Q: How are you progressing?
Manning: Feeling better, every day it has felt a little bit better so just trying to get all the treatment and see if I can feel even better tomorrow.
Q: You said earlier on the week that you wanted to be out there, is there any guarantee that you will be?
Manning: No, there are no guarantees really, just have to take it day by day, see if it gets better so you never know what can happen. It has been improving every day so hopefully it will continue to do that.
Q: Eli this may sound like a stupid question but when you say it gets better, are we talking about less pain, more movement, what are we talking about?
Manning: Less pain and moving around a little bit better. Take it day by day and see how it reacts and see how it feels. See if I can get out on the practice field and go tomorrow and go from there.
Q: How much of this incremental progress over the last couple days fuel your optimism?
Manning: Compared to how it felt on Monday, it feels a lot better, so I am happy with the progress. I am happy that it is improving, that I am walking around better, having less pain, so that is all good stuff and again see how it feels tomorrow and go from there.
Q: Do you think it was wise to not practice?
Manning: Probably so, in talking with the coaches I feel like I have been practicing well, been playing good football, been kind of in a rhythm these last couple of weeks. Don't want to go out there when you are injured and you can't do everything you want to do, move the way… and all of a sudden you get bad habits, bad mechanics, you're throwing the ball differently, get out of your rhythm a little bit. So it's probably best to rest it and make sure when I do get out there that I am ready to go. Ready to do everything, not thinking about it, not questioning what I can do and hopefully move around freely and make all the throws and do everything I have to do to make the plays.
Q: At any point in the last couple days have you tried to drop back or take snaps or anything?
Manning: It's just part of the treatment, doing a few things, did some things today just in the locker room while they were practicing. Just moving around and again it's feeling better but to think that I could have gone out there and not been thinking about that today, I don't know if I could have done that or not.
Q: What are some of the things they are doing, is it a heavy tape job, ibuprofen?
Manning: Well right now it's just getting treatment. I haven't done a whole lot of taping on it. Try some things out and see what works and get prepared for Sunday.
Q: Is cortisone an option?
Manning: Ask the trainers for that.
Q: How long has the fascia been bothering you?
Manning: It was something that I had thought about. It never bothered me at practice, never kept me from doing anything, so it's hard to say. I think I noticed it a few weeks ago.
Q: What are the other things you do to prepare for the game when you are not out on the practice field?
Manning: Today I will watch practice and go over the plays, go over my looks and my notes and watch all the film so nothing changes in that aspect. You still do everything the same. I am just not out there today. I missed today's practice and I will go and watch it on film and see how everybody is doing and make my notes on something I need to say to a receiver or to a back or anybody and make sure everybody is on the same page.
Q: Is your streak of starting consecutive games a matter of pride to you?
Manning: If I feel like I can go out there and play at a high level and help the team and do everything that I can do and they don't have to limit the game plan or say 'don't do this or you can't do that' then I will go out there and play. I am not going to do anything that is going to put myself in harm for making this worse down the road.
Q: I know you are prepared to almost wait until game time, Coach Coughlin said it could go that long, is that tough to think about the prospect of that?
Manning: I'm going to go with the mindset that I am going to try to go out there, you know Monday I was hoping to get out there for today's practice. Obviously that didn't happen today so my mindset is to try and get healthy tomorrow.
Q: Could you go without practicing all week?
Manning: Yeah, you can do it. I have done it a little bit before, I guess, when I had my shoulder injury. I think I just took about half the reps on a Friday and played. So it's something you can do; it's not the ideal situation but you can do it.
Q: Could you do it with none?
Manning: Yeah. Hopefully it doesn't come to that, but yeah, if I feel that much better on Sunday and feel I can go, then that could be an option.