It's not Eli vs. Peyton; it's Giants against Colts

Jim Sorgi was just like the rest of us.

"From the outside looking in, I always thought that 'Hey, this is a heated rivalry here,' " said Sorgi, the quarterback who backed up Peyton Manning for six years and spent this summer as Eli Manning's understudy. "Four years ago Peyton got him, and I'm sure Eli is chomping at the bit to get him."

Now, though, Sorgi is convinced that whatever sibling rivalry there might be is an afterthought.

"[Eli's] just chomping at the bit to beat the next team that's in line," Sorgi said. "Peyton's probably doing the same thing, especially after losing last week. If I know Peyton, he's not very happy right now. It'll be a heck of a show on Sunday night."

And the undisputed stars of the show will be the Manning Boys. They even starred in a commercial trumpeting the broadcast of the game. But while most of the world looks at this as Eli vs. Peyton, Big Bro vs. Little Bro, the two of them remain steadfast in portraying the game as between two teams.

"Two quarterbacks are never dueling against each other," Eli Manning said. "It's not a boxing match. It's the Giants versus the Colts."

Part of the reason for lack of rancor between the brothers is their age difference. Eli, 29, is almost five full years younger than Peyton, so growing up the only thing the squirt competed for was the attention of his older siblings. Eli recalled watching Peyton and older brother Cooper play high school football together in Louisiana - he said he still could recall the starting lineup from their Newman team in the early 1990s - and remembers wanting desperately to be with them.

"If they were outside playing a sport or football, you just wanted to be a part of the game," Eli said. "You didn't really care if they threw it to you or not."

Same thing today. They just like being together, whether it is for a round of golf, a family gathering, or what is sure to be one of the most-watched regular-season games in NFL history.

"It's not really a competitive situation," Peyton said. "It's a support relationship. We try to help each other and try to be around each other."

A lot has changed, of course, since the quarterbacks (or as they would say, teams) met at Giants Stadium in the 2006 season opener. For starters, each has won a Super Bowl and been named MVP of the game. But when Eli Manning looked back at that first meeting this week, he noticed a few other differences on the field. None of the receivers he threw to that night are still with the Giants.

But the biggest difference was in himself, something he noted as "my growth as a quarterback.

"I was still very young and learning and trying to get comfortable being a starting quarterback in the NFL," he said. "Now I'm in my seventh year, more of a veteran guy, and more comfortable with what I'm doing."

That certainly adds to the excitement over this game. Not only are there brothers playing each other, but each is at the top of his game. The Mannings get that. They understand the interest in this game, even if it is intrusive at times.

"It's not worth me complaining about it or arguing about it," Eli Manning said. "I understand the attraction to it. I'm going to try to enjoy it for what it is and look forward to the game."