HOUSTON -- Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said he spoke with retired five-time MVP and two-time Super Bowl champ Peyton Manning last week about how to prepare for Super Bowl week.
Ryan, now in his ninth NFL season, will make his first Super Bowl appearance on Sunday against the New England Patriots.
"It's one of those things -- trust what you do and trust your process,'' Ryan said of Manning's message. "Handle some of the things that you need to handle that go along with this game early. Get that stuff out of the way. And I've certainly done that.''
Ryan was asked how often he speaks with Manning.
"I keep in touch with Peyton fairly regularly,'' Ryan said. "So, text messages back and forth.''
Ryan previously mentioned the strong bond within the NFL quarterback fraternity. He has picked the brain of championship quarterbacks over the years, which includes building a friendship with the guy he'll compete against on Sunday, New England's Tom Brady.
Ryan also revealed having a text message exchange with New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who defeated Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI.
"Obviously, I've gotten to know Eli throughout the years,'' Ryan said. "He's a great guy. You know I think his advice was, 'You guys know yourselves and you know what you do.' At the end of the day, that's probably the best advice you can get is to trust what we do and trust our process and who we are and how we do things.
"I think we'll be ready to go.''