Before Eli Manning heads to Albany in 10 days, he had some other camping to do first with his family.
Celebrating its 17th year, the Manning Passing Academy was held this past weekend at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La., where Eli – joined by his brothers and father – put on a three-night camp for high school quarterbacks, wide receivers, tight ends and running backs.
The four even dormed together in a suite – Eli and Peyton in one room, Archie and Cooper in the other.
But soon it will be time for Eli to reunite with his football family.
"During the spring, you've got to do a few things," Eli said of the offseason, according to The Times-Picayune. "You have some ceremonies. Those are all good, and that's a positive part, but you get to a point with training camp coming up and last season's over. You don't want to say you want to forget about it, but you've got to move on and get ready for this season. We need to see where we need to make improvements, how we need to get better and make sure we're moving forward in our season."
Eli also spoke about Peyton joining the Denver Broncos after spending 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.
"I talked to Peyton through the process, obviously, and tried to give him any help that I could or answer questions about certain teams and coaches that I'd been with over the years," Eli said. "Ultimately, he knew he had to go with the spot that he felt was best for him.
"I'm excited for him. I'm excited to see him back in uniform and see him in a little orange again."
From Tennessee orange (Peyton's alma mater) to Broncos orange, Eli will be rooting for him unless he's playing Big Blue.
"I hope that he gets to the Super Bowl, and I'll try to get to the Super Bowl, and unless this year we happen to be playing each other in that final game, I'll be rooting for him in every situation," Eli said.
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QUICK HITS>> PHOTOS: Manning Passing Academy. [Denver Post] [The Times-Picayune]
Top Ten Biggest Upsets: The Giants thwart the Patriots' perfect season with a huge upset in Super Bowl XLII. [NFL Network]
Giants summer questionnaire: Defensive tackle Linval Joseph. [Mike Garafolo, The Star-Ledger]
