Manning Media Quotes

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning answered questions for the media this week about Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, how the win over New England has helped the Colts as they prepare for the Super Bowl and much more!

(on if he can look back at Sunday’s game and see a defining moment that can help them get to where they want to go)
“Like all games that you play, you take the things that you did well and the mistakes that you made and you move on after that, whether you won the game or lost. So that’s really what we’ve done with the game on Sunday. Certainly a lot of good things, some mistakes in there that we need to correct, finding a way to come off to a better start and score more that six points in the first half, protecting the ball better. We had a couple of close calls there that could have gone their way. So, like every game, you try to learn from that game and become better and make that into a positive. I think the main thing in these next two weeks is to get better as a football team. My philosophy is you either get better or you get worse, you don’t stay the same, especially during somewhat of a bye week. I’m not so sure that’s not what happened to us last year during that bye week in the playoffs. I’m not sure if we truly got better during that week. So, this is a real opportunity to get better as a team, to get better as a football player. In the next two weeks, we’ll hopefully go down there and play a good ballgame.”

(on overcoming an 18-point deficit and if that can help you know you can overcome anything)
“I certainly believe in drawing on prior experiences. I think this offense especially has been in a number of situations. A lot of these guys that were in the huddle on Sunday were in that same huddle down in Tampa three years ago, and it’s nice to say that you’ve done it before; ‘Hey guys, we were here before.’ We had a number of two-minute drills this year—against Denver, against the Jets, so it’s nice when you get in there and say, ‘Hey guys, we’ve been here before. Let’s go out and do it again.’ And it’s nice for your young players, guys like Joe Addai and Ben Utecht and Bryan Fletcher that have been in that huddle also, that there’s no real panic when those situations arise. But you still have to do it the next time. Just because you did it last time doesn’t mean you’ll do it again.”

(on OT-Ryan Diem)
"Ryan’s been an outstanding member of this team, been a great teammate, a great locker room guy, just a great veteran leader. I’ve never gone a day without being thankful that he’s been my right tackle. Having him and Tarik (Glenn), Tarik playing the left side and Ryan Diem on the right side ... That’s two big, powerful, NFL-looking offensive linemen. Ryan and I are good friends off the field as well. He’s worked hard. He’s the first guy here in the offseason in the weightlifting program and one of our hardest workers. Just real proud to have him as a teammate.”

(on having an extra week to prepare after the AFC Title game)
“It’s nice to have some extra time to prepare for a team that you are unfamiliar with, a team that you haven’t played in a couple of years and has different players than the last time you played them. So, I’ll always appreciate the more time that you have to prepare for them and you can only use that to your advantage.”

Bears MLB Brian Urlacher (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

(on what he sees in LB-Brian Urlacher)
“We probably don’t have enough time to stand up here and tell you all of the things that I think about Brian Urlacher. Everything that you hear is true as far as his instincts, his athletic ability. I’ve played against him before. The last time we played them two years ago, he did not play, and believe me, I was not disappointed about that, going into that game because he is a guy that you truly have to account for on every play. Although, they kind of have a lot of guys like that. (Lance) Briggs is extremely fast and you certainly have to know where (Alex) Brown and (Adewale) Ogunleye are going to be, and the secondary is active. But Brian is kind of that quarterback of the defense, like Zach Thomas and Ray Lewis. From what you hear, how hard he studies and you see it out there on the film and you see it on TV copies. You can hear him making calls and seeing things. He plays with his instincts. He will be a real challenge for us.”

(on how he rates Dan Klecko as a receiver)
“I think the fact that he played some of that fullback at New England, but to me, (Mike) Vrabel is the all-time guy that can convert to both sides. Klecko played a little of that there. Some guys are just good athletes that can catch the ball. Did I think he would have two touchdowns at this point? Probably not, but they couldn’t have come at two bigger times. He’s very smart, he’s bright. You think about a guy playing defensive tackle, there’s not a whole lot of meeting time, and our goalline offense is just like the rest of our offense. We have audibles and checks. Klecko needs to stay playing for the Colts for a while because I had to let him in on all of our offensive intel … he’s been pretty loyal that way. He’s been a good contributor for us.”

(on if during the celebration he felt a sense of liberation)
“It was really hard to because I knew going into the game of how important a game it was, but I knew it was still one step away from the goal that we wanted to achieve. I’ve always realized how hard it is to win the AFC Conference because of all the teams that have beaten us over the years and what a challenge it is and just how much respect I have for the conference. Definitely, you had some satisfaction in winning the AFC, but I knew right away that we had a tremendous challenge coming up right away. I got to see most of the Bears-Saints game. I didn’t exactly like what I saw watching the Bears give the Saints that much trouble. Like we always do, you try to enjoy the win and appreciate it, but my attention quickly turned to the Bears and the preparation for them.”

(on what is different about a quarterback’s role in the Super Bowl)
“People are already asking me, ‘How are you going to feel,’ and ‘What are you going to…’ I don’t know the answers to that. To me, those are the questions that the guys that have played in these games can answer. We are preparing this week as if the game was going to be on Sunday. We’re putting the game plan in. I’m studying my normal routine during the week as far as film study and preparation and practice reps and what not, as if the game was going to be on Sunday. And that’s the plan that Coach Dungy implemented, so that’s all I really know to do. Certainly, there is plenty of film to study and the more film there is to study, I think the more you need to take advantage of it. And then, next week, we’ll deal with that when it comes as far as keeping the preparation sharp and keeping the focus sharp. Right now, we’re into a game preparation week.”