PEYTON MANNING: Well, they're an excellent defense. They have excellent players to start with. I think that's really the key to all defenses – the personnel. Then to match that with really great schemes, a mix of coverages, the defensive looks that they give you.

It's a very difficult defense to move the ball and to score points against. It will be a great challenge on Sunday.

PEYTON MANNING: Well, the defensive coordinator has changed in the couple times I played them. But some of the personnel has changed. Some of it's been the same.

Just, like I said, excellent players – guys that are flying around to the football. It’s a very aggressive defense, really able to create a lot of turnovers. Like I said, it's always just a real challenge mentally and physically when you play against the Ravens' defense.

PEYTON MANNING: Very well could be. Like I said, I played against all those guys before, and they're all excellent cover corners. Match that with a good pass-rush, excellent safeties over the top like Ed Reed, just makes for an excellent combination.

PEYTON MANNING: When I watch tape, I sort of take any kind of emotion out of it, whether it was me playing the year before or whoever's playing. I just sort of watch it from a very serious X and O standpoint, just trying to get a feel for the defensive looks that you're seeing, trying to put yourself in the situation, sort of try to play the game yourself on film. That's how I've always done it.

PEYTON MANNING: Like I said, it's going to be a great atmosphere because I think these are two excellent football teams. That's really all that I can concern myself with.

It's my third time playing against the Ravens. I've always known what a challenge it is. It will be the same this week. Like I said, it's always very difficult to move the ball against them. It's going to be a tough game. That's really all I can get into.

PEYTON MANNING: Well, obviously people have asked me about it quite a bit, especially in the past few weeks. The more I think about it, the more I'm just really impressed with what Marino did, especially in his second season. For him to throw 48 touchdowns in his second season, to come back two years later and throw 44... Obviously I've always had tremendous respect for him. Dan Marino has always been one of my favorite players.

Heck, I threw 29 touchdowns last year, and it felt like a lot. Here we have 46 right now, and it feels like a lot.

I've never taken it for granted. I still think it's hard to throw touchdowns. When you do, it makes you feel good about the work you've put into that week and into the off-season.

But obviously the thing about Marino's season that year was they were winning a lot of games. That's always been my sole purpose and my sole goal, to win games. Anything that comes along with that is nice. But the idea is to keep winning football games.

PEYTON MANNING: I've known Brandon for a number of years. We're both from Louisiana. My dad and I and Eli, and my older brother have a football camp down in Louisiana. We've had it for 10 years now. Our counselors are made up of college and pro players, pro coaches and college coaches and Stokley has worked it every year since he was in college there, being with the Ravens. I've always gotten to throw to him in the summer at the camp. I've always had a really good relationship with him.

I remember just when he was in college, I was thinking it would be great to play with a guy like that. When I got to the Colts, I remember saying Brandon Stokley would be the ultimate slot receiver in this offense. Obviously, when he became a free agent, Bill Polian jumped on that opportunity. He's just been a perfect fit for our offense.

He and I, for whatever reason, just have no trouble developing timing. It's been a very easy transition. Some receivers, it takes a while to get that timing. Stokley and I, maybe because like I said, we've known each other for a long time, have thrown together every summer for 10 years now, it was a very easy transition. He's just done a heck of a job for us.

PEYTON MANNING: He's been the same offensive coordinator since I've been here the entire time. That's been a tremendous asset. I think it's pretty rare these days. Although I think the two kind of go together. If your quarterback's playing pretty decent, your coordinator will probably still be there. So Tom and I have always worked together.

I just really appreciate the trust he's put in me, and it's really grown each year, the freedom he's given me each year. I think the key is I don't abuse it, I don't take advantage of the trust that he has in me. Like I say, I'm just really appreciative of what he's done for my career, establishing me as an NFL quarterback and letting me grow each year.

PEYTON MANNING: Well, like I said, he's an excellent player. I've gotten to know Ed a little bit. He's just got great ball skills. Some guys are just always around the football, whether it's tipped balls or fumbles. You know, that's Ed Reed. He's around the football, he's a real play-maker, and he's a guy you always have to account for.

PEYTON MANNING: I do not. I really don't feel like the rule change has had any effect on our offense. I can't speak for other teams and for other quarterbacks.

We've always been a very aggressive, down-the-field offense, always been able to stretch defenses. We've always had success in the passing game. This year's really no different.

So, as far as my personal perspective, kind of the way I see things, kind of the way I feel there out on the field, I don't really see any change, to tell you the truth.

PEYTON MANNING: Like I said, guys, for me it's all about the team. I understand the record, this record chase has created a lot of attention. But for me, especially in the middle of the AFC, which is unbelievably competitive, I'm surprised we were able to clinch a playoff berth last week just because it's so competitive and there's so many good teams. These last three games are so important and there's so much on the line.

That's really all I care about, is just trying to keep playing well in the month of December. Obviously, we are in the playoffs. But even more important, we want to keep playing well and take that momentum into the month of January.

PEYTON MANNING: Absolutely. I totally understand what it's like. It's really no different. Eli's played on national TV a little bit more than I did. I think I had one game on national TV. Eli's had almost three of his four starts, he's on TV again. Obviously, in New York, everything's going to get a little bit more attention. But it really hasn't been a whole lot different. It's a definite transition there.

The thing for me is I got to play from game one. I struggled early, but I really feel like I made progress there kind of toward the second half of the season. Eli doesn't have many games left.

It's a real challenge. Certainly the defenses that he's faced are much better than I played. Heck, like I said, Baltimore's defense is always trouble to move against. When you add Philadelphia in there, Atlanta and Washington, you’ve got Pittsburgh, it's not getting any easier.

But the key is, and I can tell he's doing it, it's just to learn from every situation and just file it in your mind and use it to your advantage the next week as you get more and more comfortable. I know Eli's doing that.

He's going to be a heck of a quarterback. Obviously, I'm biased, I'm his brother. But I have a pretty good feel for quarterbacks. I watch a lot of quarterbacks. I can kind of tell who gets it and who doesn't. He gets it. It's part of the process. That's the only way you can put it.

PEYTON MANNING: Right now, it's really just about the Baltimore Ravens. I know that's kind of a boring answer. But especially with this three-game stretch that we have, it's an extremely tough schedule and it starts right here with Baltimore.

I think it is important, though that even though we are in the playoffs, to be playing with some momentum, to be playing some of your best football in the month of December. Hopefully we can keep that going.

PEYTON MANNING: That's funny, he and I really haven't spoken about it. It's not something that comes up in meetings or in game plan meetings.

The passing game is a big part of our offense. The whole goal is to score touchdowns, whether you're throwing them or passing them. As far as Coach Dungy, like I said, I have tremendous respect for him as a coach. He's our leader. I think the team has really responded to his discipline, his style of coaching. I’m really proud that he's my head coach.

PEYTON MANNING: Like I said, I'm such a big quarterback fan, I have tremendous respect for all the quarterbacks that have played at a high level for their whole careers. The thing about Marino that always stood out to me, he was an excellent player every single year. I think the word "great" is thrown out a little too much now. I think if a guy has a great season, it doesn't make him a great player.

But my goal is to improve every single year, to have consecutive seasons where I'm playing at a high level. I feel that I have done that, because I've gotten better every single year. That's the thing about Marino, he was an excellent player every single season for 17 years. That's the goal for any player – to play for a long time and to play at a high level every year. I'm in the middle of my career, but that is my goal.

PEYTON MANNING: Nothing earth-shattering there. Like I said, it just hasn't come up a whole lot.

PEYTON MANNING: I've got a lot of Fantasy "thank you" letters. That's probably the most common question I get now or the most common statement besides, "Can I have your autograph?," is "Hey, you're on my Fantasy team, throw more touchdowns, throw it to Reggie Wayne or Marvin Harrison more."

Hey, if the fans are excited about that, that's great. That's what the game is still about. It's nice to have the fans' interaction. You see fans at our games with the touchdown meters and those kinds of things. Like I said, that's exciting stuff for the fans. That gets them excited for the games. I'm all for that.

But a thing about Fantasy, sometimes I'll be, I don't know, at an airport sometimes. A guy will say, "Hey, that's a tough game, huh?"

I'll say, "We won."

He's like, "Yeah, it was 10-7. You didn't throw any touchdowns."

I’ll say, "You and I have different goals here, buddy." But it's all fun for the fans to get into it.

PEYTON MANNING: No. The playbook doesn't change. That's not something we're thinking about at this point. We’ve got two games here at home, and then we’ve got to go to Denver. We’ve got to take them one step at a time.

I don't think it's really a factor. I think it's about who plays better on that day, you know, home away, dome or outside. Most of our guys have been here long enough where we've played in different situations. I've had good games on the road. I've had bad games here at home. The idea is hopefully late in the season, whether it's December or January, you're playing really good football no matter where it is, and that will be the goal for us.

PEYTON MANNING: It's really not hard. I think about these baseball players that have to deal with it every single day for 60 or 70 games. I've just had to answer some of these questions for the last six games or so. I feel like I've been around the block enough and I've somewhat been under the microscope for a number of years now, even growing up in New Orleans, being the son of a quarterback.

I'm enjoying the run. I really am enjoying winning. Obviously, it's been nice winning six games in a row. That always makes it fun. But I realize that it is somewhat of a unique situation. I just never take it for granted. I'm such a fan of the history of the game, I'm just very humbled to be in this situation.

But it's always been "team" first. I've really tried to keep it that way. I feel I've done a pretty good job of that as far as keeping it on the team as far as my teammates. My teammates certainly know what I'm all about. I'm very serious in my preparation, trying to help us win a game. Anything that comes along with that is just secondary to helping my team win games.

PEYTON MANNING: I've always felt very fortunate to be able to call those guys teammates, I really have. I always hoped I'd be able to call those guys teammates for the rest of my career. Certainly with Marvin, that looks like it's going to be the case. I certainly hope this is the case for Edgerrin James as well, because I appreciate him as a friend first, he's been a great friend to me. But having him in the backfield, the way he works and prepares and comes to play every Sunday, I've always appreciated his effort. Hopefully I'll be able to play with him the rest of my career as well.

PEYTON MANNING: That's one thing about me that I've always tried to do every off-season is work on my weaknesses. I think that's a key to being a better player. I can honestly say I've been a better player every year than I have the year before. Sometimes it's little things, it's a footwork drill here or there, it's a certain throw maybe to the left side, whatever it may be.

But of all the film study that I do, a lot of it's on myself, in practice, in my individual drills, mechanics, always trying to -- whether it's my play-action fakes or my throwing motion, just trying to make myself a better player. I think that's the key, especially as you get older, to stay on top of those mechanics and keep trying to get better. That's been the goal for me every year and every off-season especially.

PEYTON MANNING: It just comes with experience. I think the more you play, the more comfortable you get.

Now, I can honestly say, I think the game is as hard now as it ever has been in my seven years. I feel defenses are smarter, they're more complex. Linebackers and safeties are reading things and studying film, studying your tendencies. I think each week is a challenge.

I feel, especially in our offense, because they do know we are a no-huddle offense, and we do change plays, I think defenses make it even tougher for us. I almost kind of wish you guys would stop writing articles about this no-huddle offense and make my job a little bit easier (laughter).

But I just have so much respect for defensive players, take Ray Lewis or Ed Reed, for example – just extremely talented players and very smart. They study film like a quarterback does.