PRESS CONFERENCE COLTS - WR REGGIE WAYNE - Ingles

Super Bowl XLIV – Tuesday, February 2, 2010

QUOTES FROM INDIANAPOLIS COLTS PRESS CONFERENCE

WR REGGIE WAYNE

(On whether Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in history) “I don’t know. That’s up to you all. The only thing I can do is help build that foundation. He’s definitely one of the best, in my mind. He puts in so much heart and hard work and preparation. He just wants to be a winner and whenever you have a quarterback that wants to win and do whatever it takes to win, you want him on your team. So I’ll let you all decide if he’s the best and what his legacy is but I guarantee you if we win Sunday it would make it a lot easier for the critics to say who is.”

(On how many Super Bowls he wants to win) “The more the merrier. One thing about winning one is that you have to figure out a way to win another. It’s kind of like tattoos, it gets a little contagious after a while. In this case, two is better than one, and after you get this one, three is better than two. It never stops. It works for infinity, so hopefully we can get this job done because we understand it’s not easy.”

(On whether he has talked to his former University of Miami teammates that are on the Saints) “I haven’t talked to them yet. I’m sure I’m going to get a lot from them soon, but those are my brothers at arms and I’m looking forward to playing against them this Sunday. May the best team win.”

(On what has changed without WR Marvin Harrison) “It has changed, simply because now more attention is keyed on me. Now I’m seeing a lot more double coverage. I guess the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Every receiver wants to be the No. 1, but it comes with a lot of heartache, I must say. But I learned a lot from him and hopefully I can take that with me in this game on Sunday.”

(On the Saints defense) “They’re a scrappy bunch. They play with a lot of intensity. Those guys seem like they always find a knack for punching the ball out and creating turnovers. A lot of that is on momentum with the offense. The offense really gets those guys fired up, so you really have to do a good job of disguising coverages, changing things around. Hopefully we can do what we’ve been doing, and that’s make plays. The more plays we can make with them doing all the disguising, hopefully that can keep them sane a little bit and we can go from there.”

(On if he’s still a Saints fan) “Deep down inside I’m still a Saints fan. Growing up in New Orleans, it’s like you really have no choice. I’ve seen a lot of brown paper bags in my lifetime and just to see those guys where they are today is just outstanding, the things that they’re doing for that city. A lot of times, coming home from church with my mom and sitting down with my dad, the game was blacked out and we had to listen to the game on the radio. I’ve seen Bobby Heber, I’ve seen John Fourcade. I’ve seen so many names come through there. I remember Saturday night, getting ready for the game, wanting to see Eric Martin have a big game. So I’m a huge fan of the Saints. I always have been. It’s going to be tough to take that away from them, but just to see what those guys are doing this year and the years prior to this, keeping that city together, keeping that city on the map, it’s outstanding.”

(On the Saints having no experience of playing in the Super Bowl) “It’s been three years for us, so I guess you could say we don’t have much experience either, so that’s the beauty of it. With this game, it changes. No never know who’s going to be there, so when you do get the opportunity to be there, you have to take advantage of it and hopefully it works out to your advantage.”

(On his mentors) “I’ve got plenty of them. To be honest with you, my mentor at UM [University of Miami] is now the receivers coach for the Saints. He was my receiver coach in college, Curtis Johnson. He’s taught me a lot. He’s pretty much taught me everything I know and I’ll do my best to not let him down.”

(On the Colts’ rookies) “They’ve been big for us. They’ve been stepping up to the plate all year, making things happen. They work so hard. They want to do well. Every time you see them in meetings, they’re taking notes and doing whatever it takes to be good. That’s all you can ask for, guys that take the time out of their busy schedule and put all the focus into watching film and going on the field and making things happen. They’ve showed up for us. One thing about them is they’ve been pretty healthy all year and they’ve been able to have an opportunity to make thing happen, so we’re going to need them one more time this year. They’ve been playing big for us. After like Week 6, we told them you’re not a rookie anymore. You got your feet wet and we’re going to need you to really focus in on the task at hand and make things happen and they’ve done that all year.”

(On WR Pierre Garcon playing well despite the earthquake in Haiti) “I think that goes to show you that even in the midst of what was going on that he’s able to focus in and still play football. That’s an opportunity for him to get away from all of that stuff. You know it’s hard on him. He’s doing a good job of just maintaining and staying focused and hopefully we can be there for him at the end. We felt like if we go ahead and get this job done Sunday, then it will be a lift off his shoulders.”

(On many of his friends and family being Saints fans) “Unfortunately, that’s kind of how it is. I got a lot of ticket requests, but I’ve got to do it. I’ve got to go to work. This is how I find out who my real friends are, but it’s going to be fun. I’m glad it is this way, so a lot of my friends who don’t get a chance to see me much on TV can see me play, and at the same time, see their favorite team play. They have to make a decision. There’s no going into the game wearing a half Saints jersey, half Colts jersey. I want to see either/or.”

(On whether there are any distractions this week) “The only distraction I see is that we’ve got the guys that haven’t had this experience yet. We’ve got a young team, so we’ve got to get those guys to understand that this is a business trip, not a vacation. Hopefully we can just continue to instill in their system that Miami is going to be Miami. It will always be the same way. You’ll be even a bigger rock star if you win this game.”

(On if he’s looking forward to the game) “I am. I really feel like it’s going to be a good one for me. I’m playing a childhood team, playing in my own backyard from school. Looking at the crystal ball, it looks really bright for me.”

(On if he would root for the Saints to win the Super Bowl if the Colts weren’t in it) “Whenever I’m not in the Super Bowl, it really doesn’t matter. I do want them to win. I probably would go for the Saints. I feel like they deserve it. I really do. This is the only time of the whole year I felt like they didn’t deserve it, but those guys have done a great job putting that city together, giving everybody something to be happy about. They do a great job in the community, getting everybody together and going out and lending a hand to help out everybody. Maybe next year, or the year after that, or whenever I retire.”

(On the keys for the offense on Sunday) “Turnovers are always key. Normally the team that has the most turnovers is the team that loses. We understand that you have to take care of the ball, no matter what the situation is. You want to score as much as possible, as fast as possible and just hope that you don’t lose that turnover battle.”

(On the best part of Super Bowl XLI) “Winning. Winning, winning, winning. That was the beauty of it. It was two weeks of a bunch of media. I remember after the game was over, I’m celebrating with my teammates and it’s 15 minutes after the game and I’m still seeing Chicago Bears walking off the field. That’s a feeling that you understand is not easy to handle, so the best way to not experience that is to win the game. That’s what our focus is and hopefully we can get it done.”