I was just pleased and hope he continues to be successful. But somewhere along the line, you've got to achieve a little bit of success to keep it going. |
I was very proud of them. It was heavy on their hearts and they moved fast. Peyton got the plane lined up. Their mother and I think that it did some good. I've heard so many comments from people in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. And after talking to the boys when I got back I could tell it did them some good, too. |
I'm just so glad that 'can't-win-in-the-playoffs' crap is over. Gosh, I know how hard it is to succeed on that level, and trust me, it's just the worst thing to have to deal with. It's much worse as a father. I mean, find something else to put on him -- and trust me, people will -- but at least make it something that doesn't take a year to get rid of. |
I'm not saying that's a plus or a minus, it's just the way he is. But I assure you he's excited. And he's not going to change. He's going to be no different than he was when he went out against the Cardinals the first game or in Oakland Saturday night. |
I've been kept up to date by people in the league office ever since the storm. I take my hat off to the commissioner and the league for what they've done and what they're doing. |
I've got a lot of friends on that team. That was my era. This was great for them. There's a lot of 8-, 9- and 10-year-old kids playing football who didn't know a thing about that. They might be discovered all over again now. |
If you've watched Peyton play the last seven years, he hasn't been hit like that. It was the worst for Peyton since his rookie year (when Indianapolis went 3-13 in 1998). |
In my first year, I always looked for positive things and kept working, ... The good news is the score is always zero-zero when you kick off the next week. I've told Eli to 'keep sawing wood.' |
It was, as they say in football, a good old-fashioned ass-kicking. |
New Orleans is just a doggone fun place to be, |
Our family assembled and Tom [Condon] and Eli talked to a lot of people, consulted with a lot of people throughout. And Tom got back to the Chargers and said that we preferred that they not pick Eli. |
Peyton's tough. I talked to him after the game. He's been through this before (the Colts are 3-6 in the playoffs under Manning). He'll be OK. He knows they just have to go back to work at it next year. |
That five-year gap in age is big, ... When they played football in the yard, Eli was always the center. I'm sure there was something in Eli that said: 'One of these days I'm not going to be the center. One day, I'm going to take a snap.' |
The Saints are doing a good job adjusting. I think their focus is on trying to make the best of their season, but also to try and help the people of New Orleans in the process. From everything I've seen and heard they are doing a good job of it. |
They certainly have more similarities than differences. |