Mannings preparing for season without weapons

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning have a lot more in common than being brothers from a football-rich family.

Both have Super Bowl rings. Both have beaten their favorite childhood team growing up, the New Orleans Saints, and both made NFL history by becoming the first brothers to make the Pro Bowl at the same time.

But entering this season, the pair have one more thing to add to that list – both must now move on without their star receivers who played integral parts in winning those Super Bowls.

From the time Peyton Manning first stepped onto the field for the Colts, the nine-time Pro Bowl selection knew he had a reliable option in Marvin Harrison as a receiver.

In fact, his first ever NFL pass was a 5-yard screen to Harrison that the All-Pro took 48 yards for a touchdown.

“I thought after that it would be a pretty good idea just to throw it to Marvin Harrison,” the older brother said taking a break from the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux. “I would not be where I am today without Marvin Harrison. I leaned on him as a rookie.”

Following last season, Harrison, an eight-time Pro Bowler, asked for his release from the club – a wish that was granted by Colts personnel, severing ties with the man who was his quarterback for 11 of his 13 seasons in the NFL.

“Probably the worst part about football is losing a teammate who you have been with your entire career, which is why the NFL is a business,” Manning said. “But we are definitely going to miss him.”

Together, the duo holds the NFL record for most completions between a quarterback and a receiver (971), most passing/receiving yards (13,090) and most passing/receiving touchdowns (110).

In his place, fellow New Orleans native Reggie Wayne and former Ohio State Buckeye Anthony Gonzalez are ready to step in, Manning said.

Last season, the Colts started off slow, going 4-4 in their first eight games before putting together an eight-game winning streak to finish second in the AFC South Division standings.

However, the team’s 23-17 overtime loss to the San Diego Chargers in the first round of the playoffs not only marked the end of the team’s season, but it concluded the head coaching career of Tony Dungy, who announced his retirement.

Filling in for the Super Bowl winning coach was last season’s assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach, Jim Caldwell.

Despite the Colts job being Caldwell’s first professional head coaching job, he does have experience, serving as the head coach of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina from 1993-2000.

Manning remains confident that Caldwell possesses the right tools to keep the Colts competitive in the AFC.

“Even though Tony Dungy won’t be on the sidelines, we still have that winning atmosphere,” he said. “Coach Caldwell was influenced by Dungy, so we’ll still have a lot of Coach Dungy’s philosophies.

“Coach Caldwell called me and said he has a plan,” Manning added. “He told me when we report to training camp he was going to tell us what the plan is. He insured me he has a good plan. I’m confident we are going to be in good shape.”

With a new coach and a new number one receiver, Manning believes the Colts will once again be contenders, providing they can start off the way they concluded the regular season last year.

“We had a slow start to the season last year so I am definitely looking forward to going back to training camp and getting back out there and forming that bond with my teammates,” Manning said of the team’s Aug. 2 training camp. “We are going to get over the hurdles this training camp and try to get off to a fast start.”

Eli Manning, on the other hand, doesn’t have to replace a coach, just the receiver who caught the game-winning touchdown in the Giants’ upset win in Super Bowl XLIII.

Off-the-field troubles made the team part ways with All-Pro receiver Plaxico Burress on April 9.

Despite having to play without the receiver through the latter part of last year, the team must now cope with finding his replacement.

With the former Michigan State star in the lineup, the Giants were 12th in red zone scoring. Without him, they were 20th. Eli said it’s important for his team to find an identity early in the season.

“We have to get better,” he said while in Thibodaux. “We were one of the top teams getting down in the red zone, but we just couldn’t score. I think a lot of that has to do with losing Plaxico. We need to get back to executing and making the plays.”

Manning admitted that much of the team’s success this season will rely on the performance of wide receivers Dominik Hickson, who led the team with 596 receiving yards; Steve Smith, who was third on the team with 574 yards, and rookie Hakeem Nicks of North Carolina.

With bruising running back Brandon Jacobs signed to a new deal, Eli said he isn’t expecting anything less than the playoffs this season.

Eli finished the 2008 campaign compiling 3,238 yards with 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

He helped lead the Giants to the NFC East crown before losing in the Divisional Round of the playoffs 23-11 to the Philadelphia Eagles.

One of the highlights for the younger Manning is his first chance to play a game in the Superdome on any level. In 2005, the Giants were scheduled to play the Saints but Hurricane Katrina forced the game to be moved to New York.

“I’ve watched many Saints games growing up,” the five-year veteran said. “We went to every home game. My dad was doing the announcing, and we would go. My buddies are already calling me about tickets, so it should be a fun game. I’m excited about the opportunity to play in my home state.”

“Both of my brothers had the chance to play organized games there in high school,” the former Newman High School quarterback added. “By the time I got there, they didn’t do that anymore.”

Now that both brothers are part of contending teams, they are constantly flooded with that age-old question, “How would you feel about playing in the Super Bowl against your brother?”

Peyton said he would love to get back to the Super Bowl again, and he would enjoy the game, at least until the final second ticked off.

“There is no greater feeling than winning the Super Bowl, being in the locker room and having the post-game celebration,” he said. “I talked to some guys who were in that game and lost it, and it’s the most miserable feeling because you got so close. That is not something anybody wants to experience, so one of us would have to go through that.”

Eli said he would gladly take another Super Bowl berth, regardless of whom it was against.

“If I have the opportunity to go back to the Super Bowl, I’ll take it, whether it’s against the Colts or whomever,” he said. “If that’s my only chance to get back to the Super Bowl, then I’m all for it.”

Peyton (left) and Eli Manning are set to begin their 2009-2010 seasons without their team’s leading receivers from a year ago. The two report to training camp in two weeks in hopes of reurning to the Super Bowl. * Photo by KYLE CARRIER