Eli Manning grew up watching Saturday Night Live, so when producer Lorne Michaels asked him to host in 2008 following the Giants' winning Super Bowl XLII, Manning considered the possibility.

But he realized he hadn’t yet “proven” himself as a quarterback and had more work to do in the offseason. Plus, it was only a year removed from his brother Peyton’s memorable hosting stint.

“I thought it would be a little fresh in everyone’s mind so I didn’t want to have to go up against tough competition and the great job he’d performed,” Eli said today on a conference call with Michaels to promote his hosting the show this Saturday, adding: “I kind of remember saying, 'I do want to do the show at one point. I just want to do it maybe after my next championship.’ So when this opportunity came up again and we won a championship again, I knew if they asked I would definitely want to jump on that opportunity if the timing worked out.

“It all worked out and I’m looking forward to this week.”

Manning is two days into preparation for this weekend’s episode. He, Michaels, the writers and the cast have been going through potential skits to see what ideas might work. Michaels said this afternoon they’ll read and discuss about 40-45 ideas and boil them down to about a dozen. The work will continue through Friday’s rehearsal, at which point they’ll have an idea which skits they’ll be doing on Saturday.

Manning is enjoying this part of the process, per a suggestion he received from Peyton and another NFL personality who has hosted before.

"Fifteen minutes before I got on this call, John Madden called me and he gave me the same piece of advice," Manning said of the former coach and broadcaster, who hosted SNL in 1982. "He was asking if they did things the same way, the same schedule and routine. And it is, it's really similar to when he did it many, many years ago. Listening to both those people and they had the same advice: enjoy every moment during the week and working with the cast and stay up with them and just have a blast doing that."

Before agreeing to host SNL, Manning went through a mock schedule of what the week would look like for him because he didn't want to miss any workouts or on-field drills with his teammates. The past two days, he's gone to the team's facility before heading into Manhattan in the afternoon for meetings and such.

Manning said his teammates have been asking how the process has been and are planning viewing parties to watch the show in groups. There's a chance the understated prankster could take a few jabs at his teammates or coach (MG Says: Lorne, if you're reading, a uncharacteristically loosened-up Coughlin would be a tremendous starting point for a skit) but it has to make sense for the entire audience, not just the Giants/NFL fans watching.

However, Michaels has no doubt Manning’s personality will resonate with all viewers.

“He’s both charming and radiates a certain kind of intelligence,” Michaels said, “and a kind of – I don’t know how to say this but – you sort of believe he doesn’t take himself too seriously. I mean, I think he takes his work very seriously but there’s a sort of essential modesty to him and that plays well with what we do. If the host is spending a lot of time protecting an image, it’s exhausting for us.”

With perfect timing, Manning added: “I’m blushing, Lorne. Thank you.”

Manning will need to display such comedic chops on Saturday to reveal to those who don’t follow him closely he has a pretty good sense of humor that doesn’t often reveal itself to the cameras.

"The good thing about Saturday Night Live is you come in and maybe express a different side that people don't see. And maybe that's not you at all times but for this night, you can kind of let loose," he said. "That's one thing I would say about Peyton and I. We don't mind making fun of (ourselves) or letting jokes be at our own expense. It's important to have that attitude when you're going into this week."

He added: “It’s going to be a great experience and great fun and looking forward to getting deeper in the week and finding out what I might be doing. Probably right now I’m more anxious than anything, just trying to figure out what’s in front of me and what I’ll be asked to do.”

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If you haven't seen Manning's promos, check them out here:

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So what's Manning's favorite SNL skit of all time?

“I guess Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze doing the dancing with the Chippendales,” he said. “That’s always a classic. If I truly sat down and thought of it, I would think of a top 10 from there and pick the all-time. But that one always kind of pops in my head. Just a classic scene.

“But over the years it’s fun watching. I have a pretty good collection of the best of SNL of several different cast members that are always fun to watch and see some of their behind the scenes and their tryouts. I am a fan and watch the show and that style of humor, I appreciate it. That’s what I enjoy to watch.”

And now, the skit he was referencing, featuring two talented guys gone way too soon:

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A good quote from Michaels that just didn't fit anywhere above: "The good part about athletes is they’re used to being in front of large groups of people and not knowing how it’s going to turn out. We don’t really know until dress rehearsal what’s beginning to work and what’s not working. And then there's a lot of course correcting, if we do it this way it might work better.’ There’s still some risk involved. ... We know how Eli reacts both under pressure and also with changing things quickly. I don’t think we’re making any other kind of concessions in choosing an athlete over an actor, comedian or singer or politician for that matter."

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Manning was asked one football-related question, and it was about the NFL levying severe penalties on a few Saints player, including linebacker Jonathan Vilma who was suspended for the entire 2012 season.

"This is news to me. This is the first I'm hearing of this," said Manning, who was critical of the bounty system when asked about it in March. "What Roger Goodell has done – and he's been harsh on this whole bounty thing, on the Saints' coaches and players – I think he's doing the right thing to make sure this doesn't happen again. There's no room for any bounty system in the NFL. It's a physical sport and you've got to respect the game. He's been harsh to try to make a statement, saying there's no place for this in the game of football."

Mike Garafolo: mgarafolo@starledger.com