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Transcript: QB Eli Manning

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I think anytime you look at the film it is never as bad as you think it is and it is never as good.  We did some good things, we scored 29 points, we moved the ball and had three touchdowns, those are all good things, no turnovers.  We had too many penalties, which we can fix, but we had some drops and had some batted balls and those things are frustrating.  Batted balls, a lot of times you can't do anything about it, but it does hurt your rhythm and the timing and gets you in some third and longs and different situations.  I thought we did some things well, but there are some things we need to work on also.

Such as?

Eliminating the penalties is one.  Those will cost you and put you in bad situations with false starts and stuff like that, which are just mental mistakes.  We can't have those things.  Third down percentage wasn't good, third down conversions, and so we need to work on that and a lot of that is just because you have penalties or you have some tipped balls or you are stuck in some third-and-longs, those things we need to work on.

Were you trying to look for Plaxico Burress more than usual?

No.  I don't think I was forcing anything.  I don't know how many catches he had.  I am going through my reads and when he has an opportunity to get open or the reads tell me to go his way, then I am going to go his way and if not, then I am going to go with another guy.

What is going on with the tight end situation?

Just going through the reads and trying to spread the ball out and try to get everybody involved.  I threw one ball to Kevin (Boss) yesterday and didn't get a completion, but last week the tight ends had a few catches.  It just depends on the week and what teams are doing and we can try to get them more involved, but it is just a matter of the offense.  We are not trying to get one person a certain amount of balls thrown to them; it is just about going through progressions and reads and trying to find completions.

Can you learn from what happened in Cleveland going into a similar environment in Pittsburgh?

I think we have played in hostile places before and it should be a great crowd and loud, a tough team, the number one defense, so we will have our hands full and we just have to have a great week of preparation, a lot of studying, figure out some of their tendencies and what they do, and we are going to have to play great football if we want to go in there and have a shot to win.

Do you just chalk the Burress sideline thing with a player just being in the heat of the moment?

I don't know exactly what happened and everything going on, but I think we put it behind us and we are focused on this week.

Do you even know what happened at the time?

Again, we are focused on this week.

Is the tough schedule coming up a challenge you look forward to?

Yeah.  Every game is a challenge.  I think with our mindset we need to worry about Pittsburgh and handle our business there and play good football and hopefully get on a streak where we are playing at our best.  We are in a good position right now, but obviously every game matters, but when you come into late October, November, December those games are going to be tough.  The weather becomes a factor, you have some important games, guys playing for playoff spots, so all these games are important and every team is going to be playing hard so we have to go in there and play great.

Are the batted balls a concern and are you going to be trying to fix that?

It is something that you can't control.  We had some quick passes where you have to throw it on time, you don't have time to dodge or move around or find some lanes sometimes and guys just got their hands up in the right spots.  It is more frustrating.  Sometimes you can fix batted balls and sometimes you can't.

When you are playing Pittsburgh do you see a team that is similar to your own?

They are, I look at their defense and they are a tough defense, they like to move around.  They are more of a 3-4 team, which we are not, but they are.  They make plays, they get turnovers, they do a good job getting to the quarterback with pressure so they are talented and I think their offense is consistent, likes to run the ball and pound it, and try to be consistent at the quarterback position, but again they try to strive on turnovers and big plays from their defense.  We know what that is like and we know as an offense we have to be productive, we have to be sound, and we have to have everybody on the same page.  If you make mistakes or you leave a guy unblocked or you are not blocking everything properly they can make plays and cause you some trouble.

Have you been able to follow Ben Roethlisberger at all in his career?

Yeah.  I keep up with all the quarterbacks around the league.  Obviously Ben has won a Super Bowl and he has played well.  Last year he played really well to get into the playoffs and so this year he is off to another good start.  He is a tough guy and a good athlete, competitor, and a good quarterback.

It doesn't seem like the media compares you two anymore. Do you see that as accurate?

I guess that is accurate.  I don't know.

Obviously that is not something you have ever done?

No.