs and walk-troughs, whatever those may be. A lot of it depends on the player being accountable and doing his job. Injuries are certainly a part of this game, everybody goes through them. I think we're dealing with more than we've had in some time this early in the season. I think it's certainly easier to elevate a guy who has at least been in the system than bring a guy off the street on Friday where he is totally foreign. That's the route we've taken and it definitely worked for us on Sunday against Denver."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the Colts leading the series with Jacksonville, 14-4)
"That would surprise me by hearing that. I can think of the last two games down there, it went down to a fourth-quarter stop. It seems like (DE-Robert) Mathis had a sack, it seems we had an interception, hit WR-Reggie (Wayne) on a touchdown late last year. It seems like every game down there has been tough. They rolled through us a couple of years ago. They beat us pretty soundly down there. I think you throw that out the window. We all know it's a division game. There are a lot of common players that have played against each other, that kind of know each other's tendencies. There's not a lot of trickery or anything of that going on. It's just solid execution. I know it will be a tough game."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if it is fun to play against a team that you know well)
"I think it always makes it harder, especially when the familiarity is there. You aren't going to get anything easy. Sometimes you play an uncommon opponent and they haven't seen a certain play that you like to run and you might be able to get away with it a little easier, but against these division teams, I mean everything is tough. It's a grind, it seems like the whole time. That's kind of what you have to prepare for, a 60-minute grinder."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on protecting the football)
"That's something we stress on. We have had some turnovers during the season, so far. But we stress that. We stress penalties. We stress the importance of special teams. Those are still kind of our top three objectives every single week. That is something that will be important this game, but especially all season."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if interceptions are an entire offenses' fault or just the quarterback's)
"Ball security is an offensive objective. (Offensive Coordinator) Clyde (Christensen) stresses it. It's coming from him, from the top. When a coordinator tells you he wants you to do something, players take that to heart and try to get it done, whether it's penalties, running the ball better, scoring touchdowns in the red zone. Those are some of the goals he has laid out for us. Some of them we're doing a pretty decent job of, some of them we need to improve on."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if he feels good about how he is playing right now)
"It's still so game-to-game, every game kind of takes on its own identity. The Houston game was a lot more throwing than we wanted, playing from behind. The Giants game, the run game was so efficient that it opened up things in the passing game. Denver, the running game kind of struggled and it was kind of tough early. Denver kind of gave us a chance for some big plays. Denver did a pretty good job of taking the underneath short stuff away. Already, it's been three different personality games, and you never know what to expect in Week Four. I do think our receivers are doing a good job. It's been different guys, we've had injuries, and guys are working hard trying to get open, trying to make some big plays, knowing that we're going to need those plays, those yards after the catch, to get down the field."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if the strength of the offense is their ability to approach the games in different ways)
"I don't know if we've played enough football to determine what our strength is quite yet. We're still kind of finding our identity a little bit with the personnel and what we're going to hang our hat on every single week. Like I said, from the Giants game to the Denver game, you look at our running game, you have to call it a little bit inconsistent. We're looking for a little more consistency as far as who we are going to be each Sunday as opposed to figuring it out, 'Hey, this week we're going to have to be a throwing team, this week we'll be a running team.' We'd like to be the same team every single Sunday. We're still looking for that balance, and hopefully we can back to a little more of that this week."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on what he is most pleased with in his game through three games)
"I've never done a summary through three games. Coach Caldwell kind of refers to it in quarters. This is the fourth game of the first quarter. I wish we were 3-0, I know that. I still think we put ourselves in a hole losing that first game. I still think we're in that process of climbing our way out. That's kind of the mode we're in right now. That's the plan this week, keep climbing our way out of the hole in Week Four."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on he and C-Jeff Saturday starting their 158th game together this Sunday and breaking the record for most QB-C tandem starts)
"That's been just a true honor and privilege to have that quarterback-center relationship with Jeff through these years and that amount of games. He has shown great accountability on being there for so many Sundays. He has had a couple of injuries, but I can't tell you how many games he has played though, with those injuries. I think he has missed two, three or four games, but you're talking about 40, 50 games he's played where a lot of guys wouldn't be playing with the injuries and the pain their bodies are going through. I always feel better when he is in there at center, there is no question about it. That will be special. QB-Jim Kelly and C-Kent Hull were both great players. I've spoken with Jim Kelly and know the pride he took in that relationship with his center, and I've taken a lot of pride in mine with Jeff. That will be a special one to break with that first snap on Sunday."
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