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QB Eli Manning

Q. Personally, do you feel like you have had enough work? Are you ready to roll?

A. Yeah, definitely. You always feel like training camp has been long and a lot of preseason games. By the time the first game rolls along, you are ready to go. Team's ready, and everybody is excited about getting into the regular season, getting on a normal schedule and looking forward to getting started.

Q. How about coming out of the box, right off the bat, against a division rival like the Redskins?

A. Yeah it is something, we did it last year, I think it is a good thing for us. We come out knowing, hey, we've got to play great football from the start. We can't mess around. We can't afford to get off to a slow start. We have to come out playing well, making plays and keep that going.

Q. What do you feel most confident about with this team heading into Week 1?

A. I feel confident that everybody knows what they are doing. We've got playmakers and we should be able to have an exciting season.

Q. Tom Coughlin said earlier today that he thought it would be a good thing if opposing defenses loaded up the box to stop the run. Do you agree with that and if so, why?

A. Yeah, I think we have receivers who can make plays. Guys who can get down the field, guys who can break tackles and we are going to see what the defense is doing and make our adjustments. If I can get us in and out of good plays, I think we have the guys out wide who can be explosive and get down the field and do some great things.

Q. How important is it for you guys to hit some plays down the field?

A. I think it is important. Just hitting big plays in the passing game. It's not like to hit big plays you have to throw it fifty yards down the field, you just have to hit guys on the move and guys have got to break tackles and you have to be effective blocking up front and throwing the ball. It is a combination, we are going to have a great mix of run and pass, but we have to be able to do both well.

Q. I am sure you saw the clips of (Albert) Haynesworth tackling (Tom) Brady. How dangerous is he to a quarterback and to an offense in general?

A. He is a good player; there is no doubt about it. That is why Washington paid him all the money. He has a lot of talent and he is a big guy. Offensively you have to make arrangements and prepare for him. We know what we've got to do and we have a game plan.

Q. How has Brandon Jacobs grown as a player?

A. He has grown as a player. When he first got here, we knew he had talent, but he learned how to protect the ball. He was our goal line back, but kind of had a tendency of fumbling some. Learning protections, that was a big thing. It took him a while, but he got better at that. This year, it has been catching the ball out of the backfield. He has turned into a complete back and you can have him on the field on any down and distance.

Q. Are we going to see him catch a lot of balls this year?

A. I hope so; the backs should get some catches. I don't think he is going to be our primary receiver on a lot of things, but depending on what the defense is doing and he knows when he has to get out and has a good feel for when he might get the ball.

Q. Regarding Andre' Woodson going to Washington, are there some basic things you can do to get away from the things he knows?

A. Yeah. You got to worry about tricking yourself too much. Take into account that they are not going to know what play we are calling in the huddle, they aren't going to know what the snap count is, based by how we are lined up or what play we are running. We have to play well and I don't know what he has told them or what they already knew. We just have to go out and do our same thing. Keep playing well and make plays.

Q. You don't sound too worried about it?

A. No, I don't think it is something that we have to freak out about and change up our whole offense. We are running our offense and they are running their defense. It is going to come down to who executes best.

Q. Plaxico (Burress) said he felt at a certain point last year, after twelve games, that you guys were a dynasty or on the verge of becoming a dynasty. Do you still have that feeling about this team?

A. I think we have a special team here. I think we have great character, we have guys who work hard, who want to be a part of a team. They understand the concept. Guys who are competitive and want to be great. I am excited about the guys who we have in this locker room and I think they understand that we have something special and we have to take advantage of it.

Q. You win one Super Bowl, that is special and no one can ever take it away. When you get into the realm of winning multiple Super Bowls, is that what kind of separates great teams from even greater ones?

A. I don't know. Obviously, that is the goal. We are trying to get back to a championship level football team. We just want to be a team that every week people are going to know that they have a big challenge coming up when they play the Giants. It is going to be a tough battle and we are going to be prepared and we are going to go out there and play great football.

Q. Do you expect for them to stuff the box a little bit and prove that you can go downfield?

A. Maybe. Last time we played them they were a single high team and brought some pressure. But, first series, we hit Amani (Toomer) down the field. We threw the ball pretty well. I think it was one our best passing games of the year last year, the second time we played them. They will probably mix things up a little bit and they will have a new look, a new gadget of some sort. We've got our game plan and it's how well we are going to execute it.

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