(The time off) was probably a blessing in disguise. He got his arm rested. He got to step back and watch like he did his first year. So it's not like he was out of it completely. He's on the same page with us.

Special teams have been playing great this year. My hat goes off to them every week. They make plays and they have to continue to do so and that's just a sign of a team playing well together. That was a huge play.

[Late in the second quarter, Manning deftly slipped a pass to Shockey over the middle for 20 yards, moving the Giants to the Saints' 12. On the next play, Barber burst 12 yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead.] Give him time and he'll do great, ... He gets more confident with every start and he'll get better every game he plays. He's really close to having a great, breakout game.

Everybody knows in order to have a good offense you have to stretch the field. Now we have Plax, and he'll definitely be helping us in that aspect.

It's no fun watching your friend and teammate get hit back there, and drop back and get hit every other play. I was ticked off more than anything. I was telling some of the offensive linemen that we've got to stop this thing before it starts, unlike last year when teams kept teeing off on him. We've all got to give him time to throw because if he has time, he's definitely going to pick defenses apart.

There are no hard feelings from our side.