Monday Media Transcript: QB Eli Manning

Quarterback Eli Manning

December 18, 2017

Q: Did it feel good to put up over 400 yards passing yesterday to know that you still have that in you?

A: Yeah, I was proud of the way the offense and the team competed all day. Offensively, we had some guys step up, make some plays. I thought the coaches put in a great scheme and the guys executed it well and we’ve got to build off that and keep being able to make some big plays in the passing game and be aggressive and execute like we did.

Q: Is there something in particular that Offensive Coordinator Mike Sullivan has tweaked in the past two games that has been working really well?

A: I think it’s still the same offense, so I think it’s just building off what we’ve been doing. There’s always going to be a few new plays and different things, but that’s just kind of based off the opponent and what you did last time against them, it’s an opponent we know well and we played them a bunch in that scheme. So, I think he’s done a good job just mixing up the tempos on things and playing fast. We got to run a lot of plays yesterday.

Q: Did any part of you think that you would not be able to do again what you ended up doing yesterday?

A: No. I was excited going into the week, I knew we had a great plan. A lot of weeks you have great plans, but I really liked what we had and it just got set up well. Sometimes you have those days where you get the right calls versus the right defense and you feel good about what’s going on and we were able to execute it and guys went and made the plays. I knew I could still throw it and I can play at a high level and run this offense.

Q: How does your arm feel?

A: It feels fine.

Q: You threw a lot of pitches yesterday.

A: [My arm] feels good as new.

Q: Will you have any feelings walking into University of Phoenix Stadium, having won Super Bowl XLII there?

A: No, I don’t think so. You’re getting ready for the game and obviously – yeah, I guess, maybe, walk on the field, I’ve obviously had some good memories there. But just try to go out there and see if we can get a little early Christmas present and get a win.

Q: How much were you able to change the offense, after the second week of Steve Spagnuolo serving as Interim Head Coach?

A: It’s still all of the stuff that’s in the system that we’ve done before. Last time we played Philly, we played fast, a lot of tempo. So, there’s not changes in the offense, it’s the same plays, the same schemes. Each week you’re always going to have a few new plays, a few new things to go after them, but I thought Sully put a great plan [together], communicated well and we were able to get some good ideas.

Q: Did the offense feel faster for you?

A: I thought Sully did a good job of kind of mixing it up and doing all the consecutive plays and just having different ways of doing things. So, it was productive. The fast play, we were able to get some big plays off of it.

Q: Do you think if you guys did what you did yesterday earlier in the season, you could have found a rhythm?

A: We did it earlier in the season. We did it vs Philly, we did it vs Tampa, in those games. I think we were probably doing it vs the Chargers a little bit. After that, we lost some players, we were doing more three tight end sets and bigger sets where it’s hard to have that tempo. We wanted to slow things down a little bit and try to run more clock, run the ball more and have less plays. But as the weeks have gone on, we just felt the best way to try to help out the offensive line is to play fast and see if you can slow down some of these pass rushers by playing fast.

Q: What new stuff have you put in since Sullivan has taken a bigger role in the game plan?

A: I don’t think there is new stuff.

Q: Does he lean toward some different stuff?

A: No. I think it’s the same. Again, you’re always going to have a few new wrinkles each and every week, but it’s all stuff that’s in the system, part of the system. You’re calling it the same things, it’s just a matter of what the opposing defense is doing, a way to attack them.

Q: Did you think a case could have been made for pass interference on the last play of the game?

A: Yeah, I mean, hey, it could have been called, but I didn’t think it was an obvious call. They were going back and forth so we got to throw the ball a little lower and try to make a play so that’s football sometimes.

Q: Do you think it was catchable?

A: Yeah, I could have put the ball a little lower, I guess, to give him a better shot. They had it covered up pretty well, I tried to throw him open and put it up high where he can make a play, it just didn’t work out.

Q: If he was able to put two hands on it, he is probably able to make a play on it, right?

A: Maybe, yeah. There was some contact, so whether it’s enough to be pass interference, it could go either way.

Q: You don’t think you threw the ball over his head, though, right?

A: No, I don’t think I threw it over his head. No, not out of his reach.

Q: What do two tough losses to the best team in the NFC tell you about this team?

A: We still got a good team. We got enough players to play well and to compete with anybody. It’s just a matter of going out there, executing and we were able to make some great plays, great individual efforts by some guys and that’s what you want to see.